2026 Memorial Day Weekend Wrap-Up

Editor’s note: Since becoming Digital Editor for Chess Life Online, I have dreamt of publishing more regular wrap-ups of the sorts of events that are eligible for our Plan Ahead Calendar (as well as invitational tournaments).

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35^th Annual Chicago Open: Five Winners, Three Norms

Games | Results | Official Website | MUIR

The 35^th Annual Chicago Open, held from May 21 through 25 in Wheeling, IL, featured over 900 players across eight sections, including 132 players in a competitive Open section that boasted 16 GMs and 21 IMs.

Five players tied for first with 7/9 scores: GMs Alexey Sarana, Jianchao Zhou, Viktor Matviishen, and Semen Khanin as well as IM Jason Liang. Each player won $3,960 for their performance.

Sarana boasted the strongest tiebreaks of the quintet, which only counts for bragging rights. All four players he drew finished in the top 10 of the final standings, so it makes sense that his tiebreaks reflect his difficult pairings. Below is his win in Round 7 over GM Harsha Bharathakoti, who was having a strong event before stumbling with a ½/3 finish down the stretch.

Matviishen’s tournament was interesting because, of the five co-winners, he was the only player to lose a game (albeit to GM Awonder Liang, who ended up a half-point behind the winners after having to skip two rounds). Here’s his win over IM Tianqi Wang from Round 8:

After drawing his first game and each of Rounds five through seven, Khanin had to play catch-up in the final two rounds. He did just that, winning his final game in style to join the leaders:

The only non-GM of the pack, Liang had a fantastic event featuring three draws, two wins, and zero losses against GMs. The event was good for a GM norm for the 19-year-old from Ohio.

The three draws came earlier in the event, and the two wins came in the final rounds against Bharathakoti and GM Francesco Sonis, respectively. His win over Sonis showed excellent composure against a player clearly willing to take chances:

Finally, Zhou is a regular contender at every major American tournament, and has racked up quite a few titles over the years. I saved him for last because his most impressive win, from Round 8, came against a much lower rated opponent, and this deserves a little explanation. First, we can appreciate Zhou’s play:

So, about Sam Luger. The New Yorker is the sixth highest-rated 14-year-old in the country with a national rating of 2316 and a FIDE rating just over 2200 entering this event. He also earned his first GM norm in this tournament, and he did it with two rounds to spare. As in, by the time he was playing Zhou on Board 2 in the penultimate round, he had already secured a norm. He finished with a 6/9 score and a share of the Under-2400 (FIDE) prize.

Luger’s performance featured five wins (two against GMs, two against IMs (one of whom, IM Liam Henry Putnam, will soon have his GM title conferred), and one against an FM) and two more draws against GMs. Zhou and Matviishen were his only losses. As if the results aren’t impressive enough on their own, the way he earned these points was tremendous.

I couldn’t limit myself to just selecting one of his wins, and I eventually landed on his first-round upset over GM Nico Werner Chasin, his fourth-round win over GM Brandon Jacobson, and his sixth-round win over Putnam. Not only is it fitting to look at his games against the New York (and New Jersey, in Jacobson’s case) prodigies of years’ past, but in each game, Luger showed off mature, patient play. None of these wins came from flukes or even from one moment of sharp calculation.

Finally, FM James Chirilov of North Carolina earned an IM norm for his 5/9 performance. The 18-year-old notched three wins against grandmasters, including this entertaining battle where Chirilov outplayed his experienced opponent in a multi-piece endgame:

13^th Cherry Blossom Classic: Winners Annotate their Highlights

Games | Results | Official Website | MUIR

Over Memorial Day weekend, May 21–25, the 13th annual Cherry Blossom Classic took place in Sterling, VA. Organized by Anand Dommalapati and Capital Area Chess, this prestigious event offered players opportunities to earn norms with its nine round, 90+30 FIDE time‑control format.

The Open Section featured competitors from 18 countries and included 42 titled players. Three additional sections — Under-2100, Under-1700 (combined with Under-1300), and Under-1000 — brought the total participation to 171 players.

