Ivanov Wins Hartford Open

Top seeded Alexander Ivanov won the 6th Annual Hartford Open with a 4-1 score picking up $800 for his efforts. Ivanov started 3-0 including wins over Life Master Matan Prilleltensky and FM Alisa Melekhina. That solidified his lead in the tournament and he was in clear first place heading into Sunday’s rounds. He ceded draws to Life Master David Brodsky and IM Justin Sarkar. In the last round he sacrificed an exchange against IM Justin Sarkar. The evaluation of the position changed several times till the game ended in perpetual check.

[pgn]

[Event "Hartford Open, 2015"]
[Date "2015.11.03"]
[White "Sarkar IM, Justin"]
[Black "Ivanov GM, Alexander"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. Nxe5 Re8 7. Nxc6 dxc6 8. Bc4 b5 9. Be2 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Rxe4 11. Bf3 Re6 12. c3 Qd3 13. b4 Bb6 14. a4 bxa4 15. Qxa4 Bd7 16. Ra2 Rae8 17. Qa6

{[pgndiagram] Morphy took twelve minutes over his next move, probably to assure himself that the combination was sound and that he had a forced win in every variation.}

17... Qxf3 !! 18. gxf3 Rg6+ 19. Kh1 Bh3 20. Rd1
({Not} 20. Rg1 Rxg1+ 21. Kxg1 Re1+ -+)
20... Bg2+ 21. Kg1 Bxf3+ 22. Kf1 Bg2+

(22...Rg2 ! {would have won more quickly. For instance:} 23. Qd3 Rxf2+ 24. Kg1 Rg2+ 25. Kh1 Rg1#)

23. Kg1 Bh3+ 24. Kh1 Bxf2 25. Qf1 {Absolutely forced.} 25... Bxf1 26. Rxf1 Re2 27. Ra1 Rh6 28. d4 Be3 0-1

[/pgn]

One unusual occurrence is that every section had a clear winner. In the Under 2010 section, Mark Bourque scored 4 ½ to take the $500 first prize. Special mention goes to the winners of the Under 1810 prize. Scott Sheff and Harold Stenger scored 3 ½ and each won $225. Sheff was paired up 5 consecutive rounds – often by 200 points. He jumped to a 3-0 start before losing in round 4 and drawing the last round. While Sheff jumped to the early lead, Stenger did the opposite. He started with a zero point unplayed game in round 1 and then won 3 in a row before drawing the last round. Sheff picked up over 100 rating points while Stenger gained over 70.

Example of use of Show/Hide feature:

For how long was IM Danny Edelman on his hiatus from competitive chess? Show Solution We hope to see him a lot more in the future! In the Under 1610 section, Brian Smith scored 4 ½ to win the $400 first prize. He started as one of the favorites seeded 5th. He jumped to a 3-0 lead drew in round 4 and then won on round 5. The Under 1210 section had the only perfect score. Ram Kancharla started as the 4th seed. He went 5-0 including victories over the top seed and the third seed. The victory was worth $200. Ram’s daughter was the second seed and tied for 2nd at 4-1. Together Team Kancharla won the first mixed doubles prize of $200. A special mention should be given to Henry Olynik who won the Under 1000 prize. Henry is blind and many players would recognize him as a frequent competitor at CCA events. The blitz tournament was won by Life Masters Hans Niemann and Aravind Kumar. They split their individual encounter winning 1 game each and defeated all others to score 7-1. Each won $37.50. Steve Immitt directed for CCA assisted by Bob Messenger. Full results can be found at www.hartfordopen.com