Round one of the 2012 Club Championship was very intense as twenty two players competed in hard fought battles with bloodshed all through the field.
Ron Hinds (1817) set the tone for round 1 scoring the upset win on Board 1 over Paul Farb (1941) to get things off to an exciting start! Ben Caiello (1882) successfully defended Board 2 from Erik Murrah (1691) as Adam Shaw (1837) escaped with the point from Lendel Robinson (1624). Klaus Johnson (1835) claimed the win over Dan Caiello (1601). Gil Holmes (1834) took almost the entire 90 minutes to finally grind out the win over Daniel Smith (1505) in a same color Bishop endgame. Clocks read 8 s for Gil and 2 s for Daniel when the game was finally decided! Bill Taylor (1820) secured the point from Ralph Buske (1501) to finish out the top half of the field and create a six way tie among the 1800 players after round 1.
The bottom half of the field was just as hard fought with Cody Kyzer (1480) finally prevailing over Birney Blind (1177), Darell Hunt (1349) outlasting Julie Sheil (1090), Richard Watts (1243) securing the point over Ron Labrecque (1063) and Josh Lewer (1187) scoring a first round win over Mike Meekins (986). New club member Joey Dean (1153) scored the upset win over Shaun McCoy (1389) showing a fine endgame technique to win a Queen vs. Pawn on the 7th endgame.
Twelve players stand on 1 point heading into round 2. With number 3 seed Paul Farb getting upset in the first round, defending champ Keith Eubanks and number 2 seed James MacDougall taking first round byes the battle for the big trophy looks wide open!
Round 2 is Thursday, March 1. If you missed the first round you can still enter and play!
Casual play is now available on Monday nights from 6:00 - 8:30 at the St Andrews Regional Library on Broad River Road. If there is enough interest we may offer quick rated chess.
The Chess Players of Augusta are very active now and are just down the road. Be sure to check out their schedule for some quick and/or dual rated play. Their next Sat tournament is the Augusta Spring Rapids on March 17. Their first Sat tournament drew 22 players and was well run. If you are interested in going check at the club for car pooling opportunities.
March 17 is the Checkmate Hunger charity tournament in Lexington. This is a game 75, four round swiss.
SC Sr. Open Mar 24-25 - Travelers Rest. Hey you kids!! Stay off my pawn!!! ages 50+: must have been born before 3/24/1962
The Big Enchilada II will be held Mar 30 - Apr 1 in Raleigh. This is a new tournament that got off to a good start last year.
A nice mix of tournaments coming up with something for everyone! Get out and play!
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