Month: May 2013

Daaim ShabazzMay 18, 2013
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Reflections of 2013 U.S. Championship

St. Louis was settled by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau and named after French king Saint Louis, this city of 318,000 is known for its baseball and the iconic Gateway Arch. It is also a place of childhood memories for me. When by parents drove from Chicago to East St.…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 17, 2013
2 67

Drum Interviews at ’13 U.S. Champs

National Championships generally bring together the country’s top players and thus a diverse collection of personalities. The 2013 U.S. Chess Championship had a nice mixture of veterans and youth to make the tournament interesting from beginning to end. The Chess Drum conducted the following interviews during the Championship. GM Fidel…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 14, 2013
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Kamsky, Krush… 2013 U.S. Champions!

While Alejandro Ramirez may have been the crowd favorite, his career tournament would not end with a fitting ending. Ramirez had talled a strong 6.5/9 along with Gata Kamsky, but Kamsky won the Armageddon game convincingly to win the 2013 U.S. Championship. The first two games were hard-fought but petered…
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Media Stories

Daaim ShabazzMay 13, 2013
2 13

2013 U.S. Championships (Round #9)

GM Maurice Ashley did an excellent job with on the spot analysis. WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Yasser Seirawan gave star commentary and kept the broadcast interesting. What a great team the three make! Wow! What an ending. Alejandro Ramirez came through with a clutch win over Larry Christiansen putting…
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Media Stories

Daaim ShabazzMay 12, 2013
2 53

2013 U.S. Championships (Round #8)

In the penultimate round of the 2013 U.S. Championships, excitement simmered at the prospect of clinching results by leaders Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush. The pivotal matchup of Abrahamyan-Krush was going to be the crowd-pleaser. Tatev Abrahamyan tried a bold approach against Irina Krush.Photo by Daaim Shabazz. In this Sicilian…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 11, 2013
4 40

2013 U.S. Championships (Round #7)

GM Gata Kamsky was unable to overcome GM Alejandro Ramirez. The tournament is coming down to the wire with the penultimate round tomorrow. Today at the top of the field changed little, but a few other contenders inched closer. Gata Kamsky-Alejandro Ramirez had an interesting battle in which a tactical…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 10, 2013
1 14

2013 U.S. Championships (Round #6)

The U.S. Championships resumed today after a well-needed rest day. Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush were leading the field coming into the round, but the field was closing fast and the pace was blistering with decisive games (60% men – 76% women). Kamsky would face his main rival in Alexander…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 9, 2013
4 23

HHCF visits Innovative Concept Academy!

On the rest day of the 2013 U.S. Chess Championship, players, U.S. Championship commentators and staff from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (CCSCSL) visited the Innovative Concept Academy (1927 Cass Avenue) to attend an exhibition hosted by Adisa Banjoko’s Hip Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) called “Living…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 9, 2013
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Kamsky, Krush lead at the break

Going into the second half of the tournament, odds-on favorites Gata Kamsky (4.5/5) and Irina Krush (5/5) lead the 2013 U.S. Championship after five rounds. While this is not particularly surprising, there are some efforts that have impressed, most notably the young talent that is on display. Kamsky actually beat…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 3, 2013
42 18

2013 U.S. Championships (St. Louis, USA)

The 2013 U.S. Chess Championships kicked off without the defending champion Hikaru Nakamura who recently scored a sterling result in the FIDE Grand Prix. However, the field is led by Gata Kamsky along with a mixture of veterans and new faces. Twenty-four men and ten women qualified to vie for…
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