The final round of the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship is underway!

Wrapping up round 8, Jennifer Shahade and Macauley Peterson talk about the revolutions in yesterday's games, especially a suprising win by 17-year-old GM Robert Hess over GM Yury Shulman:



The first board today is Akobian and Hess, which is certainly the game to watch here in the final round; however, there are several pairings, such as Kamsky and Ehlvest, Onischuk and Robson, and certainly Nakamura and Friedel, which could all change the tides at any moment. Friedel spoke about his game yesterday, and while he can't pull off the tournament win, and said he' love to see Robson win.

One of the best things about this tournament is the number of younger or less experienced players who have gotten to test their mettle against the masters and legends of U.S. chess. We'll see how those pairings turn out in the last hours.

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.

Author: Ken West, CCSCSL Championship Blogger

Gata Kamsky recently came down to the commentary room and was met with applause.  Kamsky can be pretty soft spoken. It was hard to hear much of his analysis. He was up two pawns late in the game. He is now one of two players with a perfect 2-0 score, still eligible for the Fischer Memorial prize for a perfect championship game.

Alexander Onischuk just did a great job of explaining his win over young Tyler Hughes. Onischuk said Hughes had him in trouble early in the opening. He said 8. Nd2 was a really good move by Hughes. Onischuk, playing black, said he had to play 8...Bd6 and later move the king up to protect that bishop.

Hughes played 11. Nc4 and Onischuk said Hughes had several good choices from there where he could have pressed for an advantage. But after 11...Ke7, Hughes used his bishop on g2 to take the black knight on c6. Onischuk said that was a mistake. In answer to the Internet moderator’s question, Onischuk agreed that Hughes did not understand that he hurt himself with the bishop for knight trade and that the ensuing pawn structure after black takes with the b pawn favors black. After 13...e4 Onischuk said he thought he was much better. He also thought that 15,NxBd6 was also a mistake. From that position he said he thought he had a win.

Then Ray Robson walked in after beating Boris Gulko. Sutovsky praised Robson, who is coached by Onischuk, for his opening preparation, and the rook to f4 maneuver. In answering Sutovsky’s question, Robson said he was familiar with the opening position from his chess studies.

IM Michael Brooks started a little slow at the mic during his follow-up with Jennifer Shahade and Emil Sutovsky, but he quickly warmed up during the analysis of his win over four-times US champ Alexander Shabalov.

During analysis he said Shabalov is known for playing ‘controversial chess.’ He said Shabalov’s king was exposed and a bishop was out of place. Brooks, who played the black pieces, said he has been on both sides of the Sicilian he played. He said he decided the variation is not good for white.

Brooks was asked about his preparation for the event. He last played in the US championship in 1990 under an elimination format, and was eliminated. Brooks said he got 14,000 games from the chess database to prepare for the tournament, but said he didn’t get a chance to look at all of them (no surprise there!). He also said he couldn’t find games for some of his tournaments. And, Brooks showed his old-school style. While Jennifer Shahade asked Brooks how he prepared, Brooks asked, “Do you have a computer?”
She seemed a bit surprised, but Brooks continued, “I don’t.”

Shahade then said Shabalov has a G phone where he can access his home computer. Sutovsky laughed and told the young players that by studying the old way, Brooks showed he is a strong chess player.

Live coverage by Shahade and Sutovsky is done for the day, but you can still watch on ICC and on saintlouischessclub.org .