33rd annual Western Class Championship - Master
32 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 06 Mar 2026 to 08 Mar 2026 in Irvine, CA, United States. 12 titled players from 3 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2300, and top seed was Jianchao Zhou (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2584).
Ryan Amburgy (🇺🇸 USA, FM, 2315) won with 4.0/5, ahead of Julian Colville (4.0) and Jianchao Zhou (3.5). Amburgy won on tie-break after catching the field in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 1: Glenn Zhang (1936) beat Shaashwath Sivakumar (FM, 2241), a +305-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 2 players tied at 4.0/5, decided on Buchholz.
GM Jianchao Zhou takes the sole lead (3.5/4).
2 players finish on 4.0/5. Amburgy takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (11.0).
IM Julian Colville went unbeaten across 5 games (R1–R5).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1IMJulian Colville | * | — | 1 | — |
| 2FMRyan Amburgy | — | * | — | — |
| 3GMJianchao Zhou | 0 | — | * | — |
| 4FMShaashwath Sivakumar | — | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amburgy, RyanFM | 2315 | USA | =10N | +6B | +15N | =24B | +5N | 4.0 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 10.50 | 2384 | +13.0 |
| 2 | Colville, JulianIM | 2364 | USA | +17B | =9N | +26B | =8N | +3B | 4.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 9.25 | 2377 | +5.2 |
| 3 | Zhou, JianchaoGM | 2584 | USA | +11N | +29B | =24N | +5B | −2N | 3.5 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 7.25 | 2475 | -4.8 |
| 4 | Sivakumar, ShaashwathFM | 2241 | USA | −7B | +25N | =9B | +26N | +10B | 3.5 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 5.75 | 2135 | -11.4 |
| 5 | Corrales Jimenez, FidelGM | 2504 | USA | +25B | +7N | +8B | −3N | −1B | 3.0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 7.00 | 2314 | -9.0 |
| 6 | Liu, Liam | 1900 | USA | +16B | −1N | =12B | +11N | =13B | 3.0 | 11.5 | 14.0 | 7.50 | 2189 | +69.6 |
| 7 | Zhang, Glenn | 1936 | USA | +4N | −5B | +27N | =14B | =12B | 3.0 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 7.00 | 2238 | +75.2 |
| 8 | Prestia, Paris | 2073 | USA | +32N | +23B | −5N | =2B | =24N | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 4.25 | 2307 | +27.4 |
| 9 | Ghods, Maziar | 2020 | ITA | +18N | =2B | =4N | =19B | −14N | 2.5 | 12.0 | 14.0 | 6.75 | 2181 | +19.8 |
| 10 | Bagdasarian, Ararat | 1972 | USA | =1B | +28N | =19N | =21B | −4N | 2.5 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 5.00 | 2121 | +36.0 |
| 11 | Zhu, Alexander | 2021 | USA | −3B | +13N | =30N | −6B | +23N | 2.5 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 4.25 | 2101 | +16.0 |
| 12 | Porat, ToriWCM | 2044 | USA | F | =21B | =6N | +23B | =7N | 2.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 5.50 | 2050 | +0.8 |
| 13 | Guo, Felix | 2270 | USA | −23N | −11B | +32N | +28B | =6N | 2.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.50 | 1970 | -70.0 |
| 14 | Liu, PatrickFM | 2117 | USA | F | F | +17B | =7N | +9B | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.00 | 2260 | +19.2 |
| 15 | Gao, HeyeCM | 1939 | CAN | F | +31N | −1B | =22B | +27N | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2.50 | 2230 | +58.4 |
| 16 | Miller, Ike S | 1950 | USA | −6N | +32B | =23N | +30B | F | 2.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.25 | 2039 | +9.2 |
| 17 | Bates, Evan | 2005 | USA | −2N | +18B | −14N | −27B | +25B | 2.0 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 3.00 | 2068 | +12.4 |
| 18 | Andrews, ToddFM | 2121 | USA | −9B | −17N | +25B | −20N | +32B | 2.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1.00 | 1926 | -26.8 |
| 19 | Zhou, Ivan | 2065 | USA | F | +20N | =10B | =9N | F | 2.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 4.50 | 2122 | +8.8 |
| 20 | Qi, JennyWFM | 1998 | USA | F | −19B | =28N | +18B | =22N | 2.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 3.50 | 2058 | +13.2 |
| 21 | Bhatta, Rohit | 2001 | USA | F | =12N | +29B | =10N | F | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.50 | 2117 | +9.2 |
| 22 | Golsefidy, Sepehr | 2062 | USA | F | F | +31B | =15N | =20B | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.75 | 2126 | +10.0 |
| 23 | Paragiri, Reyansh | 1983 | USA | +13B | −8N | =16B | −12N | −11B | 1.5 | 10.5 | 13.0 | 3.75 | 1922 | -16.2 |
| 24 | De Firmian, NickGM | 2392 | USA | F | F | =3B | =1N | =8B | 1.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 5.25 | 2324 | -2.3 |
| 25 | Sankar, Tarun | 2002 | USA | −5N | −4B | −18N | +31B | −17N | 1.0 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 0.50 | 1927 | -20.8 |
| 26 | Leano, Bryan | 2001 | USA | F | F | −2N | −4B | +30N | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.50 | 2053 | +2.0 |
| 27 | Jammalamadaka, VihaanCM | 2096 | USA | F | F | −7B | +17N | −15B | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2.00 | 1835 | -41.6 |
| 28 | Vichare, Ruhan Yogesh | 1984 | USA | F | −10B | =20B | −13N | =31N | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1.25 | 1884 | -22.0 |
| 29 | Gattani, Sarthak | 1961 | USA | +30B | −3N | −21N | F | F | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.50 | 1973 | -2.4 |
| 30 | Gartland, James | 1931 | USA | −29N | F | =11B | −16N | −26B | 0.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.25 | 1661 | -24.2 |
| 31 | Leong, Aiden | 2067 | CAN | F | −15B | −22N | −25N | =28B | 0.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.50 | 1674 | -75.2 |
| 32 | Gianatasio, Michael | 1963 | USA | −8B | −16N | −13B | F | −18N | 0.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.00 | 1303 | -26.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Zhang, GlennUSA+75.23.0 pts · #7
- 2Liu, LiamUSA+69.63.0 pts · #5
- 3Gao, HeyeCMCAN+58.42.5 pts · #16
- 1Leong, AidenCAN-75.20.5 pts · #30
- 2Guo, FelixUSA-70.02.5 pts · #10
- 3Jammalamadaka, VihaanCMUSA-41.61.0 pts · #25
- R1+305 Elo gap
- R1+287 Elo gap
- R2+249 Elo gap