The 21st Space Coast Open Chess Festival was held on 25-27th April at the International Palms Resort, 1300 North Atlantic Avenue (Hwy A1A), Cocoa Beach, Florida.
The event was played over 5 rounds of Swiss system and in six sections: Master/Expert (FIDE rated), Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D and U1200. A total of 168 players competed.
The main Master section had 33 participants. IM Javad Maharramzade (Azerbaijan), GM Mikheil Kekelidze (Georgia) and IM Alexandr Reprintsev (Ukraine) shared the first place with 4,0/5 points each.
The prize fund was $15,000 based on 200 paid entries, with $10,000 guaranteed.
Master final standings:
1-3. IM Javad Maharramzade 2628, GM Mikheil Kekelidze 2556 and IM Alexandr Reprintsev 2542 – 4,0
4-10. GM Lars Bo Hansen 2634, IM Nikolay Andrianov 2463, CM Ruifeng Li 2377, FM Fabio La Rota 2276, Eric Cooke 2252, Gaston Andretta 2180 and Goran Markovic 2152 – 3,5 etc
