Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov was a 2700 player who died at a young age. Now there is an annual tournament named after him. Top seed: Magnus Carlsen.

2019 US Championship

There is a national championship that features 5 players in the 2700 club. No, I'm not talking about Russia. The Big 3 (Caruana, So, and Nakamura) are joined by defending champ Sam Shankland, who has maintained his 2700 rating, and Dominguez. But according to the model, there is a clear favorite among these top 5. Caruana is coming off a very successful 2018, while Nakamura and So are well below their peaks.

E4stat has played Akobian before. I have not faced "Blindfold King" Gareev, but we share an interest in applying memory techniques, so I hope he does well. The forecast:

Prague Masters forecast

I'm a bit late with the forecast for the Prague Masters. It is a 10-player round robin starring Navara as the top seed. We are not used to seeing Gelfand as the lowest rated player. Not that long ago, he played Anand in the World Championship.