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4/10/2017 – While the men's event will need to wait for the playoff on Monday to decide between Wesley So and Alexander Onischuk, the US Women's championship ended in a fairy tale win for Sabina Foisor. Both she and Nazi Paikidze were tied for the lead, but while Paikidze succumbed to Jennifer Yu, Sabina Foisor ended her incredible campaign with a spectacular queen sacrifice to mate her opponent and win the championship! Report and analysis by Alex Yermolinsky | All photos by Lennart Ootes

Round 11 on 2017/04/09 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 6 2668 GM Robson Ray 0 - 1 GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru 1 - 0 GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 3 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery ½ - ½ GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 4 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata ½ - ½ GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 5 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel ½ - ½ GM So Wesley 2822 2 6 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander ½ - ½ GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1

"One Has to Have A Little Bit Extra Left for the Last Round"

That's what Alexander Onischuk said yesterday when asked if he had enough gas left in the tank. That's the way of chess competition – players measure themselves by tournament victories, not individual games. Ask Yaro Zherebukh how he feels now. I bet he would trade his win over Caruana for a just a measly half a point added to his total score that would have left him with a chance to win the title.

As it was, only Caruana and Nakamura had that ghost of a chance, but they needed help. A lot of it, as all the three leaders had to lose their games to make a five-way possible. Wesley So made sure it won't happen by taking a quick draw against Naroditsky, using the old, tried-and-true, strategy made famous by Tigran Petrosian in his victorious Candidates tournament in 1963. Wesley obviously felt good about his chances in a possible rapid chess tiebreak.

Keeping it simple, Wesley So steered the game to a quick draw

Let's see how So' competitors responded. First, Kamsky-Onischuk was agreed drawn after about 30 moves of quiet play. Alexander's trademark realistic approach has served him well for 25 years of his career, and he saw no reason to tweak it today, particularly since Gata is still a formidable opponent. Maybe, in a different situation, if Kamsky had chances to do something in the tournament the game would have taken a different course.

It almost looked like Gata Kamsky might make things hard on Alexander Onischuk, but in the end, it was a draw

Varuzhan Akobian's job didn't get any easier as he went by Caruana and the rest of competition. The luck of the draw handed him the black pieces against a very angry (in a chess sense, or course) Hikaru Nakamura.

