US Chess Champs 3: Fabi & Yoo join "Disrespect Championship" leaders chess24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chess24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Three decisive games were seen both at the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship in Friday’s third round. In the open, Fabiano Caruana and Awonder Liang scored their first wins of the event, while Christopher Yoo grabbed a second victory in a row. Among the women, Tatev Abrahamyan, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova and Ruiyang Yan collected full points. | Photo: Austin Fuller
Hans Niemann and Sam Sevian kicked off the U.S. Championship with wins, as they defeated Christopher Yoo and Elshan Moradiabadi in the first round of the 14-player event. True to his style, Niemann was laconic in the post-game interview, noting that “chess spoke for itself” and that the game was so beautiful he did not even need to describe it. In the women’s event, four players scored full points, including Alice Lee, who is playing her first national championship. | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Going into the final round of the Women’s Grand Prix in Astana, Kateryna Lagno leads Aleksandra Goryachkina by a half point after both contenders for first place drew their games with white on Wednesday. Zhu Jiner (pictured) beat Alina Kashlinskaya to grab sole third place. Unfortunately for the chess world, another scandal made headlines on mainstream media: commentator Ilya Smirin was fired by FIDE after making sexist remarks during round 9’s broadcast. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman