Final round, board 1 - GM Francesco Sonis (2626) (L) vs GM Igor Novikov (2542) (R), CFCC 2026 Winter Open & Scholastic weekend tournament
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2026 Winter Open
With a perfect score of 5/5 points, CFCC wishes to congratulate GM Francesco Sonis (2626) for his clear 1st place win at our 2026 Winter Open this past weekend at the Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Lake Buena Vista!
2026 Winter Open Scholastic (U1200)
With a perfect score of 5/5 points, CFCC wishes to congratulate Zane T. (1048) for a clear 1st place win in our 2026 Winter Open Scholastic tournament!
2026 WINTER OPEN SATURDAY NIGHT BLITZ
With 7.5/8 points, CFCC wishes to congratulate CM Antony Gospodinov (2161) for winning clear 1st place in our 2026 Winter Open Saturday Night Blitz tournament!
We also wish to thank all the players who participated and congratulate those who placed in their respective sections!
Central Florida Chess Club (CFCC)
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2026 Winter Open
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2026 Winter Open & Scholastic
Tournament Recap
By Scholastic Chief TD Alex Dshalalow
The Central Florida Chess Club’s Winter Open—its first tournament of 2026—was held in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend of January 16–18. The event drew 209 players across six sections, with the Masters/Expert and Class A sections FIDE-rated. A Saturday evening blitz tournament rounded out the weekend and attracted 42 participants.
Enjoy my recaps below for each competitive section!
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Masters/Expert Division
The top section was won convincingly with a perfect 5/5 by Italian Grandmaster Froncesco Sonis (2624). Showing excellent control throughout the event, Sonis defeated Tea Gueci (2135), WIM Annmarie Muetsch (2317), Goran Markovic (2122), Antony Gospodinov (2191), and GM Igor Novikov (2542).
WIM Annmarie Muetsch, visiting from Belgium, finished in clear second place. Her only loss came against GM Sonis, and she capped her tournament by defeating Lyubomir Gospodinov (2166) in the final round.
A three-way tie for third place followed between GM Igor Novikov, Cuban FM Yans Girones Barrios (2464), and Lyubomir Gospodinov. The section was deep and competitive, featuring additional titled players including French GM Gabriel Flom (2477), Cuban FM Jean Marco Cruz, and Florida’s own FM Corey Acor.
As usual, the final round shaped the standings in dramatic fashion. If Muetsch had lost to Gospodinov in the last round, Gospodinov would have secured clear second. Likewise, had Novikov defeated Sonis in round five, he would have claimed the title with 4.5 points, while Sonis would have finished on 4.0.
On a personal note, having followed chess since the mid 1980s, it was a real treat to watch GM Igor Novikov in action, having read about him in various tournament reports, back when I was a kid. Originally from Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union), Novikov represented the Soviet team at the World Youth (Under 26) Team Championship, earning a gold medal on board four. He also won the Ukrainian Championship in 1989, tying for first with GM Gennady Kuzmin. In the late 1990s GM Novikov emigrated to the United States.
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Like the Masters section, Class A produced a clear and decisive winner. Jolie Huang (1947) posted a dominant 5/5, finishing a full 1.5 points ahead of the field. With this outstanding
performance, she crossed the expert threshold and will likely be competing for prizes in the Masters/Expert section at upcoming events.
Tied for places 2–6 were Rui Sha (1939), Juan Barthe (1881), Maksim Kalashnikov (1861), Mark Gao (1819), and Kevin McDonald (1816).
Barthe was the one player who had a direct shot at stopping Huang late in the tournament: he entered the final round on 3.5, paired against Huang on 4.0. A Barthe win would have held Huang to 4.0 while lifting Barthe to 4.5. Huang, however, completed the clean sweep—and the rest was history.
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Class B had a clear winner as well, with Austin Vogt (1819) taking first on 4.5 points. Nazar Deputat (1764) and Kiani Walker (1676) shared second and third on 4.0.
Deputat entered the final round on a perfect 4/4, needing only a win or draw to secure first, but fell to Vogt. Walker, meanwhile, earned his prize finish by winning his last-round game against Bill Waite (1700).
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Class C was the one section without a sole champion, as Richard Brent (1596) and Mithrran Prakash (1427) tied for first with 4.0 points apiece. Brent clinched his share with a crucial last-round win over Bruce Gilbert (1523), while Prakash settled for a final-round draw against Brandon Robertson (1626).
The next prize group—places 3–7—was shared by Robertson, Robert Belvin (1562), Mauricio Coral (1475), Fritz Valcourt (1419), and Johnny Jobst (1355).
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Aahan Gupta (1161) secured clear first with 4.5 points, sealing the title with a final-round win against Oxford Bates (1381). Places 2–5 went to Bates, Aariv Cherukuri (1226), Srithan Nallamilli (1243), and Ishaan Adhikari (1143). With the exception of Bates, all prize-winners won in the last round to lock up their finishes. Had Bates managed to score a draw or win in his final game, he would have taken clear first.
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Zane Tsai (1048) dominated the scholastic section with a perfect 5/5, defeating Vyom Reddy (659), Siddharth Prabu (880), Archit Dev (966), Alex Jacobson (646), and Giorgio De Erbiti Ramirez (1209).
Vladislav Nazarenko (1062) and Inesh Adhikari tied for second and third. Nazarenko’s last-round draw against Prajwal Nidadavolu (1095) prevented him from matching Tsai’s perfect score.
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The blitz event—a four-round double Swiss (two games per round)—was highly competitive and featured titled players including GM Gabriel Flom (2500 blitz) and FM Corey Acor (2357). Both finished strongly but ultimately tied for 2nd–3rd on 7.0 points.
The clear blitz winner was Anthony Gospodinov (2018) with 7.5 points, conceding only a single draw (round three) to Phillip Durand (1934). Flom and Acor effectively canceled each other’s chances for first: both started round four on perfect scores, but drew each other in both games.
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The event was superbly organized by the Central Florida Chess Club, with the lion’s share of the work led by club president (and life master) NM Larry Storch and club vice president Kevin Sibbitt, whose professional photos capturing the spirit of the weekend can be found on the club’s blog. Steven Vigil and Charles Hatherill served as chief tournament directors, assisted by scholastic TD Alex Dshalalow.
2026 Winter Open Slideshow Gallery
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