I’ve been focusing on the U.S. “Men’s”/Open Championship, as it’s a de facto super-GM event, but with the parallel U.S. Women’s Championship drawing to a close it seemed reasonable to take a quick look to see how that was going. Coming into the penultimate round, underdog Jennifer Yu led with 8/11, half a point ahead of Irina Krush and a point ahead of the surging Thalia Cervantes, who had won four games in a row.
The tough news for Yu is that she was paired with Krush in round 12, and will play Cervantes in round 13. However, if she could defeat Krush or at least hold her to a draw, that would greatly improve her chances of finishing alone in first. Nevertheless, despite having the white pieces, Yu was repeatedly in trouble against Krush. Still, Krush kept letting her off the hook, and on move 31 opportunity was knocking - loudly. Krush’s 30th move was a big error, and the most natural move would have given Yu a very clearly winning advantage. The position practically played itself. Instead, she made a staggering blunder, throwing away a piece for nothing: no material, no attack, no threats - nothing at all. Krush of course managed to cash in, and took the lead.
As for Cervantes, while any ideas of winning the event would have seemed quixotic after round 7, when she had a -1 score, the situation after her 5th consecutive win (none involving windmill combinations, alas) in round 12 has made it into a genuine possibility. In the final round, she will have White against Yu, while Krush will have White against her old rival Anna Zatonskih. With White and a half point lead over Cervantes and Yu, Krush is a favorite to take her 9th U.S. Women’s Championship title, but it would be nice to see a playoff. We’ll see. Anyway, here is her game with Yu; prepare to cringe on move 31.