Nakamura and Yu Win; The Pack Chases

The temperature in Saint Louis jumped 12 degrees on Wednesday, climbing from a high of 54 on Tuesday’s rest day to a balmy 66. The U.S. Championships are also heating up. The leaders in both sections – Hikaru Nakamura in the Open and Jennifer Yu in the Women’s – won in round seven, as did their closest competitors. With multiple critical matchups in Round 8, one can’t help but recall the words of hometown bard and Saint Louis’ favorite son, Nelly. It is, indeed, getting hot in here. OPEN SECTION Hikaru Nakamura defeated Var Akobian to maintain his spot at the top of the Open Championship. Akobian surprised Nakamura with his 14th move, but a calculative misstep on move 20 allowed Nakamura to liquidate to a superior ending that, while perhaps theoretically drawable, was very difficult to play from a practical perspective.

[pgn] [Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [White "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A41"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2019.03.20"] 1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. d5 Ne5 6. Nxe5 Bxe5 7. e4 Nf6 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O e6 10. h3 exd5 11. cxd5 Nh5 12. f4 Bd4+ 13. Kh2 Qh4 {All preparation for Nakamura.} 14. Qe1 {A surprise. He had looked at two moves the computer ranked more highly. Now Nakamura enters a forcing line with} (14. Qf3) (14. Ne2) 14... Qxe1 15. Rxe1 Bf2 16. Rf1 Bg3+ 17. Kg1 f5 18. Rf3 {Unforseen, and now Nakamura burned 40 minutes to decide on:} Bxf4 19. Bxf4 fxe4 20. Bxe4 ( {The big worry was} 20. Nxe4 Rxf4 21. Rc1 Bf5 $2 (21... Rxf3 22. gxf3 Nf4 { was the bailout line he calculated during those 40 minutes. Play follows} 23. Bf1 Nxd5 24. Bc4 c6 25. Nf6+ Kf7 26. Nxd5 cxd5 27. Bxd5+ Kf6 {with ...Be6 and a equal position to follow.} 28. Rc7 Be6 29. Bxe6 Kxe6 30. Rxb7 $11) 22. Nf6+ Kh8 (22... Kf8 23. Nxh5 Rxf3 24. gxf3 Bxd3 25. Nf4 {"must be good for White, although maybe Black can hold it with"} Bf5 26. Rxc7 Rc8 27. Rxb7 Rc2) 23. Nxh5 (23. Rxc7 Nxf6) (23. Rxf4 $1 Nxf4 $2 24. Rxc7 {and mate is imminent}) 23... Rxf3 24. gxf3 Bxd3 25. Nf4 {and in the interview, Nakamura said this was the move he missed when he first calculated the line beginning at 15...Bf2. (We can forgive an error 10 moves in. Wow!)}) 20... Nxf4 21. Raf1 g5 22. h4 Bg4 23. Rg3 h5 24. hxg5 Rae8 25. Bf3 Re5 26. Bxg4 hxg4 27. Rxg4 Nxd5 28. Nxd5 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 Rxd5 {Nakamura thought that the endgame might be theoretically drawable, but he noted that the position is very difficult and unpleasant for White. Akobian's time trouble coupled with the 4 vs 2 queenside majority made for an impossible task.} 30. Ke2 Kg7 31. Rc4 c6 ({With a large time advantage Nakamura calculated the rook exchange with} 31... Rc5 32. Rxc5 (32. Re4 $5 Rxg5 {and Black may not be able to win this?}) 32... dxc5 {but decided that} 33. Kd3 b5 34. Ke4 c4 35. Kd5 c6+ ({Note that} 35... Kg6 36. Kc5 a6 {is a clear win for Black.}) 36. Kc5 Kg6 37. a3 a5 38. a4 c3 39. bxc3 bxa4 40. Kc4 {and White draws this by one tempo. Again, a tour de force of calculative ability by the super-GM.} Kxg5 41. Kd3 Kg4 42. Kc2 Kg3) 32. Re4 Kg6 33. Re7 Rb5 34. b3 Kxg5 35. Rd7 d5 36. Kd3 Kf6 37. Kc3 a5 38. Rc7 (38. g4 {may be the last chance for the draw.}) 38... Ke6 39. a3 $2 d4+ 40. Kc4 d3 41. Kc3 d2 42. Kxd2 Rxb3 43. g4 a4 44. g5 Kd6 45. Rf7 b5 46. g6 Rxa3 47. g7 Rg3 0-1 [/pgn]

The three players tied for second place – Caruana, Dominguez, and Sevian – also won to keep pace with the leader.

