Weekend Update: Liang and Tang Top U.S. Open With Two Rounds To Go

With the merge of the sections after round six came a logjam at the top of the standings with no fewer than seven players tied at the top, but Round seven clarified our leaders going into the penultimate round. Boards one and two featured matchups between seasoned veterans, while upstarts FM Brewington Hardaway and IM Jason Liang looked to join the lead in their contentious game on board three.

IM Bryce Tiglon wasn’t able to pose GM Aleksey Sorokin serious problems with the white pieces, and the players made a relatively quick draw after the opening phase. Both will have excellent tiebreaks as they look to rejoin the lead in round eight.

On the other side of the aisle, GM Andrew Tang essayed his favorite London System to topple GM Dmitry Gurevich. Gurevich deviated as early as move three, but like yesterday, Tang played with excellent technique under time pressure, and proved his status as a speed demon. Tang will look to continue his excellent form through the next two rounds, potentially vying for the title.

Looking to stop that from happening will be the other promising junior atop the standings as Liang won a grueling endgame against fellow promising youngster Hardaway. With queens off the board early, the players shuffled endlessly until Liang found a decisive pawn breakthrough. Tomorrow, we will be treated to a high-stakes matchup on board one.

Near the top of the pack of chasers was GM Viktor Matviishen, who was looking to put himself in position to catch the leaders by the end of the tournament. He did just that by winning a beautiful tactical melee against FM Gregory Markzon.

We will watch to see which of these leaders ultimately goes home with the title, but there’s one sure thing: they’ll give us some great games.