"Memorial Day Weekend" Tournament Roundup

While the Chicago Open is one of the leading events held on Memorial Day weekend, it’s hardly the only tournament that was played. Here’s a cross-country travelogue featuring results from the weekend’s bigger contests. Cherry Blossom Classic The 7th Cherry Blossom Classic ran from May 23-27 in Sterling, VA. Playing in his first US Chess tournament, GM Karen Grigoryan tied for first in the Cherry Blossom with GM Jianchao Zhou at 7/9. Grigoryan defeated GM John Burke in the final round to claim his share of first place, leaving Burke to finish in clear third.

[pgn]

[Event "7th Cherry Blossom Classic"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.05.28"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Burke, John M"]
[Black "Grigoryan, Karen H."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B94"]
[WhiteElo "2563"]
[BlackElo "2532"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qe2 h6 8.
Bh4 g6 9. f4 e5 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. O-O-O Qc7 12. Nb3 Be7 13. Qf3 g5 14. Bg3 Nb6
15. Be2 h5 16. Nd5 Nfxd5 17. exd5 Bg4 18. Qe3 Bxe2 19. Qxe2 f6 20. Rd3 Nc4 21.
h4 g4 22. Rhd1 Kf7 23. Nd2 Nxd2 24. R3xd2 Rad8 25. Rf1 Kg7 26. Rf5 Bd6 27. Qe4
Rh6 28. Rdf2 Rf8 29. Rf1 b5 30. Bf2 Qc4 31. Qxc4 bxc4 32. Be3 Rh7 33. Kd2 Kg6
34. Kc3 Rc7 35. Bb6 Rb7 36. Be3 Be7 37. R1f2 Rd8 38. Kxc4 Rc7+ 39. Kd3 Rxd5+
40. Ke4 Rd1 41. b3 Rc3 42. Bb6 Bd8 43. Ba7 Re1+ 44. Kd5 Rc7 45. Bb6 Rd1+ 46.
Ke4 Rcd7 47. Ba5 R1d4+ 48. Ke3 Bxa5 49. Rxf6+ Kg7 50. R6f5 Bd2+ 51. Ke2 Re4+
0-1

[/pgn]

Zhou’s final round win against IM Thomas Bartell ensured his place at the top of the leader board.

[pgn]

[Event "7th Cherry Blossom Classic"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.05.28"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Zhou, Jianchao"]
[Black "Bartell, Thomas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2608"]
[BlackElo "2351"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8.
g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 g5 12. Ne3 gxf4 13. Nxf5 O-O-O 14. Qc2
Nc5 15. O-O fxg3 16. hxg3 a5 17. Rfd1 Kb8 18. Rxd8+ Qxd8 19. Rd1 Qc7 20. Qd2
Ne6 21. Ne4 h5 22. b3 Ng6 23. Qd7 Qxd7 24. Rxd7 Ne5 25. Rd1 Kc7 26. f4 Nd7 27.
Ned6 Bxd6 28. Nxd6 Nd8 29. Nc4 b6 30. Rd3 f6 31. Re3 Rh7 32. Kh2 Nc5 33. Bh3
Ndb7 34. Bf5 Rg7 35. Re8 Nd6 36. Nxd6 Kxd6 37. Bc2 Re7 38. Rxe7 Kxe7 39. Kh3
Ne6 40. e3 b5 41. Kh4 Ng7 42. e4 bxa4 43. bxa4 c5 44. Bd3 Ke6 45. Kh3 Ne8 46.
Kg2 Nd6 47. Kf3 Nc8 48. Bc4+ Kd6 49. Ke3 Nb6 50. Bb5 Ke6 51. Kd3 Kd6 52. Kc3
Ke7 53. Kb3 Kf7 54. Bf1 Kg6 55. Be2 Kh6 56. Bb5 h4 57. gxh4 Kh5 58. e5 fxe5 59.
fxe5 Kg6 60. h5+ Kf7 1-0

