Liang Takes Clear First at 2024 World Open

Editor's note: GM Awonder Liang has agreed to write a report on his come-from-behind victory in the 2024 World Open in a future print edition of Chess Life magazine. Until then, enjoy this personal report from Matt Clibanoff, a World Open regular and chess instructor.

Boasting a guaranteed prize fund of $208,000 across the top six sections, the World Open holds an incredible allure for amateur and professional chess players alike. But, for most of us, “cashing” in the World Open is but a dream. In reality, the crowds are huge, the children are all severely underrated, and there is never enough soap or paper towels in the bathroom.

While many are drawn in by the promise of a $20,000 top prize (or between $7,000 and $12,000 in the “Under” sections), what they experience is a grueling nine-round odyssey played in the burnt-garbage heat of a second-tier U.S. city with multiple games per day. You’d have a better chance pacing the Indianapolis 500 in a Honda Civic than finding yourself in the money after the final round.

Of course, many of us know this, and we keep coming back. Why? There’s an attraction in the unattainability, as well as the shared experience of being one of over 1,100 players in on the action. Moreover, the mixing of prominent GMs, bright young prodigies, and enthusiastic hobbyists creates a unique atmosphere replete with tears, elation, upsets, wildly unpredictable play, and the occasional hour-long dispute over whether a player lost on time. It is this intensity — not simply the attainability of the prize fund — that makes for a great tournament. As such, the World Open continues to deliver.

This year’s tournament, played in Philadelphia from July 3 through 7, boasted 1149 competitors in the top six sections (Under-1400 through Open, with Under-2200 being the highest “Under” section). This marks the fourth straight year the competition has brought in over 1000 participants since Covid-19 put a hold on the tournament back in 2020.

The open section saw 27 GMs and featured such prominent youngsters as GM Christopher Yoo, FM Rose Atwell, and this year’s winner: GM Awonder Liang.

GM Awonder Liang (courtesy SLCC / A. Fuller)

The road to the top wouldn’t be easy, as several former winners were also in attendance, with Mikhail Antipov (shared first in 2022) and John Michael Burke (shared first in 2021), both turning in respectable finishes. Last year’s winner, GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez, had a solid showing but ultimately dropped games to both Liang and GM Luke McShane and finished toward the middle of the pack.

Speaking of which, perhaps the most exciting attendee was McShane. The “world’s strongest amateur” even managed to force his way into a must-win game with Awonder Liang to round out the event.

I always enjoy playing in Philadelphia. My own 2024 World Open experience felt a bit like exfoliating my scalp with a belt sander, but every year this tournament is a test of my faith. Am I actually good enough to be a chess coach? The World Open keeps telling me “decidedly, no,” but I’m not going to stop. I don’t care if the children I teach today are the same ones dominating me in competition tomorrow.

That’s what these big open tournaments are all about; genius children, flailing adults, and serious chess professionals crashing into one another with unpredictable results. I won’t bore you with my own games, as they’re far from positional masterpieces. Instead, I’ve made a few selections from two players who perfectly embody the spirit of this event.

And now, for our main event! Fighting out of the red corner, we have a man with a day job who has nevertheless scored wins against GMs such as Carslen, Aronian, Kramnik, and Caruana. He’s been famously referred to as “the world’s strongest amateur.” Luke McShane. And in the blue corner, we have a grandmaster out of Madison, Wisonsin who, as a 14-year-old became the third-youngest American grandmaster of all time: Awonder Liang.

These players — a busy adult working in finance and a precocious youngster — are emblematic of the wide-range of life experience on display at the CCA’s most prestigious annual tournament. It’s only fitting then that Liang and McShane found themselves across from one another, playing for clear first, in the final round of this year’s World Open.

Disclaimer: I must admit, that as an old man who spent the weekend getting trounced by children, I was rooting for McShane the entire tournament. I have done my best to keep my biases in check during the following annotations.

Another interesting storyline at the top of the standings was the overperformances of two players without a FIDE title to their name. 18-year-old New Yorker Ryan Harada Peterson managed a stellar performance, bouncing back from a first-round loss to finish with a 6½/9 score. With a FIDE rating of only 2022, Peterson was the only player with a FIDE rating below 2400 to finish with more than six points.

Fellow New Yorker Joseph Zeltsan managed a 7/9 score and a share of second place. Zeltsan only dropped a single game (to GM Andrew Hong) and managed draws against strong GMs Antipov and Viktor Matviishen, whom he shared second place with. Zeltsan was the only non-GM to score seven points, and he does not even have a FIDE title! But things are a bit different, though, in Zeltsan’s case, as he boasts a FIDE rating over 2400 and only does not hold an FM title as a technicality. Still, earning another IM norm while finishing ahead of 23 GMs is no easy feat.

Full results from the World Open are available here, with the ratings report here. Broadcasts from the top boards of each round can be seen on Lichess.org.