Enkhbat and Barnett Top Maryland Open |
By Michael Atkins | |
October 16, 2009 | |
Michael Regan organized the tournament for the Maryland Chess Association and it was held at the Rockville Hilton over the weekend of Oct 2-4. When walking into this hotel one could scarcely dream and never expect to see an inner courtyard rising 8 stories, and more meeting space than needed at a World Open. IM Bryan Smith was the highest rated player and experienced the toughest Sunday, playing GM Kaufman and IM Enkhbat. He beat Kaufman and lost to Enkhbat, saying that he had played an idea of 2008 Philadelphia International winner GM Parimargan Negi but it hadn't been fully developed and resulted in losing a piece versus Enkhbat. IM Enkhbat was on the short end of tiebreaks with Larry Kaufman last year so it is fitting that he is State Champ for 2009. Check out some games from the Open section below, including Enkhbat's sole draw. The tournament results are posted here, and also check MSA rated results. 3588 3578 3579 3580 |
The Maryland Open produced three new State Champions for Maryland. In
the Open, University of Maryland Baltimore County student NM Alex Barnett tied with IM Tegshuren Enkhbat with 4.5/5 each. The IM had
better tiebreaks, making Enkhbat the 2009 Maryland State Champ. Jeffrey
Chang finished in a 3-way tie for first in the Amateur Section, but as
the only Free-stater, he is the new Amateur Champ. The new Maryland
Reserve Champ is unrated Ludivico Silverio, who went 5-0 as unrated and was
limited to only $200 in cash prizes.