At some point, it seemed like the title was going to slip away from her hands, but things finally went Carissa Yip’s way on Tuesday, as she claimed outright tournament victory to become a 2-time U.S. women’s chess champion. The 20-year-old lost her final-round game against Ruiyang Yan (her first loss of the event), and saw title contender Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova failing to find a drawing line and eventually losing to Jennifer Yu. In the open championship, Abhimanyu Mishra finished the tournament in style, beating Levon Aronian to climb to shared second place. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Nothing compares to the excitement of the final round. The audience loves the adrenaline, and the raised stakes can aggravate the pressure but also serve as a motivator for the players: a final boost to the finish. Round 11 of the 2023 U.S. Championships certainly lived up to the excitement, with the live cameras capturing nail-biting moments that could have been in a movie.
Fabiano Caruana successfully defended his title at the 2023 U.S. Championship in Saint Louis. The 31-year-old beat Abhimanyu Mishra to secure tournament victory with a round to spare, and thus claimed his third U.S. title Caruana won the championship in 2016, 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Carissa Yip beat Anna Zatonskih to leapfrog Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova atop the standings. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Yesterday's round nine of the 2023 U.S. and U.S. Women's Championships delivered a number of attacking games with lots of cool ideas, occasional blunders, and some missed opportunities. It was also a significant round for the standings as it reshaped the tournament landscape, especially in the women's section.
Fabiano Caruana continues to have a full-point lead over his closest chasers with two rounds to go at the U.S. Championship. Caruana beat Hans Niemann, one of the players sharing second place before round 9, but the remaining three chasers all won to remain one point behind the leader. Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova grabbed her fifth consecutive win to become the sole leader now only she and Carissa Yip, who stands a half point behind, are in the race for first place. | Photo: Lennart Ootes