Today, we kept our positive 2023 momentum going, with 42 players participating in 11 sections! In all, the top three sections, including Section 1, our only Swiss, were played at Game 45.
In addition, four players came to the ICA to play in the MLK Day Hybrid FIDE Series! Pedro Espinosa, Derin Goktepe, Max Schwartz, and Matan Prilleltensky all played six rounds over three days against higher rated opposition from Serbia! I will make our players’ highlight games available on the January 14 lichess study and I encourage all to analyze and learn from them! In addition, all of the games that were submitted to us from the Quads are also available on our lichess study: https://lichess.org/study/ZzgiMTnr. But there are three games, one from each of the top three sections, that are worth mentioning in this report.
In Section 3, the highlight game is between Ely Aminetzah (white) and Luke Shin (black). In the match, Luke sacrificed his h-pawn early on. As a result, his rook had an open file - and a direct route to the opponent’s king. As Ely tried to escape, Luke found a skewer that allowed him to win an exchange: a rook for a bishop. He then managed to hold on for the win - and the prize!
The highlight of Section 2 is between Thomas Isernhagen (white) and Alan Salnikov (black). Thomas played an aggressive opening and caught Alan off guard (as shown last week in Alan’s match against Albert Sadykov, Alan’s opening theory has much to be desired)! After many pieces were traded off, Thomas found his knight in a strong position in the center, and was able to win a bishop! However, Alan managed to come back and win his opponent’s knight (and threatening checkmate!), equalizing the position. In the end, the players agreed to a draw. Because they defeated their two other opponents, Alan and Thomas shared the Section 2 prize!
But the undisputed player of today’s tournament is Nicholas Ferrone, who won all three games in Section 1! In his final game (black) against Goktug Bas (white), Nicholas established control right from the opening. He then utilized his light squared bishop to exploit Goktug’s defense. Whilst Goktug tried removing the bishop, Nicholas created another attack on the queenside, resulting in the victory!
Congratulations to all winners: click HERE to view rating reports!
Our next Quads will be held next Saturday, January 21. Click HERE to register!
If your rating is 1600 or over, next week is your chance to test yourself: we will also be hosting the ICA Open: click HERE to register!
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