| On the Way to Labor Day: Continental Summer Tourneys |
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| By David A. Hater | |
| September 7, 2015 | |
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As summer comes to a close, Continental Chess Association recently holds several tournaments from August up to Labor Day weekend (look for a report on the New York State Championships later this week, including an annotated game by champion Alexander Ostrovskiy). The late summer competitions are typically well attended as players get in their last chess fix before school starts and summer ends. These events were held from coast to coast. FRESNO OPEN, August 14-16 The 6th annual Central California Open drew 122 players in four sections. All four sections had clear first place winners. Top seeded GM Enrico Sevillano occupied first board all weekend and came away with clear first with 4 ½-1/2. His victory was worth $1100 for the first place and first place bonus. The other big money winners for the weekend were the Wong brothers. Brett Wong won clear first in the U2050 section with 4 ½ - 1/2. Even though he was seeded 9th, his victory was dominant and worth $800. His brother Bryce Wong was seeded 6th and won the Under 1650 section with 4 ½-1/2 and won $700. He added to his winnings with his $100 of the mixed doubles prize. The only perfect score was turned in by Alexander Guiterrez with 5-0 and worth $400, The blitz was unusual in that nobody over 2000 played and there were only 12 players. Pranav Senthilkumar scored 6 ½ - 1 ½ and won $60. David Hater directed for Continental Chess Association assisted by Vanness French. The full list of winners can be found at www.centralcaliforniaopen.com. CONTINENTAL OPEN, August 14-16 The 45th annual Continental Open was held in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and led by 5 GMs and 4 IMs in the 47 player open section. A total of 272 players competed in seven sections. When the dust settled, GMs Gata Kamsky and Sergey Kudrin shared first with a score of 5-1. Kamsky defeated GM Shabalov and IM Esserman and drew with GM Alexander Ivanov and IM Steven Zierk. Kudrin only faced one GM drawing with Ivanov. However, he finished undefeated including a win over IM Joshua Ruiz and a draw with IM Esserman. Their 5-1 scores were worth $2250 with Kamsky taking an extra $200 for finishing first on tiebreak. The blitz tournament was won by GM Samuel Sevian, IM Igor Khmelnitsky and Samuel's father Armen Sevian (1880?!) each with 7 out of 8. Bill Goichberg directed for CCA assisted by Bob Messenger. The full list of winners can be found at www.contintentalopen.com. MANHATTAN OPEN August 21-23 The 14th annual Manhattan Open was the largest non-scholastic tournament held in New York in seventeen years. Twelve grandmasters headlined the 73 player Open section. In all 478 players competed in six sections. Five players entered the final round with 3 ½ out of 4. The pairings in the last round had Kamsky versus Chandra on board one, GM Gelashvili versus GM Stripusnsky on board two and GM Vadim Zvjaginsev versus GM Yaroslav Zherebukh who had 3 out of 4. Kamsky, Gelashvili, and Zvjaginsev all won to finish with 4 ½ out of 5. Each won $1200 with Gelashvili taking an extra $100 for first on tiebreak. By far the most exciting game was in round four Kamsky versus Lenderman. 8044 The game drew a huge crowd and the TDs were doing their best to keep the spectators at a respectful distance. Lenderman was up a pawn but had his pieces tangled. Kamsky eventually sacrificed and the game ended in checkmate! How unusual is it for two 2700 players to play to mate! 8047 The biggest money winner of the weekend was Stanley Lui who went 5-0 in the Under 1900 section and pocketed $1500. Steve Immitt directed for Continental Chess Association assisted by four other NTDs: Sophia Rhode, Harold Stenzel, Jabari McGreen, and David Hater. Full results can be found at www.manhattanopen.com. ATLANTIC OPEN August 28-30 The 47th annual Atlantic Open drew 250 players in seven sections. Four GMs headed the 37 player open section. GM Sergey Erenburg, GM Alexandr Lenderman and FM Christopher Wu all scored four points to win the top section. Erenburg was in clear first place with 3 ½ going into the last round. It looked like he would win against GM John Fedorowicz. However, he wound up drawing which allowed Lenderman to catch up with a win over FM Ralph Zimmer and Wu with a win over FM Baasansuren Erdine. Each won $1166.67 with Lenderman taking an additional $100 for first on tiebreak. Lenderman also won $200 for his share of the mixed doubles prize while Erenburg won $100 for his share of the 3rd mixed doubles prize. 8043 8045 8046 Steve Immitt directed for Continental Chess assisted by David Hater, Andrew Rea, and James Cope Jr. Full results are available at www.atlanticopen.com. INDIANAPOLIS OPEN August 28-30 The Indianapolis Open drew 199 players in four sections. Three GMs and two IMs headlined the 38 player Open section. When it was over GMs Vladimir Georgiev and Nikola Mitkov along with IM Goran Vojinovic, and Life Master Davis Whaley tied for first with 4-1. Each won $975 with Georgiev winning an extra $100 for finishing first on tiebreak. Whaley also won the blitz tournament with a perfect 8-0 score pocketing the first place of $90. There was one perfect score in the tournament: Carson Pocok earned $1500 for clear first in the Under 1600 section. Wayne Clark directed for Continental Chess assisted by Joseph Yun. The full results can be found at www.indianapolisopen.com. |
