GM Timur Gareyev Repeats in Style
GM Timur Gareyev is one of the nicest and most interesting people you might meet. His calm and soft-spoken demeanor belies his fierce competitiveness at the chess board. Gareyev last competed in the Space Coast Open 5 years previously, an event where he took clear first place. Here he is all smiles after repeating in style to win clear first place at the 2022 event. Along the way he won a brilliancy prize for his win over second place finisher (on tie-breaks), the super-talented 12 year old NM Brejesh Chakrabarti. A short while after cementing his first place finish Gareyev added to his take home pay by going a perfect 8-0 to win the Blitz. (photo: Dyson)
Gabriel Miranda (right, blue shirt) was the big winner in Class E/U1200, notching the only perfect score across all sections by winning all his games to take clear first place. Here he is joined by three of the other Class E prize winners. From left, all part of the tie for 3rd place; Darius Overlingas (his son Akeras tied for first in Class D!), Ceejay Jacobs (also won top K-12), and Arham Shah (also won top K-5). See below for photo of 2nd place winner, Davey Ward. Other winners in Class E were Tommy Ledbetter (photo below), and Vanessa Bajo (2nd U800). (photo: Dyson)
Alex Malekan has a big smile after winning a share of the U2200 prize money. (photo: Dyson)
Davey Ward won clear 2nd place in Class E/U1200 along with the trophy for top K-8. (photo: Dyson)
Olivia Laido tied for 2nd place in Class A. (photo: Dyson)
The Class B section saw a 5-way tie for first place. In the center, Om Mishhra holds his crystal trophy, won on tie-breaks, while glacing at co-winner Ibrahim Selim Yuksel (perhaps checking to make sure he did not get a bigger check?). They are joined by Ayush Maddikonda. Not shown are the other co-winners: Oscar Williams and Robert Wagner. (photo: Dyson)
Abror Kubranov (left) was the big winner in Class A, taking clear first place. A half point back there was a 3-way tie for second place between Carlos Rivas (photo right), Olivia Laido (shown in photo above) and Maxwell Yang. (photo: Dyson)
Tommy Ledbetter won the U800 prize and trophy. (photo: Dyson)
Jonathan Chapman (left) and Akeras Overlingas tied for first in Class D with Chapman taking the Crystal trophy on tie-breaks, but young Akeras having the satisfaction of winning a bigger prize than his dad. There was a 3-way tie for third between Lain Foster, Owen Castillo and Matthew Romano. (photo: Dyson)
Last round action: Goran Markovic (white pieces) faced NM Ryan Hamley, with Hamley coming out on top and pulling him into a tie for 5th place. (photo: Dyson)
Local H.S. student Vincent Stone (white pieces) took home the second largest prize awarded by taking sole possession of the first place U2200 prize, and also joined the tie for 5th place overall, thanks to his last round win over NM Nicolas De La Colina (black pieces). (photo: Dyson)
Alex Malekan faces off vs. NM Mel Goss in the Round 5 money game. Goss came out on top, tying for 5th place, while Malekan 8th place tie was still good for a share of the U2200 prizes. (photo: Dyson)
FM Cesar Valido Bouza (white pieces) joined the 3-way tie for second place after winning this last round game over Shama Yisrael. Shama joined Malekan (photo above) in the 6-way tie for 8th place and also shared the U2200 prizes. Others sharing in the tie were NM Theo Slade, Elijah Logozar, Marvin Gao and Andrew Guo, with only Slade missing out on a share of the prize money. (photo: Dyson)
David Raymond has attended more Space Coast Opens than almost anyone. Here he is all smiles after being rewarded with a book prize in the random drawing. (photo: Dyson)
Co-organizer and Space Coast Chess Foundation President Dr. Peter Koretsky (purple T and wild shorts) had the duty of handing out the book prizes. Here a winner in the random drawing ponders which book to choose. (photo: Dyson)
View of the Round 2 pre-game. Sporting a big smile in the maroon T-shirt is former local player and NM Makaio Krienke. Makaio won this round 2 game, but ultimately finished out of the money with a 50% score. He got some consolation during the Sunday night Blitz tournament where he tied for second place, winning his first 3 matches before falling victim to a cruising GM Gareyev. (photo: Dyson)
Another view of Round 2 pre-game. (photo: Dyson)
Elijah Logozar gave the noon lecture on Saturday on the topic of Attacking with the King. Here he features a famous game between Nigel Short and Jan Timman, where Short's King marches up the board full of pieces to bring White the victory. (photo: Dyson)
Elijah Logozar lecture. (photo: Dyson)
The 11am lecture was given by IM Mikhail Zlotnikov. (photo: Dyson)
GM Timur Gareyev kicked off the Saturday lecture series. (photo: Koretsky)
Round 4 action. Tables were nicely spaced in playing hall. (photo: Koretsky)
Another view of Round 4 action. (photo: Koretsky)
Timur Gareyev seemed to have boundless energy. On Friday before the main event kicked off, he gave a simultaneous exhibition, winning all games. (photo: Koretsky)
Young Liam Koretsky tests his mettle against the champ in the Simul. (photo: Koretsky)
Another view of Simul action. (photo: Koretsky)
Our dynamic duo of tournament directors. Jon Haskel, left, and Charles Hatherill. (photo: Koretsky)
The top six boards were extra-roomy and also were broadcast live, including live commentary by WGM Sabina Foisor. (photo: Koretsky)
This year the tournament brochure went digital. This photo captures all the brochures from previous Space Coast Opens. While there was no brochure, every participate was given a large poster commemorating the event. (photo: Koretsky)
Floor TD Charles Hatherill was tireless. The coffee probably helped... (photo: Koretsky)
The Koretsky's had time to ham it up for a selfie while playing in the Simul. (photo: Koretsky)
IM Zlotnikov drew a nice crowd for his lecture. (photo: Koretsky)
IM Zlotnikov lecture (photo: Koretsky)
When Elijah Logozar was late for his lecture (he squeezed in the Saturday morning Round 1 game), his lecture became a tag-team event. Both GM Gareyev and Paul Royal Fricano (pictured) pitched in to help out. (photo: Koretsky)
In the final round game number 2 seed IM Yunier Leyva Rivera (left) faced off with tournament leader GM Timur Gareyev. Rivera was the only player with a chance to pass Gareyev who was leading by a half-point. The resulting draw assured Gareyev clear first place (photo: Slade)
12 year old NM Brejesh Chakrabarti had a fantastic event, winning 4 games to tie for second place in the Master section. His only loss came in his game with GM Gareyev. (photo: Slade)