Benjamin Wins Playoff and is the 2000 World Open Champion
In the final round,
Benjamin-Ehlvest and Fedorowicz-Serper were both drawn very quickly, as all 4 players were most interested in protecting themselves against missing out on a big payday if they had lost.
Julian Hodgson tried his trusty Trompowsky against Ivanov in an all-out attempt to win the game, reach 7 points, and share in the loot with the other high scorers. Ivanov, should he be able to score the victory himself, would win the World Open outright with 7.5 points.
In the endgame, Hodgson had a rook and knight versus Ivanov's knight and bishop. Hodgson had a 2-1 pawn edge on the kingside, but Ivanov had 3 connected passed pawns on the queenside. The Englishman eventually queened one of his pawns, while Ivanov got a pawn to the 7th at a2 and the other to b3 while retaining his knight at c2. Hodgson's king was at b2. The game was finally drawn because Hodgson could not give check with his queen while picking up the pawns. A fantastic game that gave Ivanov a share of the gold with 7 and left Hodgson half-a-point short with 6.5.
Kudrin, Goldin, and Blatny won their games to also finish with 7 points.
It was nearing midnight on Tuesday when the dust had cleared and 8 players had tied for first place with 7 points! A blitz playoff to determine the winner was next.
Ivanov and Fedorowicz chose not to compete in the single round-robin blitz playoff to determine a single champion. The 6 others played late into the night, and GM Joel Benjamin won the playoff, earning the title of 2000 World Open Champion.
Final Round 9 Results:
Benjamin ½-½ Ehlvest
Fedorowicz ½-½ Serper
Hodgson ½-½ Ivanov
Kudrin 1-0 Wojtkiewicz
Perelshteyn ½-½ Shabalov
Goldin 1-0 Gufeld
Blatny 1-0 Tate
Final Standings:
Benjamin 7.0
Ehlvest 7.0
Serper 7.0
Fedorowicz 7.0
Ivanov 7.0
Kudrin 7.0
Goldin 7.0
Blatny 7.0
PLAYOFFS
Joel Benjamin wins single round-robin playoff to become the 2000 World Open Champion
Official website: www.worldopen.com
Games in PGN
5 Tied with 6.5!
After Round 8, 5 players are tied for the lead with 6.5 points: Benjamin, Ivanov, Ehlvest, Fedorowicz, and Serper.
Ivanov and Benjamin, 2 of the Round 7 leaders, drew their game, while Goldin, the other leader, went down in flames to Ehlvest. Last year's World Open champion Gregory Serper now has a share of the lead after beating Miton.
With only one round remaining, it's going down to the wire. Who will take the $15,000 first prize? Whose chess will reign supreme?
Round 8 Results:
Alexander Ivanov (6.5) ½-½ Joel Benjamin (6.5)
Jan Ehlvest (6.5) 1-0 Alexander Goldin (6.0)
Gregory Kaidanov (5.5) 0-1 John P Fedorowicz (6.5)
Alexander Shabalov (6.0) ½-½ Pavel Blatny (6.0)
Gregory Serper (6.5) 1-0 Kamil Miton (5.5)
Gildardo Garcia (5.5) 0-1 Julian Hodgson (6.0)
Leaders After Round 8:
Ivanov 6.5
Benjamin 6.5
Ehlvest 6.5
Fedorowicz 6.5
Serper 6.5
Goldin 6.0
Hodgson 6.0
Shabalov 6.0
Blatny 6.0
Benjamin, Ivanov, Goldin Tied with 6.0
After losing his first-round game, GM Joel Benjamin has rattled off 6 straight wins and is now tied for the lead with Alexander Ivanov and Alexander Goldin.
GM Joel (not to be confused with GI Joe) has been generally avoiding the well-trodden theoretical pathways against lesser opponents. He chose 3...Nge7 against Formanek's Ruy Lopez. Benjamin played 2. Qe2 against Figler's French. He played the Modern against Battsetseg in the first round (and lost).
Ivanov has played 1. e4 as white and as black against 1.e4 he has played 1....e5 and 1...g6. Goldin is playing the e6 Sicilian as black and queenpawn openings with g3 as white.
