Going into the final round, IM Enrico Sevillano holds the lead with 4.5, but no fewer than eight players are only half a point behind. In the Amateur, top-rated Brian Glover and number 22 Alexandr Xie are tied with 4.5, and both are playing down. Complete standings are posted, and will be updated as the sections are completed.
(Photo: John Daniel Bryant and IM Enrico Sevillano face off in the last round.)
After four rounds, IM Enrico Sevillano is alone in first place with 4-0. In round 5, he will face GM Melikset Khachiyan, who trails by half a point. In the Amateur section, four players share the lead with 3.5 -- Brian Glover, David Minasyan, Gerson Miro, and Alexander Xie. Click here for standings.
After the merge, we have a total of 121 players, the best turnout since 2004. Tied for the lead with 3-0 are IMs Enrico Sevillano, Jack Peters, and John Donaldson, followed at 2.5 by a large group including GM Melikset Khachiyan.
The 1-day Scholastic saw a decent turnout of 38. In the Open, Sean Manross with 4-1 took first on tiebreak over Hovanes Salvaryan. The Reserve saw a clear winner, as Joaquin Perkins scores a perfect 5-0. Complete standings of all sections are posted at westernchess.com.
The 49th Annual Pacific Southwest Open is off to a good start. With 110 entries already, plus a few more expected tomorrow for the 2-day schedule, this should be the most successful PSW in several years. Maybe chess really is contrarian ...
Most of the higher-rated players won in the first round, including IMs Jack Peters and John Donaldson, but top-ranked GM Melikset Khachiyan was nicked for a draw (by one of his students!). Standings will be posted throughout the weekend, and possibly pairings as well if time allows.
Amos Burn was a strong player in his day, but he was most at home with slow maneuvering in closed positions. Blackburne was very much the opposite. Here Burn plays the first combination, but he is swiftly felled by a flurry of counterpunches.
Burn - Blackburne New York, 1889 C66 RUY LOPEZ, Steinitz Defense
One of Anderssen’s masterpieces, known as the “Immortal Game.” Black neglects his development, and Anderssen offers both Rooks to show that two active pieces are worth more than a dozen sleeping at home.
Robert Huebner wrote a very long article anbout this game, in which he claimed that this move was inferior, preferring the rather prosaic 18. d4. The main point of Andersson’s move is to divert the Black Queen from the a1-h8 diagonal. Now Black cannot play 18. ... Bxd6? 19. Nxd6+ Kd8 20. Nxf7+ Ke8 21. Nd6+ Kd8 22. Qf8 mate.
(Diagram)
18. ... Qxa1+
According to Huebner, Black can put up a fight with 18. ... Qxa1+ 19. Ke2 Qb2! 20. Kd2 Bxg1, gaining a useful tempo.
19. Ke2 Bxg1
And not 19. .. Qxg1 20. Nxg7+ Kd8 21. Bc7 mate.
20. e5! Na6
More resistance could have been offered by 20. ... Ba6, but White should still win after 21. Nc7+ Kd8 22. Nxa6 Bb6 23. Qxa8.
The four top-rated players have tied for first in the 2009 Memorial Day Classic. GM Melikset Khachiyan, IMs Enrico Sevillano and Andranik Matikozyan, and Senior Master John Bryant played a round-robin on the final day, and with all games drawn the four tied for first with 4.5-1.5. Khachiyan had the best tiebreaks, and will have his name engraved on the permanent rotating trophy. In other action, Bobby Hall and Chris McKay tied for first in the Premier, Bret Strunk, David Minasyan, Don Bolt and Christian Garcia topped the Amateur, and Virgil Sezonov, Alexander Xie and Jonathan Homidan took top honors in the Reserve. Craig Faber, William Pennucci and Henry Castro tied for first in the Action, while Robert Oesterlein and W. Gary Good split one of the Hex sections, while Willis Kim and Robert Hatfield tied in the other. Click here for standings of all sections, and a selection of games in Java viewer or PGN.
(Photos: Andranik Matikozyan faces off against Enrico Sevillano, while John Bryant (in the red shirt) battles Khachiyan.)