2010 U.S. Champs

GM Ben Finegold looks for a win against GM Gregory Kaidanov in round three.Hi everyone! I wish my first 2010 U.S. Champ blog post had better news, but, as I said after I drew round 1, "I have more points now than before the round started!" So far, I have 0.5 out of 2, drawing against Var Akobian in round 1 and losing to Alexander Shabalov in round 2. I have white against Gregory Kaidanov tomorrow.

The tournament has featured quite a few decisive results, and thus far, the two main favorites, Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky are the only players with 2 out of 2, and Gata will have white against Hikaru in round 3.

I had a relatively boring game in round 1 versus Akobian. I was white in a Nimzo-Indian, and after a lot of theory, the game was equal. The Nimzo is not one of the openings I was prepared for, but, in a tournament this strong, any opponent is capable of playing any opening! I was surprised once again in round 2, when I faced 4.e3 in the Slav. I assumed Alex was prepared for my usual 4...g6, so I played 4...a6 for the first time in my life. I had easy

Ben drew a tough opponent in GM Varuzhan Akobian in round one.equality against insipid play by my opponent, but, as soon as we both had less than 10 minutes remaining to get to move 40, I started playing badly and lost easily from a nice position. The culprit was my idea of 26...Qf6 and 27...c5? (I missed 29.Ne4).

My brother, Mark, showed up this morning, and saw a lot of good chess. Mark is rated 2200+ USCF and really enjoyed the games today. There are a lot of spectators every day, and I am guessing over 100 people came to the chess club today to watch the action! Maurice Ashley and Jennifer Shahade do a great job of live commentary, and many of the players speak live to the audience about their games. The spectators are thrilled!

So I have 0.5 out of 2. The pairings never get easier, and I hope I am able to win a game soon!

 

 

 

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