GM took home his first on March 28, scoring nine points and winning on against four other players on the same score: GMs , , , and . It was the third tiebreak score that separated Nakamura and Sarana, after Nakamura and Martinez had both led the tournament on 9/10 with a round to go, but both lost to create the big tie.
The latter two players did not face each other in the last round because they had already played in the eighth. Nakamura, who had lost back in round three, defeated Martinez, who had begun a perfect 7/7, to move into a share for first.
Six players now shared the lead with three rounds to go, but it seemed things would clarify into a single winner after Nakamura won in rounds nine and 10 and then built a strong position in round 11 against Sarana, while Martinez lost relatively quickly (25 moves) to Yoo.
However, in the space of just a couple moves (the 34th and 35th), it was Sarana who would come out with the W.
Sarana passed Martinez on tiebreaks and nearly usurped Nakamura as well. Their first tiebreak was an equal 76 and the second an equal 77, but finally a half-point separated them on the third tiebreak.
And so below them was Martinez settling for third, despite some great games, like when he moved to 7/7 with an 18-move win against GM , even with a trade of queens on move five.
But, like Nakamura, Martinez would fall in the final round. And for what—Yoo, who beat him, only finished in an unpaid fifth place. Instead, Xiong finished fourth after defeating GM . The women’s prize went to 22nd-place IM , her second prize in a row and third in four weeks.
March 28 Freestyle Friday | Final Standings (Top 25)
Number
Rk
Fed
Title
Username
Name
Rating
Score
Tiebreak
1
1
GM
@Hikaru
Hikaru Nakamura
2865
9
76
2
7
GM
@mishanick
Aleksei Sarana
2749
9
76
3
16
GM
@Jospem
Jose Martinez
2597
9
74.5
4
9
GM
@jefferyx
Jeffery Xiong
2654
9
72.5
5
18
GM
@ChristopherYoo
Christopher Woojin Yoo
2567
9
65
6
6
GM
@DenLaz
Denis Lazavik
2740
8.5
74
7
13
IM
@Rud_Makarian
Rudik Makarian
2598
8.5
67.5
8
48
GM
@Vaathi_Coming
Aravindh Chithambaram
2353
8
72.5
9
19
GM
@dropstoneDP
David Paravyan
2531
8
72
10
151
GM
@Cayse
Martyn Kravtsiv
1776
8
68.5
11
41
GM
@moro182
Luca Moroni Jr
2391
8
67.5
12
50
GM
@Gareth-Bale11
Mamikon Gharibyan
2277
8
61
13
20
GM
@Annawel
Jules Moussard
2497
8
60.5
14
38
GM
@Sam_ChessMood
Samvel Ter-Sahakyan
2404
8
58.5
15
206
GM
@howitzer14
David Howell
1609
7.5
67
16
25
GM
@Msb2
Matthias Bluebaum
2489
7.5
65
17
47
GM
@Durarbayli
Vasif Durarbayli
2277
7.5
62.5
18
14
IM
@MITerryble
Renato Terry
2558
7.5
62
19
65
GM
@Aygehovit1992
Nikita Matinian
2159
7.5
62
20
24
IM
@NodariousBIG
Nodar Lortkipanidze
2468
7.5
61.5
21
26
GM
@rasmussvane
Rasmus Svane
2469
7.5
60
22
75
IM
@karinachess1
Karina Ambartsumova
2047
7.5
53
23
5
GM
@Oleksandr_Bortnyk
Oleksandr Bortnyk
2714
7
66.5
24
105
FM
@SahibSinghKnight
Sahib Singh
1881
7
65
25
73
FM
@puz2010
Semyon Puzyrevsky
2100
7
65
(.)
Prizes: Nakamura $400, Sarana $250, Martinez $150, Xiong $100, Ambartsumova $100.
Freestyle Friday is Chess.com’s weekly tournament dedicated to for titled players. The tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time.
