by Chris Y Kim
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Day 1 (2 rounds) of the 2019 Maryland Sweet 16 tournament has a 3-way tie for the lead - the top 3 seeds Jason Scott Daniels, Bijan Tahmassebi, and Jeffrey Du. It has been a competitive two rounds so far in this annual invitational tournament showcasing the top Maryland scholastic players and is increasing in strength every year. [Former winners of the tournament are not allowed to compete.] Half the field played last year. This has a potential for an exciting Day 2 tomorrow with the top two seeds meeting on Board 1 in Round 3! There is a threat of snow for Round 4, which may make the finale interesting.
In Ratings order, here are the standings with the USCF ratings:
2.0: Jason Scott Daniels (2187); Bijan Tahmassebi (2107); Jeffrey Du (2043)
1.5: Ryan He (1937)
1.0: Douglas Malcolm (2014); Andrew Diep (1964); Sean Kee Power (1950); Chen-Chen Ye (1927); Joseph Tarantin (1874); Bradley Guo (1841); Max Mathura (1834)
0.5: Ritz Ballares (1871); Emerson Holcomb (1746); Ariel Joshi (1686)
0.0: Satvik Lolla (1888); Anthony Granruth (1778)
Here are the pairings for Round 3 that will start at 10:30 Sunday morning (White listed first):
1: Bijan Tahmassebi (2.0) vs Jason Scott Daniels (2.0)
2: Ryan He (1.5) vs Jeffrey Du (2.0)
3: Douglas Malcolm (1.0) vs Joseph Tarantin (1.0)
4: Chen-Chen Ye (1.0) vs Andrew Diep (1.0)
5: Max Mathura (1.0) vs Sean Kee Power (1.0)
6: Ritz Ballares (0.5) vs Bradley Guo (1.0)
7: Emerson Holcomb (0.5) vs Ariel Joshi (0.5)
8: Anthony Granruth (0.0) vs Satvik Lolla (0.0)