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Last year Komodo won the world championship title on two occasions and can call itself â€œ2019 World Computer Chess Championâ€ and â€œ2019 World Chess Software Championâ€. And the current Komodo 14 has been clearly improved over its predecessor!

4/8/2017 – ...the harder they fall. And what a crazy crazy round it was! Wesley So had the most comfortable game of the Big Three, as Jeffery Xiong played right into his preparation and got stomped. Nakamura was jonesing to grab his chance, but pushed too hard against Onischuk and it backfired. Still, the shocker was Caruana, who was crushing co-leader Akobian, and after losing all his advantage, he then blundered and lost! Illustrated report by Alex Yermolinsky.

By Alex Yermolinsky

All photos by Lennart Ootes

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

A day we never thought we would ever see. Two of the Big Three bought it today, while Wesley So was able to make a critical step forward.

Jeffery Xiong vs Wesley So

[Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "So, W."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2822"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.03.29"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Rd1 Bc6 10. Nc3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nc6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Bg5 Rb8 14. e3 { Standard issue Catalan, one of those positions where White doesn't seem to be trying for much. Yet, "careful play" is required from Black, which in this day and age means computer-approved preparation.} c5 $5 {Wesley shows he'd done his homework.} (14... a5 {is considered automatic.}) 15. dxc5 Qe8 16. Rd4 (16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Ne4 Be5 18. Rab1 Rb4 19. f4 f5 20. Nd2 Bf6 21. Nxc4 Rxa4 { is roughly balanced.}) 16... Nd7 $1 {An improvement over one long-forgotten game} ({which went} 16... Rb4 17. Na2 Qxa4 18. Nxb4 Qxa1+ 19. Kg2 Qa5 20. Nc6 Qxc5 $14 {Sjugirov-Smirnov, 2012}) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. c6 {It's hard to tell if Jeffery was still looking for an advantage or was ready to bail out.} ({ An attempt to take way e5 from the black knight} 18. f4 {meets with} e5 19. Rxc4 exf4 20. exf4 Qe3+ 21. Kg2 Nf6 {White gets to keep his extra pawn, but his king is weak. Lines such as this give bad vibes and usually are declined as long as there are some other options.}) ({The next move to think of is} 18. Rf1 {anticipating} Ne5 19. f4 Nc6 20. Rxc4 {but then comes} Na5 21. Rd4 Qxc5 { and once again, having weakened his position with the f-pawn move, White finds himself on the defensive end of it.}) ({In the meantime, the "simple"} 18. Rxc4 Ne5 19. Re4 Qxc5 {is really awkward for White.}) 18... Ne5 19. Qe4 Qc5 20. Nd5 {A logical continuation of the previous move. Moves from both sides become forced.} Nd3 21. Nxc7 Nxf2 $1 {[#] Wesley had to have seen this shot from afar. Did Jeff completely miss it?} 22. Kxf2 {A quick reply, but possibly, Xiong was bluffing.} ({Instead of playing mind games, he should have paid attention to the board. Maybe, then he would have found} 22. Nxa6 {which happens to be a good enough move to continue the game:} Qg5 {appears to be Black's best.} ( 22... Nxe4 23. Nxc5 Nxc5 24. Rxc4 {and White's pawns are more than enough to offset Black's extra knight.}) (22... Qh5 $4 23. Qc2 {and White even wins.}) 23. Qf3 $1 {A beautiful move that consolidates everything.} ({no need to flirt with disaster after} 23. Kxf2 Rxb2+ 24. Ke1) ({and} 23. Qc2 {is now bad on account of} Nd3) 23... Rxb2 24. c7 Nd3 25. Rf1 {Suddenly White has a threat of his own: Qxf7+!, his pieces are all participating and the c7-pawn is alive. Game on!}) 22... Rxb2+ 23. Kf1 Qh5 24. Qg4 Qxh2 25. Qf3 c3 $1 {Only this move made clear how difficult White's task is going to be.} 26. Rc1 e5 $1 {Wesley took about 20 minutes on this one. He just wanted to make sure.} 27. Rh4 $2 { Another error from Jeffery ends the game on the spot.} ({The right move was} 27. Rc4 {If anything, it would force Black to seek ways of getting his other rook involved. Without luft calculating the resulting variations could be unnerving. Would So be up to the task?} Rfb8 {is the right move.