Recaps

U.S. Juniors’ and Senior Championship: Day 5 Recap

by IM Kostya Kavutskiy

GM Melik Khachiyan took the sole lead with 4.5/5 in the U.S. Senior after defeating his main rival GM Max Dlugy in today’s round. In the U.S. Junior GM Andrew Hong bounced back to share the lead with GM Abhimanyu Mishra and IM Arthur Guo, while IM-elect Alice Lee’s lead in the U.S. Girls Junior was cut to just half a point going into the rest day tomorrow.

U.S. Juniors and Senior Championship: Day 4 Recap

Grandmasters Melik Khachiyan and Maxim Dlugy continued their excellent run in the 2023 U.S. Senior Championship, as they lead the event with 3.5/4. Meanwhile top seed in the U.S. Junior GM Abhimanyu Mishra took down tournament leader GM Andrew Hong, while IM Arthur Guo notched his third straight win. In the U.S. Girls' Junior, IM-elect Alice Lee defeated fellow co-leader FM Zoey Tang to take the sole lead with 3.5/4.

U.S. Juniors and Senior Championship: Day 3 Recap

 

The action definitely started to heat up during Day 3 of the 2023 U.S. National Championships, with top seed in the U.S. Senior, GM Vladimir Akopian, scoring an important victory over tournament leader Kaidanov. Meanwhile GM Andrew Hong maintained his lead in the U.S. Junior, while IM Carissa Yip won her first game of the event to move up the standings in the U..S Girls’ Junior.

U.S. Juniors' and Senior Championship: Day 2 Recap

Day 2 of the U.S. National Championships saw GM Gregory Kaidanov and GM Melik Khachiyan both win their games to stay perfect in the U.S. Senior, while only GM Andrew Hong moved to 2/2 in the U.S. Junior. Somewhat surprisingly, all games in the U.S. Girls’ Junior were drawn, leaving IM-elect Alice Lee, FM Zoey Tang, and WGM Rochelle Wu in the lead with 1.5/2.

2023 U.S. Juniors' and Senior Championship: Day 1 Recap

The 2023 U.S. Juniors and Senior Championships kicked off today with plenty of decisive action in all three events. In the Seniors, GM Melikset Khachiyan defeated top seed GM Vladimir Akopian to shake things up immediately, while former champions Kaidanov and Shabalov also started their campaigns with a victory.

2023 Cairns Cup - Day 9

It was an intense and exciting final day of the event, with IM Anna Zatonskih facing her longtime-teammate and rival, GM Irina Krush. Despite already securing the event victory, Anna defended valiantly and managed to draw the longest game of the event on move 130, invoking the 50-moves rule. This draw sealed Anna's undefeated run in the tournament and solidified her as the champion. It was truly an inspiring performance, especially considering she started as the last seed based on ratings.

2023 Cairns Cup - Day 8 Recap

Day 8 was the most intense day in the event with each player bringing their fighting spirit to place in the top ranks of the standings in the 3rd edition of the Cairns Cup. IM Anna Zatonskih had the chance to draw the game by three-fold, but chose to continue her play without risk and it certainly paid off. Going into a knight versus bishop endgame, Anna was able to trade off to a winning king and pawn endgame that brought her not only the full point, but also a GM-norm. Zatonskih secured the first place win with one round left, an impressive result considering she won three games with the Black pieces during the tournament. Congratulations to the 2023 Cairns Cup Champion!

2023 Cairns Cup - Day 7 Recap

Day 7 brought another eventful round at the Cairns Cup, with three decisive games, all won by those players playing with the white pieces. With the tournament approaching its end, the fights are heating up as everyone is trying to bring in their A-game to place at the top of the standings in this 3rd edition of the Cairns Cup.

The leader of the event, IM Anna Zatonskih, was leading by a point to her second competitor, but she had a rest day today. She maintains her lead, as none of the competitors who could catch up won their games. GM Bella Khotenashvilli turned around the tournament, having won 4 games in a row. GM Nana Dzagnidze stopped the series of losses, with a tough win against former Women’s Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. GM Irina Krush won a convincing game against GM Harika Dronavalli, while GM Abdumalik drew against IM Mammadzada.

2023 Cairns Cup - Day 6 Recap

The start of the round may have suggested a quiet day, but the intensity of the event was revealed as the players approached the time control. Anna Zatonskih won with the black pieces, another important game against Mammadzada, inching closer to her dream of achieving a GM norm. She would have to score 1 point out of 2 to score a norm (tomorrow she has a day off). In addition, Anna is leading the event with 4.5 /6 with two rounds to go. Paehtz and Kosteniuk won their games today, maintaining a close trail behind American Zatonskih.

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