U.S. Championship: Winawer French

9.h4 has brought White good statistics, but it's edgy, and not likely objectively best. As such it's vulnerable to home analysis. We may know soon whether that's what happened here. Nakamura succeeds in creating a dynamic position quickly, but in doing so gives away the White advantage by move 12. Interestingly, both players are serious French players.

The novelty in the game is 19.Re1. It's most certainly not prepared and probably won't enter into theory. By the time Nakamura plays 23.Rh2??, he's already on the ropes.

U.S. Championship: ChessBase Warmup

ChessBase has a good intro to the US Championship posted.  Take a look here. 

The participants are:
The defending U.S. Champion - GM Hikaru Nakamura
The winner of the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship - GM Larry Christiansen
The winner of the 2009 U.S. Junior Championship - GM Ray Robson
The top five qualifiers from the 2009 U.S. Open Championship - GM Alex Lenderman, GMs Sergey Kudrin, Alex Yermolinsky, Dmitry Gurevich, and Jesse Kraai
The winner of the 2010 ICC State Champion of Champions - IM Levon Altounian

and...
GM Gata Kamsky
GM Alexander Onischuk
GM Varuzhan Akobian
GM Yury Shulman
GM Jaan Ehlvest
GM Alexander Shabalov
GM Gregory Kaidanov
GM Robert Hess
GM Melikset Khachiyan
GM Joel Benjamin
GM Ben Finegold
GM Alexander Stripunsky
GM Vinay Bhat
IM Sam Shankland
IM Irina Krush

If you're a USCF member, you can still form a fantasy team at the USCF website here.  The cutoff is today (May 14) @ 3 pm EST.

Corus 2010: Carlsen Wins!

Close the books on Corus 2010. Carlsen simply outlasted everyone else, although Kramnik made a tournament of it. Nakamura experienced highs and lows, but the bottom line is that he's put himself clearly into the top 20 and he's undoubtedly on the rise. We should see his attendance increasing in the best tournaments. Today, he refused to take the easy out against Tiviakov, and pressed until his opponent blundered at move 56. Nakamura finished tied for fourth along with Anand, a good showing. Robson in the C Group started on fire, but then had all the look of a player who ran out of gas in the second half. The last 90 days have brought him a wealth of experience and we should set expectations high. As for Akobian in the B Group, there just isn't much good to say about this tournament. He'll have better days.

Woeful Day at Wijk aan Zee

The Americans went down together today.  Nakamura slowly sunk on the white side of a Nimzo, Robson found himself mated in a position he may have been holding, and Akobian continued what for him must be a nightmare tournament. 

Hikaru and Magnus: Rivalry in the Making?

You should read Peter Nicholas' article in the LA Times. It raises some interesting thoughts about a developing rivalry between Hikaru and Magnus. Magnus's take on a "rivalry" was essentially that such talk is premature. (He regards his rivals as Anand, Kramnik, and Aronian--fair enough.) The difference between the two is 27 places on the official world rankings list, and that would be enough to ensure that they'll seldom face each other. One must simply be ranked in the top 10 or 15 places to get consistent invitations to super events. But note that while Nakamura is rated 28 on the official list, a quick check of the Top Live List will show him at number 18 and less than 15 Elos from the top 10. Moreover, I'll note that we should all afford Hikaru a period of acclimation. He has much less experience than Carslen on the world stage at this point. Anyone care to bet against him adapting and moving himself into the top 10?  Age wise, Nakamura is a much better-suited rival than those mentioned by Carlsen, including Aronian.  There are others on the rise besides Nakamura and Carlsen (if the World's No. 1 can be said to be rising) of course, but I find few potential rivalries out there to be more appealing.  That's all said, of course, with an American's bias, but I also think that part of the appeal is the prospect of an emerging American superstar, which would be good for chess in general.

Corus 2010: Kramnik-Carlsen Race Emerging

Will Carlsen and Kramnik battle over the final few rounds to determine the winner of Corus 2010? Obviously it's too early to say since there are five rounds remaining, Shirov still leads the tournament, and over half the field is sitting on a plus score. Nor should Nakamura be written off following one bad day. His games of the last two days follow the crosstable.

 
TD>.