Round 7 Results:
Goldin (5.5) ½-½ Ivanov (5.5)
Fedorowicz (5.0) ½-½ Ehlvest (5.0)
Miton (5.0) ½-½ Kaidanov (5.0)
Benjamin (5.0) 1-0 Tate (5.0)
Yermolinsky (4.5) 0-1 Garcia (4.5)
Ashley (4.5) 0-1 Shabalov (4.5)
Hodgson (4.5) ½-½ Tegshsuren (4.5)
Burnett (4.5) 0-1 Serper (4.5)
Blatny (4.5) 1-0 Rubenchik (4.5)
Leaders After Round 7:
1 Alexander Goldin 2651 6.0
2 Joel Benjamin 2650 6.0
3 Alexander Ivanov 2634 6.0
4 Jan Ehlvest 2740 5.5
5 Gregory Kaidanov 2695 5.5
6 Alexander Shabalov 2672 5.5
7 Gregory Serper 2647 5.5
8 John P Fedorowicz 2620 5.5
9 Pavel Blatny 2608 5.5
10 Gildardo Garcia 2581 5.5
11 Kamil Miton 2491 5.5
3 July 2000
Ivanov, Goldin Tied with 5.5
Alexander Ivanov drew Gregory Kaidanov in round 6, while Alexander Goldin beat Gildardo Garcia leaving both in a tie for the lead with 5.5 points after 6 rounds.
Round 6 Results:
Kaidanov ½-½ Ivanov
G. Garcia 0-1 Goldin
Ehlvest 1-0 Kudrin
Benjamin 1-0 W. Browne
Sarkar 0-1 Fedorowicz
Miton ½-½ Yermolinsky
Tate 1-0 Atalik
Shabalov ½-½ Zaitshik
Ashley ½-½ Hodgson
Tegshsuren ½-½ Serper
Standings After Round 6:
1 Alexander Goldin 2651 5.5
2 Alexander Ivanov 2634 5.5
3 Jan Ehlvest 2740 5.0
4 Gregory Kaidanov 2695 5.0
5 Joel Benjamin 2650 5.0
6 John P Fedorowicz 2620 5.0
7 Kamil Miton 2491 5.0
8 Emory A Tate 2443 5.0
Ivanov Blasts Blatny; 5-Day & 7-Day Merge
The 5-day and 7-day Open sections have merged, and GM Alexander Ivanov is the sole leader with a 5-0 score after defeating GM Pavel Blatny in Round 5.
Blatny again played his Owen's defense: 1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 Nf6 4. Nd2 e6 5. Ngf3 c5 6. c3 Nc6. Ivanov broke through in the center with d5, threatening to open up Blatny's uncastled king. Blatny tried to keep the center closed by not taking the d-pawn, but after the exchanges he was down 2 pieces for a rook and no safe haven for his king. He castled queenside but left Ivanov with a passed e-pawn on the 6th, causing him unending grief. Down a piece, Blatny resigned in 36 moves.
Gregory Kaidanov dominated the 3-day schedule with 4.5/5 points. He plays Ivanov in Round 6.
Standings After Round 5:
1 Alexander Ivanov 2634 5.0
2 Gregory Kaidanov 2695 4.5
3 Alexander Goldin 2651 4.5
4 Gildardo Garcia 2581 4.5
5 Kamil Miton 2491 4.5
2 July 2000
Blatny Whacks Wojtkiewicz, 4-0 in 7-Day Open Section
Pavel Blatny has taken the sole lead at the 7-day Open section by defeating Wojtkiewicz in Round 4. Blatny is perfect with 4-0. Right behind with 3.5 points are Kotronias and Miton. Kotronias rebuffed Gaprindashvili's kingside expension then set up a mating net with queen and knight, winning the game.
The 7-day and 5-day Open section will soon merge. There is also a 3-day Open section as well.
Round 4 Results:
(Colors may not be accurate for all games)
Wojtkiewicz 0-1 Blatny
V. Gaprindashvili 0-1 Kotronias
Miton 1-0 Gufeld
Hodgson 1-0 Ritvin
Ashley 1-0 Curdo
Nakamura 1-0 Mulyar
Leaders after Round 4
1 Pavel Blatny 2608 4.0
2 Vasilios Kotronias 2639 3.5
3 Kamil Miton 2491 3.5
4 Alek Wojtkiewicz 2690 3.0
5 Julian Hodgson 2659 3.0
6 Maurice A Ashley 2579 3.0
7 Mark C Paragua 2425 3.0
8 Hikaru Nakamura 2330 3.0
9 Nathan Solon 2197 3.0
4 Tied at 3-0 in 5-Day Open Section
Four players are perfect after 3 rounds of the 5-day Open section: Suat Atalik 2636, Alexander Ivanov 2634, John P Fedorowicz 2620, and Gennadi Zaitshik 2588. Trailing closely behind with 2.5 points are such luminaries as Ehlvest, Serper, Yermolinsky, and Shabalov.
