The chess games of Sam Shankland

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Sam Shankland

From the 2018 US Championship
Photo: Lennart Ootes

Number of games in database: 979
Years covered: 2005 to 2022
Last FIDE rating: 2691 (2609 rapid, 2704 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2727

Overall record: +248 -106 =355 (60.0%)*
* Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 270 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS

With the White pieces:

Sicilian (70)
    B90 B33 B32 B76 B64
Queen's Gambit Declined (32)
    D38 D37 D31 D35 D30
Ruy Lopez (31)
    C67 C65 C80 C78 C84
Nimzo Indian (31)
    E32 E21 E20 E25 E39
Slav (25)
    D10 D17 D15 D12 D11
French Defense (24)
    C11 C07 C10 C18 C05

With the Black pieces:

Sicilian (101)
    B90 B48 B51 B52 B92
Queen's Pawn Game (40)
    D02 A45 D00 E10 A46
Slav (34)
    D12 D11 D10 D17 D18
Ruy Lopez (34)
    C67 C65 C78 C69 C85
Sicilian Najdorf (32)
    B90 B92 B91 B99 B94
Caro-Kann (31)
    B12 B18 B10 B13 B11

Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Shankland vs Robson, 2022 1-0
   Shankland vs Karjakin, 2022 1-0
   Kaidanov vs Shankland, 2011 0-1
   Mamedyarov vs Shankland, 2021 0-1
   Shankland vs Svidler, 2021 1-0
   Leko vs Shankland, 2011 0-1
   Shankland vs A Liang, 2018 1-0
   Shankland vs Le Quang Liem, 2008 1-0
   Shankland vs D Haessel, 2014 1-0
   Shankland vs Nepomniachtchi, 2019 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   11th Edmonton International (2016)
   49th Biel Master Open (2016)
   American Continental (2018)
   US Championship (2018)
   Biel (2019)
   Fagernes GM Open (2014)
   Tata Steel Challengers (2015)
   Tromso Olympiad (2014)
   14th Sants Open-A (2012)
   American Continental (2014)
   Politiken Cup (2015)
   Champions Showdown (2019)
   Batumi Olympiad (2018)
   PRO League Group Stage (2019)
   World Cup (2021)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   # American Chess Magazine 8 by Qindarka
   # American Chess Magazine 7 by Qindarka

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 American Cup
   So vs Shankland (Mar-19-23) 1-0
   So vs Shankland (Mar-17-23) 1/2-1/2
   Mamedyarov vs Shankland (Dec-30-22) 0-1, blitz
   Shankland vs D Dardha (Dec-30-22) 0-1, blitz
   Shankland vs Shimanov (Dec-30-22) 0-1, blitz

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Sam Shankland
Search Google for Sam Shankland
FIDE player card for Sam Shankland

SAM SHANKLAND
(born Oct-01-1991, 31 years old) United States of America

[what is this?]

Sam Shankland is a grandmaster from Walnut Creek, California. He tied for first in the 2008 World under-18 championship (thereby gaining his IM title) and was California state champion in both 2008 and 2009. He won the USA Junior Championship (2010) from Ray Robson and Parker Bi Guang Zhao on tiebreak. He was awarded the grandmaster title after earning his third GM norm at the Berkeley International (2011).

Qualifying for the World Cup (2011) through Zonal 2.1, Shankland beat Hungarian super-GM Peter Leko in the major upset of the first round, but fell in the second round to Indian GM and 2008 World Junior Champion Abhijeet Gupta. The US Championship (Group B play-off) (2011) took him as far as the US Championship (Knock-out) (2011) stage, before Gata Kamsky eliminated him. He qualified for his second World Cup, to be held in 2015, when he was runner-up on tiebreak behind Julio Ernesto Granda Zuniga at the 9th American Continental Championship held in October 2014.

Playing Board 5 reserve for the USA at the Tromso Olympiad (2014), Shankland scored a dominant 9/10 to win individual gold for board 5, with a TPR of 2831.

At the World Cup (2015), Shankland defeated Ivan Popov in the first round, but lost to compatriot Hikaru Nakamura in the second round rapid game tiebreaker to exit the tournament.

Shankland came in clear first at the US Championship (2018) and followed up with first at the Capablanca Memorial (Elite) (2018), a point and a half clear of outright second placed Aleksey Dreev. His final game of the US championship brought his rating over 2700 for the first time. His victory in the Capablanca Memorial brought him to a live rating of 2717.2 and a ranking of No. 30 in the world.

