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First Win Of The Year For Two More Titled Tuesday Stars

First Win Of The Year For Two More Titled Tuesday Stars

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NathanielGreen
Staff
| 4 | Chess Event Coverage

GM Matthias Bluebaum won the early Titled Tuesday on February 18 with a near-perfect score (the second straight week someone scored 10.5 points) and took the lead in the Titled Tuesday Grand Prix standings. GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda then took the late event with 10 points, while GM Javokhir Sindarov finished in the top five in both tournaments.

For the fourth straight week, both winners had their first victory of the year in this tournament. In 14 Titled Tuesdays so far in 2025, there have been 13 winners, with only GM Hikaru Nakamura repeating.

Early Tournament

In the two previous weeks, the Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam was some notable players' priority, and this week it was the Chessable Masters. Still, with 859 entrants, the Titled Tuesday participation numbers remain well ahead of last year.

Bluebaum outlasted everyone, buoyed by an 8/8 start that he reached needing just 21 moves to win his eighth game with Black against GM Vahap Sanal. One seemingly harmless mistake by Sanal, 17.h3, was all it took for Bluebaum to strike.

A draw in the ensuing round against GM Salem Saleh ended Bluebaum's hopes to score 11/11, but he still held the outright tournament lead, which he held through the final two rounds as well.

Nonetheless, Bluebaum needed to keep winning since he had  GM Andy Woodward chasing him. Woodward lost back in the second round, but it was his only setback of the tournament as he ripped off nine straight wins afterward. Entering the final round, Bluebaum was on 9.5 points and Woodward on nine.

The drama wasn't as high as it could have been, with the two not facing each other and Bluebaum's game ending first as he locked up the tournament. Against GM Aram Hakobyan, who was also on nine points and thus could still have won the tournament, Bluebaum found a correct exchange sacrifice on move 24. He soon gave Hakobyan one chance to get back into the game... but not two.

Woodward's game against GM Oleksandr Bortnyk ended soon after. Trying to double his rooks on move 21, Bortnyk missed a tactical flaw that Woodward did not miss, and never got back into the game.

Ultimately, it was a rare Titled Tuesday where all three podium spots were decided without a tiebreak. GM Daniel Naroditsky was the only player on 9.5 points, finishing third after a very impressive final-round victory over GM Dmitrij Kollars.

When it came to the final two cash positions, then tiebreaks were necessary, with GM Denis Lazavik and Sindarov taking them. WGM Mobina Alinasab scored eight points to win the women's prize.

February 18 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

Rank Seed Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak
1 12 GM @Msb2 Matthias Bluebaum 3132 10.5 67
2 17 GM @Philippians46 Andy Woodward 3096 10 68
3 13 GM @DanielNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky 3103 9.5 72.5
4 1 GM @DenLaz Denis Lazavik 3197 9 74
5 8 GM @Javokhir_Sindarov05 Javokhir Sindarov 3129 9 73
6 11 GM @Salem-AR Salem AR Saleh 3100 9 70.5
7 10 GM @LiemLe Liem Le 3117 9 70
8 7 GM @BogdanDeac Bogdan Daniel Deac 3119 9 69.5
9 23 GM @wonderfultime Tuan Minh Le 3053 9 67.5
10 26 GM @Anton_Demchenko Anton Demchenko 3029 9 65.5
11 35 GM @shimastream Aleksandr Shimanov 3027 9 64.5
12 18 GM @Njal28 Aram Hakobyan 3081 9 63
13 52 IM @AlmasRakhmatullaev Almas Rakhmatullaev 2969 8.5 73.5
14 27 GM @ChristopherYoo Christopher Woojin Yoo 3044 8.5 73.5
15 9 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3119 8.5 72
16 16 IM @Rud_Makarian Rudik Makarian 3079 8.5 71.5
17 86 GM @AlexeiShirov Alexei Shirov 2900 8.5 71
18 19 GM @GM_dmitrij Dmitrij Kollars 3067 8.5 70.5
19 6 GM @dropstoneDP David Paravyan 3128 8.5 70.5
20 21 GM @Indianlad S.L. Narayanan 3052 8.5 67.5
47 289 WGM @ama18 Mobina Alinasab 2692 8 55.5

(Full final standings.)

Prizes: Bluebaum $1,000, Woodward $750, Naroditsky $350, Lazavik $200, Sindarov $100, Alinasab $100.

Late Tournament

There were 574 late tournament hopefuls, and Duda—who is always good to be seen playing chess—was the only one to go undefeated. He made two draws, with GM Etienne Bacrot and Sindarov, and was otherwise flawless. However, those draws had him in a tie for just fifth place through seven rounds. Sindarov and GM Hans Niemann were among those ahead of him, and it was Sindarov in round eight who ended Niemann's 7/7 start. It was a tough game, with both players nearly exhausting their clocks. Niemann would be the one to flag after just 33 moves but he was also lost on the board.

