The Tradewise Gibraltar Masters has concluded in a very exciting fashion. First, American champion Hikaru Nakamura won his final three games to tie with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France for first, but before they could go into the rather draconian tie-breaking format to decide the winner, they had to wait to see whether Pentala Harikrishna of India could grind down China’s number 2, Li B. Chao and join them. Harikrishna tried long and hard in a much better position but couldn’t break down Chao’s determined resistance. So, Nakamura and Vachier-Lagrave first played two 10-minute games, still tied. They then played two three-minute games, still tied. And then there was the very cruel “Armageddon’’ game where black gets four minutes but draw odds and white five minutes. Nakamura won a coin toss and chose black. He then defended the title he won last year. He got $29,006 for first and Vachier-Lagrave got $23,204 for second place. The next highest scoring American was Gata Kamsky, who finished 23rd on tie-break.

The always exciting and competitive Massachusetts Chess Association’s scholastic championship cycle is nearing its conclusion — the “Spiegel Cup State Scholastic Championships’’ (March 20th in Marlborough). The Spiegel Cup features three, 10-player invitational events in the “8 and Under’’, “11 and Under’’ and “14 and Under’’ age groups. There is also a high school championship event which is open to all Massachusetts high school students. There are two spots left in each age group. One spot will be filled by the last of four qualifier events (March 6), and one will be filled by the “Spiegel Cup Series’’ (SCS) winner. The SCS is a well-attended series of scholastic events held throughout the state. Players earn points in each event’s age group section. The player with the highest accumulated point total after the final event earns a spot in the Spiegel Cup. For more details, check out MACA’s Web page: www.MassChess.org/Scholastics.

Winners: Wachusett Chess Club “Reggie Boone Memorial’’: 1st: Dave Kochman, 4.5-0.5, 2nd-5th: Roger Cappallo, Paul Godin, Ken Gurge, Mike Commisso — all with 4-1; February Quads, Boylston Chess Club; Quad#1: 1st: Paul Michael Hodgden, 2.5-.5, Quad#2: 1st: Matthew Duncan Manzo: 2.5-.5; Quad#3: 1st: Bernie Xu: 3-0; Quad#4: 1st: Elliot Yu: 2.5-.5; Small Swiss: 1st: Joaquin Carlson: 3-0; Spiegel Cup Series-23rd NESSP Chess: 14&Under, 1st: Boshen Li: 3-1, 11&Under: 1st: Mark Chudnovsky: 3.5-.5, 8&Under: 1st: Victor Feng: 4-0.

Coming events: Feb. 20, Spiegel Cup Series Makor Chess Tournament, Center Makor, 1845 Commonwealth Ave., Brighton, www.MassChess.org/Events; Feb 20, $15 Open, Boylston Chess Club, www.BoylstonChess.org/events; Feb. 21, New England Chess School Spiegel Cup Series At Temple Emunah, New England Chess School, 9 Piper Road, Lexington, www.ChessNE.com/tournament.

Answer to today’s problem: The deflecting 1…Qd1!+ wins as 2.QxQ loses to 2…BxB+ 3.Qf3 Bxf3 mate.