Sevian’s game was the first to finish, and among the more attractive played in either Championship so far. He defeated Ray Robson in a 25 move miniature, exclusively annotated for CLO by IM Kostya Kavutskiy.

[pgn] [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2642"] [Annotator "Kostya"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Nd7 7. c3 O-O 8. d4 Bd6 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 ({Previous high level play saw} 10. Qb3+ Kh8 11. Bh4 b6 12. Nbd2 Ba6 13. Rfe1 $14 {and White was slightly better in 1-0 (46) Eljanov,P (2751) -Radjabov,T (2710) Shamkir 2017}) 10... Qe8 $146 {A new move from Sevian.} 11. Nbd2 Nb6 12. h3 $2 {A concrete mistake as pointed out by Sevian after the game.} ({Something like} 12. Re1 {would be better, where White will always have Bg3 available in the future.}) 12... exd4 13. cxd4 Qg6 $1 {Now White's bishop on h4 cannot retreat to g3 and is left out of play.} 14. Kh1 ({Stockfish can only find} 14. Qb3+ Kh8 15. e5 $1 {as a way for White to avoid falling seriously worse.} fxe5 (15... Bxh3 $2 16. Ne1 $16) 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Be6 18. Qg3 Qc2 $15 {and Black would have an excellent grip on the light-squares.}) 14... Be6 15. a3 Bf4 {Setting up his next move.} 16. Re1 f5 $1 17. exf5 (17. e5 $17 {would be a strategic nightmare for White. Black can pile up on the d-file and has a lot of nice squares for his pieces.}) 17... Bxf5 18. Qb3+ Nd5 $1 {Bold, but necessary. Sam offers the b7-pawn in order to keep the initiative.} ({In case of} 18... Kh8 19. Be7 Bc2 {White would have the powerful } 20. Nh4 $1 $11) 19. Qxb7 $2 {It was somewhat surprising to see Ray capture this pawn, as Black gets a monstrous initiative. Then again, White's position had little upside otherwise, so at least here he's able to grab some material and force the opponent to beat him.} ({After} 19. Be7 $2 Bc2 $1 20. Nh4 Bxb3 21. Nxg6 {is not check so Black can simply play} Bxd2 $19 {with a decisive material advantage.}) (19. Nc4 {is the only move according to the engine, but Black is close to a breakthrough after} Qh5 $17 {threatening g5-g4.}) 19... Rab8 20. Qxa7 Rxb2 {For just one pawn, all of Black's pieces are mobilized towards the kingside. It's quite fitting that the decisive blow occurs immediately.} 21. Nc4 Bxh3 $1 {Not the only winning move, but by far the strongest. This move tears apart White's kingside, after which Black's pieces simply come in and give mate.} 22. gxh3 Qd3 {Black's point. There is too much hanging in White's position.} (22... Rb3 $1 $19 {was also winning, eyeing the h3-pawn.}) 23. Kg2 (23. Ncd2 {gets mated after} Rxd2 24. Nxd2 Qxh3+) ({as does } 23. Nxb2 Qxf3+ 24. Kg1 Qxh3) ({Stockfish's choice is} 23. Ng1 Qxc4 $19 { and Black is no longer material down, but with a decisive initiative.}) 23... Bd6 $1 {Opening up the f4-square for Black's knight, which simply ends the game. Black has too many pieces around White's king.} 24. Ng1 (24. Nxd6 Qxf3+ 25. Kg1 Nf4 $19) (24. Nxb2 Nf4+ 25. Kg1 Qxf3 $19) 24... Rfxf2+ $1 25. Bxf2 Qg3+ {and White resigned in view of mate next move. After a simple opening misstep, it was surprising to see how quickly Robson's position deteriorated. We've seen some fantastic attacking wins with Black so far in this year's U.S. Champs, and here Sam Sevian beautifully continued the trend.} 0-1 [/pgn]

Dominguez downed Alex Lenderman in a well executed endgame. After the game, and like Nakamura, Dominguez provided livestream viewers some insight into the depths of his in-game calculations.

