Top seeds GM Gata Kamsky and IM Irina Krush are setting the early pace at the U.S. men's and women's championships that got underway Friday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, with each posting three wins in their first three games.
The future is now — right now — for American chess, as New York IM Marc Arnold has claimed his first U.S. Junior title, and the U.S. Cadet Championship, featuring the country’s top players younger than 16 years old, is wrapping up in Rockville.
The world championship chess match in Moscow between Indian titleholder Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel has reached the quarter post, with a few fireworks but no decisive results in the first three games of the scheduled 12-game match.
There were some upstart contenders banging on the door, but in the end, it was a pair of familiar names at the top of the wall chart at the U.S. national and women's championships, which finished up last week at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.
New York GM Gata Kamsky, the reigning national champion, was the first through to this year's U.S. Championship final, defeating young challenger GM-elect Sam Shankland 1 1/2- 1/2 in their semifinal match over the weekend at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.
The action already is intense at the 2011 U.S. Championship tournament, which kicked off play Friday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. Two dozen of the country's top players, including defending champ GM Gata Kamsky, are in the hunt, with a two-game championship match between the two top finishers to be held April 26 and 27.
The field is set for next month's 2011 U.S. Championship as veteran GM Gregory Kaidanov and 16-year-old newcomer GM Ray Robson of Florida grabbed the last two spots in the 16-player field.