Hikaru Nakamura vs Varuzhan Akobian

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 Nbd7 7. d4 e6 { A little timid.} ({According to general principles of development and control over the center} 7... e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5 9. Bg2 Bc5 {has to be the right plan.}) 8. Nd2 Be7 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. c3 O-O 14. Qe2 Rfe8 15. Kh2 Rad8 16. b4 a5 {Black has to seek some counterplay somewhere.} 17. bxa5 $6 ({As far as I can see there was nothing wrong with} 17. a3 $14) 17... Qxa5 18. Bd2 Qa4 19. Rfb1 Rd7 20. Rb3 Rc8 21. Be1 b5 22. Rc1 c5 $2 {Akobiam worried about c3-c4, but the remedy could be worse than the disease.} ({ Black had an interesting idea in} 22... Qc4 23. Qxc4 bxc4 {From the first sight it seems like this pawn is going to fall, but after} 24. Rbb1 Ra7 25. Bf1 Ra4 {Black manages to stabilize the situation which is not entirely unfavorable for him, as White's Be1 will be dominated by Black's Nd5.}) 23. d5 $2 {One of those moves Hikaru would have a hard time explaining.} (23. dxc5 Rxc5 24. Rcb1 {would pick off the loose b5-pawn and let Black worry about his compensation.}) 23... exd5 24. Rxb5 c4 {Suddenly, Black is for choice.} 25. Rcb1 Bd6 26. Qd1 {This was the only move in the entire game Hikaru took considerable time on.} ({He didn't want to part with the a-pawn:} 26. Bd2 Qxa2 27. Qd1 {which objectively may have been the better choice.}) ({while} 26. Qb2 {decentralizes the queen, and likely will be harshly punished by} h5 $1 {etc.}) 26... Qxd1 $4 {The marks go for taking a wrong turn at a critical junction. It is mainly a mental error of trying to "escape" with a draw from a better position.} (26... Qa7 {just had to be played. Regardless of a tournament situation Black needs to keep his queen on the board. Varuzhan just couldn't bring myself to taking any risk, and I wonder why. Wasn't a chance to win it all worth trying?} 27. a4 Re8 28. a5 $2 Rde7 {is one sample line which illustrates Black's potential.}) 27. Rxd1 Be7 28. a4 Ra8 29. a5 Bd8 30. Ra1 Rda7 31. Bxd5 Nxd5 32. Rxd5 Bxa5 33. Bd2 h6 34. Be3 Ra6 35. Ra3 Bc7 36. Rxa6 Rxa6 37. Rc5 Bd6 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Rxc4 Be5 40. Rc8 Ra3 ({For better or worse Black had to try something like} 40... g5 41. c4 Kg6 42. Kg2 f5) 41. c4 Kg6 $2 42. Kg2 h5 43. Re8 $1 {A great one from Nakamura.} f6 44. Re7 $1 {Now the black king is tied down to g7, and it really looks bad for Black.} Rc3 45. c5 Kh7 $2 46. Kf1 Rc4 47. Ke2 Kg6 48. Kd3 Rc3+ 49. Ke4 h4 50. g4 Bh2 51. f4 Rc2 52. Kd3 Ra2 53. c6 Ra6 54. c7 Rc6 55. Kd4 f5 56. Kd5 1-0 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 Nbd7 7. d4 e6 { A little timid.} ({According to general principles of development and control over the center} 7... e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5 9. Bg2 Bc5 {has to be the right plan.}) 8. Nd2 Be7 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. c3 O-O 14. Qe2 Rfe8 15. Kh2 Rad8 16. b4 a5 {Black has to seek some counterplay somewhere.} 17. bxa5 $6 ({As far as I can see there was nothing wrong with} 17. a3 $14) 17... Qxa5 18. Bd2 Qa4 19. Rfb1 Rd7 20. Rb3 Rc8 21. Be1 b5 22. Rc1 c5 $2 {Akobiam worried about c3-c4, but the remedy could be worse than the disease.} ({ Black had an interesting idea in} 22... Qc4 23. Qxc4 bxc4 {From the first sight it seems like this pawn is going to fall, but after} 24. Rbb1 Ra7 25. Bf1 Ra4 {Black manages to stabilize the situation which is not entirely unfavorable for him, as White's Be1 will be dominated by Black's Nd5.}) 23. d5 $2 {One of those moves Hikaru would have a hard time explaining.} (23. dxc5 Rxc5 24. Rcb1 {would pick off the loose b5-pawn and let Black worry about his compensation.}) 23... exd5 24. Rxb5 c4 {Suddenly, Black is for choice.} 25. Rcb1 Bd6 26. Qd1 {This was the only move in the entire game Hikaru took considerable time on.} ({He didn't want to part with the a-pawn:} 26. Bd2 Qxa2 27. Qd1 {which objectively may have been the better choice.}) ({while} 26. Qb2 {decentralizes the queen, and likely will be harshly punished by} h5 $1 {etc.}) 26... Qxd1 $4 {The marks go for taking a wrong turn at a critical junction. It is mainly a mental error of trying to "escape" with a draw from a better position.} (26... Qa7 {just had to be played. Regardless of a tournament situation Black needs to keep his queen on the board. Varuzhan just couldn't bring myself to taking any risk, and I wonder why. Wasn't a chance to win it all worth trying?} 27. a4 Re8 28. a5 $2 Rde7 {is one sample line which illustrates Black's potential.}) 27. Rxd1 Be7 28. a4 Ra8 29. a5 Bd8 30. Ra1 Rda7 31. Bxd5 Nxd5 32. Rxd5 Bxa5 33. Bd2 h6 34. Be3 Ra6 35. Ra3 Bc7 36. Rxa6 Rxa6 37. Rc5 Bd6 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Rxc4 Be5 40. Rc8 Ra3 ({For better or worse Black had to try something like} 40... g5 41. c4 Kg6 42. Kg2 f5) 41. c4 Kg6 $2 42. Kg2 h5 43. Re8 $1 {A great one from Nakamura.} f6 44. Re7 $1 {Now the black king is tied down to g7, and it really looks bad for Black.} Rc3 45. c5 Kh7 $2 46. Kf1 Rc4 47. Ke2 Kg6 48. Kd3 Rc3+ 49. Ke4 h4 50. g4 Bh2 51. f4 Rc2 52. Kd3 Ra2 53. c6 Ra6 54. c7 Rc6 55. Kd4 f5 56. Kd5 1-0

