Ukrainian Brothers Push Hard For First Among Familiar Winners
GM Jeffery Xiong and GM Dmitry Andreikin, the two players with more Titled Tuesday victories than anyone not named GM Hikaru Nakamura, both won another event on September 13. Meanwhile, brothers IM Mykola and GM Oleksandr Bortnyk finished second and third in the late tournament.
Early Tournament
The clock was a major factor in the day's first tournament, which featured a sizable field of 419 players. In the ninth round, Xiong faced GM Daniil Dubov for the tournament lead and won when Dubov flagged in a pawn-up tablebase draw. In the final round, Xiong ended up on the other side of that situation, flagging in a drawn ending against GM Vidit Gujrathi.
The last game did not end up hurting Xiong, who won the tournament on tiebreaks over Vidit and GM Nils Grandelius. Grandelius missed the first round and yet scored 9.5 points to nearly win the event. In the final round, he defeated GM Cem Kaan Gokerkan in 24 moves to join the tournament leaders, but that one missed game cost him in the tiebreaks as well.
In the middle rounds, Xiong was making quick work of his opponents, defeating GM David Paravyan in 25 moves in round seven (below) and GM-elect Tuan Minh Le in 19 moves in round eight. It was in these games, not the capriciousness of the clock, where the tournament was ultimately won.
September 13 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 9 | GM | @jefferyx | Jeffery Xiong | 3019 | 9.5 | 62 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | @viditchess | Vidit Gujrathi | 3054 | 9.5 | 60.5 | |
| 3 | 1 | GM | @Grandelicious | Nils Grandelius | 2936 | 9.5 | 56.75 | |
| 4 | 32 | GM | @Sam_ChessMood | Samvel Ter-Sahakyan | 2924 | 9 | 63.25 | |
| 5 | 5 | GM | @Duhless | Daniil Dubov | 3040 | 9 | 57 | |
| 6 | 29 | GM | @baki83 | Etienne Bacrot | 2931 | 8.5 | 56.5 | |
| 7 | 58 | IM | @ckgchess | Cem Kaan Gokerkan | 2849 | 8.5 | 55.75 | |
| 8 | 27 | GM | @dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2931 | 8.5 | 52.25 | |
| 9 | 14 | GM | @exoticprincess | Baadur Jobava | 2962 | 8.5 | 52 | |
| 10 | 7 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3005 | 8.5 | 51.75 | |
| 11 | 12 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2972 | 8.5 | 49.25 | |
| 12 | 10 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 2982 | 8.5 | 48.25 | |
| 13 | 34 | GM | @alexrustemov | Alexander Rustemov | 2865 | 8 | 52.75 | |
| 14 | 21 | IM | @vi_pranav | Pranav V | 2930 | 8 | 52.5 | |
| 15 | 49 | IM | @Bulldog167 | Leon Livaic | 2861 | 8 | 50.75 | |
| 16 | 38 | IM | @Kosak12 | Jakub Kosakowski | 2883 | 8 | 50.5 | |
| 17 | 8 | GM | @champ2005 | Raunak Sadhwani | 2985 | 8 | 49.5 | |
| 18 | 25 | GM | @Zhigalko_Sergei | Sergei Zhigalko | 2922 | 8 | 49 | |
| 19 | 52 | GM | @shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 2852 | 8 | 47.75 | |
| 20 | 117 | IM | @Korchmar_Vasiliy | Vasiliy Korchmar | 2704 | 8 | 42 | |
| 20 | 199 | FM | @Ginzburg_Yakov | Yakov Ginzburg | 2586 | 8 | 42 | |
| 30 | 177 | WIM | @Ind1anStar | Priyanka Nutakki | 2594 | 7.5 | 35.75 |
(Full final standings here.)
Xiong won the $1,000 first-place prize with Vidit settling for $750 for second place. Grandelius won the $350 third-place prize and GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan $200 for fourth. Earning $100 were Dubov in fifth and WIM Priyanka Nutakki with the best score among women at 7.5/11.
Late Tournament
Andreikin had to push back not one but two Bortnyks to claim his victory in the 281-player late tournament. After defeating Mykola in round six, Andreikin faced Oleksandr in round nine and took his only defeat of the tournament.
The very next round came the Mykola-Oleksandr matchup. If you had thought the brothers would reach a quick draw, you would have been very wrong. The older IM defeated his younger GM brother to retain a half-point tournament lead after Andreikin recovered against GM Gyula Pap.
In the final round, Mykola drew GM Vincent Keymer in a 77-move battle of attrition. Andreikin, meanwhile, won again, against GM Raunak Sadhwani.
Andreikin moved into a tie for first and held a significant advantage in tiebreak score to claim the tournament.
September 13 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 3 | GM | @FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 3058 | 9.5 | 68.75 | |
| 2 | 8 | IM | @Mykola-Bortnyk | Mykola Bortnyk | 3027 | 9.5 | 59.25 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3015 | 9 | 61.5 | |
| 4 | 11 | GM | @exoticprincess | Baadur Jobava | 2988 | 9 | 59 | |
| 5 | 6 | GM | @VincentKeymer | Vincent Keymer | 3010 | 8.5 | 56.75 | |
| 6 | 14 | GM | @Msb2 | Matthias Bluebaum | 2943 | 8.5 | 44.75 | |
| 7 | 39 | GM | @jcibarra | José Carlos Ibarra Jerez | 2851 | 8 | 51.25 | |
| 8 | 9 | GM | @champ2005 | Raunak Sadhwani | 2996 | 8 | 49.25 | |
| 9 | 41 | GM | @Cayse | Martyn Kravtsiv | 2845 | 8 | 46.5 | |
| 10 | 10 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2964 | 8 | 46.25 | |
| 11 | 33 | GM | @Azeryahu | Gyula Pap | 2866 | 8 | 44.5 | |
| 12 | 17 | GM | @Zhigalko_Sergei | Sergei Zhigalko | 2921 | 8 | 44.25 | |
| 13 | 16 | GM | @Sam_ChessMood | Samvel Ter-Sahakyan | 2938 | 8 | 43.75 | |
| 14 | 34 | IM | @Rud_Makarian | Rudik Makarian | 2858 | 8 | 43.25 | |
| 15 | 22 | GM | @AlexanderL | Aleksandr Lenderman | 2903 | 8 | 42.5 | |
| 16 | 13 | IM | @vi_pranav | Pranav V | 2933 | 8 | 41.5 | |
| 17 | 42 | GM | @Beca95 | Aleksandar Indjic | 2793 | 8 | 39.75 | |
| 17 | 53 | GM | @attack2mateU | Razvan Preotu | 2732 | 8 | 39.75 | |
| 19 | 21 | GM | @ChristopherYoo | Christopher Woojin Yoo | 2905 | 7.5 | 52.75 | |
| 20 | 36 | GM | @K_A_S_T_O_R | Rodrigo Vasquez | 2813 | 7.5 | 40.5 | |
| 41 | 190 | WGM | @Sanyura | Aleksandra Maltsevskaya | 2662 | 7 | 30.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
Andreikin earned the $1,000 first-place prize. Mykola Bortnyk won $750 in second place, while Oleksandr won $350 for third place. GM Baadur Jobava won $200 for fourth place, Keymer $100 for fifth place, and WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya $100 for the highest score among the women who participated.
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.
