Swiercz, Nakamura Win May 24 Titled Tuesday
Titled Tuesday belonged to the Americans on May 24, the early edition won by GM Dariusz Swiercz and the late tournament by GM Hikaru Nakamura. It was Swiercz's first-ever win in the event and Nakamura's first since May 3. Nakamura was the only player to finish in the top five in both of the day's proceedings, taking third in the early tournament.
Early Tournament
The lack of a broadcast these past couple of weeks has not dampened participation, as 385 players joined the early tournament, a number consistent with past weeks.
Nakamura almost set himself up for another double tournament sweep, leading the early Swiss after every round except the last. A win over GM Vincent Keymer put Nakamura on a perfect 8/8.
Nakamura drew his next two games, against GM Alexander Grischuk in round nine and against Swiercz in round 10. Although Nakamura still led with 9/10, Grischuk, Swiercz, and GM David Paravyan all remained in range with 8.5 points.
Paravyan leaped into second place on 9.5/11 with the upset of Nakamura in the last round.
Swiercz, playing Black against Grischuk, also won to reach 9.5/11, and his tiebreaks were somewhat better than Paravyan's, giving him the tournament victory.
May 24 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 12 | GM | @daro94 | Dariusz Swiercz | 2992 | 9.5 | 60 | |
| 2 | 17 | GM | @dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2971 | 9.5 | 55.25 | |
| 3 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3187 | 9 | 64 | |
| 4 | 11 | GM | @viditchess | Vidit Gujrathi | 2979 | 9 | 60.5 | |
| 5 | 3 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 3038 | 9 | 58 | |
| 6 | 5 | GM | @Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 3063 | 8.5 | 56.5 | |
| 7 | 65 | GM | @FGHSMN | Bharath Subramaniyam H. | 2850 | 8.5 | 56.25 | |
| 8 | 33 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2915 | 8.5 | 51 | |
| 9 | 10 | IM | @wonderfultime | Tuan Minh Le | 2963 | 8.5 | 49.25 | |
| 10 | 21 | GM | @Zhigalko_Sergei | Sergei Zhigalko | 2944 | 8.5 | 46.25 | |
| 10 | 9 | GM | @Duhless | Daniil Dubov | 3000 | 8.5 | 46.25 | |
| 12 | 27 | GM | @Antipov_Mikhail_Al | Mikhail Antipov | 2908 | 8 | 50.75 | |
| 13 | 14 | GM | @GM_dmitrij | Dmitrij Kollars | 2957 | 8 | 49 | |
| 14 | 38 | IM | @Murad_Ibrahimli | Murad İbrahimli | 2845 | 8 | 47.5 | |
| 15 | 54 | IM | @seorobert1971 | Jung Min Seo | 2803 | 8 | 47 | |
| 15 | 24 | GM | @baki83 | Etienne Bacrot | 2892 | 8 | 47 | |
| 17 | 45 | GM | @TimofeevAr | Artem Timofeev | 2827 | 8 | 45.25 | |
| 18 | 23 | GM | @VincentKeymer | Vincent Keymer | 2920 | 8 | 45 | |
| 18 | 104 | IM | @Bulldog167 | Leon Livaic | 2798 | 8 | 45 | |
| 20 | 67 | FM | @TheBigBoss04 | Jose Gabriel Cardoso | 2775 | 8 | 44 | |
| 67 | 169 | WIM | @ama18 | Mobina Alinasab | 2577 | 6.5 | 32.75 |
(Full final standings here.)
Swiercz took home the $1,000 first-place prize while Paravyan earned $750. Nakamura settled for $300 for his third-place finish, still ahead of the $150 to GM Vidit Gujrathi for fourth and the $100 to GM Jose Martinez for fifth, all of whom scored nine points. The $100 prize for best score among women went to WIM Mobina Alinasab with 6.5/11.
Late Tournament
Nakamura reasserted his dominance in the late tournament with an outright victory of 10/11, ending what has presumably been a few frustrating weeks of Titled Tuesday for him.
It was a somewhat unusual Titled Tuesday, as all four players on 5/5 drew each other in round six, which is quite early for no perfect players to remain. Of the five players who reached 5.5/6, only one won in round seven, and yes, it was Naka:
This time, the world championship candidate never relinquished his tourney lead—this despite once again facing Paravyan in the final round while leading the field by a half-point with 9/10. But Nakamura exacted his revenge and put the tournament out of the reach.
Grischuk, one of the two players on 8.5/10 with a round to go, also won his final-round matchup, which was good enough for outright second place.
May 24 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3187 | 10 | 68.25 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | @Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 3063 | 9.5 | 67.25 | |
| 3 | 8 | GM | @Duhless | Daniil Dubov | 3000 | 9 | 54.5 | |
| 4 | 17 | GM | @VincentKeymer | Vincent Keymer | 2920 | 8.5 | 50.75 | |
| 5 | 35 | GM | @Angry_Twin | Andrey Drygalov | 2888 | 8.5 | 47.25 | |
| 6 | 23 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2915 | 8.5 | 46.5 | |
| 7 | 2 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 3038 | 8 | 51.25 | |
| 8 | 18 | GM | @Anton_Demchenko | Anton Demchenko | 2917 | 8 | 51 | |
| 9 | 4 | IM | @MITerryble | Renato Terry | 3019 | 8 | 49.75 | |
| 10 | 15 | GM | @Zhigalko_Sergei | Sergei Zhigalko | 2944 | 8 | 48.5 | |
| 11 | 7 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2980 | 8 | 47.5 | |
| 12 | 105 | IM | @KyronGriffith | Kyron Griffith | 2680 | 8 | 44.5 | |
| 13 | 9 | GM | @dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2971 | 8 | 44.25 | |
| 14 | 47 | IM | @Bulldog167 | Leon Livaic | 2798 | 7.5 | 44.25 | |
| 15 | 19 | GM | @Msb2 | Matthias Bluebaum | 2913 | 7.5 | 43.5 | |
| 16 | 34 | GM | @GMKrikor | Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian | 2822 | 7.5 | 41.75 | |
| 17 | 42 | GM | @Miguelito | Miguel Santos Ruiz | 2796 | 7.5 | 41.5 | |
| 17 | 57 | GM | @Aygehovit1992 | Nikita Matinian | 2749 | 7.5 | 41.5 | |
| 19 | 2 | GM | @AlexeiShirov | Alexei Shirov | 2823 | 7.5 | 41.25 | |
| 20 | 13 | GM | @erichansen | Eric Hansen | 2924 | 7.5 | 39.5 | |
| 42 | 111 | IM | @AnotherGrumpy | Anna M Sargsyan | 2608 | 6.5 | 30 |
(Full final standings here.)
Nakamura's $1,000 prize gave him $1,300 on the day. Grischuk earned $750 for second place after barely finishing outside the money (sixth) in the early tournament. GM Daniil Dubov also held his tournament position outright, third place on nine points for $300. Keymer won $150 for fourth place, GM Andrey Drygalov $100 for fifth, and IM Anna Sargsyan $100 as the top woman in the field.
Nathaniel Green is a staff writer for Chess.com who writes articles, player biographies, Titled Tuesday reports, video scripts, and more. He has been playing chess for about 30 years and resides near Washington, DC, USA.