} (27... Qd2 28. Rd1 Rd8 {same as in the game, but here White does have a miracle line} 29. Nd5 $3 (29. Rxd2 Rdxd2 30. Kg1 Rb1+ 31. Qf1 c2 32. Nxa6 {is not enough to save White:} Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Rd1+ 34. Ke2 c1=Q 35. Rxc1 Rxc1 36. Nb8 Rc5 37. Kd3 f5 $19) 29... Rxd5 30. Rxd2 Rdxd2 {and now} 31. Qe2 $3 {[#]} Rxe2 32. c7 {forcing Black to take the perpetual.}) 28. Nd5 (28. Nxa6 Qd2 29. R4xc3 e4) 28... Rf2+ 29. Qxf2 Qh1+ 30. Qg1 (30. Ke2 Rb2+) 30... Qxd5 31. R4xc3 Rb2 $19) 27... Qd2 28. Rd1 Rd8 $1 29. Nd5 Rxd5 30. Rd4 Rxd4 (30... exd4 $4 31. c7 $18) 31. exd4 Qxd1+ {Fresh out of tactical tricks Xiong resigned.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "So, W."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2822"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.03.29"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Rd1 Bc6 10. Nc3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nc6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Bg5 Rb8 14. e3 { Standard issue Catalan, one of those positions where White doesn't seem to be trying for much. Yet, "careful play" is required from Black, which in this day and age means computer-approved preparation.} c5 $5 {Wesley shows he'd done his homework.} (14... a5 {is considered automatic.}) 15. dxc5 Qe8 16. Rd4 (16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Ne4 Be5 18. Rab1 Rb4 19. f4 f5 20. Nd2 Bf6 21. Nxc4 Rxa4 { is roughly balanced.}) 16... Nd7 $1 {An improvement over one long-forgotten game} ({which went} 16... Rb4 17. Na2 Qxa4 18. Nxb4 Qxa1+ 19. Kg2 Qa5 20. Nc6 Qxc5 $14 {Sjugirov-Smirnov, 2012}) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. c6 {It's hard to tell if Jeffery was still looking for an advantage or was ready to bail out.} ({ An attempt to take way e5 from the black knight} 18. f4 {meets with} e5 19. Rxc4 exf4 20. exf4 Qe3+ 21. Kg2 Nf6 {White gets to keep his extra pawn, but his king is weak. Lines such as this give bad vibes and usually are declined as long as there are some other options.}) ({The next move to think of is} 18. Rf1 {anticipating} Ne5 19. f4 Nc6 20. Rxc4 {but then comes} Na5 21. Rd4 Qxc5 { and once again, having weakened his position with the f-pawn move, White finds himself on the defensive end of it.}) ({In the meantime, the "simple"} 18. Rxc4 Ne5 19. Re4 Qxc5 {is really awkward for White.}) 18... Ne5 19. Qe4 Qc5 20. Nd5 {A logical continuation of the previous move. Moves from both sides become forced.} Nd3 21. Nxc7 Nxf2 $1 {[#] Wesley had to have seen this shot from afar. Did Jeff completely miss it?} 22. Kxf2 {A quick reply, but possibly, Xiong was bluffing.} ({Instead of playing mind games, he should have paid attention to the board. Maybe, then he would have found} 22. Nxa6 {which happens to be a good enough move to continue the game:} Qg5 {appears to be Black's best.} ( 22... Nxe4 23. Nxc5 Nxc5 24. Rxc4 {and White's pawns are more than enough to offset Black's extra knight.}) (22... Qh5 $4 23. Qc2 {and White even wins.}) 23. Qf3 $1 {A beautiful move that consolidates everything.} ({no need to flirt with disaster after} 23. Kxf2 Rxb2+ 24. Ke1) ({and} 23. Qc2 {is now bad on account of} Nd3) 23... Rxb2 24. c7 Nd3 25. Rf1 {Suddenly White has a threat of his own: Qxf7+!, his pieces are all participating and the c7-pawn is alive. Game on!}) 22... Rxb2+ 23. Kf1 Qh5 24. Qg4 Qxh2 25. Qf3 c3 $1 {Only this move made clear how difficult White's task is going to be.} 26. Rc1 e5 $1 {Wesley took about 20 minutes on this one. He just wanted to make sure.} 27. Rh4 $2 { Another error from Jeffery ends the game on the spot.} ({The right move was} 27. Rc4 {If anything, it would force Black to seek ways of getting his other rook involved. Without luft calculating the resulting variations could be unnerving. Would So be up to the task?} Rfb8 {is the right move.} (27... Qd2 28. Rd1 Rd8 {same as in the game, but here White does have a miracle line} 29. Nd5 $3 (29. Rxd2 Rdxd2 30. Kg1 Rb1+ 31. Qf1 c2 32. Nxa6 {is not enough to save White:} Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Rd1+ 34. Ke2 c1=Q 35. Rxc1 Rxc1 36. Nb8 Rc5 37. Kd3 f5 $19) 29... Rxd5 30. Rxd2 Rdxd2 {and now} 31. Qe2 $3 {[#]} Rxe2 32. c7 {forcing Black to take the perpetual.}) 28. Nd5 (28. Nxa6 Qd2 29. R4xc3 e4) 28... Rf2+ 29. Qxf2 Qh1+ 30. Qg1 (30. Ke2 Rb2+) 30... Qxd5 31. R4xc3 Rb2 $19) 27... Qd2 28. Rd1 Rd8 $1 29. Nd5 Rxd5 30. Rd4 Rxd4 (30... exd4 $4 31. c7 $18) 31. exd4 Qxd1+ {Fresh out of tactical tricks Xiong resigned.} 0-1

