Southwest Open underway

The 74th annual Southwest Open is underway! I don't have the final headcount yet, but as of Wednesday 168 players had entered, including the addition of IM Salvijus Bercys (2479) and Tautvydas Vedrickas (2347). This is one of the strongest fields ever for a TCA event. Just take a look at the top 8 players:

GM Alejandro Ramirez  2600
IM Marko Zivanic      2544
IM Davorin Kuljasevic 2528
GM Babakuli Annakov   2510
IM Jacek Stopa        2507
IM Salvijus Bercys    2479
IM Puchan Wang        2440
Tautvydas Vedrickas   2347

TCA Business meeting announcement

The TCA business meeting will be held 10am Sunday morning at the Southwest Open tournament site. You can read the minutes from the Spring 2008 meeting and some new bylaw amendments which are up for discussion on Sunday. (All of the business meeting minutes going back to 1991 are available on the Files page.)

The business meeting is open to the public.

3 more IMs enter Southwest Open

Three more International Masters have registered for next weekend's Southwest Open! IM Marko Zivanic (2544), IM Davorin Kuljasevic (2528), and IM Jacek Stopa (2507). In case you've lost count, we're now at 2 GMs and 4 IMs. :)

134 players have entered so far, but registration is open for 6 more days so look for that number to keep rising.

GM Annakov to play in Southwest Open

GM Babakuli Annakov (2510) will join GM Alejandro Ramirez and IM Puchen Wang in what is shaping up to be a strong tournament! Annakov will be looking for his third Southwest Open title, having won previously in 2001 and 2002. He's also a two-time Texas State Champion, winning in 2002 and 2003.

If you're thinking of playing, there's still plenty of time to register.

GM Ramirez, IM Wang to play in Southwest Open

With 8 days to go until the 2008 Southwest Open, we have confirmation that GM Alejandro Ramirez (2600) will be playing in the tournament. Ramirez is the highest rated player in Texas, and a member of the elite UTD chess team. His teammate, IM Puchen Wang, will also play in the event.

Online registration is available, and today (8/21) is the last day of reduced entry fees, so don't wait. Also, as of this morning, the $85 hotel rate is still available (ask for the Southwest Open chess rate).

Reminder: TCA membership is required for this event. Not sure if your membership has expired? Just check the membership list.

3-way tie for first at U.S. Open

GM Alexander Shabalov, IM Enrico Sevillano, and IM Rade Milovanovic tied for first at the U.S. Open in Dallas last weekend, each finishing with 8 out of 9 points. The final round saw plenty of fighting chess, with decisive results on 5 of the top six boards, including each of the three co-champions winning with Black. IM Doug Root, playing in his first tournament in eight years, finished half a point behind the leaders in 4th place.

The USCF website has a recap of the final round plus the final standings.

U.S. Open - Round 8 update

With one round to go at the U.S. Open, 6 players share the lead with 7 points. Texas continues to be well represented with IM Joe Bradford, IM Rade Milovanovic, and NM Chaitanya Vaidya occupying 3 of the top 6 spots. Vaidya scored an impressive win last night against GM Yermolinsky in round 8 (a 265-point upset with the Black pieces)! Some of you may remember Vaidya as the winner of the 2007 National Collegiate Championship.

[Event "U.S. Open"]
[Date "2008.08.09"]
[Round "8"]
[White "GM Alex Yermolinsky"]
[Black "Chaitanya Vaidya"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2589"]
[BlackElo "2324"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3
Be7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Bd3 Re8 10. h3 Nf8 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bg3 Bd6 13. Bxd6
Qxd6 14. O-O-O b6 15. g4 Qe7 16. Kb1 Bb7 17. Bf5 c5 18. h4 c4 19. h5
Nf8 20. g5 Ne4 21. g6 fxg6 22. hxg6 Nxc3+ 23. bxc3 h6 24. Rdg1 Bc8
25. Rh5 Nd7 26. Bxd7 Bxd7 27. Rxd5 Bc6 28. Re5 Qb7 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8
30. Nd2 Rf8 31. f3 Bxf3 32. Rf1 Qd5 33. e4 Qb5+ 34. Ka1 Be2 35. Rxf8+
Kxf8 36. Nb1 Qh5 37. e5 Bd3 38. Qg2 Qxg6 39. Qa8+ Qe8 40. Qxa7 Qc6
41. a4 Kg8 42. d5 Qxd5 43. Qxb6 Qxe5 44. a5 Qd5 45. a6 Be4 46. Kb2 Kh7
47. Kc1 Qd3 0-1

The final round is today at 3pm.

3 rounds to go at U.S. Open

With three rounds to go at the U.S. Open, no less than seven players are tied for the lead with 5.5/6. Among those leaders are three Texans: IM Doug Root, IM Joe Bradford, and IM Kirill Kuderinov. Round 7 begins at 7pm tonight, and should feature several tough matchups on the top boards. You can watch the games live on the Monroi website or at the Internet Chess Club.

This has turned out to be one of the largest and strongest tournaments ever held in Texas, with a total of 379 players, including 11 IMs and 2 GMs (Alexander Shabalov and Alex Yermolinsky).

Schedule for the final 3 rounds:

Rd 7 - Fri July 8, 7 pm
Rd 8 - Sat July 9, 7pm
Rd 9 - Sun July10, 3 pm

Check back this weekend for more updates!

6:30pm update: Pairings are up and it's Bradford-Yermolinsky on board 1!