Samyukta Ties for 4th at Polgar

(Board 1 in the final round. Yang Dai played 1.d4 and Samyukta responds with Nf6.)

Oh so close, and yet so far away. You simply can't win 'em all.

Playing on board 1 against the top seed rated more than 300 points higher, Samyukta Bhat fought all the way to the end, blundering only in time pressure. In the words of Polgar Invitational organizer and namesake GM Susan Polgar, she "fought valiantly. The position was very close." In spite of this setback, Samyukta finished tied for 4th place, together with the defending champion and two other girls. There's no doubt that she made all of us in Northern California proud to have her as official representative!

Final standings of Polgar Invitational

• 6.0 -- Yang Dai (2057) 6.0
• 5.0 -- Rachel Gologorsky (1704) and Epiphany Peters (1797)
• 4.5 -- Linda Diaz (1882), Courtney Jamison (1984), Samyukta Bhat (1740) and Joanne Koong (1683)
  

Check back for Samyukta's round 5 win, which I will post as soon as it is available online. Click here for photo albums from the tournament.