All boards for the first round of the 2024 U.S. National Championship have decided a tie, already ending any chance of the players repeating GM Bobby Fischer’s perfect score at the 1964 National Championship, but the U.S. National Championship title and first place prize. There are clear signs that there will be a fierce battle for the $55,000 prize. The only player who came close to winning the first round match was GM Hans Niemann, who missed an opportunity against defending champion GM Fabiano Caruana.
In the women’s event, IM Carissa Yip defeated WGM Talia Cervantes, while IM Gurulukbegim Tokilijonova and FM Rose Atwell won black pieces over IM Naci Paikidze and Anna Zatonsky, respectively.
The second round begins on October 12th at 2pm ET, 20:00 CEST, 11:30 IST.
Round 1 Standings: Championship
Round 1 Standings: Women's Championship
The U.S. National Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship have returned to the St. Louis Chess Club for the 16th consecutive year, courtesy of longtime benefactors Rex and Jeanne (Cairns) Sinquefield. It offers a national title and $402,000 in prize money, and is held at most chess clubs around the country. Top talent has come to Missouri.
In the Open Division, world No. 3 Caruana has a hot chance to retain his title for the third year in a row, but veterans such as GM Levon Aronian, GM Wesley So and GM Sam Shankland will take on the challenge. Junior champion and GM Christopher Yu and Awander Liang will also be threats, and Niemann, a dark horse with an iron will, shouldn’t be ruled out.
If Caruana wins his fourth title, he will become the ninth player in history to do so. Photo: Austin Fuller/St. Louis Chess Club.
Fifteen-year-old general manager Abhimanyu Mishra is also part of the 12-man roster, and if he wins the title, he will be the youngest to win the title since the late Fischer in 1958.
14-year-old Fisher (right) faces Abe Turner for the 1957-58 championship. Photo: Chess Review, 1958.
In the women’s event, former champions including GM Irina Krush (8 times), Zatonsky (4 times), WGM Jennifer Yu (2 times) and Paikidze (2 times) will try to take the title from Yip, but the 14-year-old Don’t be surprised if genius kid IM Alice Lee approaches a funding round.
Lee (left) won the bronze medal at the 2023 Games. Photo: Crystal Fuller/St. Louis Chess Club.
US Championship
The thorough preparation and unyielding determination of all 12 participants resulted in six draws in the first round. Incredibly, every player had a CAPS score of 97 or higher, and only one game had a rating bar above +1: Niemann vs. Caruana.
The +1.89 increase in rating is the largest advantage gained across all six matches played in Round 1.
Already from the eighth move, the players negotiated space in midfield, giving Niemann the opportunity to take advantage of it, before Caruana accidentally forced the Knight back.
Caruana has been a thorny opponent for Niemann in the past, and going into this match he had a 5-0 record against the No. 5 American, and this draw is a good sign for Niemann, who has shaken off that historic nuisance. It means it’s a good omen. his side.
Niemann promised to “come back stronger” after being eliminated in the 2024 Speed Chess Championship semifinals. Photo: Lennart Ootes/St. Louis Chess Club.
GM Ray Robson, board five of the U.S. Olympic team and world champion in Puzzle Rush, was the next player closest to earning a full point and might have gotten it had it not been for his brilliant 30…Rc1. yeah. Discovered by GM Grigory Oparin.
Had he not found this move, Opaline would have had to defend his pawn in a queen-and-rook end against one of the trickiest players in the world.
The 26-move French Defense showdown between Aronian and GM Sam Sevian was the fastest game of the round, and a huge sense of déjà vu for Indian GMs Harshit Raja and Vaibhav Suri, who played the same game in 2018. would have caused.
The fact that Aronian had over 90 minutes left after 18 moves meant he knew the game well, while Sebian was able to draw the best from memory even though he took longer than his opponent. It looked like he was pulling his hand out.
The future stars of American chess, Sebian, Mishra, and Liang, appear one after another. Photo: Austin Fuller/St. Louis Chess Club.
In the second round, the open section will be headlined by Caruana-Aronian, and a decisive result would create an early favorite for victory. The showdown between GM Reinier Dominguez and GM Shankland will also be a highly anticipated matchup, and one that is expected to be very theoretical.
Aronian is one of the warmest chess personalities on the board, but once the pieces start moving, he’s impossible to take lightly. Photo: Lennart Ootes/St. Louis Chess Club.
US Women’s Championship
At this point, it’s almost customary for the women’s event to see more bloodshed than the Open, with three decisive results splitting the field in the first round. Yip began his title defense with a victory over Cervantes.
Yip had plenty of reasons to smile during the Round 1 match. Photo: Lennart Ootes/St. Louis Chess Club.
The Talash defense was the battleground for this matchup, and after isolating Cervantes’ queen pawn, Yip deftly circumvented the weak point to a victorious endgame.
Not wanting to be left behind by Yip, 2023 silver medalist Tokilijonova muddied the waters against Paikidze and gradually built an advantage. After a series of pressure-inducing moves, Paikidze slipped up with 39.Rbe3? This allowed Black to capture and consolidate pawns.
But the most notable game of the day across both divisions came from Atwell, a 15-year-old from California whose enterprising opening play and three sacrifices dazzled four-time former champion Zatonski.
In round two, Atwell will face Yip alongside White, with the latter taking his opponent very seriously following a Tull-esque masterclass.
Atwell’s fearful gaze matched the movement on the board. Photo: Lennart Ootes/St. Louis Chess Club.
How to watch?
The 2024 U.S. Chess Championship is a classic, invitation-only event to determine the U.S. chess champion. The 2024 U.S. Women’s Championship will also be held at the same time. Both events start on October 11th and have the same format. It’s a 12-person, 11-round tournament with a total prize pool of $250,000 for the U.S. Championship and $152,000 for the U.S. Women’s Championship.
