There was no need for tiebreaks in any of the three 3 0 Thursday tournaments on July 2 as the three champions, GMs Denis Lazavik, Volodar Murzin, and IM Yoseph Taher, won outright.
In the curtain-raiser, Lazavik beat GMs Magnus Carlsen and Jan-Krzysztof Duda on his way to scoring 10/11, while in the second and third tournaments, Murzin and Taher recovered from early losses to clinch last-round victories.
First Tournament: Lazavik Can’t Stop Winning
The first tournament of the day, which is usually the strongest, was headlined by three super-GMs: Carlsen, Duda, and Arjun Erigaisi. Carlsen started with a blistering 8/8, but he was bowled over by Lazavik in the ninth round after the latter wielded the clock like a war hammer.
Despite beating Carlsen, an earlier loss to Azerbaijani FM Tunar Davudov meant that Lazavik had to share the lead with the titan he had just defeated. Although both won their 10th games, Carlsen fell at the final hurdle to GM Pranav Venkatesh—the Westerinen Attack proved to be the perfect antidote for the world number-one’s Sicilian Defense.
With the greatest threat to his victory out of the way, Lazavik only needed a draw to secure equal first, however, the 19-year-old instead squeezed out a win, leaving nothing up to chance. Scoring 6.5/11 and claiming the women’s prize was the Indian prodigy and WIM Kalyani Sirin.
Second Tournament: Murzin Storms Past Prodigy & Super-GM
The 2024 FIDE World Rapid Champion Murzin was the only player able to win his first five games in the second tournament, though his time at the top was cut short after he was leapfrogged by Duda in the sixth round.
After toppling Murzin, Duda lengthened his time at the top by clutching victory from the jaws of defeat against GM Parham Maghsoodloo.Â
Duda’s draw with IM Faustino Oro in round seven and loss to Armenian GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan in round nine opened a window of opportunity for a Murzin comeback and he seized the moment. A last round victory over the June 25 winner FM Havard Haug sealed a half-point victory ahead of Oro and Duda.Â
While he lost the final round, Haug impressed once again as the only FM in the top 10. Not far behind in 19th place on 7/11 was WIM Melika Mohammadi, who added to her prize cabinet with another top women’s player prize.
Third Tournament: Murzin Misses Back-To-Back Wins, Taher Snatches Title
A showdown between the would-be first and second place-getters occurred in round three of the third tournament, with Murzin dispatching Taher in a chaotic, 64-mover.
Following this, Taher went on a tear, putting together a six-game winning streak that finished with wins over GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, as well as former winners and IMs Reza Mahdavi and Renato Terry. Constant pressure on the board and the clock were the defining features of Taher’s rampage.
Murzin, who suffered a defeat to Terry in round five, found himself on the brink of winning his second tournament in a row after Taher conceded a draw with GM Alan Pichot. As fate would have it, though, Murzin lost his final round to GM Rudik Makarian, while Taher trounced FM Oleksandr Yurovskykh.
The top women’s player in the third tournament was WFM Hoang Minh Tho Do, capping off a day with three different winners in the open and women’s categories.
3 0 Thursday features three tournaments every week for titled players. The events are on Thursday every week at 11 a.m., 4 p.m., and 9 p.m. ET / 17:00, 22:00, and 3 a.m. (+1) CEST / 9:30 p.m., 2:30 a.m. (+1), and 7:30 a.m. (+1) IST.