The USA Senior (50+) Team won a gold medal at the 2024 FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championships. The three members of the USA Senior (50+) Team traveled from the FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championships in Krakow, Poland, to St. Louis, USA, to compete as individuals in the U.S. Senior Championship.
From Krakow to St. Louis
My previous SparkChess article was about the USA team at the FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championships. The USA team consisted of a 50+ women’s team, a 65+ women’s team, and a 50+ open team. The 50+ open team included GM Jaan Ehlvest (Board 1), GM Alex Yermolinsky (Alternate), and GM Melikset Khachiyan (Board 3). Here is what I wrote about the team members’ plans:
Alexey Root:
Khachiyan, along with teammates GM Alexander Shabalov (Board 2) and GM Igor Novikov (Board 4), departed Poland on July 12. Next on their agenda is the U.S. Senior Championship, which has an arrival day of July 14, an opening ceremony on July 15, and round 1 on July 16. The tournament concludes July 26.
Do you think the trio will perform better than expected, having “warmed up” by playing in Krakow? To find out, follow the U.S. Senior Championship.
2024 results worse than 2023
At first glance, it seems that warming up at the 2024 FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championships negatively affected two of the three players’ results in the 2024 U.S. Senior Championship. Khachiyan won the 2023 U.S. Senior Championship, scoring an undefeated 7 points out of 9. In 2024, he scored 4 points and finished in a tie for 6th and 7th places out of 10 players.
In 2023, Shabalov scored 5.5 points and finished in second place. In 2024, Shabalov scored 3.5 points and tied for 8th and 9th places. Novikov scored the same in 2023 as in 2024, 3.5 points. In 2023, 3.5 points tied for 8th, 9th, and 10th places. In 2024, the same score put Novikov in a tie with Shabalov for 8th and 9th places.
The composition of the 2024 championship was similar to the 2023 championship, though Grandmasters Jesse Kraai, Larry Christiansen, and Julio Becerra took the places of Grandmasters Maxim Dlugy, Patrick Wolff, and Dmitry Gurevich. All the other players remained the same from 2023 to 2024.
Elo performance (July 2024): Krakow versus St. Louis
Although it seems like the trio from Krakow performed worse in St. Louis, the Elo performance data, found on Chess-Results.com, tells a different story. In Krakow, Khachiyan’s TPR (tournament performance rating) was 2402 and in St. Louis it was 2447. In Krakow, Shabalov’s TPR was 2393 and in St. Louis it was 2405. In Krakow, Novikov’s TPR was 2389 and in St. Louis it was 2399. Thus, each player had a better TPR in St. Louis, playing as an individual, than in Krakow, playing as a team member.
Team members face off
In Krakow, Khachiyan, Shabalov, and Novikov were teammates facing players from other countries. In St. Louis, they faced each other during the 10-player round robin. In Krakow, draw offers were permitted. In St. Louis, players were not allowed to offer draws. Draws still occurred, via three-time repetition of position, insufficient material, or the 50-move rule.
In round 3, Khachiyan drew Shabalov. In round 6, Khachiyan defeated Novikov. In round 9, Novikov drew Shabalov.
Akopian wins
GM Vladimir Akopian, the ratings favorite, won the 2024 U.S. Senior Championship. By winning round 8 against IM Doug Root (Alexey’s husband), Akopian clinched the title with one round to spare. Here is the game Root versus Akopian, with analysis by Doug and Alexey Root:
