Ramping Up: Day 6 in Orlando

With all playing three schedules now in full swing, the competition at the 120th U.S. Open is ramping up. At stake for the 350 competitors is a $40,000 prize fund and, for the winner, a seat in the 2020 U.S. Championship to be held in Saint Louis. Tonight sees the fabled "Merge of Schedules," and live streaming coverage with IMs Kostya Kavutskiy and Eric Rosen starts tonight at 7pm EDT. Check it out at the US Chess Twitch channel! On-site fans can also drop by Salon 7 to participate in the stream “IRL.” Also be sure to come by the Staff Forum / General Membership Meeting this afternoon at 4pm in Grand Ballroom C. You can meet all of your favorite (!) US Chess staff and personalities, including your humble reporter, and get answers to your most pressing US Chess related questions. Decisions, decisions… The choice of playing schedule, it seems, is a fine art, and those hoping to earn a seat in the U.S. Championship have a lot to consider. The 9-Day has just five titled players (three GMs) and games are played at a leisurely pace of one round a day, allowing for deep preparation. It also comes with nine days of hotel bills and hotel food. The 4-Day requires the least financial outlay, but perhaps for that reason, it tends to attract the most titled players. 10 GMs, one WGM, one IM, and two FMs are playing this year’s 4-Day schedule, all hoping to replicate GM Timur Gareyev’s path through the 4-Day last year that lead to his appearance in the 2019 U.S. Championship. With two G/60 games to play before the Merge tonight, section leaders will have to navigate multiple GM vs GM encounters to get to the merge with a shot at top prizes. The 6-Day might be seen as a middle path, balancing playing conditions with financial concerns. This year’s 6-Day has three GMs, five IMs, one WIM, and one FM playing, and after last night’s perfunctory draw between GMs Illia Nyzhnyk and Elshan Moradiabadi, it appears that none of the GMs will have to play one of their colleagues before the Merge. While chess pundits might debate these kinds of decisions for hours, what really matters is what happens over the board. With that, let’s take a look back at what happened yesterday in Orlando. 4-Day

The 4-Day schedule got underway yesterday, with its first four games played at noon, 3pm, 7pm, and 10pm. Four players are at 4/4 as we head to today’s round five at noon: GMs Dariusz Swiercz, Lazar Bruzon Batista, Robert Hungaski, and IM Daniel Fernandez. Right behind them at 3.5/4 are GMs Timur Gareyev, Rogelio Barcenilla Jr, WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia, and 1533 rated Andy Wu. After a first round half-point bye, Wu has been on fire, defeating players rated 1991 and 1993 in last night’s rounds three and four. Will the magic continue? We’ll find out today! Top board pairings for Round 5 in the 4-Day: Fernandez - Swiercz, Bruzon Batista – Hungaski, Belakovskaia – Gareyev, Wu – Barcenilla. 6-Day Five players are tied at 4.5/5 after five rounds of play in the 6-Day Schedule. GMs Illia Nyzhnyk and Elshan Moradiabadi quickly drew last night to get to 4.5, as did IM Bryce Tiglon (against GM Mackenzie Molner). IM Justin Sarkar defeated Howard Zhong to stay with the leaders, and Matthew O’Brien took down IM Elliott Winslow to do the same.  

