Michael Cambareri defeated Dave Rowles in their final round encounter to share the Winter Championship title with 4.0 scores. Four players tied for second with 3.5: Daniel Amado, Nikolay Bulakh, John Frostad, and Asa Wadden. John was the top class A player; Nikolay the top class B scorer; and Asa and Daniel topped class C — it was a remarkable distribution of the top scores among the rating classes.
The USCF crosstable link: Winter Championships 2026 | US Chess Ratings
Our previous reports of the event:
Pder TD Ben Shedlock: The fifth and final round of the Winter Championships will be played this Thursday, and there’s plenty of action left to unfold. An unusually high number of draws among the A & B classes has opened a pathway for strong C Class player Daniel Amado to quietly rack up 3 points, putting him within reach of the top prize on Board 2 against John Frostad. Meanwhile, on Board 1 Dave Rowles holds the only perfect 4, which he’ll look to convert to a sweep against top seed Michael Cambareri. If Rowles falls and Amado pulls the upset on Board 2, 1517-rated Amado would join two A Class players in a share of the top prize.
Previous report on first two rounds:
There were no first round upsets when the 2026 Winter Championship started January 8, but that changed dramatically in round two. Ben Legard defeated top seed Michael Cambareri on board one, while second seed Ken Erickson drew with Keith Brownlee, one of five draws in the round that also featured some upset victories throughout the field. Dave Rowles and Ben Legard are the only undefeated players, with five others sitting just behind at 1.5 after two rounds. Expect some more fireworks in round three!