Three Schedules, One Task

Tonight, we become one.

Over 500 players merge for the final three rounds of the US Open, all wondering whether anyone can catch GM Aleksander Lenderman, who stands alone at the top of the standings with a perfect 6/6. Lenderman, one of five GMs playing the traditional nine-day schedule, showed outstanding resiliency in a dramatic come-from-behind victory over New Yorker Joseph Zeltsan. Lenderman’s rooks came to life from a passive position full of weakened pawns, and his super-rooks proved superior to both Zeltsan’s passed pawns and his eventual promoted queen.

GM Aleks Lenderman (photo Iredia Ekhato)

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "6"] [White "Zeltsan, Joseph"] [Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C16"] [WhiteElo "2301"] [BlackElo "2607"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:02:59"] [BlackClock "0:05:51"] {[%evp 0,98,25,22,51,38,36,32,18,32,64,20,64,35,43,39,78,50,50,49,54,42,35,35, 54,31,42,14,24,-19,0,5,12,10,33,35,37,80,96,96,101,111,149,149,157,176,177,199, 183,88,90,85,191,191,261,178,178,207,219,187,158,100,99,98,182,181,180,178,157, 187,189,150,154,36,96,0,0,0,78,0,0,22,58,48,48,55,48,42,24,-60,-78,-70,-70,-64, -74,-74,-74,-73,-77,-79,-78]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. h4 Qd7 6. h5 h6 7. Qg4 Bf8 8. Be3 Ne7 9. Nf3 Ba6 10. O-O-O $146 (10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. O-O Nf5 12. a4 Nb4 13. Rfc1 {Rydstrom, Tom - Akesson, J., 1-0, TCh-SWE Superettan, 2018, https://lichess.org/AZVciQ0S}) 10... Bxf1 11. Rhxf1 Nbc6 12. Nh4 O-O-O 13. Qh3 Na5 14. g4 Nec6 15. Kb1 Bb4 16. Bc1 Nc4 17. f4 Bxc3 18. Qxc3 Qe7 19. Ng2 Kb7 20. f5 a5 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Nf4 Rhe8 23. Ng6 Qb4 24. Qxb4 (24. Qb3 $1 { White retains an advantage after the queen trade, but could keep even more pressure by baiting black to trade on white's terms, kicking the knight off c4 in the process} b5 25. g5 hxg5 26. Bxg5 $18) 24... axb4 25. Rf7 Ra8 26. Rxg7 Ra5 27. Rd3 Rea8 28. a3 bxa3 29. b3 Nb2 30. Bxb2 axb2 31. Kxb2 Ra2+ 32. Kc3 Na7 {Passive, but} (32... b5 {allowed white to clarify after} 33. g5 hxg5 34. Rd1 b4+ 35. Kd3 Ra1 36. Rxa1 Rxa1 37. h6 Rd1+ 38. Ke2 Rh1 39. h7) 33. Nf4 (33. Rd1) 33... Nb5+ 34. Kd2 Rf8 35. Ke3 Rxc2 36. Nxe6 $6 (36. Rg6 {The knight was doing good work on f4, keeping black's rooks from finding counterplay}) 36... Rf1 37. Rd2 Rc3+ 38. Rd3 Rc2 39. Nf4 $10 (39. Rf7 $1 {A clever tactical trick makes the rook untouchable, and after} Rg1 40. Kf3 Rcc1 41. Rd7 {White can keep pushing, as the knight is better placed here than in the game}) 39... Re1+ 40. Kf3 Nc3 41. g5 hxg5 42. Rxg5 Rf1+ 43. Kg4 Ne4 44. Rg6 Nf2+ 45. Kg5 Nxd3 46. Nxd3 Rg2+ 47. Kh6 Rd2 48. Rg3 Rfd1 49. e6 $2 (49. Nf4 Rxd4 50. Ng6 Rh1 51. e6 Re4 52. e7 d4 53. Rf3 Rhe1 54. Kg5 Rxe7 55. Nxe7 Rxe7 $10) 49... Rxd3 50. e7 Rxg3 51. e8=Q Rxd4 52. Qe5 Rgg4 53. Kh7 Rd2 54. Qf5 Rh4 55. Kg6 Rd1 56. Qf3 Rd2 57. Qf5 Rdd4 58. Kg5 Rh1 59. Qe5 Rdh4 60. Qxd5+ Ka7 61. Qc6 Rxh5+ 62. Kg4 R1h4+ 63. Kg3 Rc5 64. Qf6 Rb4 65. Qa1+ Kb7 66. Qh1+ c6 67. Qh7+ Ka6 68. Qd3+ Rcb5 { 0-1 White resigns.} 0-1 [/pgn]

