2026 New Orleans Carnival Classic

Open SwissStandard

44 players participated in this 6-round tournament, held from 17 Jan 2026 to 19 Jan 2026 in Metairie, LA, United States. 1 titled players from 2 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 1971, and top seed was Nicholas Matta (🇺🇸 USA, FM, 2244).

Nicholas Matta (🇺🇸 USA, FM, 2244) won with 5.0/6, ahead of Dex Webster (4.5) and Luke O Hengen (4.5). Matta clinched sole first place in the final round.

The biggest upset came in round 1: Patrick Pridgeon (1713) beat Mark L Schulingkamp (1959), a +246-point gap.

Location

🇺🇸Metairie, LA, United States

Dates

17 Jan 2026 → 19 Jan 2026

Time control

Standard: 90 minutes with 30 second increment from move 1

System

Swiss · 6 rounds

Top seed

🇺🇸FMNicholas Matta2244

Avg top 10

1,971

Participants

Titled players · 1

FM×1

Federations · 2 represented

🇺🇸United States of America×35

🇲🇽Mexico×1

Top 3

🥇
FMNicholas Matta
🇺🇸USA·2244
5.0pts·2162perf-5.6
🥈
Dex Webster
🇺🇸USA·2112
4.5pts·2128perf+4.2
🥉
Luke O Hengen
🇺🇸USA·1974
4.5pts·2056perf+26.0

How it unfolded

Top 6 · 6 rounds

FM Nicholas Matta led from R4; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.

Co-leaders

Matta5Hengen4.5Webster4.5Curry4.5Girardo4Pridgeon4

R5 · LEADER CHANGE19 Jan

Dex Webster takes the sole lead (4.5/5).

WIN STREAKS · 2 top finishers

FM Nicholas Matta 4 wins (R1–R4)Dex Webster 3 wins (R1–R3)

Key matchups · top 4

Head-to-head between the four finishers

Player	1	2	3	4
1FMNicholas Matta	*	—	0	—
2Luke O Hengen	—	*	1	—
3Dex Webster	1	0	*	—
4Stephen Curry	—	—	—	*

