Saturday, June 25, 2011

Johnson & Shaw lead with one to go! Hunt still Perfect!

Fourteen players battled in the Penultimate Round of Ashland XXI. Klaus Johnson (1840) bounced back from a round 3 set back with a win over Ralph Buske (1492) and grabbed a share of the lead when Paul Farb (1901) and Adam Shaw (1780) drew. David Boyd (1319) scored an upset win by defeating Russell Thurmond (1600).

In the Amateur Section, Darell Hunt (1112) stayed perfect taking the point from Jaime Sanyer (1161) and wins the section with a round to go! Mike Mayfield (1308) took the point from Daniel Smith (1343). Paul Lowry (1177) emerged with the point from a very tough battle with Megh Testerman (UNR) and Richard Watts (1141) won over Stephen Barker (UNR).

The Final Round will be Thursday, June 30. Daniel Smith will be the Chief for this round.

The SC Class Championship is coming up July 9-10 here in Columbia. You can register with Klaus at the club on Thurs evening. Entry fee is only $15 for Unrated players in the D & E Classes! If you're a new player or looking to play in your first weekend tournament this is the one!

South Carolina's Premier event, The Columbia Open, is August 19-21. This year's edition has a $5000 guaranteed prize fund and 40 Grand Prix points up for grabs! Be sure to take advantage of the early entry fee of $59 by Aug 12. You can register with Erik at the club or online.

Also mark your calendar for the NC Open in Charlotte on Labor Day weekend. This is the largest event in Southeast drawing over 200 players last year. This year's event has a $12,500 guaranteed prize fund that pays 10 places deep in all sections! There's also 100 Grand Prix points available and the Open Section will be FIDE rated.

These are three great events over the next 3 months with a lot of money guaranteed to be paid out and you only have to leave town for one!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Shaw & Holmes tied after 3 Rounds!

Sixteen players competed in the third round of Ashland XXI. Adam Shaw (1780) claimed Board 1 from Klaus Johnson (1840) to move into first with Gil Holmes (1756) who defeated Erik Murrah (1720) to keep pace. Paul Farb (1901) took the point from George Morton (1726) as Russell Thurmond (1600) defeated Daniel Smith (1343) to round out the Open Section.

In the Amateur Section, Darell Hunt (1112) continued his run toward perfection with a win over Mark Woodman (1152) scoring his third straight upset! Mike Mayfield (1308) was convinced to settle peacefully with Paul Lowry (1177) as Birney Blind (1237) defeated Stephen Barker (UNR). Christian Dunlap (924) won over Megh Testerman (UNR).

Round 3 will be this Thursday, June 23.

The SC Class Championship will be here in Columbia July 9 & 10 (Two weeks away!). Early entry is $50 by July 6. You can enter with Klaus at the club on Thurs nights.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Ashland XXI -Johnson & Hunt lead after Round 2!

Eighteen players compete in Round 2 of Ashland XXI. Klaus Johnson (1840) defended board 1 from George Morton (1726) to move into clear first with 2 points. Adam Shaw (1780) settled peacefully Erik Murrah (1720) as Gil Holmes (1756) took the point from Daniel Smith (1343) creating a 3 way tie for second at 1.5 points. Paul Farb (1901) scored the win over Russell Thurmond (1600) to finish the Open Section.

Darell Hunt (1112) scored his second straight win defeating Max Witherell (1181) and stands alone at the Top of the Amateur Section with 2 points. Jaime Sanyer (1161) picked up the point from new member Stephen Barker (UNR) while Mark Woodman (1152) outlasted Megh Testerman (UNR). Paul Lowry (1177) settled peacefully with James Price (1098) as Mike Mayfield (1308) defeated Christian Dunlap (924)

Round 3 will be Thursday, June 16.

Monday, June 6, 2011

New Weak Square Article

You asked for it, you got it. The WeakSquare rides again!

I'm Not Good Enough to Play Chess

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Ashland XXI - Start your clocks! Who turned out the lights??!!!

A bizarre start to Ashland XXI?! The round got underway as normal. Around 30 mins into play a severe storm moved through the area and lights flickered several times. Naturally, just as it looked as if the storm was almost past us the power went off sixty minutes into play. There was no emergency lighting in the playing rooms so we decide to wait a little while and see if the power would come back on.

After about 30mins at 9:00 and still in the dark the decision was made to allow those that wanted to finish their game to move to the Burger King on Bush River Road at I20 about a mile away. At this point we had one game completed, one game continued by cell phone light on site!, the participants of one game had vanished?!, one game agreed to a draw, one participant accepted a loss (basically resigned) when he didn't want to continue the game and refused a draw offer?! Two players from out of town were allowed to go home and finish their game there. As it turned out only two games moved to Burger King to be completed. Naturally one game went the full time limit and past the 11:00pm closing time of the restaurant. There was no problem though and a big Thank You! to Burger King for allowing us to invade and finish our games! Thank you to everyone for your cooperation!

Here are the results, Erik Murrah (1720) took the point from Paul Farb (1901), Klaus Johnson (1840) outlasted Russell Thurmond (1600), Adam Shaw (1780) picked up the point from Ralph Buske (1492) and George Morton (1726) won over David Boyd (1319).

In the Amateur Section, Mike Boone (1334) settled peacefully with Jaime Sanyer (1161), Darell Hunt (1112) defeated Mike Mayfield (1308), James Price (1098) won over Birney Blind (1237) and Max Witherell (1181) scored the point over David Haller (UNR).

We've had a lot of new players showing up recently and we hope this trend continues! If you've been considering coming out but haven't made it now is the time! There's plenty of new players to battle and learn with.

The hopefully uneventful Round 2 will be Thursday, June 9.

The early entry deadlines are fast approaching for the Statesville Open, June 17-19 and the SC Open, June 24-26. Club players are planning to attend both tournaments.

Check out the Survivor Series at Tiger Chess in Charlotte. This a series of six, one day tournaments. The next one is June 11, This Saturday! Entry fee for Cola Club members is $17! This is discounted from $25 so take advantage of it.

The next three Reverse Angle tournaments in Charlotte have been scheduled for Aug 13, Oct 1 and Nov 19. Check the QCCA site for details.

We're trying to put together a couple club matches with Queen City and Tiger Chess. Let us know if you're interested in playing either here in Columbia or traveling to Charlotte.

Don't forget that Augusta area players are now meeting every Sat morning at Arsenal Games and Hobbies. Check the Augusta Players site for details.

See you next week!