This marks it as the third loss (all with White) for the young Jeffery in this Championship. Clearly, something isn't clicking there.

Wesley So looking extremely confident

Dan Naroditsky continues to play swashbuckling chess, and today he had an opponent who was happy to oblige. Of all responses to 1.e4 Shabalov chose a line of the Richter-Rauzer Attack with double pawns on the f-file and king stuck in the center. The sharp reader would remember it from the last round battle of the Candidates between Karjakin and Caruana. Ask Fabiano how it worked for him.

With his position in ruin and time running out on him, Shabba looked like going in the same direction, but Dan just lacks sharpness in the second half of the tournament, likely due to lack of practice. After the time control it was Black who stood better, but it all ended peacefully.

Nakamura, who is known for his expressiveness when things don't work out, meets his match

Same score in the following game, which featured its share of fireworks.

Ray Robson vs Yaroslav Zherebukh

[Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B80"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2017.03.29"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. g4 h6 10. a3 Bb7 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. h4 d5 13. Rg1 dxe4 14. g5 hxg5 15. hxg5 Nd5 16. Nxe4 g6 17. Kb1 b4 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. c3 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Bxe4+ 21. Qxe4 Bxc3 22. Nxe6 Qb6 23. Nc5+ Be5 24. Nd3 O-O 25. Nxe5 Nxe5 26. Rh1 {A sharp Scheveningen. Who's going to get to the king first?} Qf2 $2 {Wrong entry point. } (26... Qb3 27. Bd3 Nxd3 28. Rxd3 Qc2+ 29. Ka1 Rc5 30. Qd4 f6 31. gxf6 Ra5+ 32. Ra3 Rxa3+ 33. bxa3 {looks troublesome for Black, but the accurate} Qc6 $1 { holds everything together. White has no better than} 34. f7+ Kxf7 35. Rh7+ Ke6 36. Rg7 Qc1+ 37. Ka2 Qc2+ 38. Ka1 $11) 27. Be2 Rfe8 28. Qf4 $1 {Despite severe time trouble Ray finds the best move. He's such a formidable attacker.} Re6 ( 28... Qxe2 29. Qh4 Qc2+ 30. Ka1 Qxd1+ {Only move, as White keeps a4 under control of his queen.} 31. Rxd1 Nxf3 32. Qf4 Ne5 33. Rh1 Nd3 34. Qa4 {White has good winning chances, but there are possible fortresses after Black trades a pair of rook and gives up the knight for the b-pawn. Ray was on the losing side side of a similar situation yesterday against Onischuk.}) 29. Rh2 ({ Better was} 29. Rd2 Qc5 30. Bd1 $1 Qc1+ 31. Ka2 Qc5 32. Rdh2 Kf8 33. Bb3 { Once the bishop enters the stage it is truly over.}) 29... Qc5 30. Rdh1 Kf8 31. Rh8+ Ke7 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Qb4+ Rd6 34. Rd1 (34. Re1 $142 $16) 34... Qc6 35. Re1 Qb6 36. Qxb6 Rxb6 37. Bxa6 Re6 38. Bb7 Nc4 39. Rxe6+ Kxe6 40. Kc2 Kf5 $2 ({ Yaro could have forced an immediate draw by} 40... Nxb2 $1 41. Kxb2 Kf5 { The white king is too far to stop his black counterpart from taking on g5 and coming to f4, after which g5-g4 will trade White's last pawn.