Area Event Updates
Check out several events coming up in
the next couple of months by clicking on the Area Events link above!
Qualchan Quads Approaching
The Qualchan Quads will be played June 27 in conjunction with the Spokane City Championship Contenders tournament. Complete details are now available on our Area Events link (at left).
We also now have a flyer up for the 3rd Spokane Falls Open to be played July 18-19.
Club News
There were 20 in attendance at club on June 18, and 10 of them entered the Summer Solstice g/45 tourney which will conclude on June 25. Ryan Ackerman and Ted Baker completed the first night's action with the only two perfect 2.0 scores.
There will be no club meeting on July 2. Your editor is on vacation effective June 23, so there will be no update to this website until the July 9 meeting (a night of blitz chess).
The Lightning Quick tourney was played June 11. Ryan Ackerman scored 8.5 (from 9) to top James Stripes (8.0) by half a point. Ron Weyland (4.5) won the prize for best under 1400. The cross table is on our Recent Results page (link at left).
Memorial Day Weekend
DONALDSON WINS
2009 Washington Open
IM John Donaldson, the top seed, won the 2009 Washington Open played in Spokane May 23-25. He finished with a 5-1 score, one-half point ahead of Steve Breckenridge, Howard Chen, Nick Raptis, and Josh Sinanan.
The Premier section saw a three way tie: Daniel Copeland, Ethan Gottlieb, and Robert Herrera each scored 4.5 to finish ahead of six players with 4.0 scores. Ryan Ackerman secured the Reserve section title with a 5.5 score. Shanglun Wang was a perfect 6.0 in sweeping the Booster section.
Cross tables for the event are posted on our "Recent Results" page (link at left).
Washington Open action photos courtesy of Russell Miller (above, below)
Photo courtesy of Randy Countryman
The last time the tourney was played in Spokane was 52 years ago, when the 1957 Washington Open was played October 20-21, 1956.
Stripes To Preside Over Club
The May 28 club meeting featured our annual election of officers and a night of Blitz play. James Stripes was elected President. Chris Copeland was chosen to serve as Vice President. Kevin Korsmo and Ted Baker were returned to the offices of Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. James celebrated his victory by scoring 9-0 in the blitz tourney. Pat Herbers was second at 8-1.
Free chess sets
The Gary Younker Foundation is giving away extra chess sets from the Washington Elementary Chess Championships to regional schools or organizations that can use them for their clubs. Contact Kevin Korsmo at kmkorsmo@comcast.net for more information. Currently, each school is permitted up to ten sets. It is expected that the school or organization will keep the sets rather than giving them away to individuals.
GRAND PRIX FINAL REPORT -- JULIAN WINS AGAIN
The 2008-2009 Grand Prix standings ended just the way all of the others have. John Julian took a commanding early lead in the fall and coasted to victory. In addition to winning free entry into a major tourney of his choice (Washington Open, Far West Open, National Open, or Western States Open), John received $50 in Aunties gift certificates as the overall winner, top "A" player, top quick player, and top regular rated game player. Ryan Ackerman was the top "B" player ($10). Ron Weyland won $15 as the top "C" player and highest cumulative upset winner. Jim Waugh was the top "D" player ($10). Jim Burney won $10 as the biggest quick upset and highest cumulative upset winner. Annette Weyland ($10) was the top Action upset and highest cumulative Action upset winner. David Blue ($10) had the biggest upset and biggest weekend upset wins. James Stripes ($5) was the biggest cumulative weekend upset winner.
See the final Grand Prix standings on the Grand Prix link at left.
Mr. Coffee turns 80!
Jim Waugh birthday party April 30
It was a brief part of the evening, but the most important element of the club's April 30 meeting was a celebration of Jim Waugh's 80th birthday. Jim, born April 29, 1929, has been a fixture at the club for many decades, and has spent the last twenty years supplying coffee and treats for those who stop by every week. A nice crowd turned out to wish him well and share in birthday cupcakes. Thanks, Jim, for your long time service to the club -- and may we celebrate your birthday together for many years to come.
Quite the Experience!
