The Charlotte Chess Center hosted its first Rapid and Blitz event of 2024 on February 10. A total of 54 players representing five states came to the CCC's Main/South location to battle for the $1000 guaranteed prize fund.
Rapid & Blitz is a one-day event featuring five rounds of rapid chess and a nine-round blitz tournament. This time around, our participants included some of the community's strongest and most well-known players, such as Grandmasters Daniel Naroditsky and Olexandr Bortnyk.
Rapid
The top of the rapid standings featured a four-way tie for first between NM Daniel Cremisi, NM Joseph Wan, NM Han Schut, and Chase Bellamy (who, with a USCF standard rating of 2113, may get himself a title soon as well!). Each player finished undefeated with three wins and two draws, pocketing $60 apiece for their efforts.
Other prize winners were:
Musa Naushad, Ibraheem Naushad, and Sri Pallapothu (Top U1800 - $13.33)
Pranav Arun (Top U1600 - $40)
Vaibhav Chopra (Top U1400 - $40)
Adam Miller and Grady Fitzpatrick (tie for Top U1200 - $20 each)
Blitz
CCC's top players/instructors GM Daniel Naroditsky and GM Olexandr Bortnyk both turned in dominant performances in the nine-round blitz event, drawing each other and winning all their other games. Naroditsky took a single half-point bye for the first round, while Bortnyk took half-point byes in the first two rounds. When it was all said and done, this proved to be the difference, as Naroditsky took first place with 8/9 and Bortnyk settled for clear second with 7.5/9. Danya received the event's top prize with $200, while Bortnyk took home $100 for his performance.
One of the most impressive performances of the event came from Andew Wu, who placed in clear third with 7/9. His outstanding result included upset wins against three titled players: NM Robert Ramirez, NM Dominique Myers, and FM Donald Johnson. For his efforts, Wu earned $60 and gained 113 points' worth of USCF blitz rating.
Other prize winners:
NM Daniel Cremisi, NM Joseph Wan, and NM Robert Ramirez (tie for 4th - $13.33 each)
Christopher Williams (Top U2100 - $40)
Namish Kondabathini (Top U1900 - $40)
Anvay Phadke (Top U1700 - $40)
Vaibhav Chopra and Virginia Oen (tie for Top U1500 - $20 each)
Isaac Rubanenko (Top U1300 - $40)
We hope to see you at the next Rapid and Blitz event on March 16!
For upcoming tournaments, bookmark our Events Schedule. The CCC hosts nearly 8 events a week at our facilities in North and South Charlotte, along with bi-monthly major events such as the upcoming 2024 Spring Open and ALTO tournaments.
Not a member of the CCC? Join over 800 members today!
NM Dennis Norman
Chess Coach - Club Journalist
Charlotte Chess Center
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