The Columbia Open Results

NM Jeffrey Haskel(right) receiving the first place check.

National Master Jeffrey Haskel of Boca Raton, FL, managed three wins and two draws to take clear first place in the Open Section of the Columbia Open held at the Hilton Garden Inn in the Harbison area of Columbia, SC.  He waded through the tough field with IM Danny Kopec and NM Klaus Pohl to come out on top.  Patrick McCartney and Dominique Myers both scored 3.5 points sharing second place.
The U2200 prize had a three way tie with Tim Rankin, Gene Nix, and Sulia Mason all scoring 2.5 points.


The U2000 section created the most drama with the section not decided until the last game of the tournament.  Gary Branton Jr pulled out a win, putting him in clear first place with 4.5 points.
Rade Musulin and Kapish Potula shared second place with 4 points each.
Lillian Wanda took the U1800 prize with an impressive 3.5 points.

In the U1600 section, Jayashree Sekar and Columbia Chess Club regular, Andrew Manion, split first place honors and Bob Mahan claimed sole third place.
The U1400 prize went to Sri Uppaluri with 3.5 points.

U1200 Champ Akshat Jindal

Akshat Jindal scored the only 5-0 in the tournament giving him first the U1200 section.
Gunateja Guruvelli took sole second place with an impressive 4 points and third place was split between Sudhakar Avirinei, Zach Darga, and Rares Cristian.
The U1000 prize was claimed by Wouter Van De Groep.

Nine states were represented totaling 77 players playing in four sections. This set a record attendance for The Columbia Open.  Full results can be seen here.

Many Thanks to all who attended, parents and spouses and supporters of your players.
It was a great Columbia Open!

The great teamwork of Bob Halliday, David Grimaud, Drew Plyler and Daniel Smith led to a successful tournament.  Thanks to all.