GMs Liang and Preotu Top Charlotte Spring Open: Full Recap!

This past weekend, the SouthPark Hilton Garden Inn played host to one of the CCC's flagship events: the Charlotte Spring Open!

This tournament, consisting of five rounds from March 28 to 30, saw a grand total of 154 participants across four sections and also included a blitz championship on Saturday night. Among the many contestants were five Grandmasters, an IM, a WGM, two FMs, and many other National Masters and experts, each vying for a share of the guaranteed $6,500 prize fund. 

Championship

With 4.5 out of a possible 5 points each, Grandmasters Awonder Liang and Razvan Preotu finished as co-champions of the 2025 Charlotte Spring Open!

Each ceded an early half-point, with Liang taking a bye in the first round and Preotu drawing local NM Andrew Wu in the second. Neither played on board one until the very final round of the tournament, but both players demonstrated precise technique in wins against lower-rated opponents along the way. This game by GM Preotu in the first round is a perfect example, as white managed to grind a slight advantage into an endgame win:

GM Preotu would defeat NMs Kevin Zhao and Alexander Crump in rounds three and four, while GM Liang took down NM Wu in the third round and NM Thomas Kung in the fourth round.

What makes Awonder's games stand out to this author is how noncommittal his opening choices were against lower-rated players. By developing the pieces sensibly while also avoiding mega-theory and rigid structures, he put pressure on his opponents to find plans on their own, often resulting in big time advantages later in the game.

While this recap has thus far focused on the two GMs who ultimately tied for first, it should also be noted that IM Nico Chasin actually entered the final round as the only player on a perfect 4/4!

Chasin took down two 2300+ opponents in rounds three and four, but faced a very difficult task in the last round with the black pieces against GM Preotu.

While that game was unfolding on board one, GM Awonder Liang clinched a share of first place himself by winning as black against NM Graham Horobetz. The latter had an excellent overall tournament, even drawing GM Elshan Moradiabadi back in round three, but struggled to mount any attack against Awonder's centralized king, while black slowly opened lines on the queenside:

Surprisingly, not only did our two co-champions never play each other, but they also each managed to avoid the other three GMs in the field. It's incredible to note that Liang and Preotu are so highly-rated that their tournament-winning performances only earned them four and five USCF rating points respectively! Nonetheless, each one faced only a single untitled opponent and defeated multiple promising junior players.

In addition to the very top seeds, notable participants in the Championship section included GM Ben Finegold and WGM Dina Belenkaya, the latter even streaming her games live to her large Twitch audience! Here's one of her top games from the tournament, using a flashy tactical flurry to take down Andy Catlin:

GM Finegold did not broadcast the event live, but instead hosted a livestream on Tuesday in which he reviewed his games, viewable here. Ben finished with 3/5, suffering his only defeat in the last round.

GMs Liang and Preotu each earned $750 with 4.5/5 and shared first place. While IM Chasin did lose his last round matchup, his 4/5 result was still enough to net $166.67 alongside local young FMs Vishnu Vanapalli and James Chirilov. Also finishing in the money was Lukas Lebakken, winning $300 as the top player rated under 2200.

Under 2000

The race for the top of the U2000 section was hotly-contested, with seven players entering the final round on at least 3/4, but no perfect scores. The two players on 3.5/4, Siddharth Santosh and Anvay Phadke, settled for a draw in a very eventful game that can be viewed here, while Patrick McCartney and Arsh Sharda won to create a four-way tie atop the standings. 

Here's Anvay Phadke's victory against Landon Meadors on board one in the fourth round:

In the end, Phadke, McCartney, Sharda, and Santosh each scored 4/5, tying for first and taking home $350 apiece. All but McCartney achieved new peak USCF ratings in the process, with Sharda and Santosh gaining over 100 points!

Under 1700

Saharsh Koka and Alisa Joseph tied for first place atop the U1700 section, each winning $500 for shared first place. The two players finished with 4.5/5, with Koka drawing in the last round against Jay Agrawal, while Joseph ceded a second-round draw to Sanchit Haripradeep. 

The game between Saharsh Koka and Dhruv Patil in round four was crucial, as the two players entered as the only two on 3/3 in the section.

Although he lost this game, Dhruv Patil recovered to win the last round and split the third place prize with Jay Agrawal. Agrawal in particular had an incredible performance, gaining 171 rating points! The two players finished on 4/5 and each earned $200.

Under 1400

We had no clear winners in the classical tournament, as the U1400 section also had a tie for first place with three players scoring 4/5. Those were Spencer Boone, Samanyu Dixit, and Jayanth Saravanakumar!

Dixit started the tournament on 2/2 but lost in the third round against Saravanakumar, putting the latter in clear first heading into the fourth round. After another win, Jayanth had a chance to clinch clear first place with a last round win or draw, but instead lost to Spencer Boone, vaulting the three players into a tie for first. 

Boone actually had a shaky start to the tournament, losing to Dixit in the first round and then re-entering into the two-day schedule. He even drew the first two games after re-entering, but this may have helped him in the long run, functioning as a "Swiss Gambit" of sorts and keeping him off the top board until the very end.

Boone, Dixit, and Saravanakumar each came away with $400, while our last two main event prizewinners were Top U1200 finishers Arjun Kargool and Zachary Adolph ($100 each). 

Blitz Championship!

There was ultimately one clear winner at the Charlotte Spring Open: CCC Head Coach and Grandmaster Olexandr Bortnyk! GM Bortnyk won all six of his games in Saturday evening's blitz tournament, earning the $200 first prize.

Often in CCC blitz events, Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky has joined Bortnyk atop the standings, but Danya suffered a rare upset loss in the fourth round against IM Nico Chasin. Chasin also defeated GM Preotu (Preotu would get his revenge in their standard game the next day!) before losing to Bortnyk to finish on 5/6. In a way, Chasin's standard and blitz tournament results paralleled each other, as he was perfect until the last round in both. 

GMs Naroditsky, Preotu, and Troff tied with Chasin and expert Sri Bondalapati with 5/6, all receiving $30 for shared second place. 

Other blitz winners:

- Anmay Chaudhury, Carter Zsittnik, Aditya Ramkumar, and Sriansh Katta (Top U2000 - $12.50 each)

- Jonathan Gao and Pranav Arun (Top U1700 - $25 each)

- Trisha Anna (Top U1400 - $50)

Congratulations to all the winners! Detailed results and rating changes from the event can be viewed at this link.

A big thanks to Kelly Centrelli for the photos in this report, to the arbiters and tournament directors who made this event possible, and to all who participated at this year's Charlotte Spring Open!

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NM Dennis Norman

Chess Coach - Club Journalist