Despite a disappointing end of his 2017 Championship campaign Varuzhan Akobian has nothing to be ashamed of. He proved once again that he is a true warrior through and through. Will he ever get that elusive US Championship title? Ask Varuzhan, maybe he'll do a credible impersonation of his famous fellow Californian, “I'll be back” with the bicep flex and all.

Akobian knows how big a chance he had

Throughout the tournament Ray Robson struggled with inconsistent play. Some flashes of brilliance – the Shabalov game comes to mind – and then the next game brings a series of long reflections, indecisiveness and self-doubt. Today, he had a chance to go for glory against the scuffling Fabiano Caruana, and failed to capitalize.

Ray Robson vs Fabiano Caruana

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Qa5 8. a3 cxd4 9. b4 Qc7 10. cxd4 b5 {Obviously Black prepares his counterattack with a7-a5.} 11. Nf4 $6 {and White ignores it.} ({The right way to play this position was already shown by Morozevich:} 11. Bd2 Qb6 (11... Nb6 12. Nf4) 12. Rb1 $1 {Prophylaxis! I wonder if Fabiano would have found it necessary to go one anyway:} a5 $5 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Bxa5 Qxa5+ 15. Qd2 Qxa3 {is an interesting sacrifice.}) 11... Qb6 12. Rb1 a5 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Bd3 Ba6 15. O-O Bxa3 16. Be3 $2 {Ray was right to let go off the a-pawn, but his last move marks the beginning of a slow, plodding plan that fails to put any pressure on Fabiano's position.} (16. Ng5 $1 {is a standard probing move. Only after} g6 ( 16... Nxd4 $6 17. Be3 Bc5 18. Qh5 Nxe5 19. Ngxe6 {Ray Robson knows how to handle such positions.}) (16... Qxd4 $2 17. Nfxe6 {simply wins for White}) { White will play} 17. Be3 {and then} Be7 18. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 19. Qf3 {becomes a distinct possibility.}) 16... Be7 $1 {No more Ng5.} 17. Qd2 $2 ({For better or worse} 17. h4 O-O 18. Ng5 {even though after} Bxg5 19. hxg5 b4 {I cannot make White's attack work:} 20. Bxh7+ ({or} 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bxh7+ Kf7 22. Qh5+ Ke7 23. Rfd1) 20... Kxh7 21. Nxe6 Kg8 22. Nxf8 Nxf8 {comes up short.}) 17... g6 18. Rfc1 b4 19. h4 Ra3 20. Bxa6 Qxa6 21. Nh3 Na5 {Black is way ahead already, and Ray's gallant attempts in his own time trouble were ruthlessly brushed away by Fabiano's impeccable calculation.} 22. Bg5 Nb3 23. Rxb3 Rxb3 24. Qe2 Qa8 25. Qb5 Rc3 $1 26. Rxc3 bxc3 27. Bxe7 Qa1+ 28. Kh2 Kxe7 29. Qb4+ Kd8 30. Nfg5 Rf8 31. Nxh7 c2 32. Nxf8 c1=Q 33. Nxd7 Kxd7 34. Qd6+ Kc8 35. Qf8+ Kb7 36. Qxf7+ Qc7 37. Qxg6 Qxd4 38. f4 Qe4 39. Qxe6 Qg7 40. g4 Qc7 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Qa5 8. a3 cxd4 9. b4 Qc7 10. cxd4 b5 {Obviously Black prepares his counterattack with a7-a5.} 11. Nf4 $6 {and White ignores it.} ({The right way to play this position was already shown by Morozevich:} 11. Bd2 Qb6 (11... Nb6 12. Nf4) 12. Rb1 $1 {Prophylaxis! I wonder if Fabiano would have found it necessary to go one anyway:} a5 $5 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Bxa5 Qxa5+ 15. Qd2 Qxa3 {is an interesting sacrifice.}) 11... Qb6 12. Rb1 a5 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Bd3 Ba6 15. O-O Bxa3 16. Be3 $2 {Ray was right to let go off the a-pawn, but his last move marks the beginning of a slow, plodding plan that fails to put any pressure on Fabiano's position.} (16. Ng5 $1 {is a standard probing move. Only after} g6 ( 16... Nxd4 $6 17. Be3 Bc5 18. Qh5 Nxe5 19. Ngxe6 {Ray Robson knows how to handle such positions.}) (16... Qxd4 $2 17. Nfxe6 {simply wins for White}) { White will play} 17. Be3 {and then} Be7 18. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 19. Qf3 {becomes a distinct possibility.}) 16... Be7 $1 {No more Ng5.} 17. Qd2 $2 ({For better or worse} 17. h4 O-O 18. Ng5 {even though after} Bxg5 19. hxg5 b4 {I cannot make White's attack work:} 20. Bxh7+ ({or} 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bxh7+ Kf7 22. Qh5+ Ke7 23. Rfd1) 20... Kxh7 21. Nxe6 Kg8 22. Nxf8 Nxf8 {comes up short.}) 17... g6 18. Rfc1 b4 19. h4 Ra3 20. Bxa6 Qxa6 21. Nh3 Na5 {Black is way ahead already, and Ray's gallant attempts in his own time trouble were ruthlessly brushed away by Fabiano's impeccable calculation.} 22. Bg5 Nb3 23. Rxb3 Rxb3 24. Qe2 Qa8 25. Qb5 Rc3 $1 26. Rxc3 bxc3 27. Bxe7 Qa1+ 28. Kh2 Kxe7 29. Qb4+ Kd8 30. Nfg5 Rf8 31. Nxh7 c2 32. Nxf8 c1=Q 33. Nxd7 Kxd7 34. Qd6+ Kc8 35. Qf8+ Kb7 36. Qxf7+ Qc7 37. Qxg6 Qxd4 38. f4 Qe4 39. Qxe6 Qg7 40. g4 Qc7 0-1

