Los Angeles Open final

IM Andranik Matikozyan took clear first in the 2009 LAO with 4.5. out of 5, defeating IMs Tim Taylor and Enrico Sevillano, and drawing in the final round with GM Melikset Khachiyan. Tied for 2nd a half-point behind were Khachiyan, IM Jack Peters, and master Alexandre Kretchetov. Both of the lower sections also saw clear winners, as Gautam Nipanakar score 5-0 in the Premier, and Ishan Bose-Pyne notched 4.5 in the Amateur. In the Hexes, Henry Castro, Ray Wong, and Vincent Nguyen tied for first with 2.5.

Complete standings for all sections are posted here. Also available are games in PGN format or in Java viewer.

Prize Winners

Open

1st: IM Andranik Matikozyan, 4½-½; 2nd-4th: GM Melikset Khachiyan, IM Jack Peters, Alexandre Kretechtov, 4-1; 5th/1st U2400: Tim Taylor, Garnik Baghdasaryan, 3-1; 2nd U2400: Gregg Small, Ryan Porter, Eugene Yanayt, Christian Tanaka, 3-2; 1st U2200: Vadim Kudryavtsev, 3-1; 2nd-3rd U2200: David Adelberg, Robert Akopian, John Funderburg, Konstantin Kavutskiy, 3-2.

Premier

1st: Gautam Nipanikar, 5-0; 2nd-3rd: Willis Kim, Yusheng Xia, 4-1; 1st U1800: Nathan Ogata, 4-1; 2nd-3rd U2400: Bill Conrad, Babken Krbashian, Richard Varela, 3½-1½; 1st U1600: Annie Wang, 3½-1½; 2nd-3rd U1600: Numan Abdul-Majeeb, Joshua Sheng, Scott Xue, 2½-2½.

Amateur

1st: Ishan Bose-Pyne, 4½-½; 2nd: John Gardner, 3½-1½; 3rd: Chantelle Field, Beverley Woolsey, 3-2; U1200: Jouaquin Perkins, Michael Tornabane, 2½-2½; Unrated: Joshua Miler, 3-2.

Scholastic Open: Stephanie Shao, 5-0. Scholastic Reserve: Alice Salvaryan, 5-0. Hexes: Henry Castro. Ray Wong, Vincent Nguyen, 2½-½.

Los Angeles Open, day 2

As the last round began, IM Andranik Matikozyan held the lead with 4-1, and faced GM Melikset Khachiyan with 3.5. The two drew after a brief struggle, leaving Vadim Kudryavtsev the only one with a chance to catch Matikozyan. That won't be easy, as he faces Alexandre Kretchetov with Black.

The one-day LAO Scholastics proved a good day for the ladies, as Stephanie Shao scored 5-0 in the Open, and Alice Salvaryan swept the Reserve. Forty-four competed. Full standings are posted here, and will be updated as sections finish.

Los Angeles Open, day 1

After the merge, five players are tied for he lead with 2-0: GM Melikset Khachiyan, IMs Andranik Matikozyan, Jack Peters and Tim Taylor, and Senior Master Alexandre Kretchetov. IM Enrico Sevillano is half a point behind after a draw with young star Eric Zhang. Standings are posted here and will be updated throughout the weekend. Pairings will be posted as time permits. (Photos: Kretchetov faces Khachiyan, while Taylor battles Matikzyan.)

Michael Brown – IM Tim Taylor
Los Angeles Open, Los Angeles 2009
[A85] DUTCH DEFENSE
1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bf4 Bb4 5.e3 b6 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.f3 Nh5 8.Nge2 Nxf4 9.Nxf4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 0–0 11.0–0 Qg5 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.c5 Kh8 14.Rae1 Rfb8 15.d5 Na5 16.Qa4 e5 17.Nh3 Qe7 18.cxb6 axb6 19.Bxf5 Bxd5 20.Qxd7 Qxd7 21.Bxd7 Rd8 22.Bf5 Bxa2 23.Rf2 Bg8 24.f4 Nc4 25.Rf3 Ra3 26.Rc1 g6 27.Bb1 Nd2 28.fxe5 Ra1 29.Ng5 Nxf3+ 30.gxf3 h6 31.Ne4 Ba2 32.Nf6 Kg7 33.Kg2 Rxb1 34.Rxb1 Bxb1 35.f4 c5 0–1

Elena Popova – GM Melikset Khachiyan
Los Angeles Open, Los Angeles 2009
[B73] SICILIAN DEFENSE, Dragon Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 0–0 8.0–0 Nc6 9.Kh1 d5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.d6 Qxd6 12.Ncb5 Qb8 13.c4 Bd7 14.f4 Rd8 15.Qe1 Nc6 16.Rd1 Ng4 17.Bg1 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 e5 19.h3 exd4 20.hxg4 Re8 21.Qf2 Bc6 22.Bd3 b6 23.f5 Re3 24.Qh4 Qg3 25.Qxg3 Rxg3 26.Rfe1 Rxg4 27.Re2 Bh6 28.Bh2 Be3 29.Rf1 Re8 30.fxg6 hxg6 31.Rf6 Re6 32.Rf1 Kg7 33.b4 Re8 34.b5 Bb7 35.c5 bxc5 0–1

Los Angeles Open, day 0

AS the 3-day schedule begins, we have 82 players, including one GM and four IMs. More are expected tomorrow for the 2-day schedule. Standings will be posted here throughout the weekend, and pairings will be posted as time permits.