Nakamura And Duda Again Tuesday Winners
GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda were the winners of Titled Tuesday on March 14, both of them scoring 9.5 points. Nakamura edged out GM Daniil Dubov on tiebreaks early while Duda won outright late. GM Arjun Erigaisi scored two top-five finishes, including second place late.
Early Tournament
289 players participated in the early tournament after mix-ups caused by the different Daylight Saving Time calendars in North America and Europe. Participation in the late event (380) recovered.
The relatively small field did not make for a surprise winner. Nakamura's only loss came against eventual third-place finisher GM Maxim Matlakov in round six (below), and he also made a draw with Dubov in round 10. Otherwise, Nakamura won all his games.
Dubov's finish was made more impressive by the fact that he missed the first round. After he drew with Nakamura, the two of them were on the same score for the rest of the tournament.
Matlakov was ahead of them both, however, until he met Dubov in the ninth round. Entering the game, Matlakov was on a perfect 8/8, and Dubov on a perfect 7/7.
Matlakov then made draws in the last two rounds leading to his settling for third place.
Meanwhile, Nakamura's win with Black in the last round over GM Tuan Minh Le was a miniature, lasting just 20 moves. It kept Nakamura apace with Dubov and passed him by Matlakov. When tiebreaker scores settled, Nakamura had won out over Dubov.
March 14 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score |
| 1 | 2 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3201 | 9.5 | |
| 2 | 18 | GM | @Duhless | Daniil Dubov | 3058 | 9.5 | |
| 3 | 13 | GM | @BillieKimbah | Maxim Matlakov | 3046 | 9 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | @GHANDEEVAM2003 | Arjun Erigaisi | 3056 | 8.5 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | @GMWSO | Wesley So | 3183 | 8.5 | |
| 6 | 58 | GM | @Dedic8 | Sergei Lobanov | 2880 | 8.5 | |
| 7 | 24 | GM | @Denis_Makhnyov | Denis Makhnev | 2969 | 8.5 | |
| 8 | 7 | IM | @bardiya_Daneshvar | Bardiya Daneshvar | 2982 | 8.5 | |
| 9 | 10 | GM | @wonderfultime | Tuan Minh Le | 3027 | 8 | |
| 10 | 25 | GM | @crescentmoon2411 | Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son | 2960 | 8 | |
| 11 | 14 | GM | @DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 3019 | 8 | |
| 12 | 26 | GM | @alexrustemov | Alexander Rustemov | 2937 | 8 | |
| 13 | 56 | GM | @GMSrinath | Srinath Narayanan | 2817 | 8 | |
| 14 | 5 | GM | @chesspanda123 | Yu Yangyi | 3075 | 7.5 | |
| 15 | 4 | GM | @LOVEVAE | Wei Yi | 3074 | 7.5 | |
| 16 | 20 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 2983 | 7.5 | |
| 17 | 28 | GM | @xxysoul6 | Xu Xiangyu | 2948 | 7.5 | |
| 18 | 15 | GM | @mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 2991 | 7.5 | |
| 19 | 12 | GM | @shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 3000 | 7.5 | |
| 20 | 22 | GM | @GMVallejo | Francisco Vallejo Pons | 2957 | 7.5 | |
| 63 | 30 | IM | @Flawless_Fighter | Polina Shuvalova | 2648 | 6 |
(Full final standings here.)
Nakamura won the $1,000 grand prize, while Dubov took home $750 for his slightly shorter but really no less impressive day's work. Matlakov earned $350 for third place. Erigaisi finished in fourth for $200, while GM Wesley So finished in fifth place for $100. IM Polina Shuvalova won the $100 women's prize.
Late Tournament
After conquering the very first Titled Tuesday of the year back on January 3, Duda returned to the winner's column. Like Nakamura earlier, Duda's only loss came in round six, and his only draw was in round 10. However, his loss came against 40th place, and his draw was not against the second-place finisher.
And like Dubov, Erigaisi did not lose a game. However, unlike Dubov, he made four draws. But with wins like this one over GM Jorden van Foreest in a rook-bishop-and-king vs. rook-and-king ending from round seven, Erigaisi was battling for first until the end.
Entering the last round, Duda was sharing first place with Erigaisi and GM Rasmus Svane. Erigaisi and Svane drew in 45 moves, leaving the window open for Duda, who took advantage by defeating GM Oleksandr Bortnyk.
It was really good news for Duda, as he would not have won the event with a draw in the last round. In fact, everyone on nine points—Erigaisi, GM Fabiano Caruana, Svane, GM Matthias Bluebaum, and Dubov—had a better first tiebreak than Duda. But when you outscore the entire field, that does not matter.
March 14 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score |
| 1 | 9 | GM | @Polish_fighter3000 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 3055 | 9.5 | |
| 2 | 7 | GM | @GHANDEEVAM2003 | Arjun Erigaisi | 3080 | 9 | |
| 3 | 8 | GM | @FabianoCaruana | Fabiano Caruana | 3057 | 9 | |
| 4 | 16 | GM | @rasmussvane | Rasmus Svane | 3011 | 9 | |
| 5 | 11 | GM | @Msb2 | Matthias Bluebaum | 3033 | 9 | |
| 6 | 6 | GM | @Duhless | Daniil Dubov | 3069 | 9 | |
| 7 | 18 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2998 | 8.5 | |
| 8 | 31 | GM | @VladimirKramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 2936 | 8.5 | |
| 9 | 20 | GM | @Denis_Makhnyov | Denis Makhnev | 2961 | 8.5 | |
| 10 | 10 | GM | @DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 3027 | 8 | |
| 11 | 28 | GM | @Nitzan_Steinberg | Nitzan Steinberg | 2950 | 8 | |
| 12 | 17 | IM | @bardiya_Daneshvar | Bardiya Daneshvar | 2988 | 8 | |
| 13 | 22 | GM | @joppie2 | Jorden van Foreest | 2971 | 8 | |
| 14 | 13 | GM | @mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 3001 | 8 | |
| 15 | 29 | GM | @MrTattaglia | Kozak Adam | 2920 | 8 | |
| 16 | 14 | GM | @vi_pranav | Pranav V | 2979 | 8 | |
| 17 | 15 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 2965 | 8 | |
| 18 | 25 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2941 | 8 | |
| 19 | 33 | GM | @hansen | Eric Hansen | 2930 | 8 | |
| 20 | 111 | FM | @Rutricks | Rubén Domingo Núñez | 2658 | 8 | |
| 48 | 163 | IM | @zajka-molotok | Yuliia Osmak | 2565 | 7 |
(Full final standings here.)
Duda won $1,000 for first place. Erigaisi won $750 for second, Caruana $350 for third, Svane $200 for fourth, and Bluebaum $100 for fifth. Dubov was the tough-luck sixth-place finisher and could not add to his daily total, while Erigaisi ended up with $950. IM Yuliia Osmak won the $100 women's prize, scoring 7/11.
Titled Tuesday is a Chess.com weekly tournament for titled players: two 11-round Swiss tournaments run every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time/17:00 Central European and 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time/23:00 Central European. (Due to Daylight Saving Time differences, the March 21 events will be held at 18:00 and 0:00 Central European.)
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.