In the Open, GMs Fidel Corrales Jimenez and Santiago Avila Pavas shared first place with 7½/9 scores. Corrales was generous to annotate one of his wins for us:

"It is nice to play in a tournament where the organizers are extremely professional, where all you do as a player is show up and play," Corrales said. "It is refreshing to go to a tournament hall and have the pieces and clock set for you, and also where the games are broadcasted. All that is left for you to do is to put all your energy into the game."

Streamavicius (L) against Corrales. (Photo by Anand Dommalapati)

"It is especially nice to play a time control that is more on international standards," Corrales added, "where players in double round games have more time to prepare in between rounds, to rest in between rounds, or to simply get lunch or dinner." Corrales also added that his win in the blitz side event gave him the final rating point he needed to qualify for the next FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship!

Avila Pavas also shared his win over his University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) teammate and roommate for this tournament:

IM Oleksii Bilych secured clear third with 7/9 points, while nine players tied for fourth with 6/9 scores. Bilych's key victory is below:

While no players picked up FIDE norms in this event, three players crossed the 2200 US Chess ratings threshold (becoming national masters) for the first time.

Pennsylvania’s Vedansh Kumbharathi went from 2146 to 2215 with a 4½/9 performance that began with a win over GM Jesse Kraai. Not bad for a 14-year-old!

Vedansh Kumbharathi. (Photo courtesy of the subject)

Kumbharathi’s annotations of his win over the two-time former Irwin winner are below:

"This tournament was a really enjoyable experience for me," Kumbharathi said. "The venue and playing hall were very neat and organized, including small details like the arbiters cleaning the DGT boards after each round. It showed how much effort the organizers put into making the event a great experience for the players."

Also joining the 2200 club was Virginia’s Zachary David Martin, who picked up 14 points in three rounds to reach 2201. Congratulations are in order for the 18-year-old who first crossed 2000 in 2014 and competed in over 200 tournaments before earning the national master title. Martin was kind enough to annotate his victory over Chess Life Online regular contributor and commentator WGM Sabina Foisor:

Finally, Maryland's CM Steven Liu was the youngest new national master of the weekend, earning the title at just the age of 12. We didn't get any games from Liu, but if you're reading this, Steven, my email's at the top of this report!

94^th Massachusetts Open: Sharing is Caring

Games | Results | Official Website| MUIR

Memorial Day weekend is a popular time for state championships! Over 250 players competed in the 94^th Massachusetts Open (May 23 through 25), including 53 in the top section.

CM Jamison Edrich Kao of Connecticut took clear first with a 5½/6 score. In a key game from Round 5 against fellow Connecticut resident FM Jasmine Su, Kao put himself in pole position:

This tournament awards the title of Massachusetts State Champion to the top-finishing Massachusetts resident, and here’s where things got interesting. Seven players tied for second with 4½/6 scores, and all seven of them are from Massachusetts!

According to Chief TD Colin Scheriff, all seven players earned the title of (co-)champion. But, as you might have guessed, they did not have seven trophies on hand for this unprecedented occurrence. Rather than use tiebreaks, Scheriff said that each player will keep the trophy in their respective home for roughly 50 days before passing it along to the next co-champion on the list.

And what a trophy it is. The just-unveiled John Curdo Memorial Trophy, named after the 17-time Massachusetts state champion, even came with its own hype video rolled out on the state federation’s website.

Of the co-champions, the highest-rated (and most established) were GM Alexander Ivanov, IM Denys Shmelov, and FM Danila Poliannikov. This was Ivanov’s 16^th time earning at least a share of the state title.

In the first round, Shmelov lost to Jerry Chen, a 17-year-old who eventually joined Shmelov as co-champion while gaining 96 rating points to cross 2100 for the first time, reaching 2180!

Poliannikov bounced back from a first-round draw against New Hampshire’s Abhishek Mallela with three consecutive wins, including the below positional gem:

But just when it looked like Poliannikov had the title in his grasp, he was held to a draw in each of the final two rounds by co-champions Dattasai Kilari and William Wu.

