GM Fabiano Caruana increased his lead to a full point ahead of the field with a victory against GM Elshan Moradiabadi. GM Dariusz Swiercz achieved the biggest upset, defeating GM Levon Aronian. In the U.S. Women’s Championship, GM Irina Krush won a third game in a row to join WGM Jennifer Yu at the top of the scoreboard. Shockingly, out of the eight decisive games between both sections, Black won seven times.
Check out the full replay of live coverage from the day here. The time control for the event is 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game; with a 30-second increment starting from move 1.
2022 U.S. Championship
GM Levon Aronian vs. GM Dariusz Swiercz 0-1
Swiercz achieved one of the best victories of his career with tactical play against Aronian’s uncastled king.
GM Hans Niemann vs. GM Ray Robson 0-1
As both sides attempted to attack each other’s kings, GM Ray Robson discovered a tactical shot vs. GM Hans Niemann. Joining the US Chess Championship live studio for the post-game interview, Robson explained it was a very complicated game and that he was a little bit worried.
GM Elshan Moradiabadi vs. GM Fabiano Caruana 0-1
Caruana broke through on the queenside to support his kingside pressure vs. Moradiabadi. Fabiano explained in the post-game interview that he randomly chose the line he played as Moradiabadi never played it before. He added that people recognize him on the street and ask about beads. See the complete interview here
The rest of the games concluded in draws.
2022 U.S. Women’s Championship
GM Irina Krush vs. WGM Thalia Cervantes 1-0
Krush created a powerful pawn center out of the opening and utilized the extra space to build up attacking play against Cervantes’ king.
WGM Tatev Abrahamyan vs. FM Ashritha Eswaran 0-1
FM Ashritha Eswaran’s thorough opening preparation gave her a significant advantage on the board and clock in a highly double-edged battle vs. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan.
IM Paikidze vs. FM Ruiyang Yan 0-1
FM Ruiyang Yan employed a hedgehog setup vs. IM Paikidze’s maroczy bind. When the center opened up, Yan’s active pieces were able to create dangerous tactical and attacking threats.
FM Rochelle Wu vs. WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki 0-1
WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki drew FM Rochelle Wu’s king out into the open with a deflection tactic.
The players seemed to come back from the rest day ready for a fight. Five out of seven games finished decisively while the remaining two ended in draws.
Round 7 of the 2022 U.S. & U.S. Women’s Chess Championships will take place on Wednesday, October 12. Watch the action live at 1:20pm CT with commentators GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, and GM Cristian Chirila.