[pgn] [Event "2019 US Open"] [Date "2019.08.08"] [Round "6.8"] [White "Molner, Mackenzie S"] [Black "Tiglon, Bryce"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B91"] [WhiteElo "2545"] [BlackElo "2454"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. a4 b6 9. Nd5 Bb7 10. Nec3 Nbd7 11. Bc4 O-O 12. O-O Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Bxd5 14. Nxd5 Nf6 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Qd3 b5 17. axb5 axb5 18. Bd2 Qc7 19. Bb4 Be7 20. b3 Qc6 21. c3 Rfd8 22. Rfd1 Rdb8 23. h4 g6 24. Qe2 Rxa1 25. Rxa1 f5 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Ra7 Rb7 28. Rxb7 Qxb7 29. Qd3 Qd7 30. Qd5+ Kg7 31. Kf1 Bf8 32. Ba3 Qc7 33. c4 bxc4 34. bxc4 Qf7 35. Bxd6 Bxd6 36. Qxd6 Qxc4+ 37. Kg1 Qe4 38. h5 Qe1+ 39. Kg2 Qe4+ 40. Kh2 f4 41. Qe7+ Kg8 42. Qe6+ Kf8 43. Qf6+ Ke8 44. g4 Kd7 45. Qh4 Qe2 46. g5 e4 47. Qxf4 Qxh5+ 48. Kg3 Qg6 49. Qe5 h6 50. Qd4+ Ke7 51. Qa7+ Ke8 52. Qb8+ Ke7 53. Qc7+ Ke8 54. Qc8+ Ke7 55. Qc5+ Kd7 56. Qb5+ Ke7 57. Qb4+ Kd7 58. Qd4+ 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "2019 US Open"] [Date "2019.08.08"] [Round "6.9"] [White "Sarkar, Justin"] [Black "Zhong, Howard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2466"] [BlackElo "2302"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 O-O 6. Nd5 Bc5 7. Ng5 g6 8. h4 d6 9. Nxf6+ Qxf6 10. Ne4 Qe7 11. h5 g5 12. a3 a5 13. Nc3 f5 14. Nd5 Qf7 15. Rb1 Ba7 16. b4 Be6 17. b5 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Nb8 19. h6 Nd7 20. Qxc7 Bc5 21. b6 Rab8 22. Bb5 Nxb6 23. Qxf7+ Kxf7 24. g4 Kf6 25. Bd3 Nxd5 26. Bxf5 Rf7 27. d4 exd4 28. exd4 Bxd4 29. Rh3 Re7+ 30. Kf1 Nf4 31. Bxf4 gxf4 32. Rb5 Be5 33. Rxa5 b5 34. Rb3 Kg5 35. Kg2 Rc7 36. Rh3 b4 37. axb4 Rxb4 38. Ra8 f3+ 39. Rxf3 Kxh6 40. Rh3+ Kg5 41. Rg8+ Rg7 42. Rf8 Rxg4+ 43. Bxg4 Kxg4 44. Rh8 Kf5+ 45. Kf3 Kg6 46. Ke4 Rf7 47. Rg8+ Rg7 48. Rxg7+ Bxg7 49. Rg3+ Kf6 50. f4 Bf8 51. Rh3 h6 52. f5 d5+ 53. Kxd5 Bg7 54. Ke4 Kg5 55. Rg3+ Kf6 56. Rg6+ Kf7 57. Ra6 h5 58. Kf4 Bf6 59. Ra7+ Kg8 60. Ke4 h4 61. Kd5 Bg5 62. Ke6 h3 63. Ra3 h2 64. Rh3 Bf4 65. f6 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "2019 US Open"] [Date "2019.08.08"] [Round "6.10"] [White "Obrien, Matthew J"] [Black "Winslow, Elliott Charles"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B08"] [WhiteElo "2307"] [BlackElo "2222"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be3 c6 6. Qd2 Nbd7 7. Bh6 O-O 8. e5 dxe5 9. dxe5 Bxh6 10. Qxh6 Ng4 11. Qf4 Qb6 12. O-O-O Nxf2 13. Bc4 Kg7 14. Ng5 Nxd1 15. Rxd1 Nf6 16. exf6+ exf6 17. Nge4 Bf5 18. g4 Bxe4 19. Nxe4 Rae8 20. Qxf6+ Kg8 21. Nd6 Qe3+ 22. Kb1 1-0 [/pgn]

Pairings for today’s sixth round in the 6-Day: Nyzhnyk – Sarkar, Tiglon – Moradiabadi, Burnett – O’Brien, Jain – Molner. Games from the 6-Day will be broadcast live at uschess.live. 9-Day Six rounds are in the books in the 9-Day, and six players are at 5/6: GMs Kamil Dragun and Victor Mikhalevski, Julian Proleiko, Martin Hansen, Vyom Vidyarthi, and Randas Burns. Another five, including GM Jim Tarjan and FMs Macon Shilbut and Josef Friedman, are half a point back at 4.5.

Both Dragun and Mikhalevski pushed for wins in round 6, but came away with split points.

