Ivan Sokolov Wins 2012 World Open
The 40th Annual World Open took place at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in Philadelphia from 2-8 July 2012.
The main event was a 9 round Open Swiss which was won by Ivan Sokolov in an exciting Armageddon playoff with Alexander Shabalov after both finished with a score of 7 points.
The tournament provided GM and IM norm opportunities: IM Mark Arnold achieved his final GM norm, and IM Eesha Karavade and FM John Bryant also picked up GM norms.
IM norms were achieved by FM Michael Kleinman, FM Thomas Bartell, Yaacov Norowitz and Luke Harmon-Vellotti.
The top finishers are below. The full standings can be found here.
| # | Name | Rtg | Pts |
| 1 | GM Ivan Sokolov | 2676 | 7.0 |
| 2 | GM Alexander Shabalov | 2534 | 7.0 |
| 3 | GM Wesley So | 2650 | 6.5 |
| 4 | GM Aleksander Lenderman | 2613 | 6.5 |
| 5 | GM Giorgi Kacheishvili | 2605 | 6.5 |
| 6 | GM Ray Robson | 2601 | 6.5 |
| 7 | GM Yury Shulman | 2588 | 6.5 |
| 8 | GM Alexander Evdokimov | 2544 | 6.5 |
| 9 | IM Marc Tyler Arnold | 2529 | 6.5 |
| 10 | GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli | 2628 | 6.0 |
| 11 | GM Abhijeet Gupta | 2627 | 6.0 |
| 12 | GM Sergey Erenburg | 2624 | 6.0 |
| 13 | GM Sam Shankland | 2579 | 6.0 |
| 14 | GM Marin Bosiocic | 2570 | 6.0 |
| 15 | GM Alexander Stripunsky | 2553 | 6.0 |
| 16 | GM Mikheil Kekelidze | 2494 | 6.0 |
| 17 | IM Mackenzie Molner | 2479 | 6.0 |
| 18 | FM John Daniel Bryant | 2377 | 6.0 |
| 19 | IM Eesha Karavade | 2343 | 6.0 |
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The 2012 World Open Champion: Ivan Sokolov
UPDATE: CHESS SCOOP video highlights!
There were also eight other 9 round Swiss competitions for different rating levels: Under 2400, Under 2200, Under 2000, Under 1800, Under 1600, Under 1400, Under 1200 and Under 900. All the games, results and more information can be found at the official website.
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