Sindarov was unable to take full advantage of his newfound lead, dropping his next game against Bortnyk. Ultimately, it would be Duda and Bortnyk playing for the tournament in the final round. The only two players on 9/10, a draw would secure a tie for first, while a win for either would take the tourney outright. 

The resulting game was a slugfest worthy of the stakes in the middlegame, but it seemed to peter out into a draw. The game didn't end, though, and after 20 more moves, it was Bortnyk who was ultimately lulled into a mistake. It seemed he might play to the bitter end, but Bortnyk finally flagged before he could make the 100th move.

In the end, a draw would have kept them both in the top two, as the players on 8.5 points prior to the round all made draws. Instead, Duda had a full-point win over an eight-way tie for second place. With Sindarov taking second, the rest of the top five shook out with GM Christopher Yoo in third, GM Liem Le in fourth, and Bortnyk in fifth. IM Anna M. Sargsyan took home the women's prize.

February 18 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

Rank Seed Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak
1 5 GM @Polish_fighter3000 Jan-Krzysztof Duda 3161 10 78
2 7 GM @Javokhir_Sindarov05 Javokhir Sindarov 3149 9 80.5
3 14 GM @ChristopherYoo Christopher Woojin Yoo 3061 9 77
4 10 GM @LiemLe Liem Le 3132 9 74.5
5 9 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3136 9 73
6 19 IM @DonkyDonkyDonkey Eray Kilic 3033 9 71.5
7 59 GM @HVillagra Cristobal Henriquez 2954 9 69
8 13 GM @Sargsyan_Shant Shant Sargsyan 3051 9 62.5
9 92 FM @only_strong_moves Maksym Dubnevych 2817 9 57.5
10 1 GM @HansOnTwitch Hans Niemann 3179 8.5 75.5
11 46 GM @baki83 Etienne Bacrot 2957 8.5 74
12 8 GM @BogdanDeac Bogdan Daniel Deac 3120 8.5 74
13 33 IM @Kacparov Kacper Drozdowski 2970 8.5 66.5
14 43 GM @1stSecond Nikita Meshkovs 2947 8.5 62.5
15 24 GM @sergiochess83 Sergey Grigoriants 2976 8.5 55
16 31 GM @Zhigalko_Sergei Sergei Zhigalko 2952 8.5 52
17 42 GM @SPEEDSKATER Nicolas Checa 2961 8 73.5
18 6 GM @Msb2 Matthias Bluebaum 3114 8 73
19 39 GM @Som2310 Jacek Tomczak 2952 8 71
20 53 IM @Arystanner Arystanbek Urazayev 2928 8 70.5
81 209 IM @annasargsyan_m Anna M. Sargsyan 2598 6.5 68.5

(Full final standings.)

Prizes: Duda $1,000, Sindarov $750 (total for the day: $850), Yoo $350, Le $200, Bortnyk $100, Sargsyan $100.

Grand Prix Standings

Bortnyk joined the top eight, replacing GM Niko Theodoru. The other seven players remain unchanged, although, as mentioned at the top, Bluebaum took the lead. It's Nakamura who lost that spot after sitting out this week.

Rk Username Score Title Name
1 @Msb2 89.5 GM Matthias Bluebaum
2 @Jospem 89.0 GM Jose Martinez
3 @Hikaru 89.0 GM Hikaru Nakamura
4 @HansOnTwitch 87.0 GM Grigoriy Oparin
5 @BogdanDeac 86.5 GM Hans Niemann
6 @OparinGrigoriy 85.5 GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac
7 @Oleksandr_Bortnyk 84.5 GM Oleksandr Bortnyk
8 @tptagain 84.5 GM David Anton

IM Karina Ambartsumova continues to lead in the women's standings as IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham joins the top eight.

Rk Username Score Title Name
1 @karinachess1 69.5 IM Karina Ambartsumova
2 @anasta10 64.5 FM Anastasia Avramidou
3 @Flawless_Fighter 64.0 IM Polina Shuvalova
4 @Sanyura 63.0 WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya
5 @rollercoaster29 60.0 WFM Kalyani Sirin
6 @Meri-Arabidze 55.5 IM Meri Arabidze
7 @teresin05 54.0 WIM Maria Teresa Jimenez Salas
8 @Fh2411 50.0 IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham

Seniors (born 1975 or earlier), juniors (born 2009 or later), and girls (born 2005 or later) do not have SCC places on the line, but there will be cash prizes in each of these categories. The current leaders are the same as last week:

Seniors: GM Alex Rustemov (@alexrustemov), 76.5 points

Youth: IM Ilan Schnaider (@IlanSchnaider), 71.0 points

Girls: WFM Kalyani Sirin (@rollercoaster29), 60.0 points

Titled Tuesday

Titled Tuesday is Chess.com's weekly tournament for titled players, with two tournaments held each Tuesday. The first tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, and the second at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).

The next Titled Tuesday to hit 1,000 participants will award prizes to the top 30 players.

NathanielGreen
Nathaniel Green

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.

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