[pgn] [Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2637"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2019.03.20"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O d4 12. Ne2 Bg4 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Re8 16. Qf3 Ne5 {Now Dominguez had a big decision.} 17. Qxb7 Nxd3 18. cxd3 Qd5 19. Qxd5 Nxd5 {Dominguez thought that Black might have some compensation, but that it was the kind of position where White could just press without risk.} 20. Bg3 $1 {Stopping ...Nf4.} Re2 21. Rab1 f5 (21... Rc8 22. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Rc2 24. Rb1 {is similar to the game continuation.} Rd2 25. Kf1 Rxd3 26. Be5 f6 (26... Rd2 27. Ke1) 27. Ke2 Rxa3 28. bxa3 Nc3+ 29. Kd3 Nxb1 30. Bd6 $1 {saves the pawn. All seen during the game.}) 22. Bd6 Rc8 23. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Rc2 25. Rb1 Rd2 26. Be5 Rxd3 27. Kf1 Kf7 28. Ke2 Rxa3 29. bxa3 Nc3+ 30. Kd3 Nxb1 31. a4 Nc3 32. a5 Nb5 33. Bxd4 g5 34. Bb2 (34. Kc4 $5 Nxd4 (34... Nd6+ 35. Kd5 Nb5 36. Kc5 a6) (34... a6 35. Kc5) 35. Kxd4 Ke6 36. Kc5 $18) 34... Ke6 35. Kc4 Nd6+ 36. Kc5 Nb7+ 37. Kb5 Kd5 38. Ka6 Nxa5 39. Kxa5 Ke4 40. Bc1 f4 41. h4 Kd3 42. hxg5 hxg5 43. g3 Ke4 44. gxf4 gxf4 45. Ba3 Kd5 46. Ka6 1-0 [/pgn]

Caruana’s game was the last to finish. To defeat Timur Gareyev, he had to do what Sam Sevian could not -- he had to win with the rook and bishop against Gareyev’s rook! (What are the odds that one player has to defend that position twice in the same tournament?!) The second time was not the charm for Gareyev, and Caruana collected the full point.

[pgn] [Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [White "Gareyev, Timur"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2557"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "250"] [EventDate "2019.03.20"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke7 10. Be2 b6 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Nd2 Rd8 13. Nd3 Bd6 14. Nc4 Bc7 15. b3 Nc6 16. Ba3+ Ke8 17. Bf3 Nd5 18. Nf4 b5 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Nd2 Be5 21. Rab1 b4 22. Bb2 Bc3 23. Nf1 Bxb2 24. Rxb2 Ne5 25. Ng3 Rac8 26. Rbd2 Rc5 27. Nf5 g6 28. Nd4 {White is certainly for choice here. Caruana called it "worse but manageable."} a5 29. a3 bxa3 30. Ra2 Nc6 31. h3 $6 (31. Nxc6 {is a "dead draw"}) 31... Nb4 32. Rxa3 Kd7 33. g4 Kc7 34. Kg2 Kb6 {"I was actually playing for an advantage here. ... I know that Black is not any better, but I also know that it's a complicated fight and I didn't think I was worse." (Caruana)} 35. h4 Rc3 36. Rda1 Ra8 37. g5 Bc6 38. Rd1 Rd8 39. Rda1 Rc5 40. Rd1 Bd7 41. Kg3 Rdc8 42. Raa1 Be6 43. h5 Rc3 44. Rab1 Rg8 45. Rh1 Nc6 46. Nxc6 Rxc6 47. hxg6 Rxg6 48. Kf4 Rc2 49. Rbf1 Rb2 50. Bd1 a4 51. bxa4 Rb4+ 52. Kf3 Rxg5 53. Ke2 d4 54. Rfg1 Rd5 55. exd4 Rbxd4 56. f3 h5 57. Kf2 Rd2+ 58. Ke3 R5d3+ 59. Kf4 h4 60. Re1 Rd4+ 61. Ke3 f5 62. Be2 f4+ 63. Kf2 h3 64. Rb1+ Ka7 65. Ke1 Ra2 66. Bf1 Rd5 (66... Rdxa4 $1 67. Bxh3 Ra1 $19) 67. Bxh3 Rh5 68. Bg2 {Overlooked by Caruana.} Rxh1+ 69. Bxh1 Rh2 70. Bg2 Rxg2 71. Rb4 Bd5 72. Rxf4 Kb6 73. a5+ Kc5 74. a6 Ra2 75. a7 Rxa7 76. Kf2 Kd6 77. Kg3 Ke5 78. Rf8 Bf7 79. Rb8 Ra3 80. Rb4 Bd5 81. Rf4 Ra8 82. Rg4 Rf8 83. f4+ Kd4 84. f5+ Ke5 85. Rg5 Be4 86. f6+ Bf5 87. Kf2 Rxf6 { What are the odds that someone gets this ending twice in one tournament?} 88. Ke3 Ra6 89. Rg3 Ra2 90. Rf3 Be4 91. Rg3 Bf5 92. Rf3 Bg4 93. Rg3 Ra4 94. Kd2 Kf4 95. Rb3 Be6 96. Rb6 Bd5 97. Rb2 Ke4 98. Kc3 Ke3 99. Rb4 Ra3+ 100. Kb2 Ra8 101. Kc3 Rc8+ 102. Kb2 Kd3 103. Ka3 Bc4 104. Rb2 Ra8+ 105. Kb4 Kd4 106. Rd2+ Bd3 107. Rb2 Ra7 108. Rb3 Ra8 109. Rb2 Ra1 110. Rb3 Bc4 111. Rb2 Rd1 112. Ka3 Kc5 113. Rb7 Rd2 114. Rc7+ Kd4 115. Kb4 Rb2+ 116. Ka5 Kd5 117. Rc8 Rb5+ 118. Ka4 Kd4 119. Rh8 Rb1 120. Rh3 Bd3 121. Ka5 Kc3 {[#]} 122. Rg3 $4 (122. Rh5 $11 { stops Rb5+}) 122... Rb5+ 123. Ka4 Rh5 124. Rf3 Rh1 125. Ka5 Rh6 0-1 [/pgn]

