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Nakamara Falls in Lausanne Final

US Champion Hikaru Nakamura breezed through two knockout rounds before falling to Andrei Volokitin 2-0 in the final of the 6th Lausanne Young Masters tournament.

The Lausanne Young Masters brought together eight of the world's top young (under age 20) players in a knockout format. Players played rounds of two standard length games, with rapid and blitz tiebreakers following if necessary.

Along with Nakamura and Volokitin, other notable names included Magnus Carlsen, Elisabeth Paehtz, and Pentala Harikrishna. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Nana Dzagnidze rounded out the field.

In the opening quarterfinal round, Nakamura was paired with IM Dzagnidze. Nakamura had no trouble, winning the match 2-0. The semi-final found Nakamura facing GM Mamedyarov.

Mamedyarov proved to be a more difficult opponent for the young American. After winning the first game of the match, Nakamura dropped the second, forcing him to play a rapid playoff for an opportunity to reach the finals. Nakamura proved up to the task, winning the first game and drawing the second for a 2.5-1.5 victory.

Unfortunately for Nakamura, he could not sustain his momentum into the final round. Up against Andrei Volokitin, Nakamura was unable to mount a serious challenge for the title. Volokitin won both games to win 2-0 and take the title.

Mamedyarov beat Harikrishna in a marathon match to take third place. Mamedyarov took a sudden death victory in the 7th game of the match for a 4-3 win. Carlsen won the fifth place match over Vachier-Lagrave, while Dzagnidze defeated Pahtz for 7th.

Here is one of Nakamura's first round wins over Nana Dzagnidze.

White: Dzagnidze, N (2438)
Black: Nakamura, H (2660)
Lausanne Young Masters, Round 1, Game 2
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. d4 g6 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Qd2 O-O 10. Rb1 a6 11. Rc1 e6 12. dxc5 Nd7 13. c4 Qa3 14. Be2 Nxc5 15. Qd6 Qa5+ 16. Bd2 Rd8 17. Bxa5 Rxd6 18. e5 Nd3+ 19. Bxd3 Rxd3 20. Bb4 b5 21. Ke2 bxc4 22. Rxc4 Rd5 23. Rd1 a5 24. Rxd5 exd5 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8 26. Bxa5 Ra8 27. Bb6 Rxa2+ 28. Kd3 h6 29. h4 Kf8 30. Ke3 Ke7 31. Bc7 f6 32. exf6+ Bxf6 33. Bb6 Ra3+ 34. Ke2 Ra4 35. g3 Ke6 36. Be3 Bg7 37. Ne1 Ra2+ 38. Kf3 d4 39. Bf4 Kd5 40. Nd3 Kc4 41. Ne5+ Bxe5 42. Bxe5 d3 43. g4 h5 44. gxh5 gxh5 45. Bf6 Ra6 0-1