Shankland's good form continued in the American Continental (2018) which he won outright with 9/11, boosting his live rating to 2727.2 and live ranking to #27 in the world. His result in the American Continental qualified him to compete in the World Cup (2019). There he lost in the first round blitz tiebreaks to Eltaj Safarli.

In June 2021, he won the Prague Masters with 5.5/7 and a performance rating over 2900, the best result in the tournament's history. He entered the World Cup (2021) as the 31st seed, with a rating of 2691. After receiving a bye in the first round, he defeated in succession Baadur Jobava, Alexander Areshchenko, Rinat Jumabayev, and Peter Svidler. In the quarterfinals he lost on tiebreaks to former world championship challenger Sergey Karjakin, 4–2. His performance earned him a spot in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix.

Shankland maintains a website atwww.samshankland.com. He is one of the three owners of Killer Chess Training Academy. He has also written the books "Small Steps to Giant Improvement: Master Pawn Play in Chess" and "Small Steps 2 Success: Mastering Passed Pawn Play." He is a prolific author at the online platform Chessable.com.

(1) https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast... (audio podcast with Ben Johnson from January, 2017), (2) Wikipedia article: Samuel Shankland

Last updated: 2023-02-03 13:21:31

page 1 of 40; games 1-25 of 1,000

Game	Result	Moves	Year	Event/Locale	Opening
1. Shankland vs T Castro	1-0	55	2005	AJ Fink Amateur	B32 Sicilian
2. Shankland vs Y Bukh	1-0	47	2005	AJ Fink Amateur	C16 French, Winawer
3. Shankland vs R de Guzman	1-0	39	2007	Cal Chess Masters	B01 Scandinavian
4. J F Wheeler vs Shankland	0-1	31	2007	USCL - Tennessee vs San Francisco	D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
5. R Burnett vs Shankland	½-½	62	2007	New England Masters	D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
6. Shankland vs C Jones	1-0	33	2007	USA tt	C11 French
7. D Gurevich vs Shankland	1-0	41	2008	US Championship	A15 English
8. J Friedel vs Shankland	1-0	33	2008	US Championship	B10 Caro-Kann
9. Shankland vs S Galant	1-0	26	2008	US Championship	C07 French, Tarrasch
10. Shankland vs D Ippolito	1-0	35	2008	US Championship	C43 Petrov, Modern Attack
11. B Finegold vs Shankland	1-0	87	2008	US Championship	D01 Richter-Veresov Attack
12. Shankland vs Fedorowicz	0-1	36	2008	US Championship	B42 Sicilian, Kan
13. L Kaufman vs Shankland	1-0	39	2008	US Championship	D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
14. Shankland vs D Ludwig	½-½	53	2008	US Championship	B93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4
15. M Langer vs Shankland	1-0	22	2008	US Championship	A07 King's Indian Attack
16. Shabalov vs Shankland	0-1	35	2008	36th World Open	B50 Sicilian
17. E Perelshteyn vs Shankland	1-0	52	2008	36th World Open	D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
18. Shankland vs Khachiyan	0-1	62	2008	36th World Open	B30 Sicilian
19. Shankland vs D Ippolito	½-½	26	2008	36th World Open	C43 Petrov, Modern Attack
20. Shankland vs I Schneider	1-0	21	2008	United States Chess League	C05 French, Tarrasch
21. M Pasalic vs Shankland	1-0	34	2008	United States Chess League	A25 English
22. Shankland vs C Galofre	1-0	47	2008	United States Chess League	C45 Scotch Game
23. R Costigan vs Shankland	0-1	45	2008	United States Chess League	C00 French Defense
24. Shankland vs M Esserman	½-½	39	2008	United States Chess League	B98 Sicilian, Najdorf
25. D Rensch vs Shankland	0-1	47	2008	United States Chess League	B65 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...Be7 Defense, 9...Nxd4


page 1 of 40; games 1-25 of 1,000

REFINE SEARCH: White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Shankland wins | Shankland loses

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 10 OF 10 · Later Kibitzing>
Jun-23-21		Albertan: Shankland triumphs in Prague: https://chess24.com/en/read/news/sh...

Sep-07-21		Albertan: Sam Shankland on ´´Cover stories with Chess Life ´: https://new.uschess.org/news/gm-sam...

Dec-30-21		Dionysius1: Good to see Sam Shankland is playing at Tata 2022. I'm looking forward to see him put more clear water between himself and 2700.

Jan-29-22		Dionysius1: I don't know how to calculate it, but this performance at Tata 2022 will surely have done Sam's Elo some good. Nice that he won today. The way it was over so quickly after the win of a pawn shows he has that killer finish the super GMs have. All good then!

