Grandmaster Zhou Jianchao secured clear first place at the 5th Skyline Chess Open, hosted at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott in Dulles, Virginia, from October 9 through October 12, 2026.
Zhou finished the seven-round Swiss tournament with 6.5 points, placing a full point ahead of International Master Lokumannage Susal Thewjan De Silva and FIDE Master Vaibhav Kalpaka, who tied for second place with 5.5 points each.
The tournament served as a US Chess Grand Prix event offering 80 Grand Prix points while also counting toward the VCF Cup. Featuring a total prize fund of $10,000, the festival was structured into four main divisions: Open, Under 2000, Under 1600, and Under 1200. The top two sections were FIDE-rated, with Open section entry restricted to players who have held a peak rating of at least 1800 in USCF or FIDE since January 1, 2025.
Participants in the Open, Under 2000, and Under 1600 sections selected between a four-day schedule and a compressed three-day option featuring accelerated early rounds, both playing under a main time control of 90 minutes with a 30-second increment. The Under 1200 section ran as a separate two-day event spanning six rounds at a faster time control.
Open section final standings:
1 GM ZHOU Jianchao 2637 MA – 6.5
2 IM DE SILVA Lokumannage Susal Thewjan 2489 MD – 5.5
3 FM KALPAKA Vaibhav 2355 VA – 5.5
4 IM PARK Evan 2556 PA – 5
5 FM PETESCH Gabriel 2385 PA – 5
6 WANG Kevin 2288 DE – 5
7 MOORHOUSE Will 2272 VA – 5
8 MEADORS Landon 2234 DE – 5
9 IM FRANK Adam 2413 NA – 4.5
10 FM WILSON Ronen 2296 VA – 4.5
11 FM SAMUELSON Andrew 2226 VA – 4.5
12 LEE Daniel J 2170 NA – 4.5
13 QUIRKE Jeffrey L 2152 PA – 4.5
14 CM XIN Stella 2113 NY – 4.5
15 WFM CHEN Celine 2085 NC – 4.5
16 CHONG Hanford 2033 VA – 4.5
17 FM CHIRILOV James 2422 NC – 4
18 FM DIAO Matthew Guo 2320 VA – 4
19 CM LIU Steven 2233 MD – 4
20 SANKAR Tarun 2189 AZ – 4
21 CM SAMANTA Aayansh 2186 PA – 4
22 MARTIN Zachary David 2184 VA – 4
23 AMRANY Benjamin 2179 VA – 4
24 LIN Benjamin Gu 2168 PA – 4
25 SRIVASTAVA Arav 2165 VA – 4
26 CM KATTA Sriansh 2129 NC – 4
27 KARTHIGEYAN Kishan 2097 NC – 4
28 YEHAMANDRAM SRIDHAR Jagadeeshwar 2095 VA – 4
29 MURUGAN AYYAPPAN Adhiraiyan 2065 VA – 4
30 ZHOU Alexander Zheng 2003 VA – 4
31 CM BRADY Tyson 2328 VA – 3.5
32 BARROW William J 2162 VA – 3.5
33 LE-TRAN Leo 2104 LA – 3.5
34 JACKSON Cayden 1999 VA – 3.5
35 RAJEEV Ameya 1996 VA – 3.5
36 BLOCH Nicholas 1905 MD – 3.5
37 GM SMITH Bryan G 2478 PA – 3
38 FM ZHUANG Kyle 2380 VA – 3
39 KUNAPULI Siddarth Sriaditya 2117 OH – 3
40 VERMA Angelina 2006 MD – 3
41 FITZSIMMONS Daniela 1967 VA – 3
42 NIGAM Myra 1958 PA – 3
43 KONSTANTAKOS Christos 1950 TX – 3
44 BUELTMANN-PROK Lenny A 1927 VA – 3
45 EVERETT Luke D 1917 MD – 3
46 DOPPALAPUDI Adith 1912 VA – 3
47 SATHIESH Kavin Chandar 1900 VA – 3
48 LITZENBERGER-BRUNETTI Joaquin 1861 VA – 3
49 SERRETTE Lenox 1764 DC – 3
50 LI Ella Xinyi 1714 VA – 3
51 LEVINE Owen 2215 VA – 2.5
52 FISCHER Robert J 2012 VA – 2.5
53 SU Milo 1990 NY – 2.5
54 ZHOU Yifei 1973 VA – 2.5
55 DUCHESNE Raymond 1966 VA – 2.5
56 DOKKA Tanush 1935 VA – 2.5
57 ANAND Anirudh 1934 MI – 2.5
58 HUANG Lucia 1817 VA – 2.5
59 CHINARA Aarav 1764 PA – 2.5
60 SANKAY Aran 1674 WI – 2.5
61 EHRENBERG Nathan Eric 2014 DC – 2
62 KARELL Leif 2000 MD – 2
63 YAGIZ Bora 1962 NY – 2
64 JUPALLY Vedh 1854 VA – 2
65 BOSHKIN Anatoly 1851 WV – 2
66 JACKSON Maddox 1823 VA – 2
67 XU Jason N 1728 VA – 2
68 CHEN Lucas Xh 1582 MD – 2
69 JOSE Franco 2000 VA – 1.5
70 GILBERT Walker W 1993 VA – 1.5
71 ALGHANIM Faisal 1750 DC – 1.5
72 NAYLOR Carla 1721 VA – 1.5
73 BIRUDAVOLU Sathvik 1720 NJ – 1.5
