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Mamedyarov, Bortnyk Latest Tuesday Winners

Mamedyarov, Bortnyk Latest Tuesday Winners

NathanielGreen
| 10 | Chess Event Coverage

GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Oleksandr Bortnyk found the keys to victory in Titled Tuesday on May 16. Mamedyarov won on tiebreaks over GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Nitzan Steinberg, while Bortnyk won outright by half a point over GM Matthias Bluebaum.


Early Tournament

580 players tried their hand at the day's first tournament, the highest participant count in Titled Tuesday since January 10. Interestingly, none of the three players who tied for first on 9.5 points played against each other.

After the last two perfect players, GMs Tuan Minh Le and Daniil Dubov, drew their seventh-round game, the standings were a mess, with a six-way tie for first. Mamedyarov was one of them but lost to Le in the eighth round.

From there, Mamedyarov never lost again. Entering the final round, he faced GM Aleksandr Lenderman, who by then was the sole leader with nine points. 

Nakamura, meanwhile, hit a rough patch in rounds five and six, scoring only 0.5/2 in that frame. But he was perfect outside of it, including wins in the final five rounds, concluding with a victory over GM Parham Maghsoodloo.

Maghsoodloo, who, after nine rounds, had been the sole leader with 8.5 points, wound up in 10th place.

May 16 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

Number Rk Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak
1 6 GM @Azerichess Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 3075 9.5 77.5
2 1 GM @Hikaru Hikaru Nakamura 3237 9.5 72.5
3 47 GM @Nitzan_Steinberg Nitzan Steinberg 2932 9.5 61.5
4 12 GM @Jospem Jose Martinez 3026 9 73.5
5 35 GM @AlexanderL Aleksandr Lenderman 2968 9 72
6 58 GM @platy3 Alan Pichot 2899 9 67.5
7 43 FM @snowlord Ivan Yeletsky 2928 9 65
8 19 GM @Zhigalko_Sergei Sergei Zhigalko 2989 9 60
9 21 GM @amintabatabaei Amin Tabatabaei 2979 8.5 75
10 26 GM @Parhamov Parham Maghsoodloo 2974 8.5 74
11 22 GM @wonderfultime Tuan Minh Le 2983 8.5 72.5
12 46 GM @VincentKeymer Vincent Keymer 2913 8.5 68
13 42 GM @DrVelja Velimir Ivic 2918 8.5 64.5
14 10 GM @mishanick Alexey Sarana 3006 8.5 62.5
15 17 GM @DenLaz Denis Lazavik 2992 8.5 61
16 49 GM @sergoy Sergey Drygalov 2908 8.5 60
17 41 GM @TenisMaster Yuniesky Quesada 2914 8.5 52.5
18 85 GM @Cayse Martyn Kravtsiv 2827 8 72.5
19 11 GM @GHANDEEVAM2003 Arjun Erigaisi 3021 8 72
20 55 GM @Durarbayli Vasif Durarbayli 2883 8 69.5
52 112 GM @Vanina1989 Valentina Gunina 2787 7 71

(Full final standings here.)

Mamedyarov earned $1,000 for his victory. Nakamura finished in second on the tiebreak for the second tournament in a row, winning another $750. Steinberg won $350 in third place. GM Jose Martinez climbed all the way into fourth with the best tiebreaks on nine points, winning $200, while Lenderman settled for fifth place and $100. GM Valentina Gunina won the $100 women's prize with seven points out of 11.

Late Tournament

The second tournament saw 449 players join, also a strong number. Unlike in the earlier tournament, one player jumped out into the lead and held it the rest of the way.

That was Bortnyk, who began a perfect 7/7 before making draws in rounds eight and 10. In between, he defeated GM Fabiano Caruana in round nine with a checkmate on the board after 43 moves.

Bortnyk's round-eight draw had come against Bluebaum, and they were tied again in the 10th round: Bluebaum joined a share of first with a 20-move miniature as Black against IM Sebastian Mihajlov.

Bluebaum went on to be held to a draw against third-place GM Aram Hakobyan in the final round, and Bortnyk ensured the result would not come down to a tiebreak score with his 11th-round victory.

The tournament victory was also Bortnyk's ninth top-five finish of the year in Titled Tuesday, more than anyone in 2023 to date except Nakamura.

May 16 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

Number Rk Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak
1 9 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3047 10 69.5
2 8 GM @Msb2 Matthias Bluebaum 3038 9.5 67.5
3 14 GM @Njal28 Aram Hakobyan 2999 9 73.5
4 7 GM @FairChess_on_YouTube Dmitry Andreikin 3036 9 73
5 2 GM @DanielNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky 3173 9 70
6 56 IM @Eduard_Limonov Yaroslav Remizov 2837 9 69.5
7 3 GM @FabianoCaruana Fabiano Caruana 3096 8.5 75
8 38 IM @c63_amg Artiom Samsonkin 2854 8.5 63.5
9 32 GM @VladimirKramnik Vladimir Kramnik 2883 8.5 61
10 26 GM @sergiochess83 Sergey Grigoriants 2902 8.5 61
11 13 GM @Zhigalko_Sergei Sergei Zhigalko 2984 8.5 60.5
12 23 GM @Azeryahu Gyula Pap 2923 8.5 59
13 12 IM @Rud_Makarian Rudik Makarian 2980 8 79.5
14 34 GM @jefferyx Jeffery Xiong 2886 8 73.5
15 29 GM @Durarbayli Vasif Durarbayli 2902 8 71
16 10 GM @mishanick Alexey Sarana 3003 8 68.5
17 6 GM @Jospem Jose Martinez 3004 8 68.5
18 99 IM @CaptainCasanova Sebastian Mihajlov 2732 8 67.5
19 36 GM @iturrizaga Eduardo Iturrizaga 2878 8 67
20 45 GM @krzyzan94 Marcin Krzyżanowski 2826 8 64.5
69 108 WGM @Meri-Arabidze Meri Arabidze 2637 6.5 59

(Full final standings here.)

Bortnyk won $1,000 for his efforts. Bluebaum claimed $750. Only three of the four players on nine points could place, and they were Hakobyan in third for $350, GM Dmitry Andreikin in fourth for $200, and GM Daniel Naroditsky in fifth for $100. WGM Meri Arabidze won the $100 women's prize with 6.5/11.

Titled Tuesday

Chess.com hosts Titled Tuesday, an 11-round Swiss tournament, for titled players every week. Each Tuesday there are two tournaments, which begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time/17:00 Central European and 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time/23:00 Central European. 

NathanielGreen
Nathaniel Green

Nathaniel Green is a staff writer for Chess.com who writes articles, player biographies, Titled Tuesday reports, video scripts, and more. He has been playing chess for about 30 years and resides near Washington, DC, USA.

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