Turgut Shares Bill Wright Open Title With 4 GMs

The Chicago Blackhawks are not the only clan from Illinois invading St. Louis these days. A slew of Illinois entrants participated in the recent Bill Wright Open at the St. Louis Chess Center held April 11-13.

Amid world-class competition, Dr. Tansel Turgut staked a claim among top finishers with a 4.0/5 result. Dr. Turgut beat a fellow master and two experts before defeating New York-based International Master Justin Sarkar in the final round. Turgut shared top honors with two US-based GM's as well as GM's from Mexico and Germany. 

The tournament field included five of the top 60 players in the US as well as several strong international players.

Among the co-champions were Missouri's Wesley So who helped Webster claim the recent Collegiate Championship in New York, and is currently the fourth highest-rated player in the US. Texas-based Alejandro Ramirez is currently ranked 15th in the US. 42 competed in the Open.

In the Under 2000 Reserve, Illinois' Dean Arond drew his co-champion, Alexander Vergilesov, in round four, with both winning their final matches to wind up 4.5/5.  

In the second round, Arond defeated Champaign-Urbana high school freshman Anshul Adve. Adve and state-mate Troy Krimminger finished in a six-pack of 4.0/5's to claim third place honors in the Reserve.