IM Oleksii Bilych and GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami play a solid game throughout with points in the game that Ehsah could have pressed for a greater advantage. With the position locked up, the only avenue of play was the open a-file, and both players felt content to let it evolve into an endgame and a draw was agreed upon.
IM Alice Lee goes up against MN Christopher Yoo, where another even battle took place. Lee opened off with her Catalan, and maneuvers to gain the Bishop pair, but takes an opportunity to trade it back and convert into a bishop of opposite colors ending, a valuable draw against the highly rated Yoo.
IM Samrug Narayanan opts for a solid Berlin Defense against GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez and was even for the entire game except for one move. In the endgame, Fidel allowed Sammy a winning opportunity where Sammy could trade rooks, win material, and invade with the king for winning chances. This was missed by both players, and the game was drawn many moves later.
GM Prraneeth Vuppala acquired two bishops vs two knights early in a queenless middlegame against IM Liam Putnam. Liam was able to hold for a long time, investing large amounts of time to zig everytime Vuppula zagged. An error by Putnam made him give up the Exchange but battled with some exceptional endgame play with less than five minutes, including a portion where he was threatening to promote and closing in on a win. Liam was not able to find the correct sequence with seconds on the clock but the game still ended in a draw.
