FM Sam Schmakel Co-Runner Up in 2014 US Open Blitz; Grandmaster Gurevich Co-Leader Through 7 Rounds in Open

FM Sam Schmakel won 11 of his 14 matches in the all-ages Blitz event at the 2014 US Open in Orlando. With this result, he was part of a four-way tie for 2nd among 114 entrants. Florida GM Julio Becerra was the clear winner with 12/14.

Shreya Mangalam was the only other Illinois entrant, scoring a very respectable 7.5, despite being paired against the eventual champion in the first round. Talk about the luck of the parings! Shreya finished in a tie for 44th place and may have posted the top female score as this reporter quickly examined the Blitz results.

Through seven rounds of the main event, Shreya is currently tied for second in the Mixed Doubles, with 7.5 points, one point off the leaders, Jennifer Skidmore and Harvey Zhu. Shreya is paired with Leon Wilson.

Speaking of the main event, GM Dmitry Gurevich is off to a fantastic start through seven rounds, among ten players with 6.0/7. Gurevich is undefeated with five wins and draws against fellow co-leaders GM Conrad Holt and IM Michael Mulyar.

He is paired with Missouri GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez in the penultimate eighth round.

Keep up on the last two rounds here.

David Peng is only a half-point back with 5.5/7.  He is also undefeated with four wins and three draws.

Schmakel stands at 5.0/7 with four wins and two draws. In the seventh round, he had the tough luck to be paired against the highest-rated player in the tournament -- and the current leader on tiebreaks -- GM Illia Nyzhnyk.

Elchonon Daitchman, a Class A player, has also posted a 5.0/7 so far.

Experts Bill Brock and Duncan Shepherd have compiled 4.5 scores through seven rounds.

384 players have competed in more than one round so far, all in one section.