IM Ben Finegold, the only non GM tied for first after 8 rounds.

by Jennifer Shahade

GMs Alexander Shabalov, Boris Gulko, Sergei Kudrin and Michael Rohde and IM Ben Finegold are tied for first in the U.S. Open (Cherry Hill, NJ July 28-August 5) with 7/8. The final round is at 3 PM EST- you can watch the games live on monroi.com. Keep checking CLO for a final photo gallery and report and a blog by Abby Marshall. All the current leaders won their eighth round games except for Ben Finegold, who was half a point ahead going into the round. Happily for Ben, his game against Hikaru Nakamura ended in a 40-move draw, not the two-move checkmate pictured above.

U.S. Open
Standings after 8 rounds
1-5- GM Alexander Shabalov, Boris Gulko, Sergei Kudrin, Michael Rohde and Ben Finegold.

Complete Standings

Round 8 games

971

972

973

974

975