Four Tied For US Championship Lead After Bloody Round 7

Round 7 of the US Chess Championship saw an amazing 11 out of 12 games end with decisive results. The only draw (Gulko-Shabalov) had no impact on the standings, meaning there was a lot of movement near the top. Amazingly, both of the co-leaders lost: Shulman to Onischuk and Akobian to Nakamura, leaving us with a new group of frontrunners with 5/7 scores. Joining Onischuk and Nakamura were Gata Kamsky, who defeated Joel Benjamin, and the surprising GM-elect Robert Hess, who took down Josh Friedel.

Although the number of leaders has grown considerably, we've started to see some contraction in the number of players truly in contention. With four leaders and only two rounds to go, it'll be hard for someone to come from behind at this point. However, the former co-leaders (Shulman and Akobian) are still in it, just a half-point back of the leading pack. They'll have their work cut out for them though, and outside of those six, it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to retake a share of the lead.

In Saturday's Round 8, there are three key matchups, and a fourth you might want to keep an eye on as well. The top board features Kamsky vs. Onischuk in a battle of two co-leaders, Hess takes on Shulman on board two, and Nakamura takes the Black pieces against IM Michael Brooks -- who is still eying a possible GM norm -- on board three. The fourth game pits Akobian against Benjamin; if Akobian (or Shulman, for that matter) want to keep their championship hopes alive, he'll have to win this game.

Round 8 action starts Saturday, at an earlier time than the previous rounds: 11:00 AM local time, noon Eastern.