Indomitable Terry Extends Win Record, Nakamura & Mahdavi Bounce Back
IM Renato Terry extended his 3 0 Thursday win record to eight titles after prevailing in the second tournament with a commanding score of 9.5/11 on March 5. Adding to a growing stockpile of IM victories, Reza Mahdavi won his third title in consecutive weeks, while the current highest-rated blitzer on Chess.com, GM Hikaru Nakamura, edged out IM Sina Movahed on tiebreaks to take the first tournament.
The top women's performers of the week in each tournament were WGM Savitha Shri B (7.5/11), WFM Veronica Shubenkova (5.5/11), and FM Rose Atwell (6/11), respectively.
1st Tournament: Nakamura, Movahed Go The Distance
Movahed flew out of the blocks in the first tournament and was the sole leader on 7.5/8, having toppled the likes of GMs Mamikon Gharibyan, Platon Galperin, Emin Ohanyan, and crucially, Nakamura.
In a round-seven showdown with the world number-two, Movahed became the beneficiary of a time-pressure-induced missed tactic and riposted with the brilliant 32.Nxf7!!. This win saw him leapfrog Nakamura, who was half a point ahead before the game.
As strong as Movahed's start was, though, a single loss to his compatriot Mahdavi in the ninth round gifted his opponent and Nakamura the lead. A fateful clash between Mahdavi and Nakamura in the English Opening: Botvinnik System, which ended abruptly with a shrewd bishop sacrifice, then determined which player would proceed to the final round with the lead.
A tumultuous final round game between Nakamura and Indonesian IM Yoseph Taher guaranteed the American equal first alongside Movahed. Courtesy of superior tiebreaks, Nakamura indirectly avenged his loss to the 15-year-old.
2nd Tournament: Terry Terrorizes GM Title-Holders
Terry has been experiencing a dream run of late in 3 0 Thursday, Freestyle Friday, and Bullet Brawl events, and his performance in the second tournament was one of his best yet. The Peruvian IM had to overcome "The Internet's Chess Teacher" IM Levy Rozman in round three and Spanish GM Jose Ibarra in round four. In the fifth round, a Herculean effort was required to save a half point against GM Arjun Erigaisi.
From this point onward, the event became the Terry and Arjun show. The pair steamrolled their opposition, with the exception of two draws each, and were neck and neck until the start of the final round, before GM Vladimir Fedoseev ruined the party for Arjun at the final hurdle.
Meanwhile, Terry won an instructive bishop vs. knight ending against Serbia's Alexey Sarana and claimed a record eighth victory.
3rd Tournament: Mahdavi The Comeback King
The third tournament saw an unlikely comeback unfold after Mahdavi lost two of his first four games against CMs Vidip Kona and Brazilian FM Lucas Cunha before he produced a 6.5/7 run to snatch victory from Arjun.
Having finished third and second in the day's other events, Arjun hoped to go one better in the third tournament and set the scene with a perfect 7/7 start that featured wins over GMs Tuan Minh Le, Candidate Matthias Bluebaum, and Oleksandr Bortnyk.
Shockingly, Arjun faltered at the tail end and scored only a single point from his last four games, opening the door for players snapping at his heels. Mahdavi rose to the occasion and defeated Arjun in the penultimate round, before bowling over Bluebaum to secure first place outright.
With this victory, Mahdavi has also become one of the few players to win 3 0 Thursday tournaments three weeks in a row.
3 0 Thursday features three tournaments every week for titled players. The events are on Thursday every week at 11 a.m., 4 p.m., and 9 p.m. ET / 17:00, 22:00, and 3 a.m. (+1) CET / 9:30 p.m., 2:30 a.m. (+1), and 7:30 a.m. (+1) IST.