GM John Michael Burke trails Lenderman by a half-point after a commanding victory over Roman Kowalysko, a 2095-rated player having a sensational event. Here, Burke’s bishops were too much in this open Sicilian for the Ohio upstart:

GM John Burke (photo Iredia Ekhato)

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "6"] [White "Kowalysko, Roman"] [Black "Burke, John Michael"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B56"] [WhiteElo "1961"] [BlackElo "2554"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:25:30"] [BlackClock "0:43:10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nd5 Nxd5 7. exd5 Qa5+ 8. Bd2 Qxd5 9. Nb5 Qe6+ 10. Be2 Qd7 11. c4 Rb8 12. O-O a6 13. Nc3 e6 14. Bf4 Be7 15. Qd2 O-O 16. Rad1 Rd8 17. Qc2 b6 18. Rd2 f5 $1 {an excellent space-grab and the start of a creative re-positioning of the queen} 19. f3 Qe8 20. Rfd1 Ne5 21. Na4 Bd7 22. Nc3 Bc6 23. c5 bxc5 24. Bxe5 dxe5 25. Bxa6 Rd4 26. Ne2 Rxd2 27. Rxd2 e4 28. fxe4 Bxe4 {Suddenly the bishops are dominant} 29. Bd3 Bg5 30. Rd1 Be3+ 31. Kh1 Bc6 32. Bc4 Be4 33. Bd3 Ba8 34. Ng1 Qh5 35. Be2 Qh6 36. Bf3 Bxg1 37. Rxg1 Bxf3 38. gxf3 Qe3 39. Qc3 $2 {Clarifying the situation: this is one rook endgame that is not drawn.} (39. Qd1 {Black is better, but the additional pieces bring additional chances.}) 39... Qxc3 40. bxc3 Ra8 41. Rg2 Kf7 42. Kg1 Kf6 43. Rb2 Ra3 44. Rb3 Rxa2 45. Rb5 Ke5 46. Rxc5+ Kf4 47. h4 Kxf3 48. Re5 Re2 49. Rc5 e5 50. Rc7 e4 51. Rxg7 e3 52. Rxh7 Rg2+ 53. Kh1 e2 54. Re7 Rf2 55. h5 Rf1+ 56. Kh2 e1=Q 57. Rxe1 Rxe1 58. h6 Re6 59. h7 Rh6+ {0-1 White resigns.} 0-1 [/pgn]

Eight more players lurk at 5/6 in the traditional schedule, including the remaining GMs Lazaro Batista, Benjamin Gledura, and Alex Fishbein. One non-titled player, North Carolina’s Vishnu Vanapalli, is also among this group, having upset IM Alexander Katz in the sixth round and cementing his USCF rating above 2200 in the process.

The six-day schedule reached its half-way point with GMs Illia Nyzhnyk, Mackenzie Molner and Joel Benjamin being the most recognizable names among the eight-way tie with 4½/5. Nyzhnyk positionally outplayed Ohio master Scott Ramer in a London system.

