Round 8 - Saturday, May 16, 11:00 am
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| Board | White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating |
| 1. | GM Gata Kamsky (5) | 2798 | ½-½ | GM Alexander Onischuk (5) | 2736 |
| 2. | IM Robert Hess (5) | 2545 | 1-0 | GM Yury Shulman (4½) | 2697 |
| 3. | IM Michael Brooks (4) | 2419 | 0-1 | GM Hikaru Nakamura (5) | 2757 |
| 4. | GM Varuzhan Akobian (4½) | 2664 | 1-0 | GM Joel Benjamin (4) | 2650 |
| 5. | GM Joshua Friedel (4) | 2568 | 1-0 | GM Jaan Ehlvest (4) | 2649 |
| 6. | IM Ray Robson (3½) | 2542 | 1-0 | IM Enrico Sevillano (4) | 2549 |
| 7. | GM Gregory Kaidanov (3½) | 2662 | ½-½ | GM Ildar Ibragimov (3½) | 2628 |
| 8. | GM Larry Christiansen (3) | 2681 | 1-0 | Tyler Hughes (3) | 2293 |
| 9. | GM Boris Gulko (3) | 2631 | ½-½ | GM Julio Becerra (3) | 2672 |
| 10. | GM Alexander Shabalov (3) | 2620 | 1-0 | IM Irina Krush (3) | 2496 |
| 11. | GM Melikset Khachiyan (2½) | 2632 | 0-1 | FM Doug Eckert (1) | 2278 |
| 12. | Charles Lawton (0) | 2350 | ½-½ | IM Samuel Shankland (2½) | 2464 |
| Round 8 (May 16, 2009) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawton,Charles | - Shankland, Samuel L | ½-½ | 78 | B99 | Sicilian Najdorf |
| Khachiyan, Melikset | - Eckert, Doug D | 0-1 | 47 | B23 | Sicilian Closed |
| Shabalov, Alexander | - Krush, Irina | 1-0 | 24 | B97 | Sicilian Najdorf |
| Gulko, Boris F | - Becerra Rivero, Julio | ½-½ | 36 | E73 | King's Indian Averbakh |
| Christiansen, Larry M | - Hughes, Tyler B | 1-0 | 50 | B40 | Sicilian Classical |
| Kaidanov, Gregory S | - Ibragimov, Ildar | ½-½ | 33 | E00 | Catalan |
| Robson, Ray | - Sevillano, Enrico | 1-0 | 62 | C17 | French Winawer |
| Friedel, Joshua E | - Ehlvest, Jaan | 1-0 | 38 | B93 | Sicilian Najdorf with 6.f4 |
| Akobian, Varuzhan | - Benjamin, Joel | 1-0 | 47 | E15 | Queens Indian |
| Brooks, Michael A | - Nakamura, Hikaru | 0-1 | 34 | B33 | Sicilian Sveshnikov |
| Hess, Robert L | - Shulman, Yuri | 1-0 | 67 | C01 | French Exchange |
| Kamsky, Gata | - Onischuk, Alexander | ½-½ | 30 | C67 | Ruy Lopez Berlin |
Round 8 News and Media Coverage
VIDEO: 2009 US Chess Championship Wrap Up Round 8
Jennifer Shahade and Macauley Peterson review the eighth round of the US Chess Championship at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
YOUNG GUNS BATTLE FOR U.S. CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Saint. Louis, May 16 -- After eight rounds of tense competition at the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship, two young players enter the final round tied for the lead and the title.
Former champion and second seed Hikaru Nakamura, 21, of White Plains, N.Y., who in 2004 became the youngest player since Bobby Fischer to win the national title, was the first to take the lead in the penultimate round by beating Michael Brooks, of Kansas City, Mo. He has six points.