The Shankland-Liang and Xiong-So games were drawn. Nakamura plays Shankland, last year’s champion, in round 8. Those chasing Nakamura – Caruana, Dominguez, and Sevian, all a half-point behind, and So, a half-point behind them – are paired against each other. Caruana has White against So, while Sevian has White against Dominguez. WOMEN'S SECTION Is it better to be lucky, or good? Yesterday Jennifer Yu was both, defeating Sabina Foisor in a roller coaster of a game. Yu got a big advantage out of the opening, but let it slip when she failed to grab a key pawn. The former champ (2017) Foisor fought to get the better side of the position, but overpressed and allowed Yu’s bishops to win the day.

[pgn] [Event "59th ch-USA w 2019"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [White "Yu, Jennifer"] [Black "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2273"] [BlackElo "2276"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2019.03.20"] 1. c4 e5 2. e3 f5 3. d4 e4 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nge2 g6 6. Nf4 Bg7 7. h4 Nc6 8. h5 { "It just looked so good for White!" (Yu)} Ne7 9. c5 g5 10. h6 gxf4 11. hxg7 Rg8 12. Rxh7 f3 13. Rh6 Ng4 14. Rh8 fxg2 15. Bxg2 d5 16. cxd6 Qxd6 17. Qb3 Be6 18. Nb5 $6 (18. Rxg8+ Bxg8 19. Qxb7 $1) 18... Bxb3 19. Nxd6+ cxd6 20. axb3 Kf7 21. Bd2 a6 22. Bb4 Ke6 23. Rxg8 Rxg8 24. Bf1 Rxg7 25. Rc1 Kd7 26. Be2 Nd5 27. Ba5 Nh2 28. Bc4 Nf6 29. Be2 Nf3+ 30. Bxf3 Rg1+ 31. Kd2 Rxc1 32. Bxe4 Ra1 (32... Nxe4+ 33. Kxc1 Nxf2) 33. Bxf5+ Ke7 34. Bc3 a5 35. e4 {And now, as the commentators are fond of saying, all three results are possible once more.} d5 36. f3 b5 37. b4 a4 38. Kd3 Ne8 39. e5 Ng7 40. Bg4 Ne6 41. Bf5 Rh1 42. Ke3 Rh2 43. Bd3 Nc7 44. f4 Rh3+ 45. Kd2 Rh2+ 46. Ke3 Rh3+ 47. Kd2 Ke6 {Foisor spurs the repetition and tries for the win. But White's play is much easier, as the game shows.} (47... Rh2+ 48. Ke3 Rh3+ {etc}) 48. f5+ Kd7 49. Ke2 Kc6 50. Bd2 Rh2+ 51. Kd1 Rh4 52. Be3 Kd7 53. Kc2 {White coordinates her king and bishops to help the pawns march up the board.} Rg4 54. Be2 Rg2 55. Kd1 Ke7 56. Ke1 Kf7 57. Bf4 Rg1+ 58. Kd2 Rg2 59. e6+ Nxe6 60. fxe6+ Kxe6 {The computers may not see the win, but White's two bishops vs the rook are very powerful.} 61. Ke3 Kf5 (61... Rg1 {probably holds, but it's tricky:} 62. Bxb5 (62. Kd3 Kd7 63. Kc3 Kc6) (62. Bd3 Ra1 63. Bxb5 Rb1 64. Be5 Rxb2 65. Bxa4 Rxb4) 62... Rb1 63. Bxa4 Rxb2 64. b5 Rb4 65. Bc2 Rxb5 66. Be5) 62. Bd6 Ke6 63. Bc5 Rg3+ 64. Kf4 Rb3 65. Bxb5 Rxb2 66. Bxa4 Rf2+ 67. Ke3 Rb2 68. Bc6 Rb1 69. b5 Kf5 70. b6 Rb3+ 71. Kd2 Ke4 72. b7 1-0 [/pgn]

Yu is at an astounding +6 (6.5/7) after seven rounds, and in most years, she’d be running away with the tournament. But Anna Zatonskih is keeping pace, and after her victory over eternal rival Irina Krush, she is only a half-point behind Yu at 6/7.

