Congratulations to Hikaru Nakamura and Najer for being the lucky lottery winners of 2009. During my 1st (and consequently only) trip to the World Open, I was discussing with my friends whether the probability of being A) Hit by Lightning, B) Winning the World Open or C) Winning the Lottery was more a likely proposition. I think option A wins out but I would love to hear others opinions.
As I rode along in the passage seat on the great American highway... I heard all the stories of the world opens past. From near success stories, to cheating attempts, to dreamers of big money. Unfortunately, the World Open is never going to be a profit making prospect for your average chess player so why does the big money draw have the big crowd draw?
My own personal experience at the world open was awful. I had to withdraw after a TD witnessed my opponent cheat and refused to do anything about it. Still, Philadelphia's cheesesteaks and the all day bughouse extravaganza combined with watching a last round swindle over IM Angelo Young over IM Timothy Taylor... almost made the trip worth while! Until you consider it cost me $350 entry fee, $250 hotel fee and that doesn't even cover: Gas, tolls and food! It was a good experience though that I shall never repeat.
A special congratulations to IM Alex Lenderman who scored his 3rd and final GM norm!!
Showing posts with label Hikaru Nakamura. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hikaru Nakamura. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Dream team?
I was recently pondering for fun what the most interesting exciting supertournament participant list might be of active players.
I came to the conclusion (not because these are my favorite players) that it would be 1. Magnus Carlsen 2. Vassily Ivanchuk 3. Alexander Morozevich 4. Alexei Shirov 5. Hikaru Nakamura 6. Nigel Short because of the innovative and sharp way they all play the opening. It would seem to me these players versatile repertoire makes them almost impossible to prepare for (all super GMs admit as much about Ivanchuk). I thought it was a fun albeit pointless topic to think about though.
However, in MTEL 09 we see 3 of these 6 together! Although Ivanchuk is clearly out of form in this tournament for whatever reason!
I came to the conclusion (not because these are my favorite players) that it would be 1. Magnus Carlsen 2. Vassily Ivanchuk 3. Alexander Morozevich 4. Alexei Shirov 5. Hikaru Nakamura 6. Nigel Short because of the innovative and sharp way they all play the opening. It would seem to me these players versatile repertoire makes them almost impossible to prepare for (all super GMs admit as much about Ivanchuk). I thought it was a fun albeit pointless topic to think about though.
However, in MTEL 09 we see 3 of these 6 together! Although Ivanchuk is clearly out of form in this tournament for whatever reason!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Congrats to the Champion!
Congratulations to the 2009 US Champion: Hikaru Nakamura!
He had a beautiful win over GM Joshua Friedel in the Two Knights. It was strange to see the two knights played so poorly by a GM! In the after interview, Nakamura mentioned of the mainline 8. Bd3 "Morozevich plays it so it must be good!" It was strange to see Friedel respond with the dubious 8... Be7 instead of engaging the mainline!
Still a great tourney with some great chess! Minus the horrible on site spectating conditions and a few hiccups with online relays... the St. Louis Chess Club delivered a fantastic performance in prize fund, player conditions, good chess and enthusiasm! A thank you to all the players and volunteers that made it possible.... and congratulations again to Nakamura!
Nakamura also said one other thing after his round9 victory... his intentions are to shoot for a world championship match! Talk about work! Good luck to him in that endeavor!
He had a beautiful win over GM Joshua Friedel in the Two Knights. It was strange to see the two knights played so poorly by a GM! In the after interview, Nakamura mentioned of the mainline 8. Bd3 "Morozevich plays it so it must be good!" It was strange to see Friedel respond with the dubious 8... Be7 instead of engaging the mainline!
Still a great tourney with some great chess! Minus the horrible on site spectating conditions and a few hiccups with online relays... the St. Louis Chess Club delivered a fantastic performance in prize fund, player conditions, good chess and enthusiasm! A thank you to all the players and volunteers that made it possible.... and congratulations again to Nakamura!
