The U.S. Nationwide Championships, held in St. Louis, topped three new champions. GM Christopher Yoo received the U.S. Junior Chess Championship, FM Jennifer Yu received the U.S. Ladies Junior Chess Championship, and GM Alexander Shabalov received the U.S. Senior Chess Championship.
The one winner determined within the preliminary 9 rounds was Yoo, who received with a degree forward of the sector with 7/9. Yu received a playoff towards WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki and FM Thalia Cervantes, whereas Shabalov defeated GM Larry Christiansen within the closing spherical of what began as a five-person playoff.
Yoo, who was awarded his grandmaster title earlier this yr, has added yet one more accolade to his arsenal on the age of 15. The match victory for the junior from California was the smoothest right here in comparison with the opposite sections, as he saved the lead for just about the whole occasion.
A minor disaster occurred after a loss in spherical seven to IM David Brodsky. However Yoo managed to win the subsequent sport vs. GM Abhimanyu Mishra, and a draw with IM Carissa Yip in spherical 9 secured the title comfortably.
The promising teenager from California earned $12,000, a $10,000 scholarship by U.S. Chess and Dewain Barber, and entry into the 2022 U.S. Championship.
An honorable point out has to go to GM Andrew Hong, who completed in second place however performed a variety of spectacular video games within the occasion. GM Rafael Leitao annotated the next—in his phrases—”masterpiece” within the Sicilian Najdorf.
U.S. Juniors 2022 | Remaining Standings
| Rk. | Title | Title | Rtg | FED | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts. |
| 1 | GM | Yoo Christopher Woojin | 2550 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.0 | |
| 2 | GM | Hong Andrew | 2504 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6.0 | |
| 3 | GM | Mishra Abhimanyu | 2553 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.0 | |
| 4 | IM | Daggupati Balaji | 2488 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.0 | |
| 5 | IM | Brodsky David | 2496 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4.5 | |
| 6 | IM | Wang Justin | 2469 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4.5 | |
| 7 | GM | Liang Awonder | 2625 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | |
| 8 | GM | Jacobson Brandon | 2544 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | |
| 9 | IM | Yip Carissa | 2416 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 2.5 | |
| 10 | NM | Espinosa Pedro | 2130 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 2.0 |
Morris-Suzuki dominated the Ladies division for a lot of the occasion. After spherical six, she even led with a two-point margin, having received each single certainly one of her six video games. In spherical seven, nonetheless, she suffered a defeat to the resurging Yu, who bounced again after dropping the earlier spherical herself to FM Rochelle Wu.
Morris-Suzuki received the next sport however misplaced once more in sport 9 to Cervantes, thus opening up the match to a three-player playoff.
The primary playoff, performed with 10 minutes and two-second increment, didn’t resolve a champion as all three ladies received their video games. It was determined within the blitz playoff (three minutes plus two-second increment for all sides), the place Yu claimed the nationwide title after successful each of her video games. A dramatic ending for positive, and a heartbreaker to Morris-Suzuki, who couldn’t have had a stronger begin.
Yu claimed the $6,000 prize, a $10,000 scholarship by U.S. Chess and Dewain Barber, and entry into the 2022 U.S. Girls’s Championship.
U.S. Junior Ladies 2022 | Remaining Standings
| Rk. | Title | Title | Rtg | FED | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts. |
| 1 | WGM | Yu Jennifer | 2268 | ½ | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 2 | WGM | Cervantes Landeiro Thalia | 2234 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 3 | WFM | Morris-Suzuki Sophie | 2055 | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4 | FM | Wu Rochelle | 2216 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | |
| 5 | FM | Lee Alice | 2288 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | |
| 6 | FM | Yan Ruiyang | 2248 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 3.5 | |
| 7 | WFM | Tang Zoey | 2133 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 0 | 1 | ½ | 2.5 | |
| 8 | WFM | Prasanna Gracy | 1956 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | 0 | 1 | 2.5 | |
| 9 | WIM | Wang Ellen | 2040 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | ½ | 2.5 | |
| 10 | WFM | Velea Anne-Marie | 1956 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 |
Christiansen appeared to have some possibilities of breaking away within the Senior match when he led by half a degree after spherical seven—till Shabalov introduced him right down to earth in spherical eight by capitalizing on a blunder shortly after transfer 40.
The match, which featured invited gamers aged 50 and older, instantly opened up, and no fewer than half the gamers within the match (5 out of 10!) tied for first with 5.5 after all of them drew their last-round video games.
Like within the Ladies part, the chief’s showstopper within the 9 rounds turned out to shine within the fast playoffs and steal the match. After playoffs that includes GMs Vladimir Akopian, Christiansen, Maxim Dlugy, Shabalov, and Dmitry Gurevich, Shabalov lastly overcame Christiansen after a significant (and dropping) oversight on transfer 51.
U.S. Senior 2022 | Remaining Standings
| Rk. | Title | Title | Rtg | FED | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts. |
| 1 | GM | Shabalov Alexander | 2510 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | |
| 2 | GM | Akopian Vladimir | 2620 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | |
| 3 | GM | Gurevich Dmitry | 2351 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | |
| 4 | GM | Christiansen Larry | 2577 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | |
| 5 | GM | Dlugy Maxim | 2513 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | |
| 6 | GM | Kaidanov Gregory | 2548 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5 | |
| 7 | GM | Benjamin Joel | 2496 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.5 | |
| 8 | GM | Novikov Igor | 2547 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 3 | |
| 9 | IM | Khmelnitsky Igor | 2472 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | * | ½ | 3 | |
| 10 | GM | De Firmian Nick | 2496 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 2 |
Shabalov earned $20,000 and the title of U.S. Senior Champion after ending within the prime spot of an exhilarating playoff.
