Sevian Wins August 10 Titled Tuesday
GM Sam Sevian won Titled Tuesday on August 10 by a full point with 10/11, ahead of eight players tied for second on 9/11. The tiebreakers worked out in some strong players' favor, as all of the top-four finishers were among the eight highest-rated players (by Chess.com Blitz) in the field. GM Oleksandr Bortnyk finished second for the second straight week, GM Hikaru Nakamura came in third, and GM Dmitry Andreikin fourth. It was Andreikin's second-straight cash as well.
539 titled players played this week in Titled Tuesday, the highest participation since June 22. The tournament was the usual 11-round Swiss at a 3+1 time control.
Live broadcast of the tournament, hosted this week by WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili.
Sevian, like GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu the week before, is a first-time winner of Titled Tuesday. Already ahead of the field by a full point entering the final round, Sevian drew with Bortnyk to lock up the win, ending with a +9 =2 score.
The last perfect player this week was 14-year-old IM Christopher Yoo, who began 7/7 while Sevian drew his round six game. Yoo drew with GM Alexander Grischuk in round eight in a game that was notable for both Yoo's opening choice and Grischuk's response.
Yoo then met Sevian in round nine. Already worse and with just two seconds left on his clock, Yoo allowed a nice forced checkmate for Sevian, and the more experienced player was now leading the tournament.
Sevian took on Andreikin in round 10. With White, Sevian played a rare sideline of the Open Sicilian and gained a strong position with a big center. He mated Andreikin on move 33, setting up his huge tournament lead before the final round.
August 10 Titled Tuesday | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 8 | GM | @Konavets | Sam Sevian | 3010 | 10 | 77.25 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3032 | 9 | 66 | |
| 3 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3224 | 9 | 63.75 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | @FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 3039 | 9 | 60 | |
| 5 | 21 | GM | @hanzo_hasashi1 | Nodirbek Yakubboev | 2916 | 9 | 59.75 | |
| 6 | 60 | IM | @Kezin_Roman | Kezin Roman | 2802 | 9 | 57.5 | |
| 7 | 12 | IM | @ChristopherYoo | Christopher Woojin Yoo | 2962 | 9 | 55.75 | |
| 8 | 88 | FM | @Tayson_7 | Mukhammadali Abdurakhmonov | 2753 | 9 | 43.5 | |
| 9 | 18 | IM | @wonderfultime | Tuan Minh Le | 2920 | 8.5 | 52.25 | |
| 10 | 27 | IM | @renatoterrylujan | Renato Terry | 2904 | 8.5 | 51 | |
| 11 | 34 | GM | @RD4ever | Rustam Khusnutdinov | 2858 | 8.5 | 50.25 | |
| 12 | 35 | GM | @Beca95 | Aleksandar Indjic | 2862 | 8.5 | 48.75 | |
| 13 | 2 | GM | @Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 3041 | 8.5 | 47.75 | |
| 14 | 7 | GM | @GM_dmitrij | Dmitrij Kollars | 2958 | 8 | 52.25 | |
| 15 | 43 | IM | @Murad_Ibrahimli | Murad Ä°brahimli | 2843 | 8 | 49.5 | |
| 16 | 20 | GM | @GMBenjaminBok | Benjamin Bok | 2908 | 8 | 48.5 | |
| 17 | 40 | GM | @Arseniy_Nesterov | Arseniy Nesterov | 2813 | 8 | 47.75 | |
| 18 | 38 | GM | @TimofeevAr | Artem Timofeev | 2863 | 8 | 47.5 | |
| 19 | 182 | IM | @DragonB70 | Minh To | 2613 | 8 | 46.5 | |
| 20 | 31 | GM | @XDPS | Pablo Salinas Herrera | 2821 | 8 | 45.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
Sevian earned the $750 prize for first place while Bortnyk won $400 for second. Nakamura took $150 for third and Andreikin $100 for fourth. GM Harika Dronavalli scored 7.5/11 to earn the $100 prize for the top female player.
Titled Tuesday is a tournament that runs every week on Chess.com for titled players. It starts at 10 a.m. Pacific time/19:00 Central European every Tuesday.
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.
