40th Annual World Open in Philadelphia

The 40th Annual World Open was held from July 2-8 at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, 17th & Race Streets, Philadelphia, PA.

GMs Ivan Sokolov (above) and Alex Shabalov (below) finished at the top of the Open Section standings, both tallying 7/9 (after agreeing to a quick draw in the final round to secure a share of first). Both players could have been caught by GMs Wesley So and Yury Shulman or IM Marc Arnold, who all started the final round half-point behind the leaders. But none of those players managed a victory, leaving Sokolov and Shabolov alone at the top.

An Armageddon play-off between the two GMs was held after the end of the tournament. Sokolov had the white pieces and 5 minutes, while Shabalov had the black pieces, 3 minutes and draw odds (both players also had a 5 second delay).

The game was won by Sokolov (right) who becomes the 2012 World Open Champion

On the norm front, Arnold had already secured his 3rd and final GM norm going into the round after a victory over GM Robert Hess in round eight. Other GM norms were scored by IM Eesha Karavade and FM John Bryant. IM norms were scored by FM Michael Kleinman, FM Thomas Bartell, Yaacov Norowitz and Luke Harmon-Vellotti.

World Open 2012 final standings

Video Report on the USCF site

Past World Open Champions

Links Official tournament site All games from the Open Section in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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