Abrahamyan, Nakamura Start With Wins In American Cup Grand Finals

GM Hikaru Nakamura started the The American Cup Grand Final with a win in the first classical game vs. GM Fabiano Caruana. Nakamura needs a draw with Black on Sunday to clinch the $75,000 first prize.

After entering the Women's American Cup Grand Final through the Elimination Bracket, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan is in an even better position to win the match. She defeated IM Alice Lee with the black pieces and can draw as White, though then she would also need to win a rematch on Monday to claim the title.

The Grand Finals continue on Sunday, March 23 at 12:00 p.m. CDT / 17:00 CET / 9:30 p.m. IST.

Caruana has been having some good results in recent months, but Nakamura continues to be a tough opponent. The popular chess streamer proved to be the strongest in blitz to win the Champions Final a couple of days ago, and Nakamura demonstrated once again on Saturday that his classical chess is still very decent as well. (It should be noted the game was eventually decided when Caruana was in time trouble.)

Like yesterday, the author had a quick look in the database and this time found a whopping 275 encounters between these two players since they met as teenagers at the 102nd New York Masters in 2004. In classical, Nakamura improved his lifetime score to 11-8 (with 36 draws).

Like in their first game in this tournament, Nakamura played the Catalan. It is an opening in which "Black has many paths to equality at the highest level, but elite chess players continue to play it and create problems for Black," as GM Rafael Leitao noted in his analysis below below.

Nakamura had a different take: "I came to this tournament with a plan and it is to play Old Man Chess. You know, anybody who's over the age of like 50, they like to play all these fianchettoes with g3, Bg2 against anything and so I had kind of prepared this prior to the event. It wasn't something specific to yesterday or today and Fabiano kind of fell into it.

"I mean, he could have played the same line [Caruana had played 5...Nc6 in their previous game - PD] which I would have had to change what I did versus the previous match but I think, you know, it's a solid opening and you kind of just play the game, try to get a small edge. Old Man Chess sometimes works!"

I came to this tournament with a plan and it is to play Old Man Chess.
—Hikaru Nakamura

Caruana reacted well to Nakamura's new idea played on move 11, with a series of very accurate moves. By the time the queens were traded, Black had equalized completely but Caruana's most natural move 31...Ke7? surprisingly led to problems.

As it went, the eval bar went up and down a few times with Nakamura gaining and losing the advantage and Caruana getting back to having good drawing chances. 39 seconds on the clock by move 45 (when the players were playing on a 30-second increment) was not enough for Caruana to find the study-like draw that was still in the position. An unnecessary loss for him, but at the same time an excellent win for Nakamura.

Abrahamyan didn't play a King's Indian this time but went for a modern line in the 5.Bf4 Queen's Gambit Declined – another opening she plays from time to time. After the game she revealed that she had left her laptop at the playing hall so she couldn't prepare and instead "just slept a lot."

Sometimes, that's all you need. Her opening was a success: by move 21, Black had won back her pawn, and had the better pawn structure and the more active pieces in an endgame with only heavy pieces.

Abrahamyan was dominating, and Lee could only wait. She managed to keep things together but on move 36, Lee played too fast. With almost 14 minutes left on the clock (vs. two and a half for her opponent), she missed an important tactic when her position immediately collapsed. Another good game by Abrahamyan, who has been showing her best chess in this tournament.

About Sunday's game, Abrahamyan said: "I'll probably take it easy, mostly prepare a little bit. I mean, she is the one who has to play for a win but I think we'll get a fighting game anyways. I don't think we're going to have a quick draw tomorrow."

How to watch?

The 2025 American Cup, taking place from March 15-24, is an over-the-board tournament featuring some of the strongest players in the United States. The time control is 90 minutes for the entire game plus a 30-second increment starting on move one; rapid games are played at the 15+10 time control. The prize fund is $250,000. 

Previous coverage:

• Day 7: Caruana, Abrahamyan Bounce Back To Qualify For American Cup Grand Finals
• Day 6: Nakamura Beats Caruana In Blitz Playoffs, Wins Champions Final 
• Day 5: Lee Beats Abrahamyan In Game 1; Nakamura, Caruana Stay Deadlocked
• Day 4: Nakamura, Caruana Advance To Champions Open Final
• Day 3: Lee, Abrahamyan Take Leads Vs. Krush, Yip; Draws In Open Champions Bracket
• Day 2: Nakamura Shuts Down Near-Upset From Mishra
• Day 1: Nakamura, Caruana Miss Wins Vs. Mishra, Robson