Corus A Wijk aan Zee (NED), 16-31 i 2010														cat. XIX (2719)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	*	½	.	0	1	.	.	.	.	1	½	1	1	1	6	2891
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	½	*	.	½	.	.	.	1	½	.	½	½	1	1	5½	2844
3.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	.	.	*	1	½	½	.	.	.	½	½	½	1	1	5½	2827
4.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2708	1	½	0	*	.	.	.	½	½	.	1	.	1	½	5	2826
5.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2739	0	.	½	.	*	½	½	.	½	1	.	½	.	1	4½	2758
6.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2712	.	.	½	.	½	*	½	.	½	½	.	1	½	½	4½	2752
7.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2720	.	.	.	.	½	½	*	.	½	½	1	½	½	½	4½	2739
8.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	.	0	.	½	.	.	.	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	4½	2747
9.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	.	½	.	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	.	.	.	4	2726
10.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2675	0	.	½	.	0	½	½	½	½	*	.	1	.	.	3½	2692
11.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2696	½	½	½	0	.	.	0	½	½	.	*	.	0	.	2½	2600
12.	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2662	0	½	½	.	½	0	½	½	.	0	.	*	.	.	2½	2598
13.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2641	0	0	0	0	.	½	½	0	.	.	1	.	*	2	2545
14.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2657	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	1½	2492

Corus 2010: Nakamura 1/2 - Carlsen 1/2

This is an amazingly high quality game where neither player appears to have ever lost control of the game despite its complexity.

Corus 2010: Robson 1, Nakamura 1/2, Akobian 0

Robson is now leading Corus C solo after another win.  A promotion to Corus B next year would be a big deal.  Keep playing well. 

Nakamura seemed to me to take Carlsen to the edge today before drawing.  I was only able to occasionally glance at the game, but I will post both Nakamura's and Robson's games this evening. 

Almost unbelievably, Shirov won his fifth in a row.  Needless to say, the end is nigh for this streak as he's enjoyed a favorable early tournament draw, but the real question is: can he hang on to win Corus A?  I'm predicting not.  Kramnik won today. 

Corus 2010, Group A: Nakamura Looking Strong But All Chase Shirov

The field at Corus A has developed some separation after 3 rounds. Shirov has the hot hand at 3-0, but it's best that he score now, because the competition is going to stiffen quickly. Nakamura and Carlsen are a half point back and Ivanchuk is a full point back. Nakamura is picking up where he left off at the World Team Championship, playing along at a 2900+ performance clip.

Akobian has a loss and two draws in Group B and Robson is tied for the lead in Group C with 2 1/2 after giving up a draw today.

The crosstables and games can be found here at TWIC.

Corus A Wijk aan Zee														cat. XIX (2719)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1	1	.	.	.	3
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	1	1	.	2½	2926
3.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2708	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	½	1	2½	2937
4.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	½	.	.	1	.	2	2789
5.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2712	.	.	.	.	*	½	½	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2766
6.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2720	.	.	.	.	½	*	½	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	1½	2747
7.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	.	.	.	.	½	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	1½	2709
8.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	½	½	.	.	.	1½	2708
9.	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2662	0	½	.	½	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	2635
10.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2675	0	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	2628
11.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2739	0	.	.	.	.	½	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	1	2618
12.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2641	.	0	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	1	1	2613
13.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2657	.	0	½	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	2482
14.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2696	.	.	0	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	0	.	*	½	2440

Corus 2010, Group A: Nakamura Prevails in Najdorf

In the second round, three games are still underway in the A Group, but Nakamura and Carlsen have already come through with the full point. Carlsen played Smeets and won off the white side of the Botvinnik variation of the Semi-Slav, so as you might expect there's much to see there. But first, Nakamura beats van Wely in a Najdorf when the latter chooses 7... Nbd7 over 7...Be7 or 7... Qb6.

Live Top List: Nakamura is No. 19

According to the "Live Top List," Hikaru has moved into the top 20 in the unofficial world rankings.  The only game not included here is today's draw with Guesinov, who is rated at 2614 on the latest official list.  You can take a look at this list at any time here.

World Team Championship: Silver is a Good Result

The US has finished the World Team Championship in second place. They came in above several teams with higher ELOs. Perhaps the best thing that happened in Turkey is that Hess and Robson got to hang out at a very high level. Next up: three of the team members--Nakamura, Akobian, and Robson--will play at Corus in the A, B, and C Groups respectively. Here's the USCF report.

