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GMs Hans Niemann and Abhimanyu Mishra have taken over the lead at the U.S. Championships in round two. Niemann came within inches of blundering and running out of time but fought back to defeat the previous leader, GM Sam Sevian. Contrastingly, Mishra caught GM Andrew Tang in opening preparation, achieving a winning position by move 25.
The leaderboard in the women’s section expanded when IM Nazi Paikidze drew while IM Carissa Yip, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, and WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova scored their first victories.
Round three starts on October 7 at 11 a.m. PT/20:00 CEST.
See what happened
You can follow the games from the US Championships on our Events Pages: Open | Women.
U.S. Championship
After round one, Niemann shared a special connection he has with a former U.S. Champion, IM John Grefe.
I was given a very special gift today from John Donaldson. My first serious chess coach was International Master and US Chess Champion John Grefe. He unfortunately passed away shortly after we started working together. He inspired a passion for chess that will last a lifetime.… pic.twitter.com/cxWTwSuT3U
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) October 5, 2023
Today’s matchup between Sevian and Niemann evokes a throwback from one of the most bizarre U.S. Championship moments in history. When the players faced each other last year, Sevian absentmindedly picked up Niemann’s king and broke it.
When you’ve accidentally destroyed your opponent’s king in the middle of a game and he’s not happy about it… #USChessChamps pic.twitter.com/jL2ecag91u
— chess24.com (@chess24com) October 18, 2022
In this year’s game, Neimann followed through on his reflection after round one to play for the win at all costs. He refused two repetition opportunities, playing on in complicated positions with black.
On move 39, he nearly blundered while in severe time pressure but caught himself in the last moment and played a better move with just one second left on his clock. After the game, Niemann shared his inner dialogue from those moments: “I’m thinking Ng4. Then in a split second, I see Rf5, and I’m like oh no. What do I do? Where can the knight go?”
After making time control, Niemann continued to face a challenging defensive task. Sevian’s queen and rook sunk into his back rank, simultaneously creating pressure against the black king and weak queenside pawns. Yet, Niemann generated counterplay and snatched a knight that looked poisoned, unafraid of allowing Sevian’s major pieces to surround his king.
This hair-raising clash is our Game of the Day with annotations by GM Rafael Leitao coming soon.
The chess has spoken pic.twitter.com/NMCbW9GyEG
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) October 7, 2023
Mishra’s thorough opening preparation in the Italian Game posed problems for Tang into the endgame. Afterwards, the young grandmaster shared the depth of his knowledge: “He played a very good opening. The first 20 moves were all preparation for me. He actually found all the top engine moves. I thought these would be quite difficult to find, but he managed to do it. But even after that, it’s quite a difficult ending.”
🎯 GM Abhimanyu Mishra, @ChessMishra stopped post game to answer some of @SabinaFoisor ‘s questions.
♟️#uschesschamps #chess #championship #open #stl #chessclub #stlchessclub #hof #round2 #day2 #win #chessplayer #talks #impressive pic.twitter.com/S8hCscwHnr
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 6, 2023
GM Fabiano Caruana reached a curious position vs. GM Leiner Dominguez. Though he was ahead a pawn with his pieces all on aesthetically-pleasing squares, his forces lacked targets and coordination. With his blockade on the d5-outpost, Dominguez had no trouble holding the balance.
After each missing critical opportunities in the previous round, GMs Sam Shankland and Ray Robson looked to right the ship this round. They fought out an ending with an extra pawn for Shankland vs. greater activity for Robson, eventually finishing in a draw.
GMs Dariusz Swiercz and Wesley So drew the shortest game of the round. After the game, Swiercz shared his approach:
Yesterday’s game was insane. At some point, I was of course lost. I suppose I was also winning. After such a rollercoaster ride, I was thinking to take this game in a solid manner, especially since I have a bad memory of playing against Welsey two years ago in the Sinquefield Cup where I was overly ambitious, and I got punished for that. So, I wanted to take this day more calmly.
Wesley says he has to learn new openings other than the Berlin 🙂 #USChessChamps
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 6, 2023
Taking it easy on his birthday, GM Levon Aronian also drew fairly quickly vs. GM Jeffery Xiong.
🎉Join us in wishing Grandmaster Levon Aronian a Happy Birthday! 🎉
He is currently playing in the US Championship, so you can send him some good vibes 🙂.#USChessChamps pic.twitter.com/GbSg6FSyXG
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 6, 2023
U.S. Championship | All Games Round 2
Round 2 Open Standings
U.S. Women’s Championship
In the middlegame, Yip gained an initiative and utilized it to set up an octopus knight on d6. WGM Jennifer Yu sacrificed an exchange to eliminate the invasive knight. Yet, the material deficit proved to be too costly, and Yip seamlessly converted the rook vs. knight ending.
Abrahamyan gained the initiative early in her game vs. IM Alice Lee and continued to press as the players traded into an ending. In the midst of defending a difficult position, Lee blundered. Abrahamyan was in jovial spirits after the round, sharing: “I feel very happy. She has been a problematic opponent for me. I lost two games to her in the American Cup last year. Of course, I’m very happy about this result. She’s a very good player.”
WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, @Tatev__A , stopped by to chat with @SabinaFoisor after her dominating win against the very talented IM-elect Alice Lee.#USChessChamps pic.twitter.com/zA9x7HPlkZ
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 6, 2023
Inspired by her bishop pair, Tokhirjonova pressed on both sides of the board vs. FM Ashritha Eswaran. When her opponent made a fatal inaccuracy, Tokhirjonova leapt at the chance to decide the game by tactical means. Can you find how?
🎯 Walk and talk with WGM Begim Tokhirjonova after today’s win.
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♟️#uschesschamps #chess #championship #womeninchess pic.twitter.com/US8ApMn8aB
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 6, 2023
IM Irina Krush created dynamic play vs. FM Thalia Cervantes. Yet, she reached time trouble in the critical positons and overlooked opportunities to capitalize on her advantage.
WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan showed aggressive intentions vs FM Ruiyang Yan when she sacrificed a pawn for the initative in the Najdorf. Yet, the game fizzled into equality when Yan gave it back and much of the material was traded away.
Paikidze vs. IM Anna Zatonskih was the last game to finish between both sections. They jockeyed for position for 84 moves before accepting a draw in a queen ending.
U.S. Women’s Championship | All Games Round 2
Round 2 Women’s Standings
The 2023 U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational classical event that determines the chess champion of the United States. The 2022 U.S. Women’s Championship is being held concurrently. Both events start on October 5 and have the same format: a 12-player, 11-round tournament with a $250,000 prize fund for the U.S. Championship, and $152,000 for the U.S. Women’s Championship.
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