Board 3: Amanov 0 - Holt 1

Another fascinating game on Board 3. Mesgen's preparation in the Exchange Slav is deep, but Holt deals with the homecooking and wins a complex ending, avenging his Chicago Open defeat at Mesgen's hands.

Board 1: Gurevich ½ - Holt ½

IM Conrad Holt is ranked 36th in the nation.  He's 18 years old and still rapidly improving: I know a couple of GMs who don't look forward to playing him.  Maybe Dmitry had a little something from the unusual opening, but both players collaborated to play a creative and correct game.  After the e-pawn is traded for Black's a-pawn, neither player has any chances, so a draw was a natural result.

Too much of a good thing?

Congratulations to Eric Rosen for a very solid win against a phenomenally strong opponent.

Recall that Eric's opponent, Conrad Holt, had a phenomenal result in the World Open, including a win against GM Evgeny Najer.  Perhaps Conrad is "chessed out"? 

In a field this strong, however, it's inevitable that a couple strong players will have mediocre results.

Eric's loss yesterday was also interesting...hope to get to that later.