Round 3 Results:
(Colors may not be accurate for all games)
Atalik 1-0 Perelshteyn
A. Ivanov 1-0 Sarkar
Fedorowicz 1-0 Lapshun
Zaitshik 1-0 Formanek
Leaders After Round 3:
1 Suat Atalik 2636 3.0
2 Alexander Ivanov 2634 3.0
3 John P Fedorowicz 2620 3.0
4 Gennadi Zaitshik 2588 3.0
1 July 2000
Wojtkiewicz, Blatny 3-0 in 7-Day Open Section
Alek Wojtkiewicz and Pavel Blatny enjoy the early lead at the 7-day World Open section with 3-0 scores. Hodgson now has 2 points, as does Hikaru Nakamura.
Round 3 Results:
Wojtkiewicz 1-0 Mulyar
Paragua 0-1 Blatny
Kotronias ½-½ Miton
Ritvin ½-½ Gufeld
Hodgson 1-0 Del Mundo
Ashley ½-½ Vigorito
Nakamura 1-0 Grechikhin
The 5-Day Open Section has begun. Among the first-round winners are:
Alexander Shabalov 2672, Alexander Goldin 2651, Gregory Serper 2647, Suat Atalik 2636, Alexander Ivanov 2634, John Fedorowicz 2620,
Sergey Kudrin 2607. Joel Benjamin was upset by a National Master.
Round 1 Results:
Benjamin 0-1 Battsetseg 2256
Ehlvest ½-½ Bauer 2270
Yermolinsky ½-½ Adu 2269
30 June 2000
8 Lead at 7-Day Open Section
After 2 rounds of the 7-day open section, 8 players are tied for the lead with a perfect 2-0 score. The leaders are: Alek Wojtkiewicz, Vasilios Kotronias, Pavel Blatny, Eduard Gufeld, Michael Mulyar, Kamil Miton, Mark Paragua, and Stanislav Ritvin.
Paragua beat Hodgson in a Modern defense. The queens came off early and Paragua took advantage of Hodgson's isolated queenside pawns, then won the race to queen a pawn in the ending.
Mikhail Belorus (2312) ticked Maurice Ashley for a draw. In a French Winawer, Ashley busted up Belorus's kingside in the blinking of an eye, forcing his king back to the center. The queens were exchanged and Ashley had 2 passed kingside pawns, but Belorus managed to pick them off. Ashley was left with a rook and 3 pawns against a rook and knight, so a draw was agreed.
Stanislav Ritvin (2273) upset Anatoly Lein. In another French Winawer, Ritvin and Lein took turns chasing their kings across the board. Ritvin scored a checkmate in 33 moves.
Early Results:
Paragua 1-0 Hodgson
Ashley ½-½ Belorus
Lein 0-1 Ritvin
7-Day Open Section Underway
The 7-day Open section has begun. Among the first-round winners are:
Alek Wojtkiewicz 2690, Julian Hodgson 2659, Vasilios Kotronias 2639, Pavel Blatny 2608, Maurice Ashley 2579, Eduard Gufeld 2565, Anatoly Lein 2501, and Hikaru Nakamura 2330.
Alek Wojtkiewicz won the World Open Warmup open section with 8.0/9. Second was Mark Paragua (2425) with 7.5, and third was Leroy Dubeck with 7.0. Twenty-seven players competed.
Mark Paragua (2425) won the Monday Action (open section) tournament,
Alek Wojtkiewicz won the Tuesday Action, and Wojtkiewicz also won the Wednesday Action.
28 June 2000
The superstars of the swiss chess circuit are gathering in Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love," for a weekend of chessboard violence and mayhem at the 28th annual World Open June 28 to July 4.
At stake is a guaranteed prize fund of $200,000, $15,000 of which is earmarked for the winner of the Open section. Contestants choose from 3 playing schedules: June 28 to July 4; June 30 to July 4; or July 2 to 4. This 9-round super-swiss is being held, as usual, at the Adam's Mark Hotel. To get a crack at the loot at the "world's biggest open chess tournament," players fork out about $250 for the entry fee. There are 7 sections, and the winners of each score a paycheck of about $10,000.
The fun includes free lectures by GMs Yermolinsky, Fedorowicz, and Blatny. Pal Benko will offer free analysis of participants' games.
Last year, Gregory Serper of Ohio won a playoff for the top prize over several co-winners: Gulko, Ehlvest, Benjamin, Shabalov, Akopian, Yermolinsky, Timoshenko, Fishbein, and Novikov.
The official website is at www.worldopen.com. Regular news updates will appear, as well as games, photos, and audio. A ChessCam, real-time transmission of games, and live chat will bring the hot action into the homes of chessplayers around the world.
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