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GM Wesley So is about to win his second American championship title. With two rounds to go, he is one point ahead of the rest. GM Hikaru Nakamura surprisingly lost two more games on Wednesday.
With two rounds to go, So has a very impressive plus-seven score. “Everything is going well in this tournament,” he said. “I’m trying to squeeze my games and somehow my opponents are making mistakes. It is definitely a dream tournament.”
However, it is not yet decided. On the final day, So will face GM Ray Robson before facing Nakamura in the final round.
On the third day, So tied with GM Sam Sevian and then beat GM Elshan Moradiabadi. His third game, another victory, was a fantastic fight with the promising GM Jeffery Xiong, who had caught up with the leader the previous round.
For this crucial encounter, So used a very concrete line on the Sveshnikov that surprised Xiong, who burned a lot of time on his clock in the middle of the game and then missed a draw late in the game. It is instructive to see how Black draws there:
Both Robson and Xiong remain tied for second place as both players won their game against a struggling GM, Hikaru Nakamura. Xiong did it on one of the main lines of the Pirc where Nakamura was surprisingly helpless:
Robson’s win against Naka was simply spectacular. The fireworks started right after the opening when Robson sacrificed his two knights. When the dust settled, White had a queen, a rook, and five pawns against a queen, a bishop, a knight, and three pawns for Black.
That should have been a draw, but it was practically difficult for Nakamura, who couldn’t help but lose material when his king was exposed.
United States Championship | Round 9 Ranking
| # | fed | Name | bone scan | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | So Wesley | 2741 | 2975 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 / 9 | |||||
| 2 | Xiong, Jeffery | 2730 | 2856 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 / 9 | 29.25 | ||||
| 3 | Robson, Ray | 2605 | 2852 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.0 / 9 | 25.5 | ||||
| 4 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2786 | 2629 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 4.5 / 9 | 18.25 | ||||
| 5 | Shankland, Sam | 2609 | 2637 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 4.5 / 9 | 15.75 | ||||
| 6 | Sevian, Samuel | 2571 | 2642 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 4.0 / 9 | 18.25 | ||||
| 7 | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2829 | 2571 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4.0 / 9 | 14 | ||||
| 8 | Liang, Awonder | 2397 | 2646 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.0 / 9 | 13.25 | ||||
| 9 | Swiercz, Dariusz | 2649 | 2485 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 3.0 / 9 | 9.75 | ||||
| 10 | Lender, Aleksandr | 2642 | 2516 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 3.0 / 9 | 9.75 | ||||
| eleven | Ramirez, Alejandro | 2579 | 2482 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 2.5 / 9 | 10.5 | ||||
| 12 | Moradiabadi, Elshan | 2566 | 2519 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 2.5 / 9 | 10 |
Game rounds 7-9
The 2020 US Championship is played October 26-29 at lichess. It is a unique 12-player round-robin with a 25-minute time control plus a five-second increment. The total prize fund is $ 150,000.
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