Nakamura Declines U.S. Championship Invite
By MIKE WILMERING
Twelve of the top chess players in the U.S. just got fantastic news: Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura will not be fighting for the title of 2014 U.S. Champion.
Nakamura, currently ranked No. 8 in the world, declined his invitation citing his decision to prepare for, and compete against, only the world’s elite.
This isn’t surprising, really. A number of the world’s best players forgo their national championship for similar reasons. The last time World No. 2 Levon Aronian won the Armenian National Championship was 2002. Viswanathan Anand hasn’t claimed India’s title since 1988.
While Nakamura’s decision is certainly a blow to the prominence and profile of the U.S. Championship this year, it might actually make for a more exciting tournament.
I’m not saying he would have been a lock to win, but the format certainly favors a player of Nakamura’s caliber. The round robin ensures an even playing field with regard to pairings, and there’s no question he would have been the odds-on favorite.
Gata Kamsky, the reigning champion, is now the clear frontrunner, but he has demonstrated some vulnerability over the past year. In July 2013, Kamsky’s FIDE rating sat at 2763, good for No. 11 in the world. Since then, however, the four-time U.S. Champion has stumbled, and his rating has tumbled to 2709, which currently puts him at No. 40 overall.
Now Nakamura’s absence and Kamsky’s struggles have given a group of rising stars and seasoned veterans renewed hope to claim the crown.
The field for the 2014 U.S. Championship is nearly set. Eleven have gotten the call. One still remains, with only the wildcard yet to be determined.
The players (listed in rating order, highest to lowest) are:
GM Gata Kamsky, 39, New York/Moscow
GM Timur Gareev, 26, Las Vegas
GM Varuzhan Akobian, 30, Topeka, Kans.
GM Alexander Onischuk, 38, Lubbock, Texas
GM Sergey Erenberg, 31, Richmond, Va.
GM Ray Robson, 19, St. Louis (Webster U sophomore)
GM Sam Shankland, 22, Orinda, Calif.
GM Daniel Naroditsky, 18, Foster City, Calif.
GM Josh Friedel, 27, Milwaukee
GM Alex Lenderman, 24, New York
GM Alejandro Ramirez, 25, Garland, Texas
Full article here.
Great move by Nakamura.
Focusing on the destruction of Magnus Carlsen no doubt.
Naah. He’s just scared of these guys. His elo will further go down if he plays against these guys. They would love to play a choker like nakamura
Did you notice how, in a recent Q&A session, the putative ambassador of chess, franchise boy Carlsen repeatedly ignored questions about the android version of his app? He did put down Nakamura though.
Remember the US Open, Orlando 2011..
He only tied for 1st and did not make it into the playoff. He was in the World top 10 then. So why take a chance and have this happen again!! I kinda remember Fischer playing against the World’s best and still playing and winning the US championship.. 8 times and 8 championships