Game Of the Week: Lenderman vs. Shabalov - US Open

Game Of the Week: Lenderman vs. Shabalov - US Open

Opening: D12: QGD Slav: 4.e3 Bf5

Player(s): Lenderman, Shabalov

Three-time U.S. Champion GM Joel Benjamin brings you a new show every Friday at 15:00 Server Time. Joel is regarded by many as one of the best commentators and analysts' we have in the game today -- so if you want to get ahead of the game, get ready to tune-in!

We all know that chess is a young man's game. And lately we have seen some fine results from young players, particularly Americans. 22-year-old Wesley So won the Sinquefield Cup. Sam Shankland continues an upward climb on the rating list with a victory in the Biel Open. And Jeffery Xiong is leading in the World Junior Championship. But there is occasionally counterplay for old men. Michael Adams won the British Championship with 10/11, a point and a half clear of the much younger David Howell. And in the US Open, Alex Shabalov won his second consecutive US Open, again earning a spot in next year's US Championship. Shaba is a truly amazing money player, who always seems to get the job done in crunch time. After a fifth round loss to Zurab Javakhadze, Shabalov faced essentially an elimination game against a strong Azeri grandmaster. But he won it, and all the rest, including a last round defeat of Alex Lenderman. That will be our feature game for the week.