Day two saw an increase in drama going into round 4. There were multiple possible outcomes. Melchol S., Mike D., and Julian W had 2 pts each. Damian B. Mike D., and Artem A. had 2.5 each!

Mike withdrew from round 4 leaving Damian, and Artem at the top with 2.5 pts. If either drew their round 4 match they would tie for first place. If either won, they would win the tournament outright edging out the others with that extra half point.

Melchol, Julian and Joe all need wins for a chance to win or tie for first.

As fate would have it Melchol defeated Artem, and Damian and Julian drew, and Joe won his match. And so there was a 3 way tie!

Here are the final standings:

And Anna and Tom split the Best under 800. Tom played very well, lasting into end games with Billy Z. and Alex L. and drawing with Anna K.! And Anna and Billy also played a very impressive closed Sicilian that neither were very familiar with.

Congrats to all the players and thanks for coming out! It was a blast! Many players reported how much fun they had.

Select Games from The Piermont October Classic 2024

Anna K vs. Billy Z

A complete draw until a critical miscalculation on move 21. where White played 21. c5?? losing a rook and ultimately the game. Despite the out come for White, very high marks for both players.

Joseph B vs. Ben W

This was a wild back and forth while maintaining mostly drawish positions. Both players struggled to find their footings with the Caro-Kann Defense. Black was first to break through and gain some tactical advantages, but a subtle blunder at 31…Qxf3?? almost cost the game. However, White didn’t find a way to capitalize. Even after getting both rooks on the 7th rank the attack wasn’t panning out even after a clever queen sac for a mating position really only led to another even position. Black had one way to save the draw with 39…Qg4+, but neither the rook mate or repeating queen checks seemed to be on the radar.