Dattasai (Datta) Kilari was one of the seven state co-champions. (Photo courtesy Colin Scheriff)

Kilari, who is 15 years old, got his national rating back over 2200 with his performance that included several fine wins including this one over Wu:

Wu is himself only 13 years old, and placed himself firmly in the top 20 of the ratings list for his age category with his tournament. Sometimes, younger players struggle against non-standard openings, but here Wu showed great fortitude in slowly improving his position:

Wu’s opponent in that game, Yury Anatolievich Barnakov, shook up the standings in Round 2 by upsetting Ivanov:

The 60-year-old Barnakov ultimately finished a point behind the co-champions due to a fifth-round loss to our final co-champion Ryan Sowa.

As a special prize for the top Under-2000, Under-1600, and Under-1200 players, Silman-James Press provided copies of IM John Donaldson's new book, Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer and his 2020 Bobby Fischer and his World as prizes.

Two side events ran concurrently with the Massachusetts Open: the Massachusetts Open Scholastic, which drew 46 players, and the Massachusetts Blitz Championship. Results for both events can be found here.

In talking to the team of organizers who made this event possible, both Scheriff and Massachusetts Chess Association (MassChess) President Michael Urbonas were sure to express their gratitude for all of the hard work over the years from NTD/IA Bob Messenger.

Messenger (L) with MassChess President Michael Urbonas and Clerk Dr. Nick Sterling with a poster created by Board Director Elsie Smits.

Messenger is retiring after serving as MassChesstreasurer for the past 25 years, but will continue to serve on the MassChess board as a director. At the state chapter meeting held on May 25 prior to the final day of the tournament, he was presented with a plaque (courtesy of MassChess Vice President Kateryna Odnorozhenko) and a unique prize.

Bob Messenger (L) with MassChess President Michael Urbonas. (Photo courtesy Colin Scheriff)

As Urbonas explained, “[Bob] has served for decades as Senior TD for virtually all major MassChess-run tournaments, while always declining to receive any TD fees. Recognizing Bob’s extraordinary generosity, and that he will have more free time to actually play chess by stepping down as treasurer, I am pleased to present Bob with a very special “Mass Chess-ter Card”, good for free entry fees at all MassChess tournaments going forward!”

A one-of-a-kind Mass Chess-ter Card! (Photo courtesy Colin Scheriff)

Echoing Urbonas’s gratitude, Scheriff added that, “Bob has been working for years to help train up the next generation, including recruiting and training/mentoring new TDs (myself included!), and to pass along and document all of his institutional knowledge, but there's still no way we could run the place without him.”

81st Texas State & Amateur Championship (In Memory of Luis Salinas): Antipov, Castillo Share Title

Games | Results | Official Website | MUIR

Over 200 players competed in the 81^st Texas State & Amateur Championship, held in memory of Luis Salinas for the third year.

With a number of powerhouse collegiate programs in Texas, it was no surprise to see some heavy hitters at the top of the leaderboard.

Joshua D. Ruiz Castillo in his game against Mikhail Antipov. (Photo courtesy of David Ortiz)

After seven rounds of play from May 22 through 25, GMs Mikhail Antipov and Joshua D. Ruiz Castillo became state co-champions with 5½/7 scores.

Antipov has served as a coach for the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)’s team since last year. A formidable coach and openings expert, Antipov routinely showcases his deep knowledge and understanding in open tournaments, particularly when he gets to play an Open Sicilian. Here’s a free lesson in the 6. Bg5 Nbd7 Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense in which Antipov appears to be in book until at least move 25.

Castillo competed for UTRGV as an undergraduate and at UTD during his graduate studies. It’s always a pleasure watching grandmasters compete in open tournaments because their games are often very instructive. Here, Castillo was not able to get anything out of the opening. But, considering that he opened with 1. b3, a theoretical advantage wasn’t his goal. Instead, he consistently narrowed his opponent’s options until eventually provoking an error in a very complicated position:

GM Aleksey Sorokin, who competed for Texas Tech and won the 2022 U.S. Open, tied for third a half-point behind the co-champions. 15-year-old Joshua Meng also tied for third.

