Welcome to Opening Day of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival at the Rio, a change from our previous home the last few years at the Westgate. The show will go on, and the tracks will keep rolling as we bid adieu to Elvis and welcome KISS. The KISS World Museum has been open since 2022, and also features a miniature golf course which is also another highlight of things to do this week. Featured here is the last hole of the course, and managed to ace the hole. As far as the other 17…a gentleman does not KISS and tell.
US Womens Open Rounds 1-3
2022 Co-Champions Sandhya Goli and Badamkhand Norovsambuu look to repeat as the Womens Open champion. Another notable entrant is Ranya Yan who is the youngest competitor in this event. Ranya is only six, and the 7th highest ranked girl under the age of 7.
National Open Round 1
Top seeds GM Hans Niemann (2695) and GM Illia Nyzhnyk (2641) won their opening round. Illia had a strong performance in the 2022 National Open taking 2nd with no signs of slowing down with a 3rd place showing in the 1000GM Las Vegas Super Swiss this past weekend, also at the Rio. Niemann won the Super Swiss in a thrilling Blitz playoff against GM Mikhail Antipov. There are quite a few individuals that have elected to compete in both events, will Hans be able to fend off all competitors this weekend?
Track(s) of the Day, Dhanasekaran-Yan
The top games can be found online, but here is a look at Ranya Yan’s first win in Round 3. As mentioned, Ranya is nationally ranked for her age group and a bright future ahead of her. Listed at 1258 for the supplement, she gained nearly 200 points in the last two tournaments. Rounds 1 and 2 have not gone her way, but came through to close off the day as Black with the Caro-Kann. Both sides had attacking chances and Ranya maintained an edge for most of the game. On move 35, there was an opportunity for Neha (995) to pull off a dramatic perpetual check, but was not seen by her. Please enjoy!
