GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac were the winners of Titled Tuesday on March 12. For Nakamura, it was his third week in a row with a win and his first early tournament win in that time. For Deac, it was his first win in over a year. Coincidentally, Nakamura won the other event that day as well.
Nakamura won outright after starting out with a 9/9 score. Deac started 8/8 but then needed tiebreaks over GM Jeffery Xiong.
Early Tournament
Possibly due to Daylight Saving Time beginning in the United States but not yet in Europe, only 420 players played in the early tournament. The result was not particularly in doubt, with Nakamura’s perfect start extending for nine rounds before a couple of late draws.
IM Yoseph Taher surprisingly matched Nakamura for six rounds, but was no match when they met in round seven. Well, to be fair, the game lasted 76 moves, with Nakamura keeping the position semi-closed until going for a pawn break on move 71 (!) against which Taher immediately lost control of the game.
Two rounds later, Nakamura stayed perfect against GM Hans Niemann.
Nakamura now led by a full point. Already having two perfect Titled Tuesdays in his career, he was satisfied with draws in his last two games to lock up the tournament. And good luck beating Nakamura when he just needs draws.
As the final round began, the tournament came down to a fight for second place. The contest between GMs Tuan Minh Le and Jose Martinez ended up being the critical battle of the round. Martinez had gotten to 8.5/10 in part because GM Vladimir Kramnik now refuses to play him and resigned on move two back in round five—reminiscent of another incident well over a year ago now—for Martinez’s third straight win over Kramnik in three straight Titled Tuesdays.
Against Le, though, Martinez gradually lost control of the game and the standings. Le won to finish second, while Martinez ended up in seventh.
March 12 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | Tiebreak 1 |
| 1 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3254 | 10 | 83 | |
| 2 | 10 | GM | @wonderfultime | Tuan Minh Le | 3091 | 9.5 | 73.5 | |
| 3 | 34 | IM | @yosephtaher | Yoseph Theolifus Taher | 2978 | 9 | 81 | |
| 4 | 12 | GM | @DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 3057 | 9 | 76.5 | |
| 5 | 4 | GM | @Polish_fighter3000 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 3131 | 9 | 73.5 | |
| 6 | 6 | GM | @mishanick | Aleksei Sarana | 3110 | 9 | 67.5 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3105 | 8.5 | 76.5 | |
| 8 | 7 | GM | @HansOnTwitch | Hans Niemann | 3111 | 8.5 | 73 | |
| 9 | 13 | GM | @vi_pranav | Pranav V | 3046 | 8.5 | 71.5 | |
| 10 | 20 | GM | @VladimirKramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 2999 | 8.5 | 69 | |
| 11 | 15 | GM | @Msb2 | Matthias Bluebaum | 3020 | 8.5 | 62.5 | |
| 12 | 17 | GM | @sergoy | Sergey Drygalov | 3024 | 8 | 74 | |
| 13 | 16 | IM | @Rud_Makarian | Rudik Makarian | 3051 | 8 | 74 | |
| 14 | 22 | GM | @BilodeauA | Kirill Alekseenko | 3006 | 8 | 74 | |
| 15 | 27 | GM | @shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 2968 | 8 | 72.5 | |
| 16 | 72 | IM | @AlmasRakhmatullaev | Almas Rakhmatullaev | 2852 | 8 | 72 | |
| 17 | 18 | GM | @dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2999 | 8 | 69 | |
| 18 | 32 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2926 | 8 | 68.5 | |
| 19 | 14 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3012 | 8 | 65.5 | |
| 20 | 50 | IM | @MatthewG-p4p | Matvey Galchenko | 2903 | 8 | 61.5 | |
| 43 | 65 | IM | @Flawless_Fighter | Polina Shuvalova | 2843 | 7 | 65.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
Nakamura won another $1,000, while Le took home $750. Four players finished on nine points, Taher claiming $350, GM Denis Lazavik earning $200 in fourth, and GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda winning $100 in fifth, while GM Alexey Sarana finished a tough-luck sixth with the worst tiebreaks.
IM Polina Shuvalova won the $100 women’s prize.
Late Tournament
Participation recovered to 528 players for the late event, a rare occasion where the late event was busier than the early one.
In the seventh round, Deac did something no one had achieved only a few hours earlier: he beat Nakamura.
After one more win, now against Duda, Deac was finally held to a draw by GM Dmitry Andreikin. But Deac picked up right where he left off, toppling Sarana in the 10th round.
Like Nakamura, Deac entered the final round with 9.5 points and a full point ahead of three players. Deac did not finish his tournament so cleanly, though, with Xiong pulling off the rare feat of moving into a tie for first by defeating the tournament leader in the last round.
