The United States Chess Federation - Three-Way Tie in King's Island

Three-Way Tie in King's Island

By Tim Moroney
November 17, 2008
IM Marek Stryjecki tied for first with GM Shabalov and IM Smith at the King's Island Open In my first report on the King’s Island Open I promised you explosive games from the tournament’s power-packed list of titled players, and they did not disappoint! It was an exciting finish as the last round saw decisive results from each of the top 6 boards. Five players led the field with 3.5/4 going into the fifth and final game, whilst many more were at their heels with 3.0/4. Inspiration was found in money as the top boards fought to claim the first place prize. On board 1, IM Bryan Smith defeated GM Darmen Sadvakasov to seize his share of the tournament bounty. I first wandered by the game as Smith was playing 11.Qh5-d5, and thought it looked promising for White. Position after 10.Qh5 Smith said after the game that he could have won more quickly, though he didn’t specify at what move. I assume he meant 16.Be3xc5, which seems to give White a dominating lead. 2601 On board 2, GM Alexander Shabalov won his game with IM Kirill Kuderinov, and on board 3 IM Marek Stryjecki defeated IM Ben Finegold in the last running game of the tournament. 2602 This result completed a three-way tie for first place between GM Shabalov, IM Smith, and IM Stryjecki, each at 4.5/5. GM Sergey Kudrin and IM Timothy Taylor each won their games, tying for 4th-5th with 4.0/5. Also scoring 4.0/5 was Seth Homa, who received the Top Under 2300 prize. Altogether the event drew a healthy turnout of 310 entries (including 5 re-entries) complete with five GMs and six IMs. Check out the complete USCF rated results at the King's Island MSA page. The tournament staff did an outstanding job with the organization and running of this year’s event. Every round got off to a smooth and timely start; always a difficult task when dealing with late entries, re-entries, withdrawals, disputes, and the many other tasks happening behind the scenes at a tournament. With its great organization, friendly atmosphere, strong turnouts, and intense competition, the King’s Island Open continues to be one of my favorite events to travel to each year. Other Section Winners: Under 2100: Ben Inskeep, 5.0 Ben Inskeep Under 1900: Daniel Parmet, David Winter, 4.5 Under 1700: Daniel Jones, 4.5 Under 1500: Brandon Mason, 5.0 Under 1300: Alexander Kogan, 5.0 Under 1000: James Blankenship, 4.5