GM Illia Nyzynik (photo Iredia Ekhato)

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open (6-day)"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Nyzhnyk, Illya"] [Black "Ramer, Scott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2676"] [BlackElo "2192"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:13:35"] [BlackClock "0:39:50"] {[%evp 0,49,25,21,18,28,54,39,39,30,30,46,29,24,22,13,24,29,20,27,21,6,32,41, 39,42,41,35,70,73,110,75,80,86,84,86,86,93,89,89,95,69,78,81,95,93,222,222,564, 644,653,658]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. h4 h5 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. Ne5 Bxe2 9. Qxe2 c5 10. O-O-O Nc6 11. dxc5 Qa5 12. Qb5 Qxb5 13. Nxb5 Ne4 (13... Rac8 {Perhaps black was better off activating the rooks} 14. Nc3 Rfd8 15. Nd3 Ne4 $14) 14. Nd3 b6 $2 {And now white's knights provide too much activity.} (14... a6) 15. Nc7 Rad8 16. f3 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 bxc5 18. Rxd5 Rxd5 19. Nxd5 e6 20. Nc7 Rb8 21. c3 Ne5 22. Rd1 Nc4 23. Nxe6 Rxb2 24. Rd8+ Kh7 25. Ng5+ {1-0 Black resigns.} 1-0 [/pgn]

Benjamin likewise out-maneuvered the Barber champion, Vyom Vidyarthi, in a variation of the English that my database calls the ‘Wimpy System’ of the Agincourt Defense.

GM Joel Benjamin (photo Iredia Ekhato)

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open (6-day)"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Vidyarthi, Vyom"] [Black "Benjamin, Joel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2304"] [BlackElo "2499"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:35:23"] [BlackClock "0:33:12"] {[%evp 0,82,18,18,18,-2,-7,0,6,-13,-20,6,-14,-16,-9,-19,-3,-18,5,13,33,1,7,-4, 22,15,15,-9,-10,-5,-4,-4,-1,-17,-6,-10,-4,-45,-21,-62,-47,-145,-174,-157,-166, -231,-239,-387,-141,-141,-149,-136,-136,-173,-67,-88,-48,-6,-20,-20,-20,-51,-6, 0,41,-28,-25,-14,-18,-18,-40,-144,-169,-195,-161,-162,-160,-348,-91,-144,-160, -165,-186,-202,-204]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. e3 d5 4. b3 c5 5. Bb2 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5 Bd6 8. O-O Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Be2 O-O 11. d4 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 cxd4 13. exd4 Re8 14. Nc3 Bc7 15. Qd3 Qd6 16. g3 Bb6 17. Na4 Ne4 18. Kg2 Bc7 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Qc3 $2 (20. Qe2 Nxd4 21. Bxd4 Qxd4 {Practically speaking, this was the best way to anticipate and delay black's e3 break, but practically speaking this would be a difficult position to hold} 22. Rac1 Qe5 23. Rc4 e3 $17) 20... e3 $1 21. Qc5 Qg6 22. d5 Bd6 23. Qc3 Bb4 24. Qc4 e2 25. Rfe1 Bxe1 26. Rxe1 Re4 $6 (26... b5 $1 27. Qxc6 Qxc6 28. dxc6 bxa4 29. Bd4 Re6 30. c7 Rc6 31. Rxe2 Rxc7 32. Re5 a6 33. b4 $19) 27. Qb5 Nb4 28. Nc5 Nc2 29. Rxe2 Rxe2 30. Qxe2 b6 31. Ne4 f5 32. Nf6+ gxf6 33. Qxc2 f4 34. Qc4 fxg3 35. fxg3 b5 36. Qd4 Qc2+ 37. Kf3 Qf5+ 38. Ke3 Rd8 39. Qe4 Qxd5 40. Qxd5+ Rxd5 41. Bxf6 b4 {0-1 White resigns.} 0-1 [/pgn]

Molner took a different path in his victory over Daniel Girsh, overpowering the Pennsylvanian with the white pieces in a trendy line of the 6. Bg5 Najdorf. Black is supposed to be able to castle kingside and withstand the ensuing attack according to supercomputer analysis. Proving it over—the-board is another matter entirely, as Molner shows.

