After 8 rounds, top seed Hikaru Nakamura (and ranked #7 in the world) and current U.S champion Gata Kamsky (who won in 1991, 2010, and 2011) both lead with 6 out of 8 points. Both players won their 8th round game. Nakamura beat Alexander Stripunsky in 71 moves and Kamsky beat Aleksandr Lenderman in 44 moves. Both players had Black. Nakamura won the US championship in 2005 and 2009.

Behind the two leaders are Varuzhan Akobian, Yury Shulman, and Alexander Onischuk, each with 4.5 points. Lenderman has 4 points. Ray Robson and Gregory Kaidanov have 3.5 points. Stipunsky, Robert Hess, and Yasser Seirawan have 3 points. The tail-ender, Alejandro Ramirez-Alvarez, has 2.5 points.

For the women, Anna Zatonskih (US women’s champion in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011) and Irina Krush (US women’s champion in 1998, 2007, and 2010) are tied for first place with 5 out of 7 points with no losses. In 3rd place ins Rusaudan Goletiani with 4.5 points, followed by Sabrina Foisor with 4 points, then Tatev Abrahamyan, Alisa Melekhina, Viktoria Ni, and Iryna Zenyuk with 3.5 points. Alena Kats has 1.5 points. The tail-ender is Camilla Baginskaite with 1 point. The women had two rounds left.

For the men, there are 3 more rounds left, unless a playoff is necessary. Nakamura and Kamsky are to meet in round 10 (Kamsky will have White). In round 9, Kamsky is to play Seirawan as White. Nakamura will have White against Lenderman. The final round will have Nakamura playing White against Seirawan and Hess will have White against Kamsky.

The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes, followed by the rest of the game in 30 minutes, with 30 seconds added per move. The men’s event is a 12-player round-robin. The women have 10 players, played in a round-robin. The rounds start at 1 pm Central time.

Last year, there were 16 players divided into two groups. The top two in each group then met.

The prize fund for this 55th official U.S. chess championship is $160,000 for the men and $64,000 for the women. Any player with a perfect score gets an additional $64,000. The championship tournament is being held for the 4th time in a row at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

The USCF ratings of the players are: Nakamura at 2848 (2775 Elo), Kamsky at 2804 (2741 Elo), Onischuk at 2736 (2660 Elo), Seirawan at 2723 (2643 Elo), Hess at 2717 (2635 Elo), Akobian at 2709 (2625 Elo), Stripunsky at 2700 (2562 Elo), Robson at 2674 (2614 Elo), Ramirez at 2668 (2593 Elo), Shulman at 2666 (2571 Elo), Lenderman at 2665 (2587 Elo), and Kaidanov at 2658 (2594 Elo).

For the women, their ratings are: Anna Zatonskih at 2563, Irina Krush at 2500, Camilla Baginskiate at 2419, Sabrina Foisor at 2413, Tatev Abrahamyan at 2350, Viktorja Ni at 2349, Rusudan Goletiani at 2337, Alisa Melekhina at 2321, Iryna Zenyuk at 2329, and Alenai Kats at 2233.

Nakamura was born in Osaka, Japan in 1987. Kamsky was born in Novokuznetsk, Russia in 1974. Onischuk was born in Sevastopol, Ukraine in 1975. Seirawan was born in Damascus, Syria in 1960. Hess was born in New York in 1991. Akobian was born in Armenia in 1983. Strupunsky was born in the Ukraine in 1970. Robson was born in Guam in 1994. Ramirez was born in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1988. Shulman was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1975. Lenderman was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1989. Kaidanov (the oldest in the tournament) was born in the Ukraine in 1959.

In round 1, Stripunsky lost in 11 moves to Onischuk.

Stripunsky-Onischuk, US Ch, Rd 1, May 8, 2012
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.g3 Nd7 7.Qe2 d4 8.Nb1 h5 9.h4 g5 10.hxg5 Qxg5 11.d3?? and White resigned as Black wins a piece with 11…Qxc1+.

In round 1, only one game was drawn in the men’s section. After two rounds, there were no perfect scores.

In Round 4, Kamsky lost to Kaidanov, ending Kamsky’s 51-game U.S. Championship unbeaten streak. Now he has won four games in a row.

In round 7, Nakamura and Shulman played the longest game of the tournament, lasting 101 moves in five and a half hours of play. Nakamura has never beaten Shulman in a classical tournament chess game.

At the end of the tournament, former world champion Gary Kasparov will judge the best game in the men’s championship. Judit Polgar, the world’s highest rated woman, will judge the best game in the women’s championship. The player of the best game in the men’s section will get $1,500. The next best game winner will get $1,000. The third best game winner will get $500. Should the best game be a draw, both players will split the prize money. On the women’s side, the amounts are $1,000, $600, and $400 for the top three games.

If you want more chess (perhaps more boring), you can follow the world chess championship. Game 5 starts in Moscow at 7 am, Eastern Time on May 17. It was coincidental that the world championship and the U.S. championship started around the same time. The U.S. championship was scheduled before the world championship.

— Bill Wall Order Windows 7 Ultimate
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