US Championship Heads Into Final Round; Nakamura, Hess Lead

There will be quite the scramble on the final day of the US Chess Championship Sunday, as Hikaru Nakamura and the surprising Robert Hess are tied for first at 6/8 points. Nakamura defeated IM Michael Brooks, while Hess scored another victory over a veteran GM by beating Yury Shulman. The other two leaders -- Gata Kamsky and Alexander Onischuk -- drew their game, falling a half-point off the pace, while Varuzhan Akobian defeated Joel Benjamin to stay in the title hunt.

The ninth and final round starts Sunday morning at 10:00 AM local time in Saint Louis. To recap the current leaderboard: Nakamura and Hess have 6 points, while Kamsky, Onischuk and Akobian all have 5.5. Hess has White in the most critical game against Akobian; Nakamura has White against Josh Friedel; Onischuk takes on IM Ray Robson, and Kamsky has Black against Jaan Ehlvest.

If Nakamura or Hess win their games, the other three players are eliminated. Should there be a tie for first, blitz tiebreaks will be played Sunday evening. Here's a handy guide to the hopes of all of the remaining contenders and what they'll need to have a chance to win.

Hikaru Nakamura: Wins outright with a win and a Hess draw or loss; clinches a tiebreak birth with a draw and a Hess draw or loss.

Robert Hess: Wins outright with a win and a Nakamura draw or loss, OR a draw combined with a Nakamura loss and draws or losses by Kamsky and Onischuk; clinches a tiebreak birth with a draw and a Nakamura draw or loss.

Varuzhan Akobian: Wins outright with a win, a Nakamura loss, and draws or losses by Kamsky and Onischuk; clinches a tiebreak birth with a win and a Nakamura draw or loss.

Gata Kamsky: Clinches a tiebreak birth with a win, a Nakamura draw or loss, and a Hess draw or loss.

Alexander Onischuk: Clinches a tiebreak birth with a win, a Nakamura draw or loss, and a Hess draw or loss.

By tomorrow night, we'll have our 2009 US Champion. I have to think Nakamura is in the driver's seat, but it's still up for grabs, and nobody can prevent tiebreaks from occurring without some help from their rivals. I'll have a complete recap of the final round tomorrow!