Jan-29-22		MissScarlett: <I don't know how to calculate it, but this performance at Tata 2022 will surely have done Sam's Elo some good.> +0.8. https://2700chess.com/

Jan-29-22		Dionysius1: Thanks <MissScarlett> I didn't realise 2700chess.com updated that frequently!

May-03-22		MatrixManNe0: I'm playing him in a simul today! Wish me luck (for getting my book signed -- not for the simul)!

May-04-22		Benzol: ( MatrixMaNe0 ) I wish you luck in the game as well. : )

May-04-22		OhioChessFan: Give us a full report.

May-12-22		MatrixManNe0: Well, I was on Board 23. And I was being crushed right out of the opening, hahaha. Still, I loved being there, and I felt I learned a good amount from this game alone. Here is the sheet. [Result "1-0"] [Date "2022.05.03"] [Event "Sam Shankland Simul"] [Site "Marshall Chess Club, NYC"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 c6 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qc7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O Bg4 11. Be3 Nd7 12. a4 c5 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 e5 15. d5 Rfb8 16. c4 Nf6 17. Qa3 Bf8 18. a5 Qc8 19. Rfb1 b6 20. Qa4 Ne8 21. Bg4 f5 22. exf5 gxf5 23. Be2 Bg7 24. Ra2 Nd6 25. Qc2 Qc7 26. Bd2 Kh8 27. Bc3 Rg8 28. Rba1 Rab8 29. axb6 axb6 30. Qb2 Ne4 31. Ra7 Qd6 32. Rxg7 Nxc3 33. Rxg8+ Rxg8 34. Qxc3 1-0

May-12-22		MissScarlett: You want this game in the database? If so, as NN or <MMN>?

May-12-22		jessicafischerqueen: <MissScarlett> in a case like this shouldn't it be the player's real name?

May-12-22		MissScarlett: That's up to <MMN>.

May-12-22		jessicafischerqueen: <MissScarlett> <MMN>? Well ok but I'm pretty sure "microsoft mini network" is a robot eh. Need I remind you of Daniel's iron clad rule that no game may be uploaded in which one of the player names is their cg.com handle? So it's either NN or the real name or it cannot be uploaded. Some call this the "Big Pawn Law" because it was successfully invoked (by me) a while ago when cg.com member Big Pawn was whining about why <Frederick Rhine> was allowed to upload online blitz games, but not him. I explained to Big Pawn that he too could upload internet games of similar quality but he would have to use his actual name. At any rate, as usual you will do as you please, since you are apparently now the self-appointed "dictator of affairs" around here. Not that I'm complaining. You'd have had my vote if you'd been arsed to hold a vote in the first place. So I guess the real final decision here is up to you or the police. I like both you and the police, so if I had to vote I would just flip a coin.

May-13-22		Z free or die: <"Big Pawn Law"> ?!?! Bippy memorialized!?! I'd rather see him enshrined in granite, Z-truth be told.

May-13-22		perfidious: My preference runs towards his being immured in granite. <jess....I explained to Big Pawn that he too could upload internet games of similar quality but he would have to use his actual name....> It is odds-on that any random user will sooner win the next Powerball draw here in the States than of our seeing this come off--he is manic about that, and has a great desire to have the Rogovian miasma cleaned.

May-14-22		MatrixManNe0: <MissScarlet> Oh wow, actually having my game in the database… that would be pretty cool. If it’s gonna be in the database, then maybe under my real name? That would be Sean Pagaduan.

May-14-22		MissScarlett: See Shankland vs Sean Pagaduan, 2022 How many boards were there?

May-19-22		MatrixManNe0: 30 boards in total

Jul-21-22		Dionysius1: Shankland's July rating is 2720 - not far off his all time best 2027 (2018)

Jul-21-22		Dionysius1: To get it right this time: Shankland's July rating is 2720 - not far off his all time best 2727 (2018)

Oct-12-22		Dionysius1: Come on Sam! All these draws. Is that what happens when you over prepare? Whatever made you great enough to get here is needed to get you beyond. Leave something for the day of.

Dec-27-22		Dionysius1: Could someone update Shankland's last FIDE rating, above, please. December 2022 is 2710 etc. Thanks

Dec-28-22		Dionysius1: Sorry - wrong place for me to submit the request. I've used the form now.

Dec-28-22		Stonehenge: You should ask here petemcd85 chessforum or here stevemcd87 chessforum . I've asked them twice to fix the automated process but, as normal, nothing has been done.

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