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Two draws on the final day were enough for GM Wesley So to win the 2020 US Championship and the $ 40,000 top prize. It was his second title that came three years after the first.
So’s victory can be considered one of the best performances of his career. Staying undefeated on this field was no small feat, and winning seven games was truly magnificent.
His September 11 was the third best score in the history of the United States Championship. He was close to GM Bobby Fischer’s 9.5 / 11 victory in 1966, the last time the great American played in the national championship. The best score of all time was, of course, Fischer’s 11/11 in 1963.
“It feels really great; this really means a lot to me, to have the title of United States Champion. It’s so great,” said So. “When I first won in 2017, I really wanted to win the first time. That, I had a little slump; my qualification went down. I thought it was very difficult to win it a second time, and I was already doing it. Some doubts about whether I was going to do it. Winning a second title is really important to me. “
After drawing a quiet game with GM Ray Robson, So’s clash with GM Hikaru Nakamura in the final round wasn’t a great game either. Over 25 moves, the players repeated their 2018 championship tie, which was also played in the last round of the year GM Sam Shankland won the title.
GM Jeffery Xiong also impressed. His only second place behind So (worth $ 25,000) came with a score of 8.5 / 11 which is often good enough for victory in 11 rounds. Along with the $ 4,000 he won for another second place at the Junior Championship earlier this month, he had a good payday for his 20th birthday on October 30.
After his unfortunate loss to So the other day, Xiong wanted to pressure the leader in the penultimate round. In other words, he wanted to try and beat GM Aleksandr Lenderman, but the latter found a brilliant tactic that ended in a tied final:
Xiong’s second place was not a guarantee at all during the final round. He was actually in trouble after miscalculating early in the middlegame, but ended up benefiting from Ramirez’s poor form:
It was a tournament that everyone will remember for many years, the only one (hopefully the only one!) That was held online due to the pandemic. Nakamura will also remember him for what was probably his worst result in the national championship.
Understandably, he was probably somewhat leaning (or mouse slid 1.b3) while going forward. 1.b4 in the penultimate round:
United States Championship | Final ranking
| # | fed | Name | bone scan | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | So Wesley | 2741 | 2894 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.0 / 11 | |||
| 2 | Xiong, Jeffery | 2730 | 2846 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.5 / 11 | |||
| 3 | Robson, Ray | 2605 | 2777 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.5 / 11 | |||
| 4 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2786 | 2661 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6.0 / 11 | |||
| 5 | Shankland, Sam | 2609 | 2645 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.5 / 11 | 26 | ||
| 6 | Liang, Awonder | 2397 | 2664 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 / 11 | 22.25 | ||
| 7 | Sevian, Samuel | 2571 | 2616 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 5.0 / 11 | 28.25 | ||
| 8 | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2829 | 2594 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.0 / 11 | 24 | ||
| 9 | Lender, Aleksandr | 2642 | 2579 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4.5 / 11 | |||
| 10 | Swiercz, Dariusz | 2649 | 2509 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 3.5 / 11 | |||
| eleven | Ramirez, Alejandro | 2579 | 2478 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 3.0 / 11 | 14.25 | ||
| 12 | Moradiabadi, Elshan | 2566 | 2479 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 3.0 / 11 | 14 |
Game rounds 10-11
Following the final round, a special online closing ceremony was held for the US Youth, Women’s, Senior, Women’s and General Championships.It included a video message from GM Garry Kasparov, who said, among other things :
“Chess goes back centuries, from eastern palaces to European cafes and now to Zoom and Netflix! The game adapts because players adapt, sponsors adapt, and chess continues to grow. Its beauty is innate, eternal, even when the environment around them changes. “
The closing ceremony with Kasparov starting at 32:24.
The 2020 US Championship was played October 26-29 in lichess. It was a simple 12-player round-robin with a 25-minute time control plus a five-second increment. The total prize fund was $ 150,000.
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