Current Washington Chess Champion Howard Chen of Monroe Washington tied for 1st place with 4.5-1.5 in the 16th Pacific Coast Open held July 14-17 at Agoura California. The other 4.5 scorers were 2500+ rated titled players all of California GM Melikset Khachiyan, IM Enrico Sevillano and IM Andranik Matikozyan. Chen drew with Khachiyan in round 6. Chen lost a game to FIDE Master John Daniel Bryant of Missouri who is rated 2478.
Chen’s USCF rating continues to climb and is now 2379.