Luis Brioso wins October Amateur Open,Craig Hilby takes second

Brioso won a losing endgame to Sam Chou, who finished tied for U1500, after a blunder. The other U1500 winner is Kaitlyn Yang who drew the top two seeds, 1895 and 1737, with a rating of only 1376. Craig Hilby took home the second place prize after winning Saturday's Quad. Amateur Open in November will be on the 21st. Register Here.

 

In the first round, Kaitlyn Yang held Class A, Anthony Mack, to a draw. It was a drawn rook, knight, and pawn endgame, but Mack lost some pawns allowing Yang to advance hers forcing Mack to sacrifice his rook, but not without compensation. He had 2 passed pawns that Kaitlyn wasn't able to control and allowed Mack to get a queen and pick up her rook. But the time pressure on both side led to an accidental stalemate. Round 2 also saw Sam Chou picking up a draw against Mack. And in round 3, Yang drew second seed and eventual tournament winner, Luis Brioso in an equalized endgame.

 

Another twist came in the last round when Chou, playing on the top board, against Brioso was ahead with a rook and two pawns versus a knight and two pawns. Brioso was after a draw guaranteeing him at least a tie for first place. Chou blundered his rook to a fork and Brioso capitalized with a win.

 

 

October Amateur Open winner, Luis Brioso

Sam Chou with a strong performance before a last-round blunder

Kaitlyn Yang drew the top two seed

Justin in full concentration

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