U.S. Champs Round 4: Nakamura Holds Off So, Nemcova Takes Clear Lead

GM Hikaru Nakamura blundered but escaped against GM Wesley So in round 4 of the 2015 U.S. Championship in Saint Louis. Nakamura leads with GM Ray Robson who drew with GM Varuzhan Akobian.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Saint Louis, all eyes were on the key matchup of the 2015 U.S. Championship, as GM Hikaru Nakamura pressed for an edge against GM Wesley So in a strategic Queen’s Gambit Declined.

Fighting against two bishops and a small space advantage, So lashed out with 28…g5!?, aiming to open up the kingside and in his own words: “complicate things.” Though after seeing Nakamura’s reply of 29.f4!, Wesley “immediately regretted” the move.

The gamble, however, paid off as Nakamura blundered two moves later with 31.Bxf4?, overlooking the simple 31…Nf3+! This trick allowed Wesley to trade into a rook-and-bishop endgame with an extra pawn – though he was ultimately unable to convert.

A tense battle, though it ended peacefully - 1/2-1/2. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Analysis by GM Ben Finegold

“I thought I had good winning chances in the endgame,” So said. “But it wasn’t easy, and he defended very well.”

Nakamura expressed candid thoughts on the game, offering: “I think I was a little bit worse in the middlegame. I thought Wesley was imprecise with 27…Qf6, and I thought 28…g5 was just a blunder, frankly.

“If I go 31. Qxf4 instead of Bxf4, I suspect that I’m much better — if not winning. So to miss Nf3+ is very upsetting. If I lost today, I probably would not be sleeping tonight, but fortunately I was able to defend.”

The other leader, GM Ray Robson, was slightly better against GM Varuzhan Akobian’s solid Petroff Defense and tried an interesting pawn sacrifice to secure his strong dark-squared bishop on f4. This provided Ray with good compensation.

Without a clear plan to continue, the two players repeated moves before the first time-control. The draw pushes Robson to 3/4, sharing first place with Nakamura.

Webster University's GM Ray Robson is in good form with 3/4. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

“In the end, I didn’t really think that I had more than enough compensation,” Robson said. “But I didn’t really see a way to improve my position, so I basically just tried to force a repetition.”

GM Timur Gareev continued his extravagant opening play, impressing commentators and spectators worldwide with the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian Defense of GM Gata Kamsky.

The reigning U.S. Champion did not play the most theoretically challenging response, allowing Gareev to build up a powerful attack. Gareev continued to spice things up with the enterprising exchange sacrifice 26.Rxa5!, gaining two connected passed-pawns that looked to win the game.

Unfortunately he missed his best chance in time trouble and allowed Kamsky to equalize, drawing an exciting game.

Kamsky was visibly amused after seeing 2.b4!? from Timur Gareev. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Analysis by GM Ben Finegold

“I felt that my advantage was slipping, so I thought ‘Let’s be focused, let’s not repeat the same mistake from the first round,’” Nemcova said. She was referring to her only draw in the event, where she was unable to convert a winning endgame against IM Rusudan Goletiani in the first round.

“Besides some strong inaccuracies, I think overall I’ve played quite well, so I’m happy about that.”

In another game important to the women’s standings, IM Rusudan Goletiani outplayed IM Nazí Paikidze in the early middlegame to apply strong pressure against Paikidze’s hanging pawns in the center. This pressure allowed Rusudan to win a pawn, but offered Nazí certain drawing chances as only the queens and rooks were left on the board. Nazí defended actively, and Rusudan was never able to create any serious winning chances, ending in a draw.

Once again the overall action in the women’s event was quite decisive, as GM Irina Krush, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, and WGM Sabina Foisor defeated the rising stars WCM Apurva Virkud, WFM Jennifer Yu, and WIM Annie Wang. This means that Krush and Foisor are in striking distance of Nemcova with 2.5/4, while Abrahamyan is back to an even score.

Round 5 continues on Sunday at 1:00 p.m CDT, as serious contenders begin to emerge for the U.S. Chess Championships. Tune in to www.chess.com/tv for live coverage by GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Maurice Ashley.

Reprinted with permission from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

2015 U.S. Championship | Round 5 Pairings

xxx

2015 U.S. Championship | Round 5 Pairings

xxx

2015 U.S. Championship | Round 4 Standings

xxx

2015 U.S. Women's Championship | Round 4 Standings