Reporting on the 1999 World Open
How the MCC players fared at the 1999 World Open
by Larry Eldridge
Thirteen MCC members and/or regular competitors played in this year's World Open,
and many of them turned in excellent results. The final breakdown showed eight with plus
scores, one even, and four on the minus side of the ledger.
Leading the way was Geoffrey Polizoti with an impressive 7 points in the Under 2200
section, good for some $1,500.
The father-son Khater team also won money, with Ali scoring 6.5 points in the U1600
section and son Sherif matching that score in the U1400 group. Their exact prizes aren't
available, but should be in the $300 range each.
Another prize winner was John Curdo, whose 5 points in the Open Section appear to be
enough to get him all or part of the Senior Prize, which is new this year. He got his
points the hard way, too, in this "iron" section. A first-round win threw Curdo
against super-GM Alexander Goldin with the black pieces in Round 2, and Curdo put up a
good fight before going down. He climbed back up the ladder, eventually getting another
bigtime pairing against GM Alek Wojtkiewicz, once again with black. This time Curdo did
even better, holding his 2700-rated opponent to a draw. With 4.5 points in seven rounds,
he was still in the hunt for serious money, and he obtained an apparently winning game
against Gildardo Garcia (2591). He faltered here, though, allowing a draw via perpetual
check, then lost in the last round to young phenom Eugene Perylshtein to finish with 5
points. -- still an impressive showing in this company.
Larry Eldridge had 5.5 in the U1800 section as did Scott Reynolds in the U1600.
Joining Curdo at 5 points were Ed Epp in the U2200 Section and Mark Kaprielian in U1800.
Severine Wamala was all even at 4.5 in the U1600 Section, while others from the club
coming in below the .500 mark were Al Ward (U2000), Alex Shtudiner and Franklin Herman
(U1600), and Al Schaefer (U1400).
Jack Martin, a former president of the club when it was located in Framingham, played in
the tournament and socialized with several of our members but had to leave before the end
due to business commitments.
An overall summary of the event
by Michael Gosselin
The results are in from the 1999 World Open. Mass. GM Alexander
Ivanov, fighting to win a game in round 9, lost to GM Akopian and dropped to a tie for
eleventh place, behind ten players who shared first in the Open section. Ivanov had 6.5
points, and tied with the other Mass. notable performance, that of Bill Paschall. Bill
beat Alex Sherzer in round 8, then drew Giorgi Kacheishvili in round 9 to finish as one of
only four players under 2500 with 6.5 points. Other New England performances: Sergey
Kudrin and Eugene Perelshteyn had 6, Larry Christiansen, Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, and Paul
MacIntyre with 5.5, Joe Fang, John Curdo (of ChessCam fame), and Steven Winer with 5,
Jarod Bryan with 4.5, Josh Friedel and Martin Garcia with 4, Joe Perl (playing way up)
with 3.5, Lawyer Times with 3, and Chris Dingle also played (but was clearly off his
game).
In the Under 2200 section, Geoff Polizotti played nine decisive games, winning seven, and
finished in a four-way tie for third. He was one of only two New England players I
recognized with 7 points. Other notables: Andrew Bakker with 6, Sokol Harito and Abram
Ryrakhovsky with 5.5, Ed Epp with 5, Rigel Cappallo with 4, and Chris Desmarais and Ilya
Bronshtein with 3.
In the Under 2000 section, Jack Stolerman and Josh Marcus were prize winners with 6
points, tying for 26th. Other New Englanders were Muhar Brahimaj and Peter Pashkov with 5,
Harold Dondis with 4.5, while John Guzman and Joe Perl (yes, the same one) also played.
In the Under 1800 section, Amalia Rubinchik finished with 6.5 points in a tie for 16th.
Other New Englanders were Max Enkin, Larry Eldridge, and Tony Phillips with 5.5, Mark
Kaprielian with 5, James Sfougaris, Alex Gankin, and Jeffrey Scheur with 4.5, Kathy Levi
with 3, while Chris Carnevale, Alex Shtudiner, Jerry Williams, and Franklin Herman also
played.
In the Under 1600 section, Ali Khater finished with 6.5 points, tied for 16th place. Other
New Englanders were William Gennert with 5, Severine Wamala with 4.5, Robert Mosscrop with
4, and Nathan Patel with 3.5.
In the Under 1400 section, Trevor Cappallo was the only other New Englander with 7 points,
finishing tied for 6th place, and Chris Toolin and Sherif Khater finished with 6.5 points,
tying for 16th . Other New Englanders were Ankit Patel with 4, Joe Agron with 3.5, and
Edward Lafferty also played.
Since the state was not listed on the crosstable, I have no way of knowing if I reported
on all the New Englanders. I've listed those that I recognize from chess clubs or
tournaments, so if I missed you or one of your friends, it was not intentional.
All the results, as well as games and reports, can be found at the World Open web site at http://www.worldopen.com