Ashland XXVI goes to Caiello and McCoy

Ashland XXVI came to a close with Ben Caiello winning the Open section with 4 points and Shaun McCoy taking 4.5 in the Amateur section.  In total 27 players competed over the 5 week event, of those a handful of new faces joined the club and started the towards chess mastery .

Ben Caiello(1897) defeated Gil Holmes(1820) to solidify first and brother Dan Caiello(1625) pulled the upset of Adam Shaw(1790).  Chris Labrecque(1405) claimed the victory over Ralph Buske(1482) and Ethan Winter(1771) took the point against Ron Hinds(1772) to round out the open section.

In the Amateur section, Shaun McCoy(1346) took his time to lock down first place by defeating George Boykin(1042).
Riku Koivusalo took the point from newcomer Andrew Manion and Christian Dunlap(950) posted his second victory in a row by defeating newcomer Kory Adam.
Check full results here.

The next Ashland Quick  will be on May 17.  Call or text your entries before 7:15 pm.

The SC Open will be help Memorial Day weekend.  More information can be found here.

Ashland XXVI rd 4 MacDougall and McCoy in the lead

Despite only having 12 rated players, the air was ripe with intensity for rd 4.  There was no less action and drama for the six or so playing casually in the skittles room. 

The top two games both came down to seconds with James MacDougall(2014) and Adam Shaw(1790) playing to a draw in a fascinating game and Gil Holmes(1820) out lasting David Boyd(1485) to claim the point.  In contrast, Ron Hinds quickly succumbed to Ralph "Buccaneer" Buske's(1482) charge. 

In the U1505 section,  Shaun McCoy(1360) and Andrew Minion(815) agreed to disagree, drawing the game.  "The Patriot" Christian Dunlap(950) claimed the point against Vincent Mahoney in a very interesting endgame and Mike Mayfield(1346) and Riku Koivusalo agreed to a draw in a opposite colored bishop endgame.

The round 5 showdown will be James MacDougall with 3.5 points vs Ben Caiello with 3 points in the Open.  Shaun McCoy is atop the U1505 with 3.5 points with Manion and Mayfield not far behind.

Text or call for your entry for round 5.  Registration ends at 7:15pm.

Ashland XXVI Rd 3

In the third installment of Ashland XXVI, James MacDougall(2014) received a point due to forfeit.  Ben Caiello(1897) ground out the win vs Chris Labrecque(1405).  Lendel Robinson(1665) took the point from Daniel Caiello(1625).  Newcomer to the club, John Zeimetz(1707) took the point from Ron Hinds(1772) and Mike Mayfield(1346) snatched the point from Ralph Buske(1482) to round out the Open section.

In the U1505 section, Shaun McCoy(1360) continued his winning ways against newcomer Riku Koivusalo.  Mike Meekins(922) claimed the point vs George Boykin.  Andrew Manion(815) took the point from Jaime Sanyer and Drew Plyler(1031) earned the point against Solomon Hill.

Round 4 will be May 3rd.  Call or text your entries before 7:15pm.

Ashland XXVI Rd 1 and 2

Round 2 of Ashland XXVI included 14 players battling it out on the checkered squares.  James MacDougall(2014) used a bit of trickery to trap Gil Homes'(1820) Queen, quickly ending the battle.  Ben Caiello(1897) won vs Ron Hines(1772) in an interesting game in which Ben used a late kingside castle on move 40 to secure the win.  In arguably the night's most interesting battle, Ethan Winter(1771) and Lendel Robinson(1665) agreed to a draw when Lendel's queen moved into position for a perpetual checking sequence.  Daniel Caiello(1625) defeated Ralph Buske(1482) to round out the Open Section.

In the U1505 section, Shaun McCoy(1360) converted the win over the improving Julie Sheil(1047).  Mike Mayfield(1346) took his time to win a R and pawn endgame over Christian Dunlap(950).  In the new to the club game, Riku Koivusalo(UNR) defeated Solomon Hill(UNR).

Last week in Round 1, James MacDougall, Adam Shaw, Gil Holmes, all claimed the point and Ben Caiello and Lendel Robinson agreed to a draw.  In the U1505 section, Shaun McCoy, Andrew Manion, and James Brandmair scored wins and Riku Koivusalo and Jaime Sanyer played down to a bishop and kings, drawing the game.

Ashland XXVI continues with round 3 on April 26th.  Registration ends at 7:15pm.

The SC Open will be held in Greenvlle, SC on May 25-27.  Details can be found here.

B Caiello wins Ashland Quick XXVI!!

Fourteen players battled in Ashland Quick XXVI with Ben Caiello (1611) winning his second straight club tournament defeating Paul Farb (1732), Adam Shaw (1613) and Lendel Robinson (1463) in the Top Quad.

Darell Hunt (1132) won the Amateur Quad with a perfect 3-0 scoring wins over Dan Caiello (1403), Mike Mayfield (1379) & David Boyd (1236). This is Darell's third straight section win since joining the club!

Daniel Smith (1122) took the Swiss Section with a perfect 3-0 ahead of Ralph Buske (1085) & Mike Meekings (829) who tied for second with 2 points.

Next week, Thursday, Sept 1, Ashland XXIII begins. This will be the same format as A22:

Five round Swiss. Two Sections. One round a week for five weeks. You do not have to play every round.

Entry fee $2 for club members, $5 non-members. One bye allowed. Rounds start at 7:30. Game 90 +5s delay.

Two Sections: Open Section & Amateur Section (U1505). No Prizes.

The Southeast's biggest tournament is Labor Day weekend in Charlotte. The North Carolina Open is headlined this year with six Grand Masters competing and three time U.S. Women's Champion Irina Krush. Check their site for full details.