[pgn] [Event "2019 US Open"] [Date "2019.08.08"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Dragun, Kamil"] [Black "Tarjan, James"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E17"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 b6 7. Bb2 Bb7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. d4 Nbd7 10. Nc3 a6 11. Rc1 Bd6 12. e3 Qe7 13. Ne2 Rfd8 14. Rc2 a5 15. a4 Ba6 16. Qa1 Rac8 17. Rfc1 c5 18. Nf4 Bb7 19. Bh3 Rc7 20. dxc5 bxc5 21. Nd4 Be5 22. Nd3 Qf8 23. f4 Bxd4 24. Bxd4 c4 25. bxc4 dxc4 26. Rxc4 Rxc4 27. Rxc4 Ba6 28. Rc3 Ne4 29. Ra3 Nd2 30. Bxd7 Nf3+ 31. Kf2 Nxd4 32. exd4 Bxd3 33. Rxd3 Rxd7 34. d5 h6 35. Qc3 Qd8 36. Qd4 Rd6 37. Kf3 Kh8 38. h4 Kg8 39. h5 Kh8 40. Qe5 f6 41. Qf5 Kg8 42. Rd2 Kh8 43. Rd3 Kg8 44. Rd4 Kh8 45. Kg4 Qg8 46. Kh4 Qd8 47. Rd2 Kg8 48. Rd3 Kf8 49. Kh3 Kf7 50. Rd2 Kg8 51. Kg4 Kf7 52. Rd4 Ke7 53. Kf3 Kf7 54. Qc2 Ke7 55. f5 Qb6 56. Re4+ Kd8 57. Re6 Kd7 58. Qd3 Qb4 59. Re4 Qc5 60. Rd4 Kd8 61. Qe4 Qc1 62. Qf4 Qf1+ 63. Kg4 Qe2+ 64. Qf3 Qe5 65. Qd3 Rb6 66. Re4 Rb4 67. Rxb4 axb4 68. a5 b3 69. a6 Qb8 70. Qe4 b2 71. d6 Qxd6 72. a7 b1=Q 73. a8=Q+ Qbb8 74. Qa5+ Qbc7 75. Qaa8+ Qb8 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "2019 US Open"] [Date "2019.08.08"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Shibut, Macon"] [Black "Mikhalevski, Victor"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B24"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. Nc3 c5 2. e4 Nc6 3. Nge2 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 Rb8 6. O-O b5 7. a3 e6 8. d3 Nge7 9. Be3 Nd4 10. Qd2 O-O 11. Nc1 Qc7 12. Nd1 d6 13. c3 Ndc6 14. Bh6 Bxh6 15. Qxh6 d5 16. Ne3 d4 17. Nc2 e5 18. Ne2 Be6 19. cxd4 Nxd4 20. Nexd4 cxd4 21. Rac1 Qd6 22. Bh3 Bxh3 23. Qxh3 f5 24. f3 Rbc8 25. Qg2 fxe4 26. fxe4 Qc6 27. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Rf1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 a5 30. Qd2 Kg7 31. Ne1 Qc7 32. Qc2 Qxc2 33. Nxc2 g5 34. Na1 a4 35. Nc2 Kf6 36. Nb4 Ke6 37. Ke2 g4 38. Kf2 Ng6 39. Nd5 Nf8 40. Nc7+ Kd7 41. Nd5 Ke6 42. Nc7+ Kd7 43. Nd5 h5 44. Nf6+ Ke6 45. Nd5 Nh7 46. Nc7+ Kd7 47. Nd5 Kd6 48. Kg2 Ng5 49. Kf2 Ne6 50. Nf6 Nc5 51. Ke2 Ke6 52. Nd5 Na6 53. Kd2 Kf7 54. Ke2 Kg6 55. Kd2 h4 56. Ne7+ Kg5 57. Nc6 hxg3 58. hxg3 Kf6 59. Nb4 Nc7 60. Ke2 Ke6 61. Kf2 Kd6 62. Ke2 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Pairings for tonight will not be posted until the Merge just before 7pm. Thursday Quads Winners for the Thursday Quads, by section, are:

S: Benjamin Chen, Theo Slade, and Bryan Weisz; T: Nick Lacroix and Samuel Mo; U: Albert Yang. Delegates Meetings Friday is another busy day for US Chess Delegates. Among the many committees meeting today are Bylaws and Ethics this morning, while Finance / LMA meet this afternoon. The “Steps Method” Presentation with Han Schut is today 2pm in Salon 5. The Staff Forum / General Membership Meeting, as mentioned above, is at 4pm today in the Grand Ballroom C. Livestream

And finally… the livestream with IM Kostya Kavutskiy and IM Eric Rosen starts tonight. Watch at the US Chess Twitch channel or on-site in Salon 7 from 7pm “till close.”

---

Quick Links US Open Information US Open Pairings & Results Denker Information Denker Results Barber Information Barber Results  RHNGTOC Information RHNGTOC Results  NSTOC Information US Open reports on CLO  Twitch stream (starting Friday night)