GM Jose Martinez and IM Renato Terry have been competing for the most 3 0 Thursday victories since the event debuted last November. On May 28, both players won a tournament, bringing their totals to 14 and 13 victories, respectively. GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda secured his fifth victory and nearly won two events, just missing out on tiebreaks in the first tournament.
First Tournament: Martinez Edges Duda and Bortnyk
In the first event of the day, Duda gave up a draw to FM Anastasia Avramidou in his very first game, but he responded by winning eight games in a row to take the tournament lead. However, a 10th-round loss against GM Sina Movahed allowed GM Oleksandr Bortnyk to tie him at 8.5/10, with Martinez, Movahed, GM Haik Martirosyan, GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac, and IM Reza Mahdavi just a half point behind.Â
Each trying to claim clear first place, Duda and Bortnyk fought hard down to their final seconds.
That draw opened the way for the pack at 8/10 to catch the leaders. The only one to succeed was Martinez, who won a nice attacking game against Movahed.
When the dust settled, Martinez had the best tiebreaks and took first, followed by Duda and then Bortnyk. IM-elect Rose Atwell took the women’s prize with seven points.
Second Tournament: Duda Takes Clear First
After a near miss in the first event, Duda didn’t take any chances in the second tournament. He led nearly the whole way, scoring a dominant 10/11, the highest score of any player on the day. In the eighth round, he passed one of his biggest tests, winning a complicated game against GM Matthias Bluebaum.Â
In round nine, Duda he scored a decisive victory over GM Mamikon Gharibyan, using a tactical trick that could have trapped Black’s queen early in the game. His opponent played all the way until checkmate.
A final-round victory over GM Denis Lazavik secured Duda’s 10/11 score. Second and third place went to the players in the games above, as Gharibyan scored nine and Bluebaum 8.5 points. WIM Margarita Potapova secured the top women’s prize with an impressive 7.5/11.
Third Tournament: Terry Wins, Bortnyk Just Short Again
In the final event of the day, Terry only took the lead near the end, helped by his victory against Martinez in the seventh round.
Terry held a half-point lead on Bortnyk entering the final round, so he needed only a draw in their head-to-head encounter to win the event. Bortnyk played Alekhine’s Defense, and gained a small advantage, which he pressed for many moves. Both sides fell low on time and Terry won a piece in closing seconds. Bortnyk played quickly and flagged his opponent, but had run out of pieces himself, resulting in a draw.
That result left Terry in first with 9/11, followed by Bortnyk with 8.5 and GM Christopher Yoo with eight points. Atwell took home her second women’s prize of the day with 5.5/11.
3 0 Thursday is a set of three weekly Swiss tournaments for verified titled players featuring their favorite time control. Each of the three tournaments is an 11-round Swiss with a 3+0 time control. The combined prize fund is $3,000 every week.