GMs Varuzhan Akobian, Aleksandr Lenderman and Mikheil Kekelidze are on perfect 3-0s as the three and two-day schedules merge at the 2010 National Open. The event is held at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas for the second year. Although the South Point is far from the "Strip", it features large and comfortable hotel rooms, a bowling alley and a movie theater. This year's field includes 19 GMs, IM Irina Krush, mother-daughter duo WGM Sabina and IM Christina-Adela Foisor and rising players such as Daniel Naroditsky, Daniel John Bryant and Tatev Abrahamyan. Follow the action on the official website, Monroi.com for live games and be sure to check out Chris Bird's illustrated bulletins. The leaders all come from the 3-day schedule. Going into round three, there were 15 perfect scores but only a trio of games were decisive:
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John Daniel Bryant faces GM Aleksandr Lenderman, Photo Chris Bird
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GM Varuzhan Akobian, Photo Chris Bird
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GM Mikhail Kelikidze, Photo Chris Bird
Six-time US Champion Walter Browne is also competing in the event. He drew his round three game against Pavel Tregubov of Russia.
GM Walter Browne vs. GM Pavel Tregubov, Photo Chris Bird
Tatev Abrahamyan, who is coming off a great result at the 2010 Chicago Open, decided to play on the spur of the moment and traveled with GM Alejandro Ramirez to Vegas. When asked how it felt to play in the two-day, Alejandro called it exhausting and exhilirating. But even the two-day schedule's quickened time control leads to memorable games, such as this one in which the young Alex Barnett pulled off an upset over Slava Mikhaliuk.
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Round four match-ups include Lenderman vs. Kekelidze and Akobian vs. Tregubov. Catch the live Monroi feed on the official site.