[/pgn]

Anand Dommalapati directed for Capital Area Chess, and he was assisted by Andrew Rea and Greg Vaserstein. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279672 Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic FIDE Master Michael Casella was victorious in the 2019 Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic, taking first place with a score of 5/6. Six players – IM John Daniel Bryant, IM Jack Peters, Robert  Shlyakhtenko, Nicky Korba, Gordon James McNeill Jr., and Serkan Salik, shared second through seventh places with 4.5/6. The tournament ran from May 25-27 in Loma Linda, CA. Lina Grumette was a long-time Southern California organizer and a confidant of former World Champion Bobby Fischer. Grumette inaugurated a Memorial Day tournament in 1980, and the event continues to this day, now renamed in her honor. Dylan Quercia directed on behalf of the Southern California Chess Federation. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279542 Massachusetts Open A Turkish student was the surprise winner of the 88th Massachusetts Open, held May 25-27 in Westford, MA. CM Ridvan Sakir went 5.5/6 to claim his title, drawing IM Denys Shmelov in round three and defeating GM Alexander Ivanov in round five. Nathan Solon finished in second place with 5/6, while Shmelov ended in third with 4.5 points. Bob Messenger organized and directed the event, which was sponsored by the Massachusettes Chess Association. He was assisted by Frank Vogel and Nicholas Sterling. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279422 Texas State and Amateur The 74th Texas State and Amateur Championship was held from May 24-27 in Fort Worth Texas and sponsored by the Dallas Chess Club. Louis Salinas organized the tournament, and Franc Guadalupe was the Chief TD. He was aided by Louis Reed and Lori Riley. IM Cameron Wheeler won the Championship section with 6.5 points out of a possible 7. He defeated second place finisher GM Zurab Javakhadze and drew GM Julio Sadorra on the way to claiming his crown. Sadorra finished tied for third/fourth with Jack Easton. The Amateur title went to Lucas Revellon, who also finished with 6.5/7. Nitin Chikkodi and Stephen Raveneau shared second and third places, half a point behind Revellon. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279252.0 Best of the West Class 2018 Chess Club of the Year Bay Area Chess was responsible for the Best of the West Class tournament, which took place from May 25-27 in Santa Clara, CA. Organizer Judit Sztaray also served as the Chief Assistant TD for her daughter, Chief TD Reka Sztaray. Both were backed up by Assistant TD John McCumiskey. GM Conrad Holt outrated the Open field by over 300 points, but could only share first place with Derek Wu. Both players scored 5/6. Holt drew Wu in the final round, and also was held by Vinesh Ravuri in round four. Four players – Ravuri, Kevin Pan, Milind Maiti, and Henry Wang – finished half a point back at 4.5/6. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279402 US Amateur East Pennsylvania’s Gregory Matthew Nolan is the winner of the 75th US Amateur East. Essaying the fabled Swiss Gambit, Nolan overcame a first round draw and won five games on the trot to take first place. Ryan Cheung, Nancy Wang, and Boyang Zhao shared second through fourth places with a score of 5/6. The New Jersey State Chess Federation sponsored the Amateur East, which ran from May 25-27 in Morristown, NJ. Aaron Kiedes organized and directed, and he was assisted by Richard Davisson, Noreen Davisson, Alessandro de Marchi-Blumstein, and Doran Race. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279472 US Amateur West 67 players turned out for the 2019 Amateur West Championship, held May 25-27 in Tuscon, AZ. When the dust cleared, Carlos Boteo was atop the standings, winning the Amateur West by a full point at 5.5/6. Dallas Elkins, Evan Yin, and Jayden Xu were equal second-fourth at 4.5 points. Robby Adamson was the director on behalf of the Southern Arizona Chess Association. He was assisted by Jonathan Martinez, Michelle Martinez, Renee Lamphear, Martha Underwood, Aiya Cancio, Zak Cancio, and Lee C. Lafrese. Full results are available at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279412