Nakamura, Other Streamers Dominate Tuesday Tournaments
No one needed a tiebreaker in this week's Titled Tuesday as GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Oleksandr Bortnyk both won outright on August 2. It was Nakamura's second straight Tuesday winning one of the tournaments.
GM Daniel Naroditsky finished second in the late event and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk won both of this week's women's prizes, making it an overall strong day for popular streamers.
Early Tournament
Nakamura won his last four games to win the early tournament by a full point, out of a field of 381. Rounds nine and 10 were particularly important. GM Sam Sevian was on 7.5/8 when Nakamura won their ninth-round matchup.
Immediately afterward, Nakamura faced one of his main Titled Tuesday rivals, GM Dmitry Andreikin, and took a half-point lead on the field after winning that game as well. It only took 104 moves.
Nakamura won again in the final round, against GM Jose Martinez, to extend his lead to a full point after the players just behind him drew. GM Vladimir Fedoseev, who was one of the two players to hold Nakamura to half a point in the tournament, made a draw to maintain his second-place position in a four-way tie.
August 2 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3217 | 10 | 61.25 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | @Bigfish1995 | Vladimir Fedoseev | 3040 | 9 | 60.5 | |
| 3 | 37 | IM | @Bulldog167 | Leon Livaic | 2842 | 9 | 59.5 | |
| 4 | 53 | GM | @Izoria123 | Zviad Izoria | 2852 | 9 | 57.5 | |
| 5 | 25 | GM | @Harsha_Bharathakoti | Harsha Bharathakoti | 2882 | 9 | 57 | |
| 6 | 12 | GM | @mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 3016 | 8.5 | 60.5 | |
| 7 | 33 | GM | @K_A_S_T_O_R | Rodrigo Vasquez | 2871 | 8.5 | 50.5 | |
| 8 | 8 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3024 | 8.5 | 50 | |
| 8 | 5 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3044 | 8.5 | 50 | |
| 10 | 135 | IM | @Kildepiotr | Piotr Piesik | 2639 | 8.5 | 49.5 | |
| 11 | 15 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2913 | 8 | 52.25 | |
| 12 | 103 | FM | @Aradhya2000 | Aradhya Garg | 2707 | 8 | 49.5 | |
| 13 | 2 | GM | @FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 3111 | 8 | 49.25 | |
| 13 | 39 | IM | @vellottiwizard | Luke Harmon-Vellotti | 2824 | 8 | 49.25 | |
| 15 | 3 | GM | @Konavets | Sam Sevian | 3028 | 8 | 48.75 | |
| 16 | 11 | IM | @wonderfultime | Tuan Minh Le | 2974 | 8 | 47 | |
| 17 | 163 | FM | @Artem_0degov | Аrtеm Odеgоv | 2579 | 8 | 46 | |
| 18 | 70 | IM | @blitzking1729 | Srihari L R | 2765 | 8 | 43 | |
| 19 | 34 | FM | @Twitch_ElhamBlitz05 | Elham Abdrlauf | 2817 | 8 | 39.5 | |
| 19 | 112 | IM | @jacky72 | Mihnea Costachi | 2676 | 8 | 39.5 | |
| 68 | 72 | GM | @ChessQueen | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2729 | 6 | 37.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
Nakamura won $1,000 for the relatively easy win. Fedoseev won $750 in second place and IM Leon Livaic $300 in third. GM Zviad Izoria earned $150 for fourth place, GM Harsha Bharathakoti $100 for fifth, and Kosteniuk $100 for the highest score among women.
Late Tournament
The late fields are getting larger, and 323 players participated this week, the most since February.
As is often the case, the winner had to get through Nakamura (when it isn't otherwise Nakamura himself). It is extremely rare to see Hikaru out-calculated in a sequence, but that's what appeared to happen on moves 25-33 in the 10th round against Bortnyk.
Another key game occurred a round earlier, when Naroditsky defeated one of last week's winners, GM Alexey Sarana, in round nine. Naroditsky ended up finishing in second place and Sarana in third.
But the final round made the ultimate difference. Naroditsky only drew against GM Sanan Sjugirov, while Bortnyk defeated GM Alexander Grischuk in a game that quickly reached unusual territory.
August 2 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 7 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3044 | 9.5 | 61.25 | |
| 2 | 3 | GM | @DanielNaroditsky | Daniel Naroditsky | 3122 | 9 | 60.5 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | @mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 3016 | 9 | 57.75 | |
| 4 | 35 | GM | @Sanan_Sjugirov | Sanan Sjugirov | 2897 | 9 | 56.75 | |
| 5 | 6 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3024 | 8.5 | 56.25 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3217 | 8.5 | 54.5 | |
| 7 | 8 | GM | @ChristopherYoo | Christopher Woojin Yoo | 2994 | 8.5 | 53.5 | |
| 8 | 12 | GM | @OparinGrigoriy | Grigoriy Oparin | 3007 | 8.5 | 52 | |
| 9 | 19 | GM | @daro94 | Dariusz Swiercz | 2902 | 8.5 | 49.75 | |
| 10 | 65 | CM | @MrKooshaChess_Twitch | Koosha Jaferian | 2738 | 8.5 | 44 | |
| 11 | 45 | IM | @KhazarBabazada007 | Khazar Babazada | 2865 | 8.5 | 43.75 | |
| 12 | 2 | GM | @FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 3111 | 8 | 53.75 | |
| 13 | 5 | GM | @Bigfish1995 | Vladimir Fedoseev | 3040 | 8 | 52 | |
| 14 | 36 | GM | @dretch | Conrad Holt | 2873 | 8 | 47.75 | |
| 15 | 4 | GM | @Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 3047 | 8 | 45.5 | |
| 16 | 38 | IM | @MolecularChemist | Dimitar Mardov | 2864 | 8 | 40 | |
| 17 | 20 | GM | @shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 2915 | 7.5 | 46.75 | |
| 18 | 15 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2913 | 7.5 | 44 | |
| 18 | 37 | GM | @BilodeauA | Kirill Alekseenko | 2860 | 7.5 | 44 | |
| 20 | 32 | GM | @Fandorine | Maksim Chigaev | 2890 | 7.5 | 43.5 | |
| 20 | 48 | FM | @bascheyaro | Roman Yanchenko | 2845 | 7.5 | 43.5 | |
| 46 | 58 | GM | @ChessQueen | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2729 | 7 | 31.75 |
(Full final standings here.)
Bortnyk won the $1,000 first-place prize, which he also did on April 5 this year. All on nine points, Naroditsky earned $750 in second place, Sarana $300 in third, and Sjugirov $150 in fourth. Martinez in fifth and Kosteniuk as the highest-scoring woman won the $100 prizes, which in Kosteniuk's case gave her a $200 total payday.
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.
