Rated Tournament for Beginner's in July!

In July the St Andrews Regional Library and the Columbia Chess Club will hold a Rated Tournament for Beginner's! This tournament will be open to players with a rating of Under 1200 so it will be the perfect opportunity for new players to jump in and try out rated play.

There will be an early schedule and a late schedule to give everyone a chance to play, and you can play in both if you want! The winner in each tournament will receive free entry into the Columbia Open!

If you've ever wanted to play in a rated chess tournament here's your chance! If you still think you're not good enough to play rated chess check out this article by The Weak Square

Here are the details:

St. Andrews Regional Library
Beginner’s Rated Chess Tournament
Open to players USCF rated 1200 and under.

New players can earn an official USCF rating!
One section, five rounds over five weeks beginning on July 2 continuing with one round each Monday through July 30.

You are not required to play every week. There will be two tournaments, an early one starting at 6:30 and a late one starting at 7:45. Register by 6:15 for the early round each week and by 7:30 for the late round. Players can compete in both if they want and play two rated games each week!

Time control is 30 minutes for each player with a 5 second delay. Each game can last 1 hour. Sets and clocks provided but please bring your tournament set and clock if you have one.

United States Chess Federation (USCF) membership required which can be purchased on site. Scholastic (under 13) memberships start at $8 and Adult memberships start at $15.

No entry fee! Top finisher in each tournament will receive free entry into The Columbia Open tournament which will be held Aug 17-19 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Harbison, a $59 value.

Tournament Schedule:
July 2 – Round 1A 6:30
Round 1B 7:45

July 9 – Round 2A 6:30
Round 2B 7:45

July 16 – Round 3A 6:30
Round 3B 7:45

July 23 – Round 4A 6:30
Round 4B 7:45

July 30 – Round 5A 6:30
Round 5B 7:45

Ashland Quick XXXI recap

Ten players came out to compete in Ashland Quick XXXI.  The quick ratings balanced nicely allowing a top quad and a swiss section for the other 6.  We had a strong player visiting from California in the name of Scott Manson but in the first round Ethan Winter snagged the upset from Scott.  In round two Gil Holmes took one from Winter.  After the smoke had cleared Scott Mason(1964) and Ethan Winter(1696) split first with two points each.

In the Swiss section, there were more upsets with no one taking full control.  Julie Sheil had upset wins from Mike Mayfield and Daniel Smith, Riku Koivusalo took points from Daniel Smith and Julie Shiel.  Shaun McCoy snagged wins from Christian Dunlap and a rd 3 win from Riku Koivusalo.  Mike Mayfield claimed victories against Sheil and winning the R and p endgame against Dunlap.  This battle royale ended with a four way tie for first with Mike Mayfield(1422), Riku Koivusalo(1237P5), Shaun McCoy(1210P16) and Julie Sheil(1112P25) each having two points.

There will be no club meeting this Thursday May 24th.  The SC Open is this Memorial Day weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn in Greenville, SC.  Information can be found at http://www.scchess.org/.

The next club meeting with be Thursday May 31st and Ashland XXVII run from May 31st to June 28th .  Call or email your entries before 7:15pm.