Bill Smith Open Round 2 - It's Chen Again
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7/17/2012
Stephanie Shao (left) in her win over Mark Self.
The Bill Smith Open resumed last night with the field being boosted by the inclusion of expert Gregg Fritchle (2066). Fritchle got off to a strong start by defeating Danny Machuca (1569), although he'll be
playing catch up with the leaders after a 0.5 point bye in round 1.
Mike Carlson (2062) took on Queena Deng (1746) with the black pieces on board 1. Deng put up a strong fight, and indeed looked to have some drawing chances transitioning into the knight endgame, but Carlson's expert
technique (and rating) saw him bring home the full point.
On board 2, Matthew Hayes (2064) beat Melvin Bond (1701) after Bond dropped a piece in the opening. Despite the early setback, Bond - who had black - fought on for some time, eventually losing the endgame after
white was able to queen a pawn.
On board 3, Tony Grauso (1665) had white against David Argall (2000). This time, the higher rated proved to be too strong, as was the case with the Dave Matson (1987) - Michael Bond (1653) game on board 4 where
Matson emerged victorious.
The biggest upset of the day came courtesy of Ryan Chen (1433), who beat Tim Thompson (1926) with the black pieces. This result comes just one week after Ryan's namesake, Cory Chen, defeated John Anderson (1910). The
other shock result came from the Bertram Buggs (1651) - Lander Lin (888) match, with Lin securing an excellent draw.
The Bill Smith Open will continue Monday, July 23.
