Double or Nothing in Las Vegas

June in Las Vegas is always a special time for chess players, with the National Open highlighting the numerous events comprising the Las Vegas Chess Festival.

But this year, 1000GM decided to host a “pre-game” for the festival in the same hotel. The 1000GM Las Vegas Super Swiss — held June 8 through 12 — boasted 44 titled players out of 72 total participants, including many of the National Open tournament favorites.

After nine rounds, GMs Hans Niemann and Mikhail Antipov shared first with 7/9 scores, earning $6,250 each. Niemann won a two-game rapid playoff to earn an additional $500 bonus.

Readers of our Wednesday Workout might recognize Antipov’s victory in round nine:

The four-way tie for third-through-sixth places, with 6½/9, featured three strong GMs and 1000GM organizer IM Josiah Stearman. Stearman was joined by Jianchao Zhou, Semen Khanin (who won the 2022 National Open), and Ilya Nyzhnyk.

Early in the tournament, Stearman came within inches of drawing Niemann in a tense endgame that will also be familiar to our Workout readers (now with some more detail courtesy of IM Robert Shlyakhtenko:

The strong performance was not enough for a GM norm for Stearman, but two players did earn their first IM norm from this event: Andrew Guo and FM Austin Mei. They each upset some strong IMs in this event:

Understandably, many of the players from the Super Swiss were hanging around for the National Open, with only one day off between the two events, as the National Open began on the first day of the festival on June 14.

But the National Open was not the only event kicking off in Vegas that Wednesday. The U.S. Women’s Open Championship, held June 14 and 15 as part of the Las Vegas Chess Festival, boasted a record-breaking 66 players for the five-round Swiss System tournament.

Zijun Zhou celebrating her U.S. Women's Open victory (courtesy of the organizers)

Zijun Zhou ran the tables with a 5/5 score, as several of her similarly rated top seeds fell victim to upset draws and losses. Zhou earned $1,000 for her victory.

Zhou fourth round victory over Yesun Lee was analyzed by GM Ron Henley on the festival’s daily bulletin. Here’s her tournament-clinching victory over Mongolia’s Saikhanchimeg Tsogtsaikhan.

Anzhelika Lomakina won clear second place and a $600 prize with 4½/5 thanks to her upset victory over WFM Olivia Smith in the final round.

In the “main event” (wait, that’s the other June Vegas event isn’t it), four grandmasters tied for first with 7/9. Nyzhnyk and Antipov — familiar names from the Super Swiss — shook hands quickly in the final round to guarantee a share of the top prize alongside Yaser Quesada Perez (who had requested a last-round bye). Several other players entered the round on 6/8, but only Vasif Durarbayli was able to win his game. The four players each took home $4,625 for their efforts.

Ten players finished in a tie for fifth, including Niemann, whose undefeated tournament featured one draw too many. Niemann was one of eight grandmasters in this group, along with IM Justin Wang and FM Ezra Chambers. The two non-grandmasters earned $2,450 apiece thanks to the inclusion of u2400 and u2500 prizes.

With 1,212 players competing across the National Open and accompanying class sections, the organizers were proud to report that not only did the tournament break the previous attendance record, but they smashed it by 99 people!

Alongside the main tournament, the festival also included a number of additional opportunities to play, analyze, and meet some celebrities.

Both GM Ben Finegold and IM Eric Rosen took on many challengers in simuls, and also joined a number of other streamers to meet their fans. Finegold also joined GM Ron Henley in analyzing games after rounds.

Niemann was also able to “cash in” one more time in the Walter Browne Memorial Blitz tournament, pocketing $700 for clear first with an impressive 11/12 score two full points ahead of the field. 226 players participated between the Open and under-1900 sections.

Additionally, the “sectional” blitz tournaments (Round Robins of eight players each) were highly successful, with eight groups playing on Friday and a whopping eighteen closing out the tournament on Sunday. It’s always a good sign when chess players aren’t sick of chess by the end of an event.