World Open chess tournament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The World Open chess tournament is an annual open chess tournament played in most
editions in Philadelphia and some editions in New York. The inaugural event was a huge
success played in New York in 1973 with 732 participants, and was won by Walter Browne.
The tournament is divided into different sections, with typically 100200 players in the top
section. The 1986 edition had as many as 1507 participants, arguably a world record for a
chess tournament. The 2009 edition had 1350 players divided into nine sections. The total
prize fund was US$250,000 (first prize in the top section US$15,200). It is usually played in the
first week of July, sometimes beginning at the end of June. All editions have been organized by
the Continental Chess Association.
Contents
[hide]

1 Winners

2 Details

3 References

4 External links

Winners[edit]

Details[edit]

1973 The 1st World Open was held from June 30 through July 4 at the Hotel McAlpin
(34th Street and Broadway) in Manhattan, New York City. It had a $15,000 prize fund (1st
place $2,000), a world record for an open tournament. There was an Open section and a
Booster section open to players rated under 1800. It was sponsored by the Continental
Chess Association and directed by Bill Goichberg, Jerry Bibuld, Bob Moran, Larry King,
and Barbara Taylor. There were 369 players in the Open (44 masters) and 356 players in
the Booster, for a total of 725 players. At the time, it was a new U.S. attendance record for
an open (non-scholastic) tournament. GM Walter Browne, age 24, scored 91 (eight wins
and two draws) to take first place. IM Julio Kaplan, age 23, took 2nd place with an 8/10
score. The Booster section was won by Michael Lau, scoring 9. Bill Wall came the
farthest to play in the event, coming from Thailand on leave from the Air Force (8,600
miles).

1974 The 2nd World Open was held from July 17 at the Hotel McAlpin. It had a
$17,000 prize fund (1st place $3,000). The total prize fund and top prize were new records
for open tournaments. There were 373 players in the Open (four GMs and 48 masters) and
418 players in the Booster, for a total of 791 players, a new U.S. attendance record. GM
Bent Larsen of Denmark took 1st place with eight wins and one draw (with Walter Browne).
GM Walter Browne took 2nd place with an 8/9 score (seven wins and two draws). The
Booster section was won by Marco Silva of Columbia, scoring 81 (seven wins and two
draws).

1975 The 3rd World Open was held from July 26 at the Hotel Roosevelt (Madison
Ave & 45th Street) in Manhattan. It had a $20,000 prize fund (1st place $3,000). There
were 372 players in the Open section and 443 in the Booster section, for a total of 815
entries. GM Pal Benko (Elo 2504) and Alan Trefler (2045), age 19, tied for 1st place with
8/9 score. Trefler's first place finish was the biggest upset of any World Open and the
lowest rated player to tie or win first place. He was a student of Dartmouth College and
was ranked 115th in the tournament. He lost his first game, then won eight in a row. His
rating after the tournament was over 2300. Benko won seven games and drew 2. Nicholas
Rossolimo took 3rd place, with 71. The Booster section was won by Eddy Vildoso
with 8/9.

1976 The 4th World Open was held from July 15 at the Hotel Roosevelt. It had a
$24,000 prize fund (a new world record for open chess tournaments), 1st place prize was
$4,000. There were 362 players in the Open section (six GMs and four IMs) and 408 in the
Booster section, for a total of 770 players. GM Anatoly Lein (Elo 2515) and IM Bernard
Zuckerman tied for 1st with an 81 score. The Booster section was won by Frank Romano,
with an 81 score.

1977 The 5th World Open was held from June 30 to July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a $27,000 prize fund (1st place $2,000). It now had
eight sections, with 367 players in the Open section (three GMs and two IMs) and 922
players total, setting another U.S. attendance record for open tournaments. IM John
Fedorowicz (2350), age 18, and IM Ron Henley (2323), age 20, tied for first with an 81
score.