Corus 2010: Hikaru?

Corus 2010 is about to begin in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. Hats off to the Dutch sponsors and organizers of this event. The name has become synonymous with high quality chess. The start date is January 15. Will this be Hikaru's breakout tournament?

Grandmaster Ggroup A

	Name	Country	Rating	Position
GM	Magnus Carlsen	NOR	2810	1	Photo
GM	Viswanathan Anand	IND	2790	3	Photo
GM	Vladimir Kramnik	RUS	2788	4	Photo
GM	Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2749	8	Photo
GM	Peter Leko	HUN	2739	12	Photo
GM	Alexei Shirov	SPA	2723	20	Photo
GM	Sergey Karjakin	RUS	2720	21	Photo
GM	Leinier Dominguez	CUB	2712	25	Photo
GM	Hikaru Nakamura	USA	2708	28	Photo
GM	Nigel Short	ENG	2696	38	Photo
GM	Fabiano Caruana	ITA	2675	51	Photo
GM	Sergey Tiviakov	NED	2662	62	Photo
GM	Jan Smeets	NED	2657	73	Photo
GM	Loek van Wely	NED	2641	104	Photo

Average rating	: 2719
Category	: 19

World Team Championship: US Defeats Israel

The US defeated Israel today 2.5 - 1.5 behind Nakamura and Onischuk. Nakamura mixed it up with Gelfand in a wild variation of the King's Indian, and it was the World Cup champ who lost his way.

Classical Sicilian: 7.Bb5!?

Nakamura wins a good game against White's rare 7th. It's worth a look if you play the Classical Sicilian.

World Rankings: January 2010

Congrats to Magnus Carlsen, the official World's # 1, and the youngest to ever hold the position.

See ChessBase for a full report on the Men's and Women's top 100.

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2810 16 1990
2 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2805 4 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2790 9 1969
4 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2788 16 1975
5 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2781 17 1982
6 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2761 25 1968
7 Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2759 21 1986
8 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2749 13 1969
9 Wang, Yue g CHN 2749 8 1987
10 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2744 27 1976


Nakamura 28
Kamsky 40
Onishchuk 58
Seirawan 90

Kosteniuk 8
Zatonskih 30
Krush 37
Goletiani 97

London Chess Classic: Day 2--Carlsen Again

McShane tossed out a KID against Carlsen and Carlsen chewed him up. Again, no fireworks, although there was some flash: see especially White's 47th. The kid wakes the imagination. Kramnik manhandled Ni Hua, and Howell and Short drew. Today, Hikaru escaped from Adams not unlike Ni Hua from Hikaru yesterday. Chess players are going to talk about Hikaru's speed and raw talent forever. Put the bullet down now and go for more.

Tomorrow's a red letter day. Howell has White against Carlsen, Hikaru has White against Short, and Gelfand-Ponomariov kick off in the World Cup final.

London Chess Classic: Carlsen over Kramnik

Carlsen was the big winner at the London Chess Classic today turning in a clean, convincing performance against Kramnik. There were no fireworks in the game, but rather one accurate move after another until Kramnik folded. Impressive. McShane also won, but I haven't found the energy to look more closely at this 163-move glacier. There could be some good chess in there. Disappointingly, Nakamura let a win slip through his fingers against Ni Hua. Adams and Howell drew after some fighting chess.

London Chess Classic

THE LONDON CHESS CLASSIC featuring the pictured players begins tomorrow. It promises to be an interesting tournament, especially with Carlsen and Kramnik on board. It'll be good to see how Nakamura handles himself against those two, and as well, whether he can sustain his game against a steady diet of 2600- and 2700-rated players. Here's wishin' him the best...and the link to the official website.

Nakamura downs Carlsen to win BNbank Blitz in Norway

Nakamura has won the BNbank Blitz tournament in Norway, defeating Magnus Carlsen--newly crowned World Blitz Champion--by the score of 3-1. The loss to Carlsen in the first game of the finals was the only game Nakamura failed to win in the tournment. Following the first round loss, Nakamura swept Carlsen in the next three rounds to take first. Nakamura is arguably one of the most formidable speed players in the history of the game. Hopefully, bigger things await him. The BNbank Blitz official site, here. The USCF coverage is here. Nakamura gives his own account of this tournament very well on his blog.