Unfortunately for Xiong, but luckily for Deac, the tiebreaks worked out in Deac’s favor, and so the Romanian’s hot start paid off in full anyway.
March 12 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | Tiebreak 1 |
| 1 | 15 | GM | @BogdanDeac | Bogdan Daniel Deac | 3098 | 9.5 | 73.5 | |
| 2 | 11 | GM | @jefferyx | Jeffery Xiong | 3105 | 9.5 | 67.5 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | @FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 3129 | 9 | 72.5 | |
| 4 | 12 | GM | @Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 3079 | 9 | 69.5 | |
| 5 | 5 | GM | @mishanick | Aleksei Sarana | 3129 | 9 | 67.5 | |
| 6 | 13 | GM | @DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 3072 | 9 | 67 | |
| 7 | 17 | GM | @vi_pranav | Pranav V | 3066 | 9 | 64.5 | |
| 8 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3246 | 8.5 | 77.5 | |
| 9 | 29 | GM | @ChristopherYoo | Christopher Woojin Yoo | 3012 | 8.5 | 76.5 | |
| 10 | 24 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3020 | 8.5 | 70.5 | |
| 11 | 3 | GM | @Polish_fighter3000 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 3135 | 8.5 | 67 | |
| 12 | 16 | IM | @Rud_Makarian | Rudik Makarian | 3058 | 8.5 | 64.5 | |
| 13 | 81 | GM | @KaydenTroffChess | Kayden Troff | 2843 | 8.5 | 61 | |
| 14 | 42 | GM | @jcibarra | José Ibarra | 2932 | 8.5 | 54 | |
| 15 | 98 | GM | @CarlosAlbornoz | Carlos Albornoz | 2846 | 8 | 78.5 | |
| 16 | 32 | GM | @shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 2990 | 8 | 73.5 | |
| 17 | 40 | GM | @Anton_Demchenko | Anton Demchenko | 2984 | 8 | 70.5 | |
| 18 | 25 | GM | @BilodeauA | Kirill Alekseenko | 3015 | 8 | 70 | |
| 19 | 61 | GM | @ContrVersia | Valery Kazakouski | 2880 | 8 | 66.5 | |
| 20 | 101 | FM | @Rud_2008 | Rudolf Pashikyan | 2806 | 8 | 66 | |
| 94 | 143 | GM | @Goryachkina | Aleksandra Goryachkina | 2660 | 6.5 | 48 |
(Full final standings here.)
Deac won $1,000 for his efforts, while Xiong settled for $750. This time, five players finished tied for third on nine points. Andreikin had the best tiebreaks in that group and won $350 in third place, while GM Alexander Grischuk was next for $200. The $100 prizes went to Sarana in fifth (somewhat making up for the near-miss earlier) and GM Aleksandra Goryachkina with the top women’s score.
Titled Cup Standings
Players’ worst performances are now starting to not count in their top 20 results, with Duda and Andreikin in particular benefiting for the moment. In the women’s standings, Goryachkina moved into a tie for first with IM Karina Ambartsumova, while GM Gata Kamsky now leads the senior standings ahead of GM Alex Rustemov. CM Artem Bardyk still leads the juniors, although Lazavik and GM Pranav Venkatesh are both within 12 points despite playing in much fewer tournaments. Finally, WCM Veronika Shubenkova retains a sizable lead in the girls’ standings.
Open
| # | Username | Score | Player |
| 1 | @Hikaru | 183.0 | GM Hikaru Nakamura |
| 2 | @mishanick | 171.5 | GM Alexey Sarana |
| 3 | @Polish_fighter3000 | 169.0 | GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda |
| 4 | @Jospem | 165.0 | GM Jose Martinez |
| 5 | @FairChess_on_YouTube | 145.5 | GM Dmitry Andreikin |
Women
| # | Username | Score | Player |
| 1 | @karinachess1 | 124.5 | IM Karina Ambartsumova |
| 1 | @Goryachkina | 124.5 | GM Aleksandra Goryachkina |
| 3 | @ChessQueen | 72.5 | GM Alexandra Kosteniuk |
| 4 | @Sanyura | 71.5 | IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya |
| 5 | @Fh2411 | 70.0 | IM  Le Thao Nguyen Pham |
Other Category Leaders
Juniors: CM Artem Bardyk (120.0 points)
Seniors: GM Gata Kamsky (143.5 points)
Girls: WCM Veronika Shubenkova (68.0 points)
The new Titled Cup fantasy game Chess Prophet continues as well. Current standings can be found here. (Login required.)
Titled Tuesday is Chess.com’s weekly tournament for titled players, with two tournaments held each Tuesday. The first tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, and the second at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).