1978 The 6th World Open was held from June 30 to July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in
Philadelphia. It had a $40,000 prize fund, at the time the largest ever for an open
tournament in the world. 1st place prize was $5,000. There were 1,063 entrants, a new
record for open tournaments. It had seven groups, with 428 players in the Open section
(six GMs and five IMs). Eight players scored 71. IM Peter Biyiasas (who was awarded

the GM title later in the year) was first on tiebreak, followed by GM Florin Gheorghiu, IM
Bernard Zuckerman, GM Heikki Westerinen, Yasser Seirawan, Javier Lozano Sanz, Inguar
Asmundsson, and Jean Hebert. Boris Baczynskyi scored 53 (with a performance
rating of 2444), becoming the first player ever to make an IM norm in an open tournament
in the USA.

1979 The 7th World Open was held from June 30 to July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in
Philadelphia. It had a $46,000 prize fund (1st place $5,000). It had eight sections, with 893
players total. Seven players scored 82 in the Open section. Haukur Angantysson of
Iceland was first on tiebreak, followed by GM Tony Miles, GM Florin Gheorghiu, GM Walter
Browne, GM Arthur Bisguier, IM Bernard Zuckerman, and IM John Fedorowicz.

1980 The 8th World Open was held July 26 at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. It
had a $52,000 prize fund (1st place $4,000). It had seven groups, with 776 players total.
The event attracted 10 GMs and 18 IMs, with 100 players rated over 2200, a new U.S.
record. Five players scored 71. GM Roman Dzindzishasvili was 1st on tiebreak,
followed by Larry Christiansen, Tony Miles, Florin Gheorghiu and Lawrence Day.

1981 The 9th World Open was held July 15 at the State University of New York at
New Paltz. It had a $53,000 prize fund (1st place $5,000). It had six groups, with 702
players, the lowest number of any World Open. The Open section had 290 players, with 98
masters (five GMs and 12 IMs). Four players scored 71. IM Igor Ivanov was 1st on
tiebreak, followed by FM Dmitry Gurevich, IM Joel Benjamin, and IM Michael Rohde. John
Jarecki earned a master rating at this World Open, making him at the time the youngest
master in American history at age 12 years and 6 months.

1982 The 10th World Open was held July 25 at the Philadelphia Centre Hotel. It had
a $55,000 prize fund (1st place $5,000). It had seven sections, with 906 players. In the
Open section four players tied for 1st with a score of 62: Nick de Firmian, John
Fedorowicz, Dmitry Gurevich and Eugene Meyer.

1983 The 11th World Open was held July 14 at the New York Statler Hotel. It had a
$57,000 prize fund (1st place $6,000). There were 1,257 players in five separate events
(World Open Congress), and 840 players in the Premier tournament, with 112 masters, a
new record. Four players tied for 1st with a score of 71. The winners, in tiebreak order,
were IM Kevin Spraggett, GM Miguel Quinteros, IM Kamran Shirazi, IM Leonid Bass.

1984 The 12th World Open was held from June 20 to July 4 at the Sheraton-Valley
Forge Hotel in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It had a $60,000 prize fund (1st place

$12,000). There were 500 players in this event. Four players tied for 1st with a score of 6
2. The winner, after a playoff, was Joel Benjamin, followed by Yehuda Gruenfeld, Kevin
Spraggett, and Boris Kogan.

1985 The 13th World Open was held July 47 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in
Philadelphia. It had a $150,200 prize fund (1st place $15,000). There were 1,251 players in
this event. Three players tied for 1st with a 71 score. The winner, after a playoff, was IM
Maxim Dlugy, followed by GM Dmitry Gurevich and GM Yehuda Grunfeld.

1986 The 14th World Open was held July 26 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in
Philadelphia. It had a $188,500 prize fund (1st place $20,931). It had six sections with
1,506 players. The Open had 237 players, including 23 GMs, one WGM, and 29 IMs. The
winner was GM Nick deFirmian with a score of 71.

1987 The 15th World Open was held from June 26 to July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $181,000 prize fund (1st place $25,000). There were 1,293 players
in this event. The Open had 99 players, including 16 GMs and 20 IMs. GM Tony Miles and
GM Boris Gulko tied for 1st with a score of 82. Gulko won the title in a playoff.