}) 41. b4 { As the game went Ray kept on trying, but it just wasn't enough to win.} Kxg5 42. Kc3 Nd6 43. Bc6 Kf4 44. Kd4 g5 45. Kd5 Nc8 46. Kc5 Ke5 47. b5 Ke6 48. Bd5+ Ke7 49. Bc4 f6 50. Kc6 Na7+ 51. Kc5 Nc8 52. Bd3 Kd7 53. Bf5+ Kc7 54. Kd5 Nb6+ 55. Ke6 Nc4 56. Kxf6 Nd2 57. Bg4 Kb6 58. Kxg5 Nxf3+ 59. Bxf3 Kxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B80"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2017.03.29"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. g4 h6 10. a3 Bb7 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. h4 d5 13. Rg1 dxe4 14. g5 hxg5 15. hxg5 Nd5 16. Nxe4 g6 17. Kb1 b4 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. c3 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Bxe4+ 21. Qxe4 Bxc3 22. Nxe6 Qb6 23. Nc5+ Be5 24. Nd3 O-O 25. Nxe5 Nxe5 26. Rh1 {A sharp Scheveningen. Who's going to get to the king first?} Qf2 $2 {Wrong entry point. } (26... Qb3 27. Bd3 Nxd3 28. Rxd3 Qc2+ 29. Ka1 Rc5 30. Qd4 f6 31. gxf6 Ra5+ 32. Ra3 Rxa3+ 33. bxa3 {looks troublesome for Black, but the accurate} Qc6 $1 { holds everything together. White has no better than} 34. f7+ Kxf7 35. Rh7+ Ke6 36. Rg7 Qc1+ 37. Ka2 Qc2+ 38. Ka1 $11) 27. Be2 Rfe8 28. Qf4 $1 {Despite severe time trouble Ray finds the best move. He's such a formidable attacker.} Re6 ( 28... Qxe2 29. Qh4 Qc2+ 30. Ka1 Qxd1+ {Only move, as White keeps a4 under control of his queen.} 31. Rxd1 Nxf3 32. Qf4 Ne5 33. Rh1 Nd3 34. Qa4 {White has good winning chances, but there are possible fortresses after Black trades a pair of rook and gives up the knight for the b-pawn. Ray was on the losing side side of a similar situation yesterday against Onischuk.}) 29. Rh2 ({ Better was} 29. Rd2 Qc5 30. Bd1 $1 Qc1+ 31. Ka2 Qc5 32. Rdh2 Kf8 33. Bb3 { Once the bishop enters the stage it is truly over.}) 29... Qc5 30. Rdh1 Kf8 31. Rh8+ Ke7 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Qb4+ Rd6 34. Rd1 (34. Re1 $142 $16) 34... Qc6 35. Re1 Qb6 36. Qxb6 Rxb6 37. Bxa6 Re6 38. Bb7 Nc4 39. Rxe6+ Kxe6 40. Kc2 Kf5 $2 ({ Yaro could have forced an immediate draw by} 40... Nxb2 $1 41. Kxb2 Kf5 { The white king is too far to stop his black counterpart from taking on g5 and coming to f4, after which g5-g4 will trade White's last pawn.}) 41. b4 { As the game went Ray kept on trying, but it just wasn't enough to win.} Kxg5 42. Kc3 Nd6 43. Bc6 Kf4 44. Kd4 g5 45. Kd5 Nc8 46. Kc5 Ke5 47. b5 Ke6 48. Bd5+ Ke7 49. Bc4 f6 50. Kc6 Na7+ 51. Kc5 Nc8 52. Bd3 Kd7 53. Bf5+ Kc7 54. Kd5 Nb6+ 55. Ke6 Nc4 56. Kxf6 Nd2 57. Bg4 Kb6 58. Kxg5 Nxf3+ 59. Bxf3 Kxb5 1/2-1/2

