GMs Alexey Sarana and Denis Lazavik kept the ball rolling from last week’s 3 0 Thursday victories and won the first and second tournaments outright on January 15. In the third event, GM Jeffery Xiong picked up his first victory after edging out GM Haik Martirosyan on tiebreaks.
WFM Lile Koridze was the top scoring women’s player in the first event while IM Anna Sargsyan top scored in the second and third, giving her a two-point buffer over IM Karina Ambartsumova as the most prolific top women’s prizewinner.
Sarana Strikes Again
The first tournament of the day enticed 188 titled players, and was stacked to the brim with the world’s elite, including players such as GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Arjun Erigaisi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Yet, Serbia’s highest rated player Sarana eclipsed them all with a score of 9.5/11.
Sarana got off to a flying, 6/6 start that was mirrored only by GM Jose Martinez, and picturesque tactical shots were the norm. Against GM Oleksandr Bortnyk, Sarana found the incisive 21.Nd6!!, which won him material and allowed him to liquidate into a better endgame.
A draw with Martinez followed by a loss to Carlsen nearly thwarted Sarana’s shot at a third victory, but he recovered to win his last three games against GMs Tuan Minh Le, Duda, and most importantly, Vahap Sanal.
The latter win was crucial since a draw would have meant that Martinez, who had superior tiebreaks, would have knocked him off the top.
Lazavik Blows Away Field With 10.5/11 Score
In the second tournament no one could hold a candle to a rampant Lazavik. The 19-year-old has historically proven formidable when in form, but he rose to a whole other level to win the second event of the day by a margin of two points.
By the start of round 10, Lazavik held a half point buffer over his closest challenger, GM Sergei Zhigalko, and this was extended when he toppled Carlsen while Zhigalko was simultaneously felled by Azerbaijani GM Mahammad Muradli.
Lazavik’s game against Carlsen was a masterclass in positional play—he scoped in on the world number-one’s awkward pawn structure and deconstructed the kingside from afar.
A shoutout must also go to popular content creator IM Eric Rosen, who worked his way to board one in the final round and finished in 10th on 7.5/11.
Rosen’s results across the events were particularly impressive given he was streaming the tournaments and inserting meme-worthy checkmates where possible.
Xiong Recovers From Round Two Loss To Win First Title
While it was clear that Sarana and Lazavik would be title contenders after perfect starts, Xiong’s path to victory in the third tournament was a bit more turbulent. A round two loss to the Canadian IM Anthony Atanasov left Xiong with plenty of work to do, but five straight wins, including one over Nepomniachtchi, and a second over the tournament leader Le, put him back in contention.
The lead changed hands several times over the next few rounds as Martirosyan beat Xiong before losing to Le, who then lost to Sarana. A three game streak by Xiong, which featured wins over GMs Bortnyk, Eric Hansen, and Sarana, would end up breaking the gridlock.
After 11 rounds, Martirosyan had the same number of points as Xiong but the latter’s tiebreaks got him over the line.
3 0 Thursday features three tournaments every week for titled players. The events are on Thursday every week at 11 a.m., 4 p.m., and 9 p.m. ET / 17:00, 22:00, and 3 a.m. (+1) CET / 9:30 p.m., 2:30 a.m. (+1), and 7:30 a.m. (+1) IST.