Grille américaine

#	Player	Elo	Fed	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts	Bu C1	Bu	SB	Perf	Δ
1	Matta, NicholasFM	2244	USA	+10N	+14B	+18N	+5B	−2N	+6B	5.0	20.0	23.0	18.50	2162	-5.6
2	Webster, Dex	2112	USA	+34B	+19N	+11B	=6N	+1B	−3N	4.5	20.5	22.5	16.00	2128	+4.2
3	Hengen, Luke O	1974	USA	+26N	+15B	−6N	+19B	=7N	+2B	4.5	19.0	21.5	15.50	2056	+26.0
4	Curry, Stephen	1861	USA	+32N	−5B	+33N	+18B	=9N	+14B	4.5	16.5	18.5	12.50	1979	+33.2
5	Zheng, Zhaoxing	1939	USA	+27B	+4N	+13B	−1N	=6B	=8N	4.0	21.5	24.0	15.00	1996	+8.6
6	Altucher, James	1840	USA	+25B	+23N	+3B	=2B	=5N	−1N	4.0	21.0	24.0	14.75	2084	+30.2
7	Runge, Matteo	1777	USA	F	=16N	+12B	+13N	=3B	+21N	4.0	19.0	19.0	15.00	2151	+95.2
8	Pridgeon, Patrick	1713	USA	+12N	=20B	+31N	=9B	=14N	=5B	4.0	18.5	20.5	13.25	1939	+70.8
9	Girardo, Christopher B	1921	USA	+22N	+38B	F	=8N	=4B	+15B	4.0	17.0	17.0	12.75	2006	+10.2
10	Nellon Jr., Shivers Rashad	0	USA	−1B	+36N	−14N	+39B	+19N	+26B	4.0	16.0	17.5	9.00	1945	0.0
11	Phillips, Rene	1854	USA	+33N	+30B	−2N	−15B	+26N	+23B	4.0	15.5	17.5	9.50	1939	+26.8
12	Schulingkamp, Mark L	1959	USA	−8B	+43N	−7N	+31B	+30N	+20B	4.0	15.0	15.0	7.00	1781	-40.0
13	Martin, Malik	1880	USA	+43N	+42B	−5N	−7B	+22N	+34B	4.0	13.0	13.0	5.00	1802	-16.0
14	Riley, Nathaniel	1819	USA	+36B	−1N	+10B	+21N	=8B	−4N	3.5	20.5	22.5	11.00	1811	-7.6
15	Beavers, Carl	1733	USA	+17B	−3N	+24B	+11N	=16B	−9N	3.5	19.5	22.5	12.25	1904	+22.0
16	Yuan, Owen	1944	USA	=31N	=7B	+30N	+20B	=15N	F	3.5	14.5	14.5	9.75	1859	-16.4
17	Paley, Oren	0	USA	−15N	=26B	−37N	+40N	+41B	+27N	3.5	11.0	11.5	4.75	1785	0.0
18	Boecker, Maxwell	1872	USA	+24B	+21N	−1B	−4N	−23B	+33N	3.0	18.5	20.5	8.00	1856	-8.4
19	Sharp, Elio	1867	USA	+39N	−2B	+22N	−3N	−10B	+35B	3.0	18.0	19.5	6.50	1789	-13.2
20	Billings, Matthew	1705	USA	=40B	=8N	+27B	−16N	+24B	−12N	3.0	17.0	17.5	7.75	1814	+32.8
21	Janusa, Austin	1800	USA	+29N	−18B	+28N	−14B	+33N	−7B	3.0	15.5	17.5	7.00	1574	-46.4
22	Ner, John	1656	USA	−9B	+35N	−19B	+28N	−13B	+32N	3.0	15.5	17.5	6.50	1089	-12.6
23	Stewart, Aubrey	1797	USA	+28N	−6B	+42N	−34B	+18N	−11N	3.0	15.5	15.5	5.50	1657	-14.2
24	Wilder, Marcel Eugene	1830	USA	−18N	+29B	−15N	+35B	−20N	+30B	3.0	14.0	16.0	6.50	1582	-51.6
25	Vega, Jorge Eduardo	0	USA	−6N	−28B	+32N	−30B	+37N	+31B	3.0	12.5	14.5	6.00	1598	0.0
26	Escalante Moreno, Victor R	1849	MEX	−3B	=17N	+40B	+41N	−11B	−10N	2.5	16.5	17.0	2.75	1821	-5.6
27	Etienne, Jace	1687	USA	−5N	+32B	−20N	+29B	=31N	−17B	2.5	15.0	17.0	5.50	1454	-17.2
28	FIDE 39998380	0	—	−23B	+25N	−21B	−22B	=39N	+44N	2.5	13.5	13.5	3.75	951	0.0
29	Slaton Jr, Hershel	0	USA	−21B	−24N	+43B	−27N	+42B	=41N	2.5	9.0	9.0	0.25	1434	0.0
30	Morreale, Mark	1791	USA	+44B	−11N	−16B	+25N	−12B	−24N	2.0	17.5	17.5	3.00	1097	-28.8
31	Yuan, Roy	1538	USA	=16B	+40N	−8B	−12N	=27B	−25N	2.0	17.0	17.5	3.50	1733	+41.6
32	FIDE 30935482	0	—	−4B	−27N	−25B	+36N	+44N	−22B	2.0	15.0	15.0	2.00	935	0.0
33	Zhang, Aaron	1601	USA	−11B	+44N	−4B	+42N	−21B	−18B	2.0	14.5	14.5	0.00	1047	-31.2
34	Couvillion, Mark	1834	USA	−2N	+39B	F	+23N	F	−13N	2.0	13.0	13.0	4.50	1805	-6.4
35	FIDE 25195549	0	—	−38N	−22B	+36B	−24N	+43B	−19N	2.0	13.0	13.0	2.00	1005	0.0
36	FIDE 39971520	0	—	−14N	−10B	−35N	−32B	+40B	+42N	2.0	12.0	12.0	0.50	1785	0.0
37	FIDE 39991946	0	—	F	F	+17B	−38N	−25B	+39B	2.0	10.0	10.0	5.00	1067	0.0
38	Fee, C Edward	1867	USA	+35B	−9N	F	+37B	F	F	2.0	8.0	8.0	4.00	1121	-16.8
39	Klingler, James Elliot	0	USA	−19B	−34N	+44B	−10N	=28B	−37N	1.5	13.5	13.5	1.25	1051	0.0
40	Pelias, Marilyn	1751	USA	=20N	−31B	−26N	−17B	−36N	F	0.5	13.0	13.0	1.50	1424	-48.0
41	Tagorda, Ramon	1707	USA	F	F	F	−26B	−17N	=29B	0.5	8.5	8.5	1.25	1049	-12.4
42	FIDE 39994988	0	—	F	−13N	−23B	−33B	−29N	−36B	0.0	13.5	13.5	0.00	959	0.0
43	FIDE 39956954	0	—	−13B	−12B	−29N	F	−35N	F	0.0	12.5	12.5	0.00	1120	0.0
44	FIDE 39995941	0	—	−30N	−33B	−39N	F	−32B	−28B	0.0	10.0	10.0	0.00	896	0.0

Key insights

Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.

Top rating gainers

1Runge, MatteoUSA
+95.2
4.0 pts · #7
2Pridgeon, PatrickUSA
+70.8
4.0 pts · #5
3Yuan, RoyUSA
+41.6
2.0 pts · #17

Top rating losers

1Wilder, Marcel EugeneUSA
-51.6
3.0 pts · #24
2Pelias, MarilynUSA
-48.0
0.5 pts · #30
3Janusa, AustinUSA
-46.4
3.0 pts · #26

Biggest upsets

R1+246 Elo gap
Pridgeon, Patrick1713 beat Schulingkamp, Mark L1959
R2+213 Elo gap
Yuan, Roy1538 beat Pelias, Marilyn1751
R3+182 Elo gap
Runge, Matteo1777 beat Schulingkamp, Mark L1959