1988 The 16th World Open was held from June 26 to July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had $200,000 prize fund (1st place $25,000). The Open had only 64
players, including 17 GMs and 14 IMs. The winner was GM Maxim Dlugy with a score of
82.

1989 The 17th World Open was held from June 30 to July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $220,000 prize fund (1st place $20,000). It had 10 sections with
1,127 players. The Open had 226 players, including 30 GMs. In the Open section, 10
players tied for 1st with a score of 72. GM Mikhail Gurevich of Russia received the
title of 1989 World Open Champion, defeating GM Lev Alburt in the final of blitz (5-minute
game) match. The other players were GM Alexander Chernin, GM Vladimir Epishin, GM
Michael Rohde, GM John Fedorowicz, GM Walter Browne, GM Larry Christiansen, IM
Alexander Ivanov and IM Gildardo Garcia of Colombia.

1990 The 18th World Open was held from June 30 to July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $178,600 prize fund (1st place $17,870). It had five sections with
1,158 players. The Open had 212 players, including 18 GMs and 26 IMs. The winner was
IM Igor Glek of the Soviet Union with a score of 71.

1991 The 19th World Open was held July 17 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in
Philadelphia. It had a $200,000 prize fund (1st place $20,000). It had five sections with
over 1,200 players. four players tied for 1st with a score of 71. The winner was GM
Gata Kamsky after a playoff with Semion Palatnik, IM Alex Yermolinsky, and GM Jhann
Hjartarson,

1992 The 20th World Open was held from June 29 to July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $150,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). It had six sections with
1,125 players. The Open section was won by GM Gregory Kaidanov with an 81 score.

1993 The 21st World Open was held from June 29 to July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $150,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). It had five sections with
1,127 players. The Open section was won by GM Alex Yemolinsky with a 71 score. A
player named John Von Neumann was accused of cheating by using a computer to defeat
a 2300 player and draw against GM Helgi lafsson. He scored 4 points in the Open
section for a prize. But after the result of two tests, demonstrating he didn't see a backrank mate problem that any beginner could solve quickly and a casual game with a
stronger player, it was decided that the player did not have sufficient knowledge of the
game to achieve his 4 points without assistance.

1994 The 22nd World Open was held from June 28 to July 4 at the Adam's Mark
Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $160,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). It had seven
sections with 1,267 players (1,368 with re-entries). The Open section had 231 players with
41 GMs (32 rated over 2600) and 17 IMs. Artashes Minasian and Loek Van Wely both
scored 71. Minasian won the event after a playoff.

1995 The 23rd World Open was held from June 28 to July 4 at the Adam's Mark
Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $160,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000), with seven sections
and 1,482 players. The Open section had 234 players with 27 GMs and 11 IMs. It was won
by GM Alex Yermolinsky with an 81 score. GM Gregory Kaidanov placed second with a
71 score.

1996 The 24th World Open was held from June 29 to July 7 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $15,000), with 1,407 players in nine
sections. The Open section had 165 masters, including 19 GMs and 11 IMs. It was by GM
Alex Yermolinksy after a playoff with GM Alexander Goldin. Both scored 71.

1997 The 25th World Open was held from June 28 to July 6 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had nine sections. The

Open section had 227 players, including 22 GMs. It was won by GM Alex Shabalov with an
81 score, 2nd place going to Sergey Kudrin with a 71 score. The biggest upset came
when Chris Theuerl, rated only 974, defeated Life Master Richard Noel, rated 2222.

1998 The 26th World Open was held from June 27 to July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $190,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had seven sections
with 1,335 players. The Open section was won by GM Alexander Goldin with an 8
score. Ilya Smirin placed 2nd with a 71 score.

1999 The 27th World Open was held from June 26 to July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel
in Philadelphia. It had a $200,000 prize fund (1st place $15,000), with 1,470 players in
seven sections . The Open section had 228 players, including 30 GMs. Tied for 1st with a
72 score were Gregory Serper, Boris Gulko, Alex Yermolinsky, Joel Benjamin, Vladimir
Akopian, Jaan Ehlvest, Igor Novikov, Georgy Timoshenko, Alexander Shabalov, and
Alexander Fishbein. Gregory Serper won the playoff securing first place.