Southern California Invitational Championship: Baryshpolets Wins Strong Invitational

Games | Results | MUIR

GM Andrey Baryshpolets won the prestigious Southern California Invitational Championship with a 5/7 score in a field of four grandmasters, two IMs, one soon-to-be IM, and an FM.

SCCF champion Andrey Baryshpolets. (Photo courtesy Ala'a Moussa)

The tournament featured numerous high-quality games, and Baryshpolets’ win over GM Arman Mikaelyan in the first round was a particularly instructive dismantling of the Alapin:

The eight players from the invitational event along with organizers/TDs Chuck Ensey, Anthony Ong, Jim Harrel, and Ala'a Moussa. (Photo courtesy of the subjects)

The aforementioned soon-to-be IM is 17-year-old Rose Atwell, who has crossed 2400 FIDE and earned all three of her IM norms. The reigning National High School (K-12) co-champion was in great form here, finishing in clear second with a 4½/7 score. Atwell even had chances to play for a win against Baryshpolets before settling for a draw:

Atwell’s ability to navigate a complex, non-theoretical opening was on display in her win against IM Julian Colville, which is also worth highlighting:

46^th Annual Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic (Los Angeles): Damaraju Wins Open!

Results | Official Website | MUIR

Held alongside the invitational tournament at the Sonesta Los Angeles Airport LAX Hotel, the 46^th Annual Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic hosted almost 250 chess players for a three-day, six-round tournament with six ratings-based sections, including 66 in the top section.

The Damaraju brothers, Ashwin (seated) and Arjun, analyze with Julian Colville. (Photo courtesy of Ala'a Moussa)

Ashwin Damaraju, who is 14 years old, took clear first with a stellar 5½/6 performance. In Round 5, he defeated GM Vahe Baghdasaryan in an interesting game he was kind enough to share with us. His grandmaster opponent sacrificed a pawn for some initiative, and while it certainly felt like there should have been some initiative, Damaraju never flinched or faltered, converting the position elegantly:

Washington Open: Teens Join Big Names Atop Leaderboard

Games | Results | Info | MUIR

Over 300 players competed in Redmond, WA from May 23 through 25 for the Washington Open, including 89 players in a tough open section.

Five players tied for first with 5/6 scores (all Washingtonians): IM Georgi Orlov, FM Daniel He, FM Stephen John Willy, CM Nikash Vemparala, and CM Vidip Kumar Kona. Willy (age 16), Vemparala (14), and Kona (13) are all regular fixtures at national scholastic events.

While he ultimately fell a half-point short of joining the co-champions, Canadian CM Zachary Hankun Liu shook up the leaderboard with his Round 3 win over GM Vladimir Belous in a very entertaining, complex game:

Vemparala also defeated Belous later in the tournament.

Organizer Josh Sinan was kind enough to collect a few other games from participants, including an upset from one of the lowest-rated players in the top section:

Additionally, Sinan shared three games from the "Dynamos" Under-1200 section — including one by section winner Sarthak Kansal — all of which are of substantial instructive value.

Videos taken at the event are available on the Washington Chess Federation's Facebook page, and photos will be shared there, too.

And more!

No round-up is going to cover every major tournament from the long weekend, especially since it’s subjective what makes a tournament “major” anyways. But the 2026 US Amateur East Individual deserves a shoutout as a large, unique event held annually in New Jersey. This year’s tournament boasted over 250 players across three sections, and the top section has a rating cap of 2200.

The rating cap might be familiar to those who have played an amateur team tournament, but there the cap is applied to the average rating of a team’s top four players, meaning that individuals with national ratings over 2200 can compete. But in this tournament, it’s no masters allowed! Connecticut’s Neil Natarajan claimed the title of top amateur in the East with a 5½/6 score in the top section.