WGM Jennifer Yu The winner of the 2022 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship was crowned Thursday, October 20, after a thrilling playoff decided by Armageddon. After winning the opening match of the match against General Motors Irina KrushYu almost won it all already in the second game, but the eight-time American champ wasn’t ready to give up without a fight and hit rebalance to the score.
The last game, Armageddon, was full of missteps, omissions, and zealots, and had a crazy twist in Yu’s favour, dramatically up to the last move. The illegal move was actually a fatal blow to Krush’s dreams, whose time expired soon after, confirming Yu as the United States Women’s Champion for the second time.
congratulations for Tweet embed for winning her second American Championship and doing so in a wild Armageddon tiebreak! 👏🏆 pic.twitter.com/TXHfV7UrXT
– Chess.com (Tweet embed) October 20 2022
Translation: Congratulations to Jennifer Yu on winning her second American Championship and making it to a crazy Armageddon playoff!
The playoff for the women’s title was expected to be a sprawling battle, and in fact this duel did not disappoint. Krush chose to play there Czech variant of Benoniwho immediately expressed his desire to win the black pieces.
After eight wins out of 13 rounds of this women’s championship, Yu was ready to fight for first place. In the middle of an unbalanced match, Krush decides to get a pawn, which turns out to be poisoned: Yu took full advantage of it, and gave a checkmate to the eight-time American champion. GM Diane Bogkov Analyze this match as today’s match, as shown below.
Today’s match annotated will be added as soon as possible.
Game 2 seemed to favor Krush as it turned the game into a more centralized battlefield where it could gradually put pressure on Yu. However, having had to win on demand, Krush decided to sacrifice a horse for two pawns but was promptly punished with a high-quality counter-sacrifice. However, Yu’s advantage was not destined to last: 35.Cc4 dubious?? It left Krush in a dominant position, which she changed with relative ease.
Playoff rules at Armageddon dictated that white start at five minutes and black at four minutes, but play with two scores. The game started quietly but quickly turned into a complete mess. Had to win with White, Krush’s weapon of choice was the Indian Attack. Yu seemed to keep the situation under control, when he suddenly succumbed to playing 9.Ag4 disaster??.
After leaving the brigade holder to wait, commentators are now ready to consider Krush the winner; However, the fluctuations that followed were missing. At step 23, it was Krush’s turn to do the overseeing, and when his queen was replaced by a knight and a rook, his rating from +9 dropped forward a bit, only to be equal. The Yu woman danced between the remaining pieces of Krush, but as the seconds dwindled, it seemed that Krush would be able to escape. With eight seconds on the clock, yet another oversight saw her strike a final deal, with legions of chess fans and legends already ready to praise such an intense match on Twitter.
If you haven’t watched the qualifier against GM Irina Krush, you better watch it on YouTube ASAP! I’ve never seen anything like this ending in my life!!! 🤩🤯😆😅 Congratulations Tweet embed! https://t.co/qVzAxewDKL
– Maurice Ashley (Tweet embed) October 20 2022
Translation: If you haven’t watched the playoff against GM Irina Krush live, play it up as soon as possible to watch it on YouTube! Never in my life have I seen anything like this conclusion! Congratulations Jennifer Yu! – Maurice Ashley
This win was just the opposite for Jen as her first win. It literally came to the last seconds of Armageddon against the great mythical Irena Crusch.
But the spirit was still there.
The hero wins.
– Jennifer Shehadeh (Tweet embed) October 20 2022
Translation: This victory was the exact opposite of Jin’s first victory. It all literally depends on the last seconds of Armageddon against the legendary great master Enina Crash! But the spirit was there. The hero wins. Jennifer Shehadeh
Without the boost to save the match, Leo’s slightest two-second lead seemed decisive, but Krush persisted. However, the latter made an illegal move in the final seconds, which offended the extra two minutes of the clock and confirmed what was already known: Yu’s coronation as the United States Women’s Champion for the second time.
After the match Yu was smiling and then faced an interview saying, “I honestly didn’t think I’d attend this tournament,” also because I “didn’t feel ready” before the event. Yu’s win means she can be counted among the 16 elite players who have won two or more tournaments in the prestigious history of this 85-year-old tournament.
The final standings of the 2022 USA Women’s Championship
The U.S. Chess Championship takes place from October 4-20, 2022 in St. Louis and determines the U.S. Chess Champions of the Year: The 2022 Women’s Championship is held concurrently. Both events are 13-round Italian tournaments with 14 players, with total prize pools of $250,500 for the Open Championship and $154,000 for the women’s.
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