A fascinating tussle between Ray Robson and the surprising Yaroslav Zherebukh

Kamsky and Shankland have not had the tournament they hoped for. I guess they both ready to catch the first bus out of town once it's over, therefore the Berlin today and a solid draw.

Alexander Onischuk is a solid citizen, who was content with his positive score in the tournament and talked about “surviving” Nakamura with Black. He got that today, and more.

Hikaru Nakamura vs Alexander Onischuk

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Qc2 Nh5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. O-O-O Nb6 11. h3 g6 12. Nf3 Be6 13. Kb1 O-O-O 14. Nd2 Ng7 15. g4 Kb8 16. Nb3 h5 17. f3 Bc8 18. Qf2 hxg4 19. hxg4 Ne6 20. f4 Nc7 21. f5 Qg5 22. Rhg1 $5 Rh3 23. e4 Rdh8 {[#] +1=7 is not a scoreline Nakamura is used to having in U.S. Championships. He had clearly had enough of draws when he sat down to play the ever-solid Onischuk today - a dangerous mindset.} 24. e5 $5 {Points for the spirit, but, objectively speaking, White is playing with fire.} (24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Nc5 Rh2 26. Qg3 {should be enough to hold.}) 24... Rh2 25. Qe1 Nc4 $1 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. Nd2 Qf4 ({Here Alexander had a strong idea in the exchange sacrifice,} 27... gxf5 28. Nf3 Qg6 29. Nxh2 fxg4+ 30. Ka1 Rxh2) 28. e6 $1 {HIkaru seizes the opportunity.} gxf5 29. exf7 Be6 30. Rf1 Qxg4 31. Nf3 Rg2 32. d5 $5 {HIkaru burned a lot of time on this one. Clearly, he wanted it all.} ({Obviously, he could see} 32. Qe5 Qg7 33. Rg1 Rxg1 34. Rxg1 Qxe5 35. Nxe5 {as advantageous for White.}) 32... cxd5 33. Nxd5 $4 {A step too far.} (33. Qe5 Qg7 34. Rg1 Qxe5 35. Nxe5 Rxg1 36. Rxg1 Rf8 {[#] and only now} 37. Nxd5 $1 {a fantastic shot, based on forks and deflections. White will end up up the exchange with some practical winning chances.}) 33... Qg7 {A cold shower. The threat of mate forces White to part with his best pawn.} ({ Nakamura's idea had been that if} 33... Bxd5 $2 34. Rxd5 $1 {is winning since} Nxd5 35. Qe5+ Kc8 36. Qxh8+ {is game over. However, he overlooked that Black needn't touch his knight at the beginning of this line at all.}) 34. Nc3 Qxf7 35. Qe5 Re8 36. Qd6 Qf8 37. Nb5 Qxd6 38. Nxd6 Rh8 39. Rh1 Rxh1 40. Rxh1 Rg8 { The last move before the time control may not have been the most optimal, but Alexander wanted to make sure he didn't blunder anything.} 41. Nd4 f4 42. Rh6 Bc8 43. Nxc4 Nd5 44. Kc2 Rd8 45. Rd6 $6 {This goes to show that Hikaru was still reeling form his blunder on move 33.} ({The activity offered by} 45. Kd3 Nb4+ 46. Ke4 Nxa2 47. Nf3 (47. Nd6 Nb4) 47... Rf8 48. Nd6 Nb4 49. Ne5 {would be more in his style, particularly against the opponent who was looking for technical solutions.}) 45... Rxd6 46. Nxd6 Bh3 47. a3 Kc7 48. Ne4 a5 $6 (48... Bg2 49. Kd3 Bf1+ 50. Kd2 Kb6) 49. Nd2 b6 50. Kd3 Bg2 51. Nc2 $2 (51. N4f3) 51... Ne7 52. b4 a4 53. Nd4 Kd7 54. Ke2 Bd5 {Onischuk at his best. His pieces guard the approaches to the f4-pawn, while the black king is slowly making his way forward.} 55. Nb5 $2 {This only helps Black.} Kc6 56. Nc3 b5 57. Kd3 Nf5 58. Nd1 Kd6 59. Nc3 Bc6 60. Nce4+ Ke7 61. Ng5 Kf6 62. Nge4+ Ke7 63. Ng5 Bg2 64. Nge4 Ke6 65. Nf2 Kd5 {Finally, the king has arrived and that signals the end of the game.} 66. Nd1 Nd6 67. Nf2 Nc4 68. Nxc4 Bf1+ 69. Kc3 Bxc4 70. Nh3 Ke4 71. Kd2 Be6 72. Ng5+ Kd5 73. Nf3 Bg4 74. Nh4 Ke4 75. Ke1 Ke3 0-1

