Grandmaster Sina Movahed secured his second Titled Tuesday victory of the spring split and third of his career on April 7, finishing with 10 out of 11 points for an outright win. GM Alexey Sarana took sole second place with 9.5 points after an impressive 8/8 start. Movahed now leads the spring split standings ahead of GM Nihal Sarin.
Movahed overcame an early setback, losing to American NM Ethan Sheehan in round three, to mount a strong comeback. Three players started perfectly through six rounds: Sarana, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk, and GM Tuan Minh Le. Sarana defeated Bortnyk in round eight after 44 moves, reaching a perfect 8/8 score ahead of the final break, where Movahed sat on 7/8 alongside Bortnyk and GM Zhamsaran Tsydypov. Sarana drew with Tsydypov in round nine to hold the lead, while Movahed beat Bortnyk, who lost multiple pawns. In round ten, Movahed toppled Sarana as Black, seizing sole possession of first place at 9/10. Four players trailed at 7.5/9, including Tsydypov, Le, GM Wesley So, and GM Arjun Erigaisi. Entering the final round, Movahed faced So with White and won a dramatic game featuring an Open Spanish variation where he sacrificed a piece. So captured but could not withstand the pressure, losing after his king faced mounting threats. Sarana won his game earlier to secure second. Le claimed third on tiebreaks over GM Parham Maghsoodloo, with So fifth and GM Aravindh Chithambaram sixth. IM-elect Rose Atwell won the women's prize. Prizes went to Movahed ($1,000), Sarana ($750), Le ($350), Maghsoodloo ($250), So ($150), Aravindh ($100), and Atwell ($100). Titled Tuesday is Chess.com's weekly online event for titled players, starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.