The United States Chess Federation - US Championships Kick Off with Red Carpet Ceremony

The US Chess Championship pairings were drawn tonight at the Old Post Office Plaza. The red carpet ceremony featured a screening of the documentary based on the 2009 Championship, Changing of the Guard. Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis founder Rex Sinquefield and Mayor Slay were among the speakers, while Aloha Mischeaux sang the national anthem.

GM Aleksandr Lenderman, IM Sam Shankland, GM Ray Robson and GM Josh Friedel, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL

Defending champion and new Saint Louis resident Hikaru Nakamura selected from two envelopes, one with a Black card, and one with a white card to determine his color for the first round. He chose Black, setting the rest of the pairings.

2010 US Chess Championships Round 1 Pairings

Board 1: GM Alexander Stripunsky v. GM Hikaru Nakamura

Board 2: GM Gata Kamsky v. GM Ray Robson

Board 3: GM Joel Benjamin v. GM Alexander Onischuk

Board 4: GM Yury Shulman v. GM Vinay Bhat

Board 5: GM Ben Finegold v. GM Varuzhan Akobian

Board 6: GM Aleksandr Lenderman v. GM Melikset Khachiyan

Board 7: GM Alex Yermolinsky v. GM Jaan Ehlvest

Board 8: GM Robert Hess v. IM Sam Shankland

Board 9: GM Jesse Kraai v. GM Alexander Shabalov

Board 10: GM Larry Christiansen v. GM Dmitry Gurevich

GM Larry Christiansen and GM Dmitry Gurevich, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL

Board 11 IM Irina Krush v. GM Gregory Kaidanov

IM Irina Krush and GM Gregory Kaidanov, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL

Board 12: GM Sergey Kudrin v. IM Levon Altounian

GM Maurice Ashley and CCSCSL founder Rex Sinquefield, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL

Follow the US Chess Championships live broadcast featuring GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade on uschesschamps.com or the Internet Chess Club. Also follow the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on twitter at http://twitter.com/CCSCSL/ for up-to-the-minute updates by IM Greg Shahade.

By CLO
May 13, 2010
Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, Photo Betsy Dynako for the CCSCSL The US Chess Championship pairings were drawn tonight at the Old Post Office Plaza. The red carpet ceremony featured a screening of the documentary based on the 2009 Championship, Changing of the Guard. Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis founder Rex Sinquefield and Mayor Slay were among the speakers, while Aloha Mischeaux sang the national anthem. GM Aleksandr Lenderman, IM Sam Shankland, GM Ray Robson and GM Josh Friedel, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL Defending champion and new Saint Louis resident Hikaru Nakamura selected from two envelopes, one with a Black card, and one with a white card to determine his color for the first round. He chose Black, setting the rest of the pairings. 2010 US Chess Championships Round 1 Pairings Board 1: GM Alexander Stripunsky v. GM Hikaru Nakamura Board 2: GM Gata Kamsky v. GM Ray Robson Board 3: GM Joel Benjamin v. GM Alexander Onischuk Board 4: GM Yury Shulman v. GM Vinay Bhat Board 5: GM Ben Finegold v. GM Varuzhan Akobian Board 6: GM Aleksandr Lenderman v. GM Melikset Khachiyan Board 7: GM Alex Yermolinsky v. GM Jaan Ehlvest Board 8: GM Robert Hess v. IM Sam Shankland Board 9: GM Jesse Kraai v. GM Alexander Shabalov Board 10: GM Larry Christiansen v. GM Dmitry Gurevich GM Larry Christiansen and GM Dmitry Gurevich, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL Board 11 IM Irina Krush v. GM Gregory Kaidanov IM Irina Krush and GM Gregory Kaidanov, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL Board 12: GM Sergey Kudrin v. IM Levon Altounian GM Maurice Ashley and CCSCSL founder Rex Sinquefield, Photo Betsy Dynako for CCSCSL Follow the US Chess Championships live broadcast featuring GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade on uschesschamps.com or the Internet Chess Club. Also follow the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on twitter at http://twitter.com/CCSCSL/ for up-to-the-minute updates by IM Greg Shahade.