Saint Louis Masters: Six players score 2 out of 2 on opening day

Caruana among the co-leaders

The Saint Louis Masters got under way with a busy opening day that produced a high proportion of decisive results. Across the first two rounds, only 24 of the 69 games ended in draws, setting an early competitive tone in the nine-round Swiss tournament. Several of the higher-rated contestants dropped points, finishing the day on 1½/2 or with an even score.

Six players finished day one as joint leaders on a perfect score of 2 points from 2 games. The leading group consists of Fabiano Caruana, Bharath Subramaniyam, Mikhail Antipov, Yasser Quesada, Brewington Hardaway and Gergely Kantor.

Mikhail Antipov | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Brewington Hardaway became the first US-born African-American grandmaster at the end of 2024 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Particular attention was drawn to the performances of Subramaniyam and Hardaway, who are the youngest players among the leaders. At just 18 years old, Subramaniyam entered the event as the 9^th seed and opened with wins over Ukraine’s Oleksii Bilych and Viktor Matviishen. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Hardaway, seeded 22^nd, scored victories against famed streamer Eric Rosen and Indian FM Apaar Saxena. The two teenagers are paired against each other in round three, with Subramaniyam set to have the white pieces.

Just half a point behind the leaders is a large chasing group of 17 players on 1½ points. The two lowest-rated participants in this group are coincidentally two female players who recorded notable upsets in round one. Rose Atwell, aged 17, defeated Indian GM Harsha Bharathakoti (Elo 2538), while Jennifer Yu overcame IM Nico Chasin (2523) from the US. Both Atwell and Yu, currently ranked eighth and eleventh among US women respectively, will face opponents rated above 2500 in round three.

In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.

Rose Atwell | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Jennifer Yu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Saxena 0-1 Hardaway

Instead of forcing you to memorise endless lines, Raja focuses on clear plans, typical ideas, and attacking motifs that you can apply in your own games without delay. A short, focused, and practical repertoire.
Grandmaster Harshit Raja, India’s 69th GM, has created a practical and powerful 1.e4 repertoire – perfect for players who want to play aggressively without drowning in opening theory. Whether you’re playing online or over-the-board, this course gives you solid attacking weapons that are easy to learn, fun to play, and difficult for opponents to face. 
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Scandinavian Defence

The atmosphere in the playing hall during the first round – in the photo, Brewington Hardaway is taking a stroll | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 2

…70 players

All games

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