Hikaru Nakamura was so upset, he could not look his opponent in the eye

By the time you're reading this report you must have seen Caruana's blunder against Akobian plastered all over the internet. If not, then here it is, Fabiano had dominated the game and reached this position by move 47.

Akobian - Caruana

After move 47, it is pretty clear. Black is up two passed connecting pawns, plain and simple.

Somehow, that crushing position, degenerated little by little until this was how things stood after 76 moves.

Akobian - Caruana

After 76 moves, or 29 moves later, the position is now equal. Possibly rattled, and no doubt also due to the time issue as he stood with about one minute on the clock, Caruana played 76...f6?? and after 77. Qa7+ Kh6 78. Ng4+ it was all over. (Note: you can move the pieces on the diagram)

I can only add a couple of thoughts:

First, it was not a good idea for Fabiano to struggle with the clock throughout the entire tournament. Bad things happen to people who are habitually low on time. Fabi needs to take care of that before the problem grows to Grischuk's proportions.

He might be lost, and he knows it, but Akobian's body language conveys anything but defeat

Second, a great resilient effort from Varuzhan, who found the strength to continue fighting after first time control mistakes left him down two pawns. He's at plus three now, in a share of first place with the World's #2 and hottest player on the circuit, Wesley So, with just two more games to go.

Men's standings after nine rounds

(Click for full size)

Round 9 on 2017/04/07 at 2 PM (EST) Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No. 1 5 2196 WIM Yu Jennifer R ½ - ½ WGM Nemcova Katerina 2359 12 2 6 2173 WIM Nguyen Emily 0 - 1 WGM Abrahamyan Tatev 2364 4 3 7 2369 IM Paikidze Nazi ½ - ½ WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2272 3 4 8 2451 IM Zatonskih Anna 1 - 0 WCM Feng Maggie 2162 2 5 9 2262 WFM Virkud Apurva 1 - 0 WGM Sharevich Anna 2257 1 6 10 2234 WFM Yip Carissa ½ - ½ GM Krush Irina 2444 11

Irina Krush has reasons to be upset tonight. While the leaders, Paikidze and Foisor, drew each other, she played an inspiring queen sac against Carissa Yip to reach a seemingly ending. Two connected passed pawns would be just the ticket had it been rooks instead of knights. As it happened the black pieces were distracted by white's a-pawn decoy, and White was able to vacuum off all the black pawns. Disappointing outcome for Irina, but being only half-point behind she still has time to catch up with the leaders.

Irina Krush is tied for 3rd-4th with Anna Zatonskih with 5.5/9, just a half point behind the leaders, with two rounds to go

Carissa Yip vs Irina Krush

[Event "ch-USA w 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2234"] [BlackElo "2444"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2017.03.29"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Bd6 8. O-O-O Be5 9. g3 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. Qe2 Nge7 12. f4 Bxd4 13. Bxd4 Nxd4 14. Rxd4 Qc5 15. Qd2 Bc6 16. Bg2 O-O 17. Rd1 a5 18. e5 b4 19. Ne4 Qb6 20. Rd3 Rfb8 21. Qe3 Qd8 22. Qf2 bxa3 23. Rxa3 Rb4 24. Nc5 Qb6 25. Qg1 Bxg2 26. Qxg2 Nd5 27. Nd3 Rc4 28. Qg1 Qc7 29. Rd2 Rc8 30. Qf2 a4 31. Qe2 h6 32. Nf2 Qb6 33. c3 d6 34. exd6 Qxd6 35. Ng4 {[#] Black uncorked the brilliant} Qxa3 $3 36. bxa3 Rxc3+ 37. Rc2 {This is forced.} ({The alternative} 37. Kb2 {is just mate after} Rb3+ 38. Ka2 Nc3+ 39. Ka1 Rb1#) 37... Rxc2+ 38. Qxc2 Rxc2+ 39. Kxc2 {There is no question that this is a position with only two results possible, win for Black or draw. Unfortunately for Krush, White held on, and was rewarded with the half-point.} f5 40. Ne5 g5 41. Nd3 gxf4 42. gxf4 Kf7 43. Kd2 Ke7 44. Nb2 Nxf4 45. Nxa4 Kd6 46. Nb2 Kc5 47. a4 Nd5 48. Nd3+ Kc4 49. Ne5+ Kd4 50. Nc6+ Kc5 51. Ne5 h5 52. Nd3+ Kc4 53. Ne5+ Kc5 54. Nd3+ Kd6 55. a5 Kc6 56. Ke2 Kb5 57. a6 Kb6 58. Kf3 Nc7 59. Kf4 Nxa6 60. Ke5 Nc5 61. Nf4 Kc6 62. Nxh5 Kd7 63. Nf4 Ke7 64. Nxe6 Nxe6 65. Kxf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2234"] [BlackElo "2444"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2017.03.29"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Bd6 8. O-O-O Be5 9. g3 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. Qe2 Nge7 12. f4 Bxd4 13. Bxd4 Nxd4 14. Rxd4 Qc5 15. Qd2 Bc6 16. Bg2 O-O 17. Rd1 a5 18. e5 b4 19. Ne4 Qb6 20. Rd3 Rfb8 21. Qe3 Qd8 22. Qf2 bxa3 23. Rxa3 Rb4 24. Nc5 Qb6 25. Qg1 Bxg2 26. Qxg2 Nd5 27. Nd3 Rc4 28. Qg1 Qc7 29. Rd2 Rc8 30. Qf2 a4 31. Qe2 h6 32. Nf2 Qb6 33. c3 d6 34. exd6 Qxd6 35. Ng4 {[#] Black uncorked the brilliant} Qxa3 $3 36. bxa3 Rxc3+ 37. Rc2 {This is forced.} ({The alternative} 37. Kb2 {is just mate after} Rb3+ 38. Ka2 Nc3+ 39. Ka1 Rb1#) 37... Rxc2+ 38. Qxc2 Rxc2+ 39. Kxc2 {There is no question that this is a position with only two results possible, win for Black or draw. Unfortunately for Krush, White held on, and was rewarded with the half-point.} f5 40. Ne5 g5 41. Nd3 gxf4 42. gxf4 Kf7 43. Kd2 Ke7 44. Nb2 Nxf4 45. Nxa4 Kd6 46. Nb2 Kc5 47. a4 Nd5 48. Nd3+ Kc4 49. Ne5+ Kd4 50. Nc6+ Kc5 51. Ne5 h5 52. Nd3+ Kc4 53. Ne5+ Kc5 54. Nd3+ Kd6 55. a5 Kc6 56. Ke2 Kb5 57. a6 Kb6 58. Kf3 Nc7 59. Kf4 Nxa6 60. Ke5 Nc5 61. Nf4 Kc6 62. Nxh5 Kd7 63. Nf4 Ke7 64. Nxe6 Nxe6 65. Kxf5 1/2-1/2

Same goes for another favorite Anna Zatonskih, who inflicted a painful loss on the tournament sensation, Maggie Feng.

Women's standings after nine 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 GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11 2 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10 3 2 2822 GM So Wesley GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9 4 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8 5 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7 6 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan 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 GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12 2 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5 3 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4 4 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3 5 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel GM So Wesley 2822 2 6 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1

US Women's Championship pairings/results