[pgn] [Event "59th ch-USA w 2019"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2451"] [BlackElo "2430"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2019.03.20"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 O-O 8. Rc1 c6 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. h4 h6 11. h5 Bh7 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Nf5 Qd7 {Some homebrew concocted by Zatonskih and her husband, GM Daniel Fridman. They had prepared the idea of playing the knight to e8.} (15... Qe6 16. f3 Nbd7 17. Kf2 Rfe8 18. g4 Nh7 19. Na4 b6 20. Nc3 Ndf6 21. Ne2 Ng5 22. Nf4 Qd7 23. Qa3 {1-0 (41) Krush,I (2455)-Kaidanov,G (2577) Saint Louis 2010}) 16. g4 Na6 17. f3 Ne8 18. Kf2 Nd6 {Exchanging off the good knight on f5.} 19. Rcg1 f6 20. Ne2 Nc7 21. Nxd6 Qxd6 22. Ng3 Qd7 23. Nf5 Nb5 (23... Ne6 {is another idea, as Zatonskih said after the game, with the goal of ...c6-c5.}) (23... Ne8 $6 24. Qa3) 24. b4 a6 (24... a5 25. a4 Nd6 26. Nxd6 Qxd6 27. b5 {"and Black is not worse" (Zatonskih)}) 25. Rb1 Nd6 26. Rhc1 a5 27. a4 axb4 28. Rxb4 b5 29. axb5 $2 {An unfortunate oversight.} ({Zatonskih worried about} 29. Nxg7 { and was going to allow the perpetual with} Kxg7 ({but} 29... Qxg7 30. Rxc6 { is better for Black per the computer; still practically, White has active pieces and decent chances to complicate.}) 30. Qg6+ Kh8 31. Qxh6+ Kg8 ({ the point is that after} 31... Qh7 32. Qxh7+ Kxh7 33. Rxc6 {White's rooks are rampaging}) 32. Qg6+) (29. Nxh6+ {might be a better version of the perpetual attempt. as it avoids the queen recapture:} gxh6 30. Qg6+ Qg7 31. Qxg7+ Kxg7 32. Rxc6 {very unclear}) 29... Nxf5 30. gxf5 Qd6 31. Qd2 Ra2 {A crunching blow. } 32. Qxa2 Qh2+ 33. Kf1 Qxa2 34. bxc6 Qa3 0-1 [/pgn]

Tatev Abrahamyan entered the seventh round tied for Zatonskih, but her draw with Emily Nguyen leaves her tied for third place, a point and a half off the lead. She is joined there by Annie Wang, who defeated Akshita Gorti and, like Abrahamyan, goes into Thursday’s play with 5/7.

[pgn] [Event "59th ch-USA w 2019"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2019.03.27"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Wang, Annie"] [Black "Gorti, Akshita"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2304"] [BlackElo "2272"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2019.03.20"] 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 b6 5. e4 c5 6. d5 Qe7 7. Nge2 exd5 8. exd5 d6 9. Bd2 O-O 10. f3 Re8 11. O-O-O Nbd7 12. Ng3 Qd8 13. Be2 a6 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 Rb8 16. a4 b5 17. cxb5 Nb6 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. a5 Nd7 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. b6 Bb7 22. Qd2 c4 23. Qd4 f5 24. Qxe5 Rxe5 25. Nc3 Rc8 26. Rd4 Rc5 27. Rxc4 Rxa5 28. Rc7 Ra1+ 29. Kd2 Rxh1 30. Rxd7 Bxd5 31. Rxd6 Rxh2 32. Rxd5 Re7 33. Rc5 Rh6 34. Rc7 Rd6+ 35. Ke1 Re8 36. b7 Rb6 37. Rc8 Kf8 38. Rxe8+ Kxe8 39. Bxa6 Kd7 40. Kf1 g6 41. b4 1-0 [/pgn]

Yu takes the Black pieces against Gorti in round 8, while Zatonskih has White against Nguyen. Abrahamyan and Wang battle for third place, with Abrahamyan getting her turn with White. STANDINGS Open Women’s Find full pairings for the tournament and follow along on uschesschamps.com with commentary from GMs Maurice Ashley, Yasser Seirawan and WGM Jennifer Shahade starting at 12:50 CT/1:50 ET.