ODT120529

=**Nakamura wins US Championship**=




 * Problem:** White to play and mate in 4.

Hikaru Nakamura reinforced his standing as the number one US player by winning the 2012 US Championship in Saint Louis this month. He had been out of action in top chess since performing strongly at Wijk Aan Zee in January, but built on the form that has catapulted him to the world's seventh ranked player. In the first round he showed he meant business by beating GM Robert Hess employing the classically aggressive Evans Gambit.

Nakamura's chief rival for the title was second seed and defending champion GM Gata Kamsky, a former candidate for the world championship. The pair were neck-and neck in the eleven-round all-play-all event until the ninth round, when Kamsky grabbed a half-point lead with a stunning attack against veteran former US champion, GM Yasser Seirawan. But the penultimate round saw the key pairing Kamsky - Nakamura, and the black pieces were no obstacle to Nakamura winning the game to take over the lead. He sealed the championship in the final round by defeating Seirawan with the White pieces, which is today's game. The final leading scores were Nakamura 8½/11, Kamsky 7½, GM Alexander Onischuk 6½. media type="custom" key="25341912" Another opening with an acient pedigree, the Labourdonnais variation against the French defence, named after the world's leading player in the early ninetenth century. The move is very rare nowadays. A feature of the Labourdonnais variation is White's ability to delay the move d2-d4 until it is fully prepared and in the meantime get on with his development. The knight is heading to c2 to support d4. Carrying on with the above plan, this move has been played before in Glek – Curien 2007. In the game mentioned above, Black played 9...c4?! ceding the d4 square, which White went on to occupy with his knights after 10 Bxf5! Here the idea of ceding his 'good' bishop for a knight is quite counterintuitive. Better was 11...b6 so as to deny access to d4 to the white knights if White exchanges on c5. Preventing a disrupting h4-h3 by Black and fixing a potential target on h4. White has emerged from the opening with an advantage in space and the fixed pawn structure favours his extra knight as opposed to Black's two bishops constrained by their own immobile pawns. Black now seeks to activate his queenside pieces. Denying the black knight access to c5 is more important than a backward c-pawn. Keeping the bishop outside the pawn chain, but also cutting it off from the defence of the c6 square. White immediately plants a knight on that juicy outpost. Instead 19...Qc7 would have placed pressure on c3 and retained the option of Nf8-d7-c5 if White were to play b4-b5. Advantageously opening up the game, now that his knight outpost disrupts the coordination of Black's major pieces. The king is not safe here, but there is little Black can do. A blunder in a bad position, cutting off the queen's retreat square to allow a winning combination. But after 28...Kh7 29 Nxc4 dxc4 30 Rac1 White will begin to reap the first of his material rewards. The sequel 30...fxe6 31 Nxf5+ Kf8 32 Qg7+ Ke8 33 Qxg6+ is hopeless.
 * 1.e4 e6**
 * 2.f4!? ---**
 * 2.--- d5**
 * 3.e5 c5**
 * 4.Nf3 Nc6**
 * 5.c3 Nge7**
 * 6.Na3 ---**
 * 6.--- Nf5**
 * 7.Nc2 h5**
 * 8.Bd3!? ---**
 * 9.--- g6**
 * 9.O-O Be7**
 * 10.Bxf5!? ---**
 * 10.--- gxf5**
 * 11.d4 h4?!**
 * 12.dxc5! Bxc5+**
 * 13.Be3 Be7**
 * 14.h3! ---**
 * 14.--- b6**
 * 15.Qe2 Nb8**
 * 16.Rfd1 Ba6**
 * 17.Qe1 Nd7**
 * 18.b4! ---**
 * 18.--- Nf8**
 * 19.a4 Bc4?!**
 * 20.Ncd4! Qd7**
 * 21.b5 Ng6**
 * 22.Nc6 Kf8**
 * 23.Nd2! ---**
 * 23.--- Bd3**
 * 24.c4! Kg7**
 * 25.cxd5 exd5**
 * 26.Nb1 Bc4**
 * 27.Qc3 Qe6**
 * 28.Nd2 Rhc8?**
 * 29.Nd4! Qd7**
 * 30.e6! Resigns**


 * 1-0**


 * Solution:** 1 Qh8+!! Kxh8 (1... Kf7 2 Qxh7+ Kf6 3 Rxf8# or 2... Qg7 3 Qxg7#) 2 Rxf8+ Ng8 3 Be5+ Qg7 4 hxg7#.