The last day of the challenge has finished, and Hikaru Nakamura came out to be the overall winner, followed by Wesley So with a full point behind. Garry Kasparov retained his 3rd rank from Day 1, and so did Fabiano Caruana, the champion of the US Chess Championship 2016, his tailender.
US Ultimate Blitz Challenge 2016 Final Standings
Wesley So’s round 10 win over Garry Kasparov was hailed by commentators as “one of the finest attacking game since Morphy!”. Here’s the game:
Thus, at the end of this challenge, the Wesley So vs. Garry Kasparov matchup stands at 4.0-2.0 in favor of Wesley So.
You heard it right. It’s happening! In 6 blitz games.
As a bonus to the US Chess Championship 2016 event, the top 3 finishers, which of course include Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Hikaru Nakamura, all members of the top 10 in the recent FIDE Ratings List, will play in a 4-way sextuple round robin with the legendary Garry Kasparov.
Three top ten players start in the US Championship 2016 and nominally it is the strongest US Championship of all times. But can you really compare today’s tournaments with those of the past? Andy Soltis takes a look at previous Championships that were surprisingly strong and concludes that in a historical context 2016 might not be “the strongest ever”.
Let Magnus Carlsen and the rest of the top 10 gang play, and sure you may call it the strongest US Championship ever.
My point is, if you ask the question, “Is the 2016 US Championship by native Americans the strongest ever?” Then the answer is NO!
In 2015 Wesley So’s US Championship was derailed when he lost a 6-move forfeit game against Varuzhan Akobian. This year they got to play a full game, or at least 24 moves, which was all it took for So to crush his opponent.
