When the modern world championship system was created after World War II, the US and Soviet Union got special privileges.
The national championships of the two superpowers were designated as “zonal” tournaments, or fast-track stepping stones to the world title.
When Bobby Fischer passed up the 1963 US Championship, it was considered a disaster for American chess because it postponed his world championship hopes for nearly a decade.
But today the zonal status of the US Championship is unknown to many fans.
They were unaware that five of the top finishers in last month’s tournament in St. Louis — Alejandro Ramirez, Alexander Onischuk, Conrad Holt, Timur Gareev and Larry Christiansen — qualified, as a result, for the World Cup in August, which leads to the world championship match of 2014.
The US zonal’s prestige is obscured because there are now 10 other ways to qualify for a World Cup. Hikaru Nakamura, for example, passed up this year’s US Championship but qualifies for the Cup because of his high rating.
Ray Robson, who lost his chance for a Cup invitation on tie-breaks, won this week’s game after Black passed up 18 . . . Rg8 ! and 27 . . . Nxd3!?, and overlooked 31 Nc8!.