Andreikin Wins 2nd Consecutive Titled Tuesday

The difference between July 2017 and August 2017 in the context of Titled Tuesday is evidently half of a point. In July, Dmitry Andreikin won clear first with 8.0/10. This month he needed to increase his score to 8.5/10 to claim that $500 first-place prize.

Before we get to the games, we should note Chess.com's new "Real Names" policy, first implemented this month. Titled players competing in cash tournaments must now have their real name displayed on their account. This policy (available here) is intended to increase transparency in competitions. This policy was announced in the tournament chat and discussed with any players not yet listing their names. Thanks to all of the players for their compliance!

Titled Tuesday is not always friendly to the top seeds, and this month the very top seed, GM Daniel Naroditsky, withdrew after an 0-2 start, but two other top seeds, GMs Andreikin and Leinier Dominguez had better fortune. Each opened with five straight wins, separating themselves from the pack.

Here's one of Andreikin's finest victories in which he punished Black relentlessly with pressure on the long diagonal and an advance of "Harry the h-pawn."

Andreikin stylishly looking like a candidate for the next James Bond.

Andreikin and Dominguez were handed a forced pairing in round six, fighting to the end in what proved to be a drawn endgame.

GM Dominguez, captured in the classic chessboard in the glasses pose.

It was then Dominguez that pulled ahead when Andreikin faltered against GM Sergey Grigoriants (Hikaru Nakamura's opening opponent in the 2017 Speed Chess Championship.) who also employed Harry as a dagger. Grigoriants was performing tremendously to here, but finished just a bit sluggishly with two draws and fell to a shared second place.

In the final round, it was Andreikin who claimed the critical win, demonstrating the attacking power of opposite-color bishops. This was amusing as GM Robin Van Kampen kept finding opposite-color bishop endgame during the live show and all were quite drawn until this game.

While Andreikin secured first place, it was second-place finisher IM Marcin Krzyżanowski, a new face atop Titled Tuesday, who played the most dazzling chess. Readers will surely enjoy his round-six victory in which he played a game reminiscent of the 17th century and Legall's mate.

He also followed up with a simpler mating combination in round eight.

Whereas the winning Andreikin and Dominguez (who shared fifth), started with five wins, Krzyżanowski finished with five wins, a remarkable run.
The final player to make that three-way tie for second was IM Renato Terry Lujan who came back from a round-two loss to make a late-tournament surge. Here is a clean sac, sac, mate game from him.

Final Standings | MasterClass Titled Tuesday Blitz, August 2017

Find the full Titled Tuesday results and crosstable here.

Commentary from the one and only Van Kampen, certified as a skilled defender of difficult positions by GM Hikaru Nakamura, is available on Twitch.tv/chess.

Watch live video from Chess on www.twitch.tv

The clear winner Andreikin won $500 for clear first place. Grigoriants, Krzyżanowski, and Lujan each received $266.67 for a share of second while three players, Dominguez, Holt, and Juhasz, all split the $100 fifth place prize, earning $33.33 each. IM John Bartholomew, reddit's most beloved YouTuber, won the $100 streamer prize.