National Scholastic Chess Foundation
 



NSCF News

Press release - Hikaru Nakamura wins the US Chess Championship.


May 17, 2009. White Plains Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura won the 2009 US Chess Championship, scoring 7-2 without a single loss, in a tournament of 24 top chess players at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. This was the second US Championship title won by the 21-year-old Grandmaster, having previously won in 2004 at the age of 16.

In a talented closely matched field of established Grandmasters and rising stars, it all came down to a dramatic final round in which Nakamura was tied with 17-year-old Grandmaster-elect Robert Hess of New York at 6-2. Though Nakamura had beaten Hess in an earlier round, Hess had scored 5 wins and 2 draws in his other games to draw even with Nakamura. They were closely trailed at 5½-2½ by recent World Championship candidate GM Gata Kamsky of Brooklyn, former US Champion GM Alexander Onischuk of Maryland, and US Olympiad team member GM Varuzhan Akobian of Los Angeles.
Photo by Betsy Dynako

In the final round, Nakamura won a well-played game against San Francisco Grandmaster Josh Friedel, while Hess was only able to draw his game against Akobian. With no one able to catch him, Nakamura won the Championship outright. Hess and Onischuk tied for second.

The Championship event, which ran from May 7-17, was sponsored by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and organized by the US Chess Federation. The prize fund of $135,000 was donated by club founder Rex Sinquefield, a retired investment fund manager with a passion for chess. The 24 invitees were chosen both by official US Chess ratings and by a number of qualifying events.

In winning the title, Nakamura took home a first prize of $40,000. On the world rankings, Nakamura is currently ranked 30th overall and 4th among those 21 years and under. He has won every major title in the US at least once, and was a key player on the bronze medal-winning US teams in the Turin 2006 and Dresden 2008 Chess Olympiads.

Hikaru attended the Ridgeway school in White Plains and is the stepson of Sunil Weeramantry, the Executive Director of the National Scholastic Chess Foundation, headquartered in White Plains.

See the St Louis press release.
See the US Chess reports for round 8 and round 9.




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