Jeffery Xiong, like many other less fortunate competitors of this year's Championship, just wanted to put this whole thing past him. An uneventful draw with Yaro Zherebukh, left the tail-ender Shabalov a chance to catch up. For a long time it seemed that Alex was in a position to do just that, as his tricky move order against Sam Shankland's Sicilian netted him a quick gain of a pawn. Well, when it rains it pours, and poor Shabba couldn't convert a situation where White had the extra pawn and the compensation, as in famous quip by Roman Dzindzi.

There will be a playoff on Monday.

Men's standings after eleven rounds

(Click for full size)

Round 11 on 2017/04/09 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 6 2173 WIM Nguyen Emily ½ - ½ WGM Nemcova Katerina 2359 12 2 7 2369 IM Paikidze Nazi 0 - 1 WIM Yu Jennifer R 2196 5 3 8 2451 IM Zatonskih Anna ½ - ½ WGM Abrahamyan Tatev 2364 4 4 9 2262 WFM Virkud Apurva 0 - 1 WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2272 3 5 10 2234 WFM Yip Carissa ½ - ½ WCM Feng Maggie 2162 2 6 11 2444 GM Krush Irina ½ - ½ WGM Sharevich Anna 2257 1

Fittingly, the women's side contributed more drama to the tale of the last round. Two players, Sabina Foisor and Nazi Paikidze, had the field for themselves, as the closest pursuit was a full point behind.

Nazi looked like the favorite for a while, but in the end could not keep up, and finished second

Sabina came as more than just an underdog, she came almost as a hero in a Greek tragedy. In spite of repeated participation in the US Women’s Championship, she had consistently performed below her ability, yet in spite of this never gave up. This was in no small part thanks to her mother, Romanian IM Cristina Foisor, herself a five-time Romanian Women’s champion, who always encouraged her daughter, always supported her.

In fact, in 2016, Sabina had found herself in an awkward position when having recently gotten a job at the university, asked her supervisor for a leave of absence to play in the US Women’s championship. She had expected him to be sympathetic as he himself was a weak amateur player, but instead he refused, saying it wasn’t as if she actually had a chance to win it. She left her job, and played.

Cristina Adela Foisor (photo from the family album)

This year, Sabina had other things on her plate as her mother passed away just before the Women’s World Championship, just 49 years old, losing her battle with cancer. With no special preparation, she came with just the expectation of another championship, where the two top seeds held 11 titles and the reigning champion as well as runner-up from 2016 were sure to be in the fight for the podium. On the other side of the spectrum, there were the young names fighting for their own stakes such as Jennifer Yu and Clarissa Yip. Among the pundits, Sabina was literally one of the last names on the radar.

Yet, like every great comeback tale, every tale of redemption, whether it be Miracle on Ice, when the Americans won the gold at Lake Placid in ice hockey, or the amazing 110-foot shot by Larry Mize to win the 1987 Master in golf, Sabina defied all the odds and predictions.

Larry Mize was a massive underdog at the 1987 Masters, the top golf event, and faced Greg Norman, a player who was no. 1 for 331 weeks total. It all came down to this one miracle shot.

Out of six games with white, Sabina came out on top all six times, including a truly wild round ten when both leaders, herself and Nazi Paikidze, found themselves alternately dead lost and won, until ultimately they alone were left standing.

On paper, the last round favored the reigning champion for several reasons: she had white, whereas Foisor would be playing black, and while Paikidze’s opponent was nearly 200 Elo less, Foisor’s opponent was a mere 10 Elo away. But the tale of the tape has never been a better indicator than grit and determination, and like every good fairy tale, this one ended in a spectacular finale befitting all that had led up to this moment.

Ed: This was the sort of excitement your author felt as he Skyped messages throughout

Sabina Foisor wrapping up her brilliant campaign with a queen sacrifice to mate her opponent

