The 2009 US Chess Championship was held, this year for the first time, in St. Louis, Missouri, at the brand new St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center, which is located at 4657 Maryland Avenue, just east of the intersection of Euclid and Maryland. The Championship dates back to 1845 and this year offered a purse of more than $130,000 in prize money. It was a nine-round Swiss, with one round per day and a rest day between rounds seven and eight. Time controls were the classical 40 moves in two hours, with one hour allowed for all remaining moves and a five second increment for all move.
Round eight – Hikaru Nakamura 2009 US Champion
Hikaru Nakamura, 21, won the the 2009 US Chess Championship, after winning in the ninth and final round of the event. Second-seeded Nakamura, who also won the title in 2004, when he was just 16, took the venerable 164-year-old title and the first prize of $40,000 ($35,000, plus a $5,000 outright winner’s bonus) after beating Josh Friedel of New Hampshire. Nakamura finished with seven points over nine games, and never lost a game.
The Championship winning match Hikaru Nakamura vs Josh Friedel
Robert Hess vs Veruzhan Akobian – the draw in this game gave Nakamura the title
He was assured the title after 17-year-old Robert Hess of New York, managed only a draw in his last round game with Varuzhan Akobian. Hess and Nakamura entered the final round tied with six points. Hess tied for second with Alexander Onischuk, who defeated the youngest player in the tournament, Ray Robson, 14, of Largo, Fla.
Fourth: Gata Kamsky, top seed at the US Championship
Akobian and Gata Kamsky, who was the number one seed coming into the tournament, tied for fourth. Here are the official final results of the 2009 US Championship.
| No. | Player (title, seeding) | St. | Rtng | Pts | TB1 | TB2 | Prize |
| 1. | GM Nakamura, Hikaru (2) | NY | 2757 | 7.0 | 39.5 | 48.0 | $40,000.00 |
| 2. | IM Hess, Robert (17) | NY | 2545 | 6.5 | 40.5 | 47.5 | $12,500.00 |
| 3. | GM Onischuk, Alexander (3) | VA | 2736 | 6.5 | 38.5 | 45.5 | $12,500.00 |
| 4. | GM Kamsky, Gata (1) | NY | 2798 | 6.0 | 41.0 | 50.0 | $ 7,500.00 |
| 5. | GM Akobian, Varuzhan (7) | CA | 2664 | 6.0 | 38.0 | 46.0 | $ 7,500.00 |
| 6. | GM Shulman, Yury (4) | IL | 2697 | 5.0 | 41.0 | 48.0 | $ 4,650.00 |
| 7. | GM Friedel, Joshua (15) | NH | 2568 | 5.0 | 40.0 | 48.0 | $ 4,650.00 |
| 8. | GM Ibragimov, Ildar (13) | CT | 2628 | 5.0 | 32.0 | 39.0 | $ 4,650.00 |
| 9. | GM Christiansen, Larry (5) | MA | 2681 | 5.0 | 32.0 | 38.5 | $ 4,650.00 |
| 10. | GM Ehlvest, Jaan (10) | NY | 2649 | 4.5 | 25.0 | 46.0 | $ 2,833.33 |
| 11. | IM Robson, Ray (18) | FL | 2542 | 4.5 | 22.5 | 43.0 | $ 2,833.33 |
| 12. | GM Kaidanov, Gregory (8) | KY | 2662 | 4.5 | 21.5 | 34.5 | $ 2,833.33 |
| 13. | GM Benjamin, Joel (9) | NJ | 2650 | 4.5 | 21.0 | 39.0 | $ 2,833.33 |
| 14. | GM Shabalov, Alexander (14) | PA | 2620 | 4.5 | 20.5 | 37.0 | $ 2,833.33 |
| 15. | GM Gulko, Boris (12) | NJ | 2631 | 4.5 | 19.5 | 33.0 | $ 2,833.33 |
| 16. | IM Brooks, Michael (22) | MO | 2419 | 4.0 | 31.0 | 43.0 | $ 2,375.00 |
| 17. | Hughes, Tyler (24) | CO | 2293 | 4.0 | 25.5 | 37.0 | $ 2,375.00 |
| 18. | IM Sevillano, Enrico (16) | CA | 2549 | 4.0 | 25.5 | 35.5 | $ 2,375.00 |
| 19. | GM Becerra, Julio (6) | FL | 2672 | 4.0 | 24.5 | 37.0 | $ 2,375.00 |
| 20. | IM Krush, Irina (20) | NY | 2496 | 3.5 | 25.5 | 35.0 | $ 2,000.00 |
| 21. | IM Shankland, Samuel (21) | CA | 2464 | 3.0 | 24.5 | 36.0 | $ 2,000.00 |
| 22. | GM Khachiyan, Melikset (11) | CA | 2632 | 3.0 | 24.5 | 36.0 | $ 2,000.00 |
| 23. | FM Eckert, Doug D (25) | IL | 2278 | 2.0 | 12.5 | 22.0 | $ 2,000.00 |
| 24. | Lawton, Charles (23) | MO | 2350 | 1.0 | 25.0 | 34.0 | $ 2,000.00 |
| 25. | IM Zatonskih, Anna (19) | NY | 2503 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 11.0 | $ 2,000.00 |
Irina Krush and Charles Lawton – the game was drawn in 31 moves
All pictures by Betsy Dynako of Inspiring Art
The extraordinary photographic coverage of the 2009 US Championship was the work of Betsy Dynako, who is actively involved in professional and scholastic chess as a photographer, journalist, tournament director, and teacher.
