2nd Annual Federal Open
18 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 03 Oct 2025 to 05 Oct 2025 in Sterling, VA, United States. 4 titled players from 3 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2001, and top seed was Jianchao Zhou (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2597).
Kent Slate (🇺🇸 USA, CM, 2220) won with 4.0/5, ahead of Jianchao Zhou (4.0) and Esat Omer Demirel (3.5). Slate shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Steven Liu (CM, 1995) beat Vaibhav Kalpaka (FM, 2255), a +260-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R3; 2 players tied at 4.0/5, decided on Buchholz.
CM Kent Slate held the sole lead from R3 through R5 without losing it.
2 players finish on 4.0/5. Slate takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (13.5).
CM Kent Slate lost to GM Jianchao Zhou (Black).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1CMKent Slate | * | 0 | 1 | — |
| 2GMJianchao Zhou | 1 | * | ½ | ½ |
| 3Esat Omer Demirel | 0 | ½ | * | — |
| 4FMVaibhav Kalpaka | — | ½ | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slate, KentCM | 2220 | USA | +12N | +7B | +5N | +3B | −2N | 4.0 | 13.5 | 15.5 | 11.50 | 2238 | +12.0 |
| 2 | Zhou, JianchaoGM | 2597 | USA | =3N | +10B | +8N | =4B | +1B | 4.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 11.50 | 2410 | -6.3 |
| 3 | Demirel, Esat Omer | 1803 | USA | =2B | +18N | +6B | −1N | +8N | 3.5 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 7.00 | 2134 | +79.6 |
| 4 | Vaibhav KalpakaFM | 2255 | IND | +17B | −6N | +9B | =2N | +10B | 3.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 6.00 | 2149 | -7.2 |
| 5 | Sridhar, Jagadeeshwar Yehamandram | 1904 | USA | +14B | +9N | −1B | +11N | −6N | 3.0 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 5.50 | 1938 | +8.8 |
| 6 | Liu, StevenCM | 1995 | USA | +15N | +4B | −3N | F | +5B | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 7.50 | 2101 | +23.2 |
| 7 | Lee, Justin A | 1848 | USA | +16B | −1N | +15B | −10N | +11B | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 3.50 | 1978 | +24.4 |
| 8 | Ghodgaonkar, Anirudh P | 1681 | USA | F | +13N | −2B | +12N | −3B | 2.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 4.00 | 1850 | +31.6 |
| 9 | Jiang, Caroline Q | 1754 | USA | +11N | −5B | −4N | +15N | −12B | 2.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 3.00 | 1752 | -6.4 |
| 10 | Arsia, Akhmed | 0 | MGL | F | −2N | +17B | +7B | −4N | 2.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 3.00 | 2108 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Song, Jeffrey | 1667 | USA | −9B | +14N | +13B | −5B | −7N | 2.0 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 3.50 | 1726 | +7.2 |
| 12 | Dokka, Tanush | 1723 | USA | −1B | +16N | F | −8B | +9N | 2.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 2.50 | 1785 | +8.4 |
| 13 | Zhou, Alexander Zheng | 1793 | USA | F | −8B | −11N | +14N | +15B | 2.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 2.50 | 1678 | -25.2 |
| 14 | Fitzsimmons, Daniela | 1691 | USA | −5N | −11B | =16N | −13B | +17N | 1.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.25 | 1415 | -50.8 |
| 15 | Badger, Stephen | 1670 | USA | −6B | +17N | −7N | −9B | −13N | 1.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.00 | 1048 | -44.4 |
| 16 | Kitchiner Valentine, Levi Horace | 1582 | USA | −7N | −12B | =14B | F | F | 0.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.75 | 1481 | -13.6 |
| 17 | Evans, Geoffrey | 0 | USA | −4N | −15B | −10N | F | −14B | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 1072 | 0.0 |
| 18 | Hamilton, Timothy | 1843 | USA | F | −3B | F | F | F | 0.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.00 | 1003 | -11.2 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Demirel, Esat OmerUSA+79.63.5 pts · #2
- 2Ghodgaonkar, Anirudh PUSA+31.62.0 pts · #7
- 3Lee, Justin AUSA+24.43.0 pts · #3
- 1Fitzsimmons, DanielaUSA-50.81.5 pts · #14
- 2Badger, StephenUSA-44.41.0 pts · #17
- 3Zhou, Alexander ZhengUSA-25.22.0 pts · #10
- R2+260 Elo gap
- R3+192 Elo gap
- R3+126 Elo gap