Nakamura also said one other thing after his round9 victory... his intentions are to shoot for a world championship match! Talk about work! Good luck to him in that endeavor!
Friday, May 8, 2009
US Championship round 1!
I will be driving down to St. Louis to watch round1&2&3. Round 1 pairings are posted here
Pairings
Round 1, Friday, May 8, 2:00 pm
Bd White Black
1. GM Ibragimov, Ildar (0.0) 2628 - GM Kamsky, Gata (0.0) 2798
2. GM Nakamura, Hikaru (0.0) 2757 - GM Shabalov, Alexander (0.0) 2620
3. GM Friedel, Joshua (0.0) 2568 - GM Onischuk, Alexander (0.0) 2736
4. GM Shulman, Yury (0.0) 2697 - IM Sevillano, Enrico (0.0) 2549
5. IM Hess, Robert (0.0) 2545 - GM Christiansen, Larry (0.0) 2681
6. GM Becerra, Julio (0.0) 2672 - IM Robson, Ray (0.0) 2542
7. IM Zatonskih, Anna (0.0) 2503 - GM Akobian, Varuzhan (0.0) 2664
8. GM Kaidanov, Gregory (0.0) 2662 - IM Krush, Irina (0.0) 2496
9. IM Shankland, Samuel (0.0) 2464 - GM Benjamin, Joel (0.0) 2650
10. GM Ehlvest, Jaan (0.0) 2649 - IM Brooks, Michael (0.0) 2419
11. Lawton, Charles (0.0) 2350 - GM Khachiyan, Melikset (0.0) 2632
12. GM Gulko, Boris (0.0) 2631 - Hughes, Tyler (0.0) 2293
I have bolded the round 1 matches I consider extremely interesting (as in results not totally predictable and obvious!). I am rooting for Shulman and Christiansen but I predict Nakamura will eat the whole enchilada. I don't doubt strong guns like Onsichuk and Kamsky... but my true desire would be to see Robson score his first GM norm!
This field is the strongest US championship ever with 8 former US Champions participating!
Check back later for pictures!
Pairings
Round 1, Friday, May 8, 2:00 pm
Bd White Black
1. GM Ibragimov, Ildar (0.0) 2628 - GM Kamsky, Gata (0.0) 2798
2. GM Nakamura, Hikaru (0.0) 2757 - GM Shabalov, Alexander (0.0) 2620
3. GM Friedel, Joshua (0.0) 2568 - GM Onischuk, Alexander (0.0) 2736
4. GM Shulman, Yury (0.0) 2697 - IM Sevillano, Enrico (0.0) 2549
5. IM Hess, Robert (0.0) 2545 - GM Christiansen, Larry (0.0) 2681
6. GM Becerra, Julio (0.0) 2672 - IM Robson, Ray (0.0) 2542
7. IM Zatonskih, Anna (0.0) 2503 - GM Akobian, Varuzhan (0.0) 2664
8. GM Kaidanov, Gregory (0.0) 2662 - IM Krush, Irina (0.0) 2496
9. IM Shankland, Samuel (0.0) 2464 - GM Benjamin, Joel (0.0) 2650
10. GM Ehlvest, Jaan (0.0) 2649 - IM Brooks, Michael (0.0) 2419
11. Lawton, Charles (0.0) 2350 - GM Khachiyan, Melikset (0.0) 2632
12. GM Gulko, Boris (0.0) 2631 - Hughes, Tyler (0.0) 2293
I have bolded the round 1 matches I consider extremely interesting (as in results not totally predictable and obvious!). I am rooting for Shulman and Christiansen but I predict Nakamura will eat the whole enchilada. I don't doubt strong guns like Onsichuk and Kamsky... but my true desire would be to see Robson score his first GM norm!
This field is the strongest US championship ever with 8 former US Champions participating!
Check back later for pictures!
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