Tiglon Wins Blitz at NHS!

The 2019 National High School Blitz Tournament ended Thursday night with a clear winner: IM Bryce Tiglon, a 12th grader from Seattle, Washington. Tiglon scored a nearly perfect 11.5/12 to take the title, only conceding a draw to Iowa’s NM Joseph Wan in the final round. Wan, who finished in 7th place, was a co-winner of the Bughouse event held Thursday afternoon with teammate Gokul Thangavel. Thangavel ended the Blitz in 11th place. GM Nicholas Checa, the top rated player in the field at 2609, finished in second place with a score of 11/12. (Pairings were based on the greater of a player’s blitz or regular ratings.) Checa’s only blemish was his split two-game mini-match with NM Zachary Tanenbaum in Round 4, a sign of the ultra-competitive nature of the tournament. IM Eric Rosen was on-hand to document the action for CLO: Top Twelve Finishers (ordered by tiebreak):

1. Bryce Tiglon, 11.5/12
2. Nicolas Checa, 11/12
3. Nikhil Kalghatgi, 10.5/12
4. Nico Chasin, 10.5/12
5. Zachary Tanenbaum, 10/12
6. Praveen Balakrishman, 10/12
7. Joseph Wan, 10/12
8. Rick Sun, 10/12
9. Aydin Turgut, 9.5/12
10. Jack Santner, 9.5/12
11. Gokul Thangavel, 9.5/12
12. Hiren Premkumar, 9.5/12

Top Five Teams:

1. Whitney Young HS, Chicago, IL; 35.5
2. Thomas Jefferson HS, Alexandria, VA; 35.0
3. Iowa City West HS, Iowa City, IA; 33.5
4. Catalina Foothills HS, Tuscon, AZ; 32.5
5. Lakeside School, Seattle, WA; 32.5

GM Jeffery Xiong will present awards to the top five finishers in both Blitz (individual and team) and Bughouse (team) on Saturday before Rounds 3, 4, and 5.