How to Win Like the U.S. Champions, Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush

Hi ChessKids! Do you know who the U.S. Champions are? GMs Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush (who both won last year) played against a very tough field to take the title again!

One thing I would like to point out, since we've recently covered it here, is their use of rooks on open files and 7th ranks in the games that they won. Take a look at these positions. By, Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl).

How should Kamsky, playing White, take advantage of his enormously powerful queen and rook battery? This tactic ended the game, as GM Sergey Erenburg could find no good solution, and so resigned. Be sure to click on all the possible variations to see what would happen.

 
Here's Krush. This is a mate-in-two against the young and amazing NM Ashritha Eswaran. Notice here how Krush has the powerful queen and rook battery on an open file. Find the most forcing move for the queen, then a Boden's Mate will follow.
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Nice job!
Because of Kamsky's pawn on h6 and the subsequent hole on g7, Fantasy Chess dictates we should plunk a queen in there for mate! But the queen's path, f4-f6-g7 is not possible right now because of the black knight. What should White do to attack the knight and pressure the 7th rank further?
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Awesome! Here's how the game ended. White will win with his outside passed pawn, since Black is stuck on defense!
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Krush versus her main rival, IM Anna Zatonskih: where are all Black's pawns?
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Here's Krush again. She first uses her queen and rook battery to make major threats on the kingside. Then, she sacrifices her rook to eliminate a defender, and checkmate looms! Watch and learn, friends!
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And that's one trick we've learned, right? Rooks love open files, batteries with queens, and the 7th rank. Now go crush like Krush!
 

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