Apurva Virkud vs Sabina Foisor

[Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Virkud, Apurva"] [Black "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E39"] [WhiteElo "2262"] [BlackElo "2272"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. c6 {This paradoxical move was invented by Morozevich. As with most of Alexander's ideas it's good for him and for everyone else.} bxc6 8. g3 d5 9. Bd2 $2 {Case in point. When playing c5-c6 White has to realize she's giving the opponent a strong center, which should not be allowed to expand under any circumstances.} (9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Ne4 11. Qc2 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Nxd2 13. Nxd2 dxc4 14. Bg2 c3 { is a book line.}) (9. Bg2 d4 10. a3 Ba5 11. b4 Nxb4 12. axb4 Bxb4 13. Bd2 dxc3 14. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 15. Qxc3 {is a promising pawn sacrifice.}) 9... d4 $1 10. Ne4 Rb8 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Bg2 e5 $15 13. O-O Bf5 14. Qc1 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 (15. Nxd2 { would at least slow down e5-e4.}) 15... h6 16. Qa5 c5 17. b3 e4 18. Nd2 Rfe8 $17 19. Rad1 Rb6 $5 {Sensing Apurva's indecisiveness Sabina moves in for a quick kill.} ({Objectively speaking,} 19... Qb6 20. Qxb6 axb6 21. a3 Rbd8 { was a safer choice.}) 20. Nb1 (20. e3 d3 21. a3 Bg6 22. f3 exf3 23. Rde1 { would offer a fighting chance.}) 20... Qe7 21. e3 Bg4 22. Rd2 Nb4 $1 23. exd4 ( 23. a3 Nc6 24. Qa4 Reb8 25. b4) 23... e3 $1 {A very energetic move, Sabina played like a Champion.} 24. fxe3 Qxe3+ 25. Kh1 Rf6 $1 26. Rg1 {[#] and now, a powerful finish.} Qxg1+ $3 27. Kxg1 Re1+ 28. Bf1 Rfxf1+ 29. Kg2 Rg1+ 30. Kf2 Ref1+ 31. Ke3 Rf3+ 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Virkud, Apurva"] [Black "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E39"] [WhiteElo "2262"] [BlackElo "2272"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. c6 {This paradoxical move was invented by Morozevich. As with most of Alexander's ideas it's good for him and for everyone else.} bxc6 8. g3 d5 9. Bd2 $2 {Case in point. When playing c5-c6 White has to realize she's giving the opponent a strong center, which should not be allowed to expand under any circumstances.} (9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Ne4 11. Qc2 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Nxd2 13. Nxd2 dxc4 14. Bg2 c3 { is a book line.}) (9. Bg2 d4 10. a3 Ba5 11. b4 Nxb4 12. axb4 Bxb4 13. Bd2 dxc3 14. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 15. Qxc3 {is a promising pawn sacrifice.}) 9... d4 $1 10. Ne4 Rb8 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Bg2 e5 $15 13. O-O Bf5 14. Qc1 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 (15. Nxd2 { would at least slow down e5-e4.}) 15... h6 16. Qa5 c5 17. b3 e4 18. Nd2 Rfe8 $17 19. Rad1 Rb6 $5 {Sensing Apurva's indecisiveness Sabina moves in for a quick kill.} ({Objectively speaking,} 19... Qb6 20. Qxb6 axb6 21. a3 Rbd8 { was a safer choice.}) 20. Nb1 (20. e3 d3 21. a3 Bg6 22. f3 exf3 23. Rde1 { would offer a fighting chance.}) 20... Qe7 21. e3 Bg4 22. Rd2 Nb4 $1 23. exd4 ( 23. a3 Nc6 24. Qa4 Reb8 25. b4) 23... e3 $1 {A very energetic move, Sabina played like a Champion.} 24. fxe3 Qxe3+ 25. Kh1 Rf6 $1 26. Rg1 {[#] and now, a powerful finish.} Qxg1+ $3 27. Kxg1 Re1+ 28. Bf1 Rfxf1+ 29. Kg2 Rg1+ 30. Kf2 Ref1+ 31. Ke3 Rf3+ 0-1

Sabina Foisor leaves the venue with her fiancé and coach, GM Elshan Moradiabadi

It was a long time coming for Sabina Foisor. Seven years of competing in National Championships, many tours of duty to Chess Olympiads and World Teams, and finally she gets what she deserves. Remarkably, it came soon after Sabina suffered a terrible personal loss. Congratulations!

Nazi Paikidze won the title last year on the strength of a great last round victory over Irina Krush. This year, Nazi just couldn't summon that magic at the finish line.

Nazi Paikidze was feeling the heat now as she knew her rival had won, and anything less would mean silver at best