2009 STATE ELEMENTARY CHAMPIONSHIP
Over 1000 kids took part in the 2009 Washington State Elementary Championships at the Spokane Convention Center April 24-25, 2009. A total of 989 competed in the K-6 championships and another 72 in the I Love Chess Too competition. It was easily the largest chess tournament ever played in Spokane and also a very exciting experience for all who took place.
James Stripes spearheaded the efforts to land the event and is owed a huge debt of thanks for handling all of the details, little and big, that go into putting on a major event. Without the organizing skills of James and his wife Terri, the event could not have run as smoothly as it did. A huge thank you also goes to the dozes of volunteers who made the event work. Adam Attwood, an island of calm even in the face of an occasionally angry parent, organized the many floor judges who smoothly ensured that the rounds ran smoothly. Dr. John Cambareri and son Michael joined your editor and Dave Griffin in a team of pairing directors who had to get the pairings and cross tables out for eight events as fast possible each round. The Deer Park contingent, headed by Gloria Hartley and Naureen Kummert, ran the registration and hospitality sections smoothly, bringing order to the chaos created by 1,000 kids and their parents. Ted Baker successfully championed a top notch crew of volunteers who set up the facility and also showed amazing skill as a scrounger who turned up whatever equipment the volunteers needed. Chris Copeland and friends put on a great awards ceremony. Many, many other area chess players, assisted by others from across the state, stepped up to do whatever was needed to ensure the event went well and ascertain that the kids had a great experience. The work of all these volunteers reflected well on our community. THANK YOU!!!
A scene of the upper section of the tourney compliments of floor judge organizer Adam Attwood.
Additional information can be found on the official website for the tournament: http://www.spokanechess2009.com/
Club News
TAXING QUADS COMPLETE
Fourteen players took place in a G/29 quick tourney May 21. John Julian and Phil Weyland topped the three round event with 2.5 scores. Third place featured a five way tie among Ryan Ackerman, Chris Copeland, Dave Griffin, Pat Herbers, and Jim Waugh. The link to the cross table can be found on our Recent Results page.
The annual Taxing Quads concluded its three week April run on April 30 with ten taking part in one quad and a six-player mini-Swiss. Ryan Ackerman won Quad A and Travis Elisara mini-Swiss, both with perfect 3.0 scores. Kevin Korsmo was runner-up in the Quad with a 2.0 score, while Ted Baker and birthday boy Jim Waugh tied for second in the Swiss, also with 2.0 scores. The cross table link can be found on our Recent Results page (link at left).
The May 7 meeting saw a "Forget some rules of Chess night." There were 24 in attendance at club, with 6 taking part in the g/30 tourney played with a couple of different rules -- players could castle out of or through check, and a player could capture his own pieces! James Stripes was a perfect 3.0, and fourth grader Brandon Hill tied with Dave Griffin for second at 1.5.
There were 21 people in attendance at the May 14 Free Play night -- and at least ten of them were in fourth grade or younger!
2009: Spokane's Biggest Chess Year
Spokane ended 2008 with a record-setting month of snowfall, which will blossom into the greatest chess year the area has ever seen. First up was the 17th Dave Collyer Memorial, Spokane's biggest, richest, and funnest tournament. A total of 63 players competed this year -- the second largest tally in the history of the event!
The Inland Empire Open, first played in 1954, is our longest-running and oldest event. This year's installment saw 24 players take part on April 4-5.
Next up on the record-setting 2009 calendar was the Washington State Elementary Chess Championships, which brought slightly more than 1,000 young chess players to the Convention Center on April 25. The event was a smash success and reflected well on the organizers, the local chess community, and those committed to scholastic chess across the state.
Finally, the Washington Open was held Memorial Day weekend in Spokane for the first time since October, 1956!! A total of 103 players participated. The last time this event was played in Spokane, Don Larsen had just thrown the only perfect game in World Series history, President Eisenhower was on the verge of being re-elected president, and Highway 2 was the main travel route into Spokane. The times have changed a lot since then.
Next New Year's we expect to look back fondly on the greatest chess year in Spokane history. Please do your part and make plans to join in this year's great chess events. Together, we can and will make this a chess year to remember!