We're now three rounds into the six round Polgar and Denker state championship tournaments. Action is heating up with only a handful of players in each section with perfect scores. Today, the top boards were all decided by tactical flourishes.



Standings after 3 rounds:
Denker:
3-0- Daniel Schwarz (California), Tyler Hughes (Colorado) and Nelson Lopez (North Carolina)

Polgar:
3-0-Abby Marshall (Virginia), Anjali Datta (Texas), Amanda Mateer (Arizona) and Alexandra Wiener (Connecticut)

Click here for complete Denker standings.
Click here for complete Polgar standings.

Tactics decide in Round 3

In the Denker, boards 1 and 2 featured exciting games. On board 1, Daniel Schwarz, on the white side of a French found a pretty tactic to decide the game.



35. Rxd5! was a pretty finish to a well-played game by White.

On board two, Francis Chen played a creative piece sacrifice for three pawns.



Francis misstepped with 21...Qxh4?, allowing 22.Qb3!, forcing Kh8. Lopez followed through with 23.Qxd3!, winning the heart of Black's position.


Daniel Schwarz and Nelson Lopez both won their third round games with white to reach 3-0.

Defending Champ Keeps Pressure on.

Abby Marshall, 2005 Polgar Invitational Champion starts with 3-0. Is she going for her second title in a row? She's certainly playing like it! Here's her third round win against Janice Chen. 34...Nc3! was the end of the World for Janice.





Group shot of Denker participants.


By round 3 of the Polgar, intensity was visibly rising.


44 girls from as far as Alaska are participating in this year's Polgar invitational for Girls.


Stephanie Pitcher, former Miss Congeniality at the Polgar, is now a freshman at the University of Utah. In Round two of the Open, she dressed as Miss Orange.