Veteran master John Curdo, seeded No. 2 at 2217, battled to his second top finish in a row, this time taking clear first place with 3.5 points.  Curdo, who had tied for top honors in August, was held to a draw by John Chamberlain (1994) in Round 2, but won the rest of his games to out finish a trio of top-seeded Alexander Beider (2375) and experts Geoff Polizoti and Ed Epp, who shared runner-up honors with 3 points each.

Beider, playing his first tournament at the MCC, started off with a half-point bye in Round One and won his next two games, but was held to a last-round draw by 2050-rated Geoff Polizoti. The latter, of course, is Curdo’s stepson, so his fine upset result not only gained him a share of second place but enabled his stepfather to win it all via a last-round victory over Robert Harvey.

Both other sections produced perfect scores, with Mark Kaprielian sweeping the U1700 section, 4-0 and Clark Ewer duplicating that result in the U1400 section. Nicholas D’Alessandro was the clear runner-up to Kaprielian with 3.5 points, followed by Robert Oresick and Sanjay Manivannan with 3 each. John McLaughlin, Jeffry Gibson, and John Bottini shared second place U1400 with 3 points apiece.

The draws achieved by Polizoti and Chamberlain against the top two seeds were the most significant upsets in the tournament, but not the biggest ones. That distinction went to Henry Forber-Pratt for his 409-point upset of McLaughlin in Round One (960 rating vs. 1369), though as can be seen the latter recovered from that shocker to win the rest of his games and tie for second place. Young Manivannan (1419) pulled a couple of major form reversals against veteran competitors with identical 1668 ratings, defeating Alan Beck and drawing Walter Champion en route to his fine result in U1700. Lomer Cormier (1328) also staged a pair of solid upsets with wins over Homer Franck (1566) and George Goulding (1631).

The three sections, respectively, had 23, 25, and 19 players for a total turnout of 67.

A spate of draws and byes on the top boards has left 10 players tied for first place at the halfway point with 1.5 points, topped by club newcomer Alexander Beider (2375) and regular John Curdo (2217). Beider came in with a half-point bye and won his Round 2 game against Paul Mishkin. Curdo won his first round game but was held to a second-round draw by A-player John Chamberlain, who is making a habit of nicking the top guns (he knocked Igor Foygel out of first place with a draw last month).  Sharing the lead with Beider, Curdo, and Chamberlain are experts Geoff Polizoti and Ed Epp along with A-players Robert Powell, Robert Harvey, Joe Kelly, Neil Cousin, and Larry Pratt. (Perennial winner/contender Foygel is not playing this month).

Four players led by Mark Kaprielian share the lead in the U1700 section at 2.0, while top-seeded Carl Phillips, gunning for his third straight outright victory, tops a trio leading the U1400 section, also with perfect scores.

Phillips won the bottom sections in both July and August, but his rating has not yet caught up to his results, so he was still eligible for the same section this month. He should enjoy it while he can, though, because the way he is playing this will almost certainly spell finis for him in this section as he moves up next month.

Chamberlain’s draw against Curdo (1994-2217 rating spread) was the most significant upset in the Open section, and indeed the only one meeting our 100-point criterion. The biggest form reversal of all was Lomer Cormier (1328) over George Goulding (1631) in the middle section. Others: Michael Kaye (1235) defeated Douglas Thompson (1386); Travis Chui (1334) drew Homer Franck (1566); Menno Koning (1513) defeated Phil Mercurio (1613), and in the bottom section, John Bottini (1125) drew Tom Powers (1369).

With the second-round "jump-ins," there are 23 entries in the Open section, 25 in the middle, and 18 in the bottom one for a total of 66.
 

A pair of big upsets highlighted the opening round as 55 players turned out to launch the September tournament.  Most of the top-rated contenders started off with victories, led by veteran John Curdo in the Open section, Mark Kaprielian in the U1700, and Tom Powers in the U1400.  But Alan Beck, co-top seed in the middle section with a 1668 rating, was surprised by rising young high school star Sanjay Manivannan (1419), while in the biggest Round One shocker No. 2 seed John McLaughlin (1369) lost to Henry Forber-Pratt (960).

Expert Geoff Polizoti, returning to the club after a lengthy absence, and regular contenders Ed Epp and John Chamberlain were other high-ranking competitors getting off on the right foot in the Open section.  Conspicuous by his absence was perennial winner Igor Foygel, who of course could still enter with a half-point bye and play "catch-up" if he wanted to.

George Goulding and Phil Mercurio followed Kaprielian rating-wise atop in the U1700 standings, while Carl Phillips and Jeffrey Gibson were next in line after Powers in U1400.

The lone Open Section upset meeting our 100-point criterion was a draw achieved by seventh-grader Gabe Frieden (1491) against Dan Newman (1820). Aside from this and the two mentioned above, the only other notable form reversal came in the U1700 group, where Lomer Cormier (1328) knocked off Homer Franck (1566).

There were 20 entrants each in the Open and middle sections, with 15 more in the lower one to create that 55 total -- with presumably a few more "jumping in" with half-point byes for Round 2.