Friedel Takes Half-Point Lead Into Final Round of U.S. Open

After a week of competition, the final round of the 125th annual U.S. Open begins at 3 p.m. CDT in Middleton, WI, with a spot in this October’s U.S. Championship on the line. Join WGM Sabina Foisor as she finishes her marathon week of commentary on our Twitch channel, and enjoy her written notes on last night’s key games.

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Sam Schmakel (L) had winning chances against the tournament leader, but ultimately Joshua Friedel held a draw to maintain his lead (Photo by David Llada)

GM Joshua Friedel leads with 7½/8 after drawing IM Sam Schmakel. Schmakel was the only player a half-point behind Friedel entering the penultimate round, and had the chance to leapfrog him in the standings last night:

While not the result Schmakel was hoping for, the draw keeps Schmakel in contention, but he does not control his own destiny. Additionally, the draw opened the doors for four more players to join Schmakel in the tie for second with 7/8. These players are, in current tiebreak order: GMs Darius Swiercz, Tanguy Ringoir, Harsha Bharathakoti, and IM Oleksii Bilych.

Several familiar names are missing from this list of players still in contention, including reigning U.S. Open co-champion GM Jianchao Zhou, as well as past U.S. Championship participants Daniel Naroditsky and Varuzhan Akobian. Zhou’s draw against Andrew Titus showed tremendous resilience from the latter player, while Naroditsky and Akobian were each fortunate to escape with a half-point, even if the result removed them both from contending for the championship.

In yesterday’s U.S. Open Blitz Championship, Naroditsky won the seven double-round Swiss with a superhuman 14/14 score. Last year, for context, FM Avi Kaplan’s 12½/14 was good for clear first, and, in 2023, IM George Li 13/14 score put him a point-and-a-half ahead of the field.

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Daniel Naroditsky was in a class of his own during Saturday's blitz, winning with a 14/14 score (Photo by David Llada)

Finishing second, we can say that GM Andrew Hong won the tournament (while Naroditsky won the exhibition) with an 11½/14 score, yielding only a draw against Akobian (besides losing both games to Naroditsky). Click here for a full list of prizes.

Before the final round, today’s schedule includes the U.S. Open Scholastic Championship as well as the conclusion of the Delegates Meeting, Weekend Championship.

Follow the games live today at 3 p.m. CDT with WGM Sabina Foisor.

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