Twelve-year-old IM Faustino Oro nearly claimed his first victory in 3 0 Thursday on February 12. He led with nine points out of 11 games in the final minute of the tournament, but GM Matthias Bluebaum scored a come-from-behind victory in his own game to reach 9.5 points and claim first place. GM Olexandr Bortnyk claimed the second tournament with 9.5 points, while GM Jose Martinez won the the third tournament with 9.5 points as well, his sixth victory overall, tying IM Renato Terry for the record.
1st Tournament: Bluebaum Catches Nakamura And Oro
Oro had a fantastic tournament in the first 3 0 Thursday, defeating four grandmasters, including the eventual winner, Bluebaum.
Oro finished with nine points, a score that sometimes wins the tournament. However, he began the final round trailing both Bluebaum and GM Hikaru Nakamura by a half point. Nakamura lost to GM Denis Lazavik, while Bluebaum also struggled. He seemed headed toward a loss, which could have given Oro tournament victory. However, Bluebaum saved a lost pawn endgame against GM Dmitry Andreikin and then won the time scramble and reached sole first place.
Oro had to settle for second place, ahead of Lazavik on tiebreaks. IM Polina Shuvalova won the women’s prize in the opening tournament for the second week in a row.
2nd Tournament: Bortnyk Takes His Second Title
In the second tournament, Bortnyk dropped a game against GM Martyn Kravtsiv, but he didn’t lose again. He won his next six games in a row and then secured first place with a final-round draw against Martinez.
Bortnyk is perhaps the world’s leading expert on Alekhine’s Defense and he used it to great effect in this game with GM José Carlos Ibarra Jeréz in the seventh round.
His toughest test came in the ninth round against Terry. White dominated the game, but Bortnyk survived until both sides were in time pressure and he finally found a surprising swindle.
Behind Bortnyk’s 9.5 points came Nakamura with nine and Martinez with 8.5. IM Karina Ambartsumova took the women’s prize for a remarkable 10th time, putting her in the lead for the most 3 0 Thursday prizes won by anyone to date.
3rd Tournament: Martinez Ties Record With 6th Win
For the second week in a row, Martinez followed a near miss in the second tournament by winning the third event. It was a two-way race between Martinez and GM Rudik Makarian. They met each other in the eighth round, but their draw kept the race open.
The two GMs remained tied, but going into the last round Martinez had the better tiebreaks. If he could defeat Terry, he would secure the title.
The victory allowed Martinez to catch Terry for the most ever 3 0 Thursday victories, with 6 each. The tiebreaks were bad luck for Makarian, who had to settle for second, despite an undefeated score of 9.5/11. Third place went to GM Haik Martirosyan, with nine points. WIM Kalyani Sirin won the women’s prize for the second week in a row!
3 0 Thursday is a set of three weekly Swiss tournaments for verified titled players featuring their favorite time control. Each of the three tournaments is an 11-round Swiss with a 3+0 time control. The combined prize fund is $3,000 every week.