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open (6-day)"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "5"] [White "Molner, Mackenzie S"] [Black "Girsh, Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B99"] [WhiteElo "2438"] [BlackElo "1919"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:20:24"] [BlackClock "0:24:53"] {[%evp 0,55,18,38,46,79,96,61,80,49,36,38,64,65,69,33,25,14,53,52,10,1,8,15,21, 19,27,-39,-7,-96,-42,27,63,20,20,1,1,-68,-62,-139,58,49,-20,-12,-30,-30,-36, -25,90,162,162,214,53,799,815,1105,29989,29990]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g5 Nd7 13. f5 O-O 14. Rg1 b4 15. Nce2 e5 16. f6 exd4 17. fxe7 Re8 18. Nf4 $5 {this move has only been played once before, and leads to wild complications} (18. Nxd4 Ne5 19. Qf4 Be6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rg3 Rab8 {is the main line, where after} 22. Qd2 Rb6 23. Rb3 a5 24. a4 {there are mutual chances in an unclear position}) 18... Bb7 19. Nh5 Ne5 (19... Rxe7 $2 {looks playable at first after} 20. Nf6+ Kh8 21. Bd3 Ne5 22. Qf5 gxf6 23. gxf6 Rc8 { but leads to a similar conclusion after} 24. c3 bxc3 25. fxe7 Qxe7 26. Qf4) 20. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 21. gxf6+ Kh8 22. Qg3 Ng6 23. Bd3 Qc6 (23... Rg8 {only delays the inevitable after} 24. Qf2 Qc5 25. Rxg6 Rxg6 26. e5 Qxe5 27. Bxg6 hxg6 28. Qh4+ Qh5 29. Qxh5+ gxh5 30. Rxd4 $18) 24. Qg5 Rg8 25. Qh6 Ne5 26. Rg7 Nxd3+ 27. Kb1 Qxe4 28. Rdg1 {1-0 Black resigns.} 1-0 [/pgn]

In the 4-day schedule, GMs Timur Gareyev, Hans Niemann, Brandon Jacobson, and Robert Hungaski sit at 4/4 after a day of four 60-minute games. Gareyev ground down FM Aaron Jacobson (Brandon’s older brother) in round four, and the US Junior champion Niemann had a convincing round four victory over FM Dov Gorman.

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open (4-day)"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Gareyev, Timur"] [Black "Jacobson, Aaron"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2276"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:07:55"] [BlackClock "0:09:00"] {[%evp 0,93,38,18,27,14,6,6,0,8,18,21,23,23,7,-9,-6,-13,-5,-27,13,8,10,4,0,2,9, 14,24,9,12,10,20,0,21,36,21,32,20,32,43,43,53,54,54,55,48,52,47,45,50,72,82,79, 77,46,136,127,128,134,208,209,200,208,213,213,227,227,413,373,373,385,385,369, 365,365,387,381,475,467,473,473,473,451,451,358,533,533,573,536,908,908,908, 919,965,607]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 b6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Be2 Bd6 7. b4 O-O 8. Qb3 Bb7 9. a4 a5 10. b5 Nbd7 11. O-O Nc5 12. Qc2 Re8 13. Bb2 Qe7 14. Nd4 Qd7 15. Bf3 Nfe4 16. Nce2 Rac8 17. h3 g6 18. Nf4 Be5 19. h4 Qd6 20. g3 Ne6 21. Ndxe6 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 fxe6 23. d3 Nc5 24. d4 Nd7 25. Rfc1 c5 26. bxc6 Rxc6 27. Be2 Kf7 28. Bb5 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Rc8 30. Rxc8 Bxc8 31. Qc2 Bb7 32. Bxd7 Qxd7 33. h5 Bc6 34. hxg6+ hxg6 35. Nxg6 Bxa4 36. Ne5+ Kg8 37. Qg6+ Qg7 38. Qxe6+ Kh8 39. Qxb6 Bc2 40. Qxa5 Be4 41. Qd8+ Kh7 42. Qh4+ Kg8 43. f3 Bf5 44. Kf2 Qa7 45. Qg5+ Kh8 46. Qf6+ Kg8 47. g4 {1-0 Black resigns.} 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open (4-day)"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Niemann, Hans"] [Black "Gorman, Dov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2606"] [BlackElo "2253"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:37:06"] [BlackClock "0:13:04"] {[%evp 0,61,18,-5,2,0,8,-23,-17,-24,23,10,9,9,23,10,28,26,29,62,12,31,52,62,62, 67,106,67,83,73,99,65,65,80,109,107,143,127,145,141,171,175,180,137,234,220, 620,616,634,634,641,642,643,524,550,580,708,715,1010,1033,1410,1653,1669,1661] } 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 c5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. d4 Nc6 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Qc2 Qb6 11. Nc3 Bd6 12. e4 O-O 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Bxd5 Rb8 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Rfd1 Be5 18. Rab1 Bg4 19. Rd2 h5 20. b4 Qa6 21. Qb3 Qf6 22. Bxa7 Rxb4 23. Qxb4 Bc3 24. Qxf8+ Kxf8 25. Rb8+ Ke7 26. Rd3 Bb4 27. Rb7+ Bd7 28. Re3+ Kd8 29. Bb6+ Kc8 30. Rc7+ Kb8 31. Rxd7 {1-0 Black resigns.} 1-0 [/pgn]