Nazi Paikidze vs Jennifer Yu

[Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer R"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D23"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2196"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qb3 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bf5 6. g3 e6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. e3 O-O 10. Qe2 h6 11. Nc3 Ne4 12. Nd2 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 {A good, solid opening play is just what's needed for those nerve-racking last round situations.} e5 14. d5 cxd5 $6 {Hardly an improvement.} ({on the previously known} 14... Nb6 15. e4 Bd7 16. Rfd1 $14 {Lputjan-Smyslov, 1993.}) 15. Nxd5 Bd6 16. Nc3 {This is where it began: a meandering, aimless play that doomed Nazi in this critical game.} (16. Rfd1 Rc8 17. Bc3 {and double up on the d-file.}) 16... Nc5 17. e4 Be6 18. Rfd1 ({Wasn't} 18. f4 Qb6 19. Be3 {worth a look? She probably worried about} Qa6 {but then the simple} 20. Qxa6 (20. Qh5 Nd7 21. f5 Nf6 22. Qh4 Bc4 {indeed would backfire on White}) 20... Nxa6 21. f5 Bc4 22. Rfd1 Rfd8 23. b3 Bb4 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Rc1 {looks mighty good for for White.}) 18... Qe7 19. Be3 Rfd8 20. Rac1 Rac8 21. Rc2 $6 {Continuing in the same inconvincing manner.} (21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. exd5 {I guess Nazi didn't like the pawn structure here, but} f5 23. Bh3 {would pose tactical problems.}) 21... b6 22. Rdc1 Nb7 23. Nd5 Qd7 24. Rd1 Rxc2 25. Qxc2 Rc8 26. Qd2 Qc6 27. Bf1 Qa4 28. Nc3 Qa5 29. a3 Bb3 30. Rc1 {By this time Foisor had already won her game.} ({ More reason to try something like} 30. Nb5 Bxd1 31. Qxd1 {although} Rd8 $1 32. b4 Bxb4 33. axb4 Rxd1 34. bxa5 Nxa5 35. Kg2 Nc6 {looks somewhat better for Black.}) 30... Rd8 31. Qe2 Bc5 $11 32. Bd2 Bc4 $1 {Jennifer doesn't mess around.} 33. Qe1 Bxf1 34. Kxf1 Qa6+ 35. Kg2 (35. Qe2 Qxe2+ 36. Kxe2 Bxf2 37. b4 {as Nazi's last chance to create an unbalanced position.}) 35... Qd3 $1 36. Rd1 Qc2 37. b4 Bf8 38. Nd5 Nd6 39. Bc1 Rc8 {Just like that White's game is completely gone.} 40. Kg1 Qxe4 41. Qf1 Nf5 42. Be3 Rc6 43. Qd3 Qxd3 44. Rxd3 Rd6 45. b5 Nd4 46. Nb4 Nxb5 47. a4 Rxd3 48. Nxd3 Nc3 49. Nxe5 Nxa4 50. Nc6 a5 51. Ne5 Bc5 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer R"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D23"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2196"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qb3 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bf5 6. g3 e6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. e3 O-O 10. Qe2 h6 11. Nc3 Ne4 12. Nd2 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 {A good, solid opening play is just what's needed for those nerve-racking last round situations.} e5 14. d5 cxd5 $6 {Hardly an improvement.} ({on the previously known} 14... Nb6 15. e4 Bd7 16. Rfd1 $14 {Lputjan-Smyslov, 1993.}) 15. Nxd5 Bd6 16. Nc3 {This is where it began: a meandering, aimless play that doomed Nazi in this critical game.} (16. Rfd1 Rc8 17. Bc3 {and double up on the d-file.}) 16... Nc5 17. e4 Be6 18. Rfd1 ({Wasn't} 18. f4 Qb6 19. Be3 {worth a look? She probably worried about} Qa6 {but then the simple} 20. Qxa6 (20. Qh5 Nd7 21. f5 Nf6 22. Qh4 Bc4 {indeed would backfire on White}) 20... Nxa6 21. f5 Bc4 22. Rfd1 Rfd8 23. b3 Bb4 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Rc1 {looks mighty good for for White.}) 18... Qe7 19. Be3 Rfd8 20. Rac1 Rac8 21. Rc2 $6 {Continuing in the same inconvincing manner.} (21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. exd5 {I guess Nazi didn't like the pawn structure here, but} f5 23. Bh3 {would pose tactical problems.}) 21... b6 22. Rdc1 Nb7 23. Nd5 Qd7 24. Rd1 Rxc2 25. Qxc2 Rc8 26. Qd2 Qc6 27. Bf1 Qa4 28. Nc3 Qa5 29. a3 Bb3 30. Rc1 {By this time Foisor had already won her game.} ({ More reason to try something like} 30. Nb5 Bxd1 31. Qxd1 {although} Rd8 $1 32. b4 Bxb4 33. axb4 Rxd1 34. bxa5 Nxa5 35. Kg2 Nc6 {looks somewhat better for Black.}) 30... Rd8 31. Qe2 Bc5 $11 32. Bd2 Bc4 $1 {Jennifer doesn't mess around.} 33. Qe1 Bxf1 34. Kxf1 Qa6+ 35. Kg2 (35. Qe2 Qxe2+ 36. Kxe2 Bxf2 37. b4 {as Nazi's last chance to create an unbalanced position.}) 35... Qd3 $1 36. Rd1 Qc2 37. b4 Bf8 38. Nd5 Nd6 39. Bc1 Rc8 {Just like that White's game is completely gone.} 40. Kg1 Qxe4 41. Qf1 Nf5 42. Be3 Rc6 43. Qd3 Qxd3 44. Rxd3 Rd6 45. b5 Nd4 46. Nb4 Nxb5 47. a4 Rxd3 48. Nxd3 Nc3 49. Nxe5 Nxa4 50. Nc6 a5 51. Ne5 Bc5 0-1

Big thanks to all 24 participants of the U.S. Championships for their great efforts. There are always going to be winners and losers, but I love you all!

