The 2024 Illinois Chess Open is a 7-round Swiss, held during Labor Day weekend from the 31st of August to the 2nd of September in Lisle, Illinois (Chicago area), USA.

Illinois Chess Open 2024 standings

Starting rank list of players – US Masters 2022:

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 Fabiano Caruana vs. GM Levon Aronian ½-½ 

Twelve minutes into the game, the players had already played 34 moves into a repetition draw. However, this was not your typical quick GM draw. As Caruana later explained: “Normally I would’ve liked to play, at least a little bit. Of course a draw is a good result in the last round, considering the tournament situation… It’s a big day for Levon, and I thought it would be wrong for me to play this game.”

GM Ray Robson vs. GM Jeffery Xiong ½-½ 

Ray Robson fought for the win and his chance at a playoff for the title but lost his advantage when Jeffery Xiong counterattacked on the kingside. 

GM Dariusz Swiercz vs. GM Christopher Yoo 0-1

The youngest player in the U.S. Championship, Christopher Yoo, finished on a victory, winning a tactical game vs. GM Dariusz Swiercz.

GM Leinier Dominguez vs. GM Sam Shankland ½-½ 

Though both players were hoping to have a chance to play for the win, Leinier Dominguez vs. Sam Shankland ended in a 10 move draw. Shankland explains his disappointment with this result in his interview after the game: “I’m sorry for how this ended. I’ve been one of the most vocal critics of people making this Qe4-Qd4 draw in the Berlin. I wrote in my Chessable course that anyone who does this more than once with white just shouldn’t be invited to tournaments. I just felt like I owe the world an apology…”

GM Elshan Moradiabadi vs. GM Aleksandr Lenderman 0-1

Aleksandr Lenderman finished his tournament on a victory, battling for the upper hand vs. GM Elshan Moradiabadi for 72 moves.

The rest of the games ended in draws. 

2022 U.S. Women’s Championship

WGM Thalia Cervantes vs. WGM Jennifer Yu 0-1

Jennifer Yu won a critical game with the black pieces vs. her closest competitor, Thalia Cervantes.

GM Irina Krush vs. IM Anna Zatonskih ½-½ 

Irina Krush and longtime rival Anna Zatonskih fought a close game to a king vs. king draw. 

FM Alice Lee vs. WIM Megan Lee 0-1

Megan Lee capped off her tournament with a king attack victory.

FM Rochelle Wu vs. WGM Sabina Foisor 1-0

Rochelle Wu defeated Sabina Foisor with a clever interference tactic to win material.

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan and Sophie Morris-Suzuki also finished their tournaments with victories while Begim Tokhirjonova and Ruiyang Yan drew. 

Irina Krush and Jennifer Yu will face each other in the playoff for the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship on Thursday, October 20. Watch the action live at 1:20pm CT with commentators GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, and GM Cristian Chirila.

2022 U.S. Championship

GM Awonder Liang vs. GM Dariusz Swiercz 1-0

GM Awonder Liang was the last game to finish. In this marathon game vs. GM Dariusz Swiercz, Liang gained one extra pawn after 50 moves, a second one on move 60, and finally converted in the rook ending after 105 moves. Liang has performed vastly above his rating, gaining 20 FIDE rating points from the event so far.

GM Sam Sevian vs. GM Hans Niemann 0-1

Sam Sevian vs. Hans Niemann featured not just dynamic fighting play between these resilient grandmasters but also a unique over-the-board incident. On move 45, as Niemann considered his next move, Sevian absentmindedly picked up his opponent’s king ― the way one might fiddle with a piece from off the board―and broke the top cross off. This leads to a moment of sheer confusion between the players, the arbiter, and the commentators before the game continues. In the post-game interview, Niemann explained that Sam wanted to glue the broken piece. Despite his broken king, Niemann managed to score his third victory in a row. 

GM Aleksandr Lenderman vs. GM Wesley So 0-1

Aleksandr Lenderman vs. Wesley So was close for much of the game until So doubled on the open h-file, aiming down at White’s open king. 

GM Levon Aronian vs. GM Elshan Moradiabadi 1-0

Levon Aronian scored a positional victory vs. Elshan Moradiabadi and won his first game in the 2022 US Chess Championship!

The remaining three games ended in draws. 

2022 U.S. Women’s Championship

WGM Jennifer Yu vs. GM Irina Krush 0-1

Krush gained an edge out of the opening with black, but Yu gradually fought back to equality. Yu soon built up attacking chances against her opponent’s king but then tried an inaccurate tactical idea, losing a bishop. 

WGM Begim Tokhirjonova vs. WGM Thalia Cervantes 0-1

Thalia Cervantes won a tactical battle vs. Begim Tokhirjonova to reach a fifth victory in a row. 

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan vs. FM Rochelle Wu 1-0

In a Siclian with the kings castled to opposite sides, Abrahamyan’s effective attacking play won material. 

WIM Megan Lee vs. WIM Sophie Morris-Suzuki 0-1

Sophie Morris-Suzuki defeated Megan Lee in an open position where her long-range pieces sliced into her opponent’s position. 

FM Ashritha Eswaran vs. FM Ruiyang Yan 0-1

Ruiyang Yan’s powerful bishop pair aided in creating threats against her opponent’s king, winning material. 

It was yet another round of five decisive games and only two draws.

The last round of the 2022 U.S. & U.S. Women’s Chess Championships will take place on Wednesday, October 19. Watch the action live at 1:20pm CT with commentators GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, and GM Cristian Chirila.

2022 U.S. Championship

GM Dariusz Swiercz vs. GM Samuel Sevian 0-1

After pressing with an extra pawn, Sevian gained a king attack with queen, rook, and advanced passed pawn. 

GM Hans Niemann vs. GM Aleksandr Lenderman 1-0

GM Hans Niemann gained the upper hand in a dynamic endgame vs. GM Aleksandr Lenderman. Just as he announced in the Round 10 interview, Niemann scored his second consecutive victory. Analyzing his game against Lenderman, Hans said he is optimistic for his future.

GM Wesley So vs. GM Elshan Moradiabadi 1-0

GM Wesley So’s powerful knight pair danced into the key b6-outpost to take over GM Elshan Moradiabadi’s queenside.

GM Leiner Dominguez vs. GM Christopher Yoo 1-0

Dominguez persistently pressed his extra exchange for 131 moves to score the full point vs. GM Christopher Yoo.

The other three games ended in draws. 

2022 U.S. Women’s Championship

WGM Begim Tokhirjonova vs. WGM Jennifer Yu 0-1

Yu pressed with an extra pawn for 65 moves to convert in the rook ending vs. WGM Begim Tokhirjonova.

IM Paikidze vs. GM Irina Krush 0-1

In a double-edged game with both players fighting to create king attacks, Krush gained an extra pawn and forced simplification into a winning ending. 

WGM Thalia Cervantes vs. FM Ashritha Eswaran 1-0

Cervantes gained attacking chances and tactical play with her powerful knight on f5 and passed d5-pawn. 

FM Ruiyang Yan vs. WIM Megan Lee 1-0

FM Ruiyang Yan won material with a deflection tactic vs. WIM Megan Lee.

WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki vs. WGM Sabina Foisor 0-1

Sabina Foisor defeated Sophie Morris-Suzuki in a wild attacking game where both kings were chased around until Black discovered a rook sacrifice leading to a five move checkmate. 

The remaining two games ended in draws. Round 12 of the 2022 U.S. & U.S. Women’s Chess Championships will take place on Tuesday, October 18. Watch the action live at 1:20pm CT with commentators GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, and GM Cristian Chirila.