Chess
Two tie in bizarre World Open
International Master July 12, 2009

Position No. 6063: Black to play and win. From the game Phil Chase-Eugene Yanayt, SCCF Candidates, Garden Grove 2009.Solution to Position No. 6062: Black wins a Rook neatly with 1 . . . Bc4!, threatening 2 . . . Rf1 mate. If 2 Rxc4, then 2 . . . Rd1+ wins.Grandmasters Evgeny Najer of Russia and Hikaru
Nakamura of New York tied for first place in the 37th World Open, which ended last Sunday in Philadelphia. There were 34 GMs in the Open section of the $250,000 event.Najer, who shared first place also in 2007 and 2008, accumulated his 7-2 score in the traditional manner. However, Nakamura chose the abbreviated three-day schedule, scored 4 1/2 - 1/2 in fast games on his first day of play, drew GM Ilya Smirin of Israel and defeated Najer on his second day, then left the tournament and received half-point byes for his last two rounds. Before you laugh, consider that Nakamura netted nearly $15,000.California's top player, GM Varuzhan Akobian, tied for third place at 6 1/2 -2 1/2 with GMs Smirin, former U.S. champion Gata Kamsky, Jiri Stocek of the Czech Republic and Leonid Yudasin of Israel.
International newsNakamura had a good excuse for leaving the World Open. He is one of nine grandmasters facing Anatoly Karpov, world champion from 1975 to 1985, in an intriguing round robin that began Tuesday in Donostia, Spain.The 58-year-old Karpov, now ranked 98th in the world at 2644, occasionally participates in exhibitions and team events, but he has played in only two serious tournaments since 2004. His ranking suggests he will struggle against the younger generation. Will he confound expectations?For the latest results, see donostiachess.com/en.