Full Report: Tang, Sorokin Win U.S. Open

Tang wins his first U.S. Open (photo Daniel Day)

Grandmasters Alexey Sorokin and Andrew Tang both won their ninth-round games (with the black pieces, no less) to tie for first at the 2023 U.S. Open with scores of (undefeated) 8/9. Tang won the Armageddon playoff to win an additional $200 and, of course, the Big Trophy.

U.S. Open champion @penguingm1 draws his co-champ GM Aleksey Sorokin in an Armageddon playoff to bring home the big trophy. He also gets a spot in the next U.S. Championship. #usopenchess pic.twitter.com/XuwI0J8fZd
— US Chess (@USChess) August 7, 2023

The recent Princeton grad will (hopefully!) be able to play the U.S. Championship this October in St. Louis now that he has earned his qualifying spot as the top-finishing American player in the U.S. Open. Because Sorokin plays for the Russian federation, the Armageddon game did not determine who would earn the qualifying spot.

Sorokin tied for first with his win over IM Jason Liang (photo Daniel Day)

As many as four players had a chance to join the tie for first place, with six of the seven players entering the round with 7/8 scores slotted against each other. As he explained in the interview above, Tang's strategy was to keep an eye out for winning chances while understanding that a draw was not the end of the world, as he had good tiebreaks in the event of a multi-way tie.

Tang also tied for first, defeating Varuzhan Akobian with the black pieces no less (photo Daniel Day)

In the end, Sorokin defeated IM Jason Liang, defending his 2022 title in the process!

This meant a draw was no longer acceptable for Tang, who came through by achieving a winning endgame against veteran GM Varuzhan Akobian.

Sorokin has been here before, but Tang is known for his blitz skills as well (photo Daniel Day)

On board three, GMs Viktor Matviishen and Rahul Srivatshav were unable to unlock their horns, agreeing relatively quickly to a draw. GM David Brodsky — the only other player on 7/8 — was unable to convert against IM Joshua Posthuma on board four.

Prizes

A full list of winners is available here. Below is a list of the winners of each class prize and all top finishers for the "Master Prize" open to players under 2400. A special congratulations to Iowa's Michael Takahashi for earning a state record with his 7/9 finish. Amusingly, he tied for this prize with former Iowa resident James Neal, and defeated former Iowa resident Anjaneya Rao in the last round to earn this distinction.

First: GM Andrew Tang (8/9), $5,720

Second: GM Aleksey Sorokin (8/9), $5,520

Third-Seventh: GM Viktor Matviishen, GM David Brodsky, GM Rahul Srivatshav, IM Ben Li, FM Sharvesh Deviprasath (7½/9), $1,085.60 each

U2400 First: IM Justin Sarkar (7½/9), $2,300 IM Ronald Burnett

U2400 Second: IM Ronald Burnett, FM Seth Homa, Ryan Clayton, Michael Takahashi, James Neal (7/9), $391.00 each

U2200: Bryan Weisz, Kiren Nasta, Alaa-Aadin Moussa, Sho Glashausser, Cole Blakeman, Michael Dang, Eric Starkman, Harvey Hanke (6½/9), $580.75 each

Class A: Ujan Ray, Arjun Raman, Wayne Ballantyne, Rishav Bhattacharyya, Paul Royal, Vineethreddy Thatiparthi, Kazuma David (6/9), $663.72

Class B: Robert Wang (6½/9), $2,300

Class C: Stan Halstead (6/9), $1,840

Class D: Bernardo Ferreira (6/9), $1,380

Class E: Andrew Victoria (5/9), $1,380

Unrated: Paul Avery (4½/9), $736

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