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Ben's Blog: U.S. wins again, seizes first place

By on January 11, 2010 in

The hero today, once again, was Hikaru Nakamura, who took a worse position and managed to win due to his opponent's time pressure. Nakamura's opponent, Vasilios Kotronias, blundered terribly on move 40, and Naka easily converted his extra rook.

Ben's Blog: USA shares lead with Russia

By on January 10, 2010 in

Solid draws on boards two and three meant a nice victory for the U.S. team, and now we can look seriously at fighting for gold! Russia squeaked by India by the smallest of margins, 2.5-1.5, whilst Armenia got crushed by giant killers Greece 3-1!

Ben's Blog: Hikaru leads U.S. to victory over Israel, Robson draw clutch

By on January 10, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=1769|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]The USA maintained its lead in match points with a powerhouse performance by our two horses, Hikaru Nakamura and Alexander Onischuk. Hikaru won in amazing style, sacrificing his queen all over the board! The threats were too much for World Cup Champion Boris Gelfand, who capitulated in only 33 moves with the white pieces. Oni was also his usual self on board two, putting the squeeze on American Swiss killer Ilya Smirin.

Once again, the U.S. team put in its youngsters, but Robert Hess got a worse position against a cagey veteran, 2009 U.S. Champion commentator ...

Ben's Blog: Good time had by all at Welcome Party

By on January 10, 2010 in

Luckily, our esteemed director, Ray Kurczynski, handled the directing job easily, and all rounds were started in a timely fashion. I was fortunate to go 6-0, and a four way for second place, with 5-1, instigated a playoff, which was won by resident blitz phenom Joe Garnier.

Ben's Blog: U.S. team back on track

By on January 08, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=1766|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Today, the U.S. team got back to its winning ways with a solid 3-1 victory over Egypt. Hikaru Nakamura and Yury Shulman took a rest today, so the reserves saw their first action, with Robert Hess and Ray Robson performing well. Hess won with white and Robson drew with black, and our first two boards, Alexander Onischuk and Varuzhan Akobian, followed suit. Onischuk is on fire with a blazing 3.5 points after four rounds.

The best game today was Hess' smooth victory over Mohamed Ezat on board three.

Field evens with Russian win and Azerbaijan loss

By on January 08, 2010 in

This round saw the end of perfect scores, as The U.S. team was beaten soundly by Russia, and, in a mild upset, Azerbaijan lost to India. In another upset, Egypt topped Greece, a team that must have had high hopes after their Herculean defeat of Russia in round two. The loss by Azerbaijan helped keep the field even. By match points, the U.S. team stays tied for the top, with a score of 2-1.

Ben's Blog: Russia Rebounds

By on January 07, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=1762|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]This round saw a setback for the U.S. team as Russia seemed out for blood after their painful loss to lowly Greece. The U.S. team had bad positions out of the opening on boards three and four, and could not recover. Hikaru Nakamura tried to get a murky position against Alexander Grischuk, but the Russian player kept things under control, and the game was relatively equal throughout.

Alexander Onischuk seemed to have a worse position against Alexander Morozevich, but ended up holding the draw in the end.

U.S. wins, Russia loses in World Team Championship

By on January 06, 2010 in

The United States team, sponsored by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, had another stellar performance in round two as they beat a powerful Indian team. Convincing wins from Hikaru Nakamura (2708) and Alexander Onischuk (2670) propelled the U.S. to an easy win against a powerhouse opponent.

Ben's Blog: Round two analysis with GM Ben Finegold

By on January 06, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=1758|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Round two of the WTC was quite nice for the U.S. Team, as we managed to win on boards one and two, and draw easily on boards three and four, a surprisingly easy win over a tough Indian team. Although Hikaru Nakamura's game was up and down, with both sides having the advantage throughout, our board two, Alexander Onischuk won quite easily with black against the usually very tough Pentala Harikrishna. Onischuk was better out of the opening and built up pressure relentlessly on the queenside, until his two extra passed pawns were simply too much for white to handle. A dream start for the U.S. Team, two wins of 3-1. Can we make it three in a row tomorrow?

2010 U.S. Championship dates shift to May 13-25

By on January 06, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=1723|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]SAINT LOUIS -- The dates for the 2010 U.S. Championship have shifted. The tournament is now scheduled from May 13-25 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The U.S. Championship will have a larger prize fund than the 2009 tournament with more than $170,000 up for grabs.

The U.S. Championship was rescheduled to prevent overlapping with the World Championship match between Veselin Topalov and Viswanathan Anand in Bulgaria in order to ensure the highest quality of coverage.