In many sports, halftime is a great time for players to reset, gather their bearings, and map out their plans for the rest of the event. In the U.S. Invitationals, with its intensive two-round days, players get only one brief night to rest before the next day, and the fatigue players acquire towards the end of the tournament is a testament to how physically taxing chess can be. After the first double-round day, multiple players finished close to or even past midnight, and the field was all set for an exciting penultimate day.
38 years ago in 1985, the first Denker Tournament of High School State Champions was held: a melting pot for strong chess players all over the nation. Since then, multiple other tournaments emerged like flowers in a blossoming garden, including the Barber Tournament for Middle School Champions, the Haring Tournament for Girls Champions, the Irwin Tournament for Senior Champions, the Rockefeller Tournament for Elementary Champions, and the Weeramantry tournament for Blitz Champions.