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Kamsky, Krush Repeat as U.S. Chess Champions

You were expecting someone else?

The tight drama of the 2014 U.S. Championships turned out to be all for show. Several of the nation’s top 22 players took turns stealing headlines and taking their shots at the top, but when the dust of the near two-week long fight cleared, the two champions left standing were the same two champions as before.

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The End is Near: Armageddon Looms in U.S. Championships Finale

SAINT LOUIS (May 19, 2014) -- The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as a “vast, decisive conflict or confrontation.” The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis agrees.

Armageddon will hit Saint Louis on Tuesday, as the 2014 U.S. Chess Championships spill into overtime for one final day of reckoning. Both tournaments have gone fully around-the-robin, seeing 11 rounds of play in the U.S. Championship and 9 rounds of play in the U.S. Women’s Championship - but America’s top chess talent refuses to stop fighting.

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 Alex Lenderman drew Varuzhan Akobian in the final round of regulation at the U.S Championship. The two will play an Armageddon game to determine who faces reigning champ Gata Kamsky for the title. Image Credit: Lennart Ootes

Six in Title Contention in Final Round of U.S. Championships

SAINT LOUIS (May 19, 2014) -- Three has become a crowd.

Monday brings the final round for the 2014 U.S. Chess Championships and, in both races, three players are crowding the finish line. In the U.S. Championship, leaders Varuzhan Akobian and Aleksandr Lenderman (6.5/10) were able to break away from the pack over the weekend, but could not shake each other after both drawing their respective games on Sunday.

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GM Varuzhan Akobian

Logjam Atop Leaderboards at U.S. Championships

SAINT LOUIS (May 18, 2014) -- Irina Krush has decided to play this one out.

Only one round remains in the 2014 U.S. Women’s Championship, though for a moment, it wasn’t entirely clear the extra day would be needed. The five-time reigning champion Krush skidded into the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon, having just suffered three straight draws and falling a full point behind the leader’s pace.

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Irina Krush Image

Akobian, Zatonskih Create Space; 2014 U.S. Women’s Title On the Line

SAINT LOUIS (May 17, 2014) -- Rest days are meant for relaxation and preparation, a chance to collect one’s self and focus on the finish line. It’s a time to tighten up your stride for the home stretch.

But nobody got the memo in Saint Louis.

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Akobian U.S. Championship

Eswaran Steals the Show in Round 1 of U.S. Champs

 

SAINT LOUIS (May 9, 2014) -- Lights! Camera! Quick-draw??

Eyes rolled on the first day of the 2014 U.S. Championship when the marquee matchup -- a fireworks-filled kickoff between top-seeds Timur Gareev and Gata Kamsky -- finished after 14 moves and only 40 minutes in a draw-by-repetition, starting a trend of half-points through an anti-climactic first round.

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U.S. Senate Names Saint Louis “Chess Capital"

U.S. Senate passes resolution days before the start of the nation’s most prestigious tournaments SAINT LOUIS, May 6, 2014 – On the eve of hosting the most prestigious chess tournaments in the nation, St. Louis received national recognition from the United States Senate, which passed an official resolution late Monday night naming St. Louis the National Chess Capital.

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Webster U, University of Illinois Make Chess Final Four

This story was originally published on stlpublicradio.org on January 1.

Everybody loves a good Cinderella story. There’s something about seeing the underdog prevail that gives people hope a fairy tale ending is actually possible.

When the top four collegiate chess teams come together in New York City in April, a champion looks to repeat while an unlikely contender hopes simply to keep the magic going.

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Smith Defeats GM Friedel in Simul

Preston Smith, the self-proclaimed "Champ!", gave Grandmaster Josh Friedel all he could handle at a 9-person simultaneous exhibition held at the Chess Club on Saturday, December 28.

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