At the outset of Round 6 with Yury Shulman and Alexander Onischuk on board 1, Emil Sutovsky says a “Shulman win puts him as a top contender for at least shared 1st place prize…definitely ambitious…”

Onischuk is likely realizing he has tough final rounds ahead, having avoided the more challenging competitors in the first rounds.

Of the Akobian v. Nakamura match, Sutovsky says, “Nakamura definitely wants to play for a win against Akobian…” as this is the last chance for Nakamura to gain a title. Without a win against Akobian, he'll fall too far behind in point, but Akobian seems to be gaining some momentum and playing very sharp games.

Shulman v. Onischuk



Jennifer Shahade also estimates that, depending on who Irina Krusha and Ray Robson are paired with over the next 2 rounds, and the outcome of today's game, Irina will need 2 out of 3 wins, and Ray Robson will need 1 and a 1/2 out of 3 wins to complete their respective GM norms.

Yury Shulman

The atmosphere here at the outset of Round four is a little more playful as players and commentators seem to have hit their stride. Shulman and Nakamura play the Queen’s Gambit Accepted in one of the most anticipated games in this round, and Nakamura orders a Mocha from Starbuck’s. We’ll see if the java jive gives him a boost over Shulman today.

Against Onischuk, Hess opens with the Knight’s Indian, and Emil Sutovsky says, “Its good to see young player like Hess studying classics.” It seems that Hess’ meticulous study of openings is a popular topic.

Sutovsky says that Kamsky vs. Friedel looks “still pretty theoretical, not taking much time on their moves. I think white is slightly better and Kamsky feels this way.”

Charles Lawton is certainly emerging as the darling of the tournament. Though he’s lost the first several matches, Sutovsky feels he shouldn’t have lost the first two. Lawton plays Tyler Hughes today, who is also looking to turn around after a few losses.

As you may have already learned, Anna Zatonskih will unfortunately not be back, and her seat is being filled by the next wildcard player, Doug Eckert of Quincy, IL. He faces Boris Gulko today.

Chess teaches you to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good and it trains you to think objectively when you're in trouble. --Stanley Kubrick

Author: Ken West, CCSCSL Championship Blogger 


Charles Lawton

The analysts think the Kamsky/Shulman game could easily be drawn. There is a rule in effect for this tournament that no draws are allowed on less than 30 moves. But, as Sutovsky pointed out, the repetition rule would trump that. However, Shahade then said there are some positions, such as a Ruy Lopez, where a knight shuffle could lead to a draw in the first few moves. Sutovsky said that would be against the rules even with the three-move rep.

But a quick check to the third floor where the players are leads me to believe Kamsky wants the third point. At last check, while looking at the position, at one point he shook his head left to right as if to rule out a line or candidate move. He then exhaled deeply, put his hand to his chin and continued looking at the board.

During analysis, Shahade told people to check out the games by the young players Hess and Robson: there have been a lot of fireworks. Sutovsky, again referring to the overall high rankings of the players at this tournament, said such fireworks could be expected. He pointed to the strong game Irina Krush played Saturday.

Another note after my trip upstairs: more of the players seem to be up, walking around and checking other games.

Charles Lawton just came in. He dropped his third game today, but this one was not as long as his previous two games, which were among the last to finish both nights. When asked how he is doing, Charles said, “Mentally, I’m fine.” Then, to show how resilient he is, he continued. “But scorewise, not so well,” pointing his thumb down. Then, he laughed! Those who know Charles know exactly what that laugh sounds like.

The analysts said earlier that Lawton’s h4 was throwing down the gauntlet. Ray just relayed that to Charles and he agreed and, again, laughed. Charles is still hanging out down here, talking and laughing. Now that is mental toughness.
Remember, for live coverage go to saintlouischessclub.org .

Author: Ken West, CCSCSL Championship Blogger 


Anna Zatonskih

Gregory Kaidanov defines sportsmanship. His opponent, Anna Zatonskih, is ill and was admitted to the hospital this morning.  But rather than starting his clock and taking the point after an hour, Kaidanov offered to play her on the players' rest day on Friday. In a tournament where every point means big money and prestige, Kaidanov has truly defined sportsmanship.

A couple of today’s games are off to a quick start.

In the Kamsky-Shulman game, the players whipped off 16 moves each in less than 26 minutes for Shulman and 17 minutes for Kamsky. Shulman opened with d4 and Kamsky played he Gruenfeld.

Emil Sutovsky, providing analysis with Jennifer Shahade on ICC and at saintlouischessclub.org , in response to a question from Shahade, said he thinks the Gruenfeld provides the most dynamic chances against d4. It’s no surprise, then, that Kamsky is playing it as Sutovsky was Kamsky’s second during the recent world championship cycle.

Add to the mix the fact that both Kamsky and Shulman are 2-0 and the $64k Fischer prize goes to the person who scores a perfect 9-0, replicating Fischer’s U.S. tournament title run. Sutovsky said that with the strong field of several grandmasters rated over 2600, going 9-0 will be hard. But as Shahade said, “If you don’t go three for three, you can’t go nine for nine.”

In another game of interest is the Nakamura-Hess game, a rematch of a recent Foxwoods match where Hess beat Nakamura on the way to a GM norm. Shahade talked about the possibility of Nakamura playing hard to avenge the loss. Sutovsky said, that could be, but the nature of the tournament and Nakamura’s style leads to fighting chess.

Their game also has proceeded quickly, with 13 moves made in quick fashion.

And a quick shout out to Companion, located next door to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, for the food. Great stuff. Too bad they aren’t delivering any of their awesome soups! And don’t get me started on their sweet treats.

Remember, live action at saintlouischessclub.org <http://saintlouischessclub.org> . The Round 2 video recap can be found here.

Nf6 1.c4 e6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.O-O Be7 5.b3 O-O 6.Bb2 d5 7.e3 c5 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.d4 Rad8 12.Ne5 Qxg2 13.Kxg2 Nxe5 14.f3 cxd4 15.exd4 Nc6 16.Qe2 Rd5 17.Rac1 Rfd8 18.Rc4 Nf3



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