Women's standings after eleven rounds

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US Championship pairings/results

Round 1 on 2017/03/29 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L ½ - ½ GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 2 2822 GM So Wesley 1 - 0 GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 3 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander ½ - ½ GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 4 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav ½ - ½ GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 5 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan ½ - ½ GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 6 6 2668 GM Robson Ray 0 - 1 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 Round 2 on 2017/03/30 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 12 2817 GM Caruana Fabiano ½ - ½ GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 2 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery ½ - ½ GM Robson Ray 2668 6 3 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata 0 - 1 GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 4 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel ½ - ½ GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 5 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander 0 - 1 GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 6 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L ½ - ½ GM So Wesley 2822 2 Round 3 on 2017/03/31 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 2 2822 GM So Wesley ½ - ½ GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander ½ - ½ GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1 3 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 1 - 0 GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 4 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan 0 - 1 GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 5 6 2668 GM Robson Ray 1 - 0 GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 6 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru ½ - ½ GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 Round 4 on 2017/04/01 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 12 2817 GM Caruana Fabiano ½ - ½ GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 2 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata ½ - ½ GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 3 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel ½ - ½ GM Robson Ray 2668 6 4 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander ½ - ½ GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 5 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L ½ - ½ GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 6 2 2822 GM So Wesley 1 - 0 GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 Round 5 on 2017/04/02 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander ½ - ½ GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav ½ - ½ GM So Wesley 2822 2 3 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan 1 - 0 GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1 4 6 2668 GM Robson Ray 1 - 0 GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 5 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru ½ - ½ GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 6 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery 0 - 1 GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 Round 6 on 2017/04/04 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 12 2817 GM Caruana Fabiano 1 - 0 GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 2 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel ½ - ½ GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 3 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander ½ - ½ GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 4 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L 1 - 0 GM Robson Ray 2668 6 5 2 2822 GM So Wesley ½ - ½ GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 6 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander ½ - ½ GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 Round 7 on 2017/04/05 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 1 - 0 GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan ½ - ½ GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 3 6 2668 GM Robson Ray ½ - ½ GM So Wesley 2822 2 4 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru ½ - ½ GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1 5 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery 0 - 1 GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 6 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata 1 - 0 GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 Round 8 on 2017/04/06 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 12 2817 GM Caruana Fabiano 1 - 0 GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 2 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander ½ - ½ GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 3 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L 0 - 1 GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 4 2 2822 GM So Wesley ½ - ½ GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 5 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander 1 - 0 GM Robson Ray 2668 6 6 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 0 - 1 GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 Round 9 on 2017/04/07 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan 1 - 0 GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 6 2668 GM Robson Ray ½ - ½ GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 3 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru 0 - 1 GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 4 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery 0 - 1 GM So Wesley 2822 2 5 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata ½ - ½ GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1 6 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel ½ - ½ GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 Round 10 on 2017/04/08 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 12 2817 GM Caruana Fabiano 1 - 0 GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 2 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L ½ - ½ GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 3 2 2822 GM So Wesley ½ - ½ GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 4 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander 1 - 0 GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 5 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 0 - 1 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 6 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan ½ - ½ GM Robson Ray 2668 6 Round 11 on 2017/04/09 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 6 2668 GM Robson Ray 0 - 1 GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru 1 - 0 GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 3 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery ½ - ½ GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 4 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata ½ - ½ GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 5 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel ½ - ½ GM So Wesley 2822 2 6 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander ½ - ½ GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1

US Women's Championship pairings/results