Wesley So and Awonder Liang both sit at 2/2 in the open section after two rounds. Fabiano Caruana trails them by half a point, alone in third. So and Liang are the only players with unblemished records so far.
The women's tournament has produced a genuine upset. Megan Paragua, the 13-year-old lowest seed, shares the lead with Thalia Cervantes at 2/2. Paragua earned her spot at the top by beating defending champion Carissa Yip. Yip played an equal position but handed the game away with a blunder. For a teenager to dispatch the defending champ at 2/2 in a championship event is exactly the kind of breakthrough moment that defines tournaments. Paragua's youth and low rating made her an outsider, but two straight wins against serious competition suggest she belongs in this field.
So's perfect start matches what we've seen from him recently. His consistency at the board continues. Liang matching So's pace is the story there. The two are setting the pace while Caruana, a perennial top American contender, will need to pick up a win or two to keep in striking distance.
The women's section remains wide open. Cervantes and Paragua will face tougher opposition as the tournament progresses. Whether the teenager maintains her momentum or regresses to seed is what everyone will be watching.