U.S. Championships: Standings Speak For Themselves After Round Two

Another round is in the books at the 2023 U.S. Championships and we’ve been treated to some cutting tactical blows and positional masterpieces.

In the Open Section, we had an all-too-familiar reminder that nobody is safe. Coming off a convincing win with the black pieces against GM Ray Robson, GM Sam Sevian looked to increase his lead with the white pieces against GM Hans Niemann.

Sam Sevian's time atop the leaderboard was short lived (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

The players came out in a fighting mood, evidenced by the essaying of a double-edged Catalan, and we were treated to a topsy-turvy affair. Niemann came prepared excellently, with equality never being a question out of the opening. He was even able to gain a slight edge into the middlegame which he began to nurture.

The end of a wild game (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

But one error was all it took for Sevian to storm back, seizing the initiative and building a winning position. In pole position to move to a perfect 2/2, Sevian looked invincible. However, it was not to be, as a series of mistakes led to an “only move” that Sevian missed. Niemann, not missing a beat, converted perfectly and leapfrogged his opponent to first place in the standings.

Niemann will look to keep his lead and perhaps try to increase it as White today against GM Sam Shankland. But he’s not alone at the top. Joining him was the world’s youngest GM, Abhimanyu Mishra.

The reigning U.S. Junior champion getting comfortable in the spotlight (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Showcasing his dangerous ability to destroy a seemingly innocuous position in the space of only a couple of moves, Mishra scored an important early victory over GM Andrew Tang. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong, but this author’s best summary is that Tang didn’t respect the venom in the position enough.

Whatever the case, Mishra will look to continue his strong form in the coming round as Black against GM Ray Robson.

Standings after round two (courtesy SLCC)

In the Women's Section, we saw IM Nazi Paikidze joined atop the standings by no fewer than three victors! We had a replay of a rivalry built over years of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships with a deja vu matchup between IM Carissa Yip and WGM Jennifer Yu.

Carissa Yip essayed another chapter in her rivalry with Jennifer Yu (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

With the white pieces, Yip showcased almost perfect play to obtain a crushing advantage and convert perfectly.

Yip was joined by veteran WGM Tatev Abrahamyan who won a very nice game against newly minted IM Alice Lee.

Chess Life columnist Tatev Abrahamyan does not need to be writing articles to make headlines, having defeated Alice Lee in her second-round game (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Lee has been on a tear recently scoring her final IM norms and breaking Yip’s record to become the youngest woman in US Chess history do so, but Abrahamyan was able to stop the run with a positional masterclass.

With the first victory by the black pieces in this section, WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova joined the leaders. Playing against FM Asritha Eswaran, she was able to slowly build an advantage and then come out on top in the tactical skirmish.

Tokhirjonova will have the white pieces against Abrahamyan next round and both players will be looking for a second consecutive victory.

Begim Tokhirjonova celebrating a smooth victory (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

There’s still nine rounds (a whole norm tournament, essentially!) left to go, and, as we’ve seen, the standings are very fluid, so anything could still happen!