Tag: USChampionship2016

World No.3 GM Fabiano Caruana was crowned the new champion of the United States of America at the recently concluded U.S. Championship 2016. In the 11th and final round of the event, Caruana convincingly overcame IM Akshat Chandra with the black pieces.

Caruana scored a total of 8.5 points out of a possible 11 and remained unbeaten en route to his first U.S. title.

Caruana’s closest competitors – GMs Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura – scored 7.5 points each. However, Wesley So’s superior tie-break score helped him finish second while Nakamura had to settle for the third spot.

Final Standings

Rank	Name	Rating	Score
1	Caruana	2795	8.5
2	Wesley So	2773	7.5
3	Nakamura	2787	7.5
4	Robson	2663	7
5	Onischuk	2664	6
6	Xiong	2618	5.5
7	Kamsky	2678	5
8	Shankland	2656	4.5
9	Lenderman	2618	4.5
10	Akobian	2615	4.5
11	Shabalov	2528	4
12	Chandra	2477	1.5

Round 7

The seventh round of the U.S. Championship 2016 proved to be one of the most exciting ones so far. As many as 4 games finished decisively and only 2 games resulted in draws. As regards the standings, the most important result was GM Wesley So’s emphatic victory over GM Alexander Shabalov. On the other hand, GM Fabiano Caruana was held to a draw by 15 year old GM Xiong Jeffery.

As such, after 7 rounds of play, Caruana and Wesley So were tied for the top spot with 5.5/7.

Round 8

While Caruana and Wesley So were held to draws, Nakamura registered his second consecutive win to move on to 5.5/8. This puts Nakamura on the joint-second spot along with GM Ray Robson, only half a point behind leaders Caruana and Wesley So.

GM Fabiano Caruana scored an important victory over GM Alexander Onischuk in the 6th round of the U.S. Championship 2016, thus jumping into sole lead with 5/6. Caruana, playing the White side of a Ruy Lopez, dominated the proceedings right from the start and went on to win an impeccable game.

Meanwhile, the high-voltage encounter between GM Wesley So and GM Hikaru Nakamura ended in a draw. A popular line of the French Defence gave rise to an interesting battle. However, the queens were exchanged soon and on the 28th move, Wesley So decided to play it safe by opting for a perpetual.

Results

Wesley So	½-½	Nakamura
Caruana	1-0	Onischuk
Kamsky	½-½	Robson
Shankland	0-1	Shabalov
Akobian	½-½	Lenderman
Chandra	½-½	Xiong