Hoyos 0-1 Lugo
Miton 0-1 Hernandez
Perelshteyn 1/2 Gulko
Schneider 1/2 Becerra
Krush 1/2 Hera
The battles in the last round is incredible! Hoyos and Lugo fought very hard a few days ago because Hoyos has to head to Turkey to represent Mexico in the World Youth. For a while, it looked like Hoyos was going to win but Lugo pulled off the swindle of the tournament.
Perelshteyn sacrificed early to go for the full point. Cautious and accurate defense by Gulko yielded a hard fought draw.
Schneider and Becerra also duked it out. Even when no norm is on the line, Schneider fought hard to win. The game ended in a 3 fold repetition.
There is no easy time in the Krush – Hera game. Hera is working very hard to try to convert a Q+5 Ps vs. Q+ 4Ps endgame.
Miton is determined to win and and grab hold of a share of 1st place. He even sacrificed a pawn for open play. Hernandez defended quite well to maintain the pawn advantage. They now reached a very imbalanced endgame with Q+P vs. B+N+2 Ps. Miton took chances until the end and he lost.
Perelshteyn is the clear winner of the first ever SPICE Cup!
Current standings:
Perelshteyn 6.5/9 (+4)
Hernandez 6/9 (+3)
Miton 5.5/9 (+2)
Becerra 5.5/9
Hera 5/9 (+1)
Krush 4/9 (-1)
Hoyos 3.5/9 (-2)
Lugo 3/9 (-3)
Gulko 3/9
Schneider 3/9
I predict a big last round upset.
… and what of Sammy Reshevsky?