Also among the leaders is FM Aravind Kumar, who joined the pack after winning a topsy-turvy game against Denker champion GM Awonder Liang.

[pgn][Event "2021 U.S. Open (4-day)"] [Site "Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA"] [Date "2021.08.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Kumar, Aravind"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C03"] [WhiteElo "2587"] [BlackElo "2233"] [Annotator "Lang"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:01:24"] [BlackClock "0:00:04"] {[%evp 0,74,41,30,28,31,29,6,35,19,23,14,19,1,8,26,27,10,-6,-63,-31,-24,19,26, 83,117,100,-35,-57,0,0,-8,-13,57,59,62,62,41,118,142,142,67,67,102,85,131,157, 101,196,167,117,150,129,162,154,171,194,151,131,131,564,562,997,0,0,0,0,-92, -90,-123,-103,-182,-212,-248,-246,-772,-910]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O g5 9. Nb1 h5 10. Be3 cxd4 11. cxd4 f6 12. Bg6+ Kf8 13. Nxg5 $6 (13. exf6 $1 Bxf6 14. Qd2 g4 15. Ng5 Qe7 16. Nc3 {and white's superior coordination should be decisive, as black lacks the development required to complete a kingside attack.}) 13... fxg5 14. Bxh5 Rh7 15. f4 Kg8 16. Qg4 Rg7 17. fxg5 Ndxe5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Qf4 Bd6 20. Qh4 Bd7 21. Rf6 Qe7 22. Nd2 Be8 23. Rh6 Bg6 24. Bxg6 Nxg6 25. Qh5 Bc5 26. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 27. Kh1 Qc2 28. Nf3 Rf8 29. Nh4 Qf2 $4 {Kumar has been under five minutes for some time and now, under one minute, embarks on a final round of desperate complications} 30. g3 Qe3 31. Rxg6 $4 {Played with six minutes still on his clock.} (31. Nxg6 {is simply winning:} Qe4+ 32. Kg1 Qe3+ 33. Kg2 Qe4+ 34. Kh3 Qf5+ 35. Kh4 {sanctuary!}) 31... Qe4+ $10 32. Kg1 Qd4+ 33. Kg2 $4 $17 {Not content with allowing the perpetual, Liang takes an unnecessary risk that backfires} (33. Kh1 Qe4+ 34. Kg1 Qd4+) 33... Qxb2+ 34. Kh3 Qxa1 35. Rxg7+ $19 ( 35. Ng2 Rxg6) 35... Qxg7 36. Qg4 Qf7 37. Qd4 Qf1+ {0-1 White resigns. With four seconds remaining on his clock, black forces matters. Next the rook comes to f2 and mate follows shortly.} 0-1 [/pgn]

An additional seven players are a half-point back at 3½/4 entering the day’s play, including GMs Varuzhan Akobian, Elshan Moradiabadi, Alexander Shabalov, and John Fedorowicz.

Live coverage of the 121st US Open returns tonight on the US Chess Twitch stream, with hosts IM Kostya Kavutsky and WGM Katerina Nemcova. Visit twitch.tv/uschess to keep up with all the action!