Spokane Chess Club

Area Event Updates

Check out several events coming up in the next couple of months by clicking on the Area Events link above!

2009 Eastern Washington Open

John Julian was a perfect 5.0 in sweeping the 2009 EWO, which was played October 3-4, 2009, at the Schoenberg Center. Elston Cloy (4.5) finished second. There were 38 players this year, including several newcomers who figured in the prize awards.

The Class A prize went to Cameron Leslie (4.0), with Mark Havrilla and Dave Rowles sharing second with 3.5 scores. The Class B prize went to Ryan Ackerman (4.0), while second place was shared by Kevin Baker, Ed McLaughlin, and Avinaya Subedi (3.5). The Class C prizes were split by Chris Copeland and Loyd Willaford, each of whom scored 3.5. The Class D/Unrated prizes were shared by two unrated newcomers -- Dallas Filan, a student at EWU, and Kairav Joshi of Lake City High School (Coeur d'Alene). Their 2.5 tallies bested the twelve players in the category.

The biggest upset prize was claimed by Helena, Montana's William Spencer, who bagged a player rated 890 points above him! Way to go, Bill! Bill donated the $50 prize to the Gary Younker Foundation, a sponsor of many regional chess events.

The top two finishers (courtesy of Elston L. Cloy II)

The USCF report: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200910046871-12802247

The cross table:

2008 Eastern Washington Open

The 2008 Eastern Washington Open was again played at the Schoenberg Center September 27-28. John Julian and Sattar Sattarov topped a small (22 player) but top heavy field with 4-1 scores. Each won $137.50. Mark Havrilla and Mika Mitchell topped the A category with 3.5 scores. Ed McLaughlin won the first place B prize ($65) with a 3.0 score and also had the biggest upset ($50). Second place in B was shared by James Stripes and John Walton, each with 2.5 scores. Chris Copeland topped the C category with a 2.5 score, while the other four class members shared second place (2.0): Ryan Ackerman, Taylor Coles, Nick Harvilla, and Ron Weyland each won $10. The two "D" category players, Matthew Grover and Jim Waugh, drew with each other and shared the D prize with 1.0 scores.

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Second round action -- 2008 (photo courtesy of Adam Attwood)

The USCF cross table: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200809280651-10328357

2007 Eastern Washington Open

Top seeds Steve Merwin and Mika Mitchell won the 2007 Eastern Washington Open played September 29-30, 2007. They topped runner-up David Meliti by half a point.

Some of the happy warriors from the 2007 Eastern Washington Open (above and below).

The USCF cross table: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200709308741-10328357

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2006 Eastern Washington Open

National Master Curt Collyer, the top seed, won the 2006 Eastern Washington Open played September 16-17, 2006. He scored 4.5 in the five round event to edge out John Julian and Phil Weyland by one-half point. Collyer drew with Julian in the final round. He had defeated #2 seed Steve Merwin in the fourth round to take a half point lead into the final round. Weyland had battled back from a first round upset draw to have a shot at sharing the title, but settled for a draw with Dave Rowles in board two action in the final round.

There were a total of 34 players competing in this year's event. Collyer won $150 for his victory. Julian and Phil Weyland each won $100 by tying for the second and third prizes. Rowles, Michael Cambareri, and Chris Kalina split the $100 in Class A prizes with 3.5 scores. Rob Martin of Helena, Montana, and Niles Desmarais of Chelan, Washington, took home the $100 in Class B prize money with scores of 3.5. Mead High School's Kevin Baker scored 3.0 to win the $65 Class C first prize, while another high school student, Ken Erickson, took the $35 second prize with a 2.5 score. Ron Weyland of Post Falls, Idaho, and father of Phil, took the Class D prize with a 3.0 score. The second place prize in that section was shared by Ryan Ackerman, Pat Kirlin, and newcomer Chad Coles. The top upset (for a game not involving provisionally rated players) prize of $50 went to Dave Griffin for his first round draw with Phil Weyland -- a time scramble rook and pawn endgame that saw both players in constant danger.

The USCF cross table: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200609177971-10328357

2005 Eastern Washington Open

PUPOLS AGAIN EWO CHAMPION!

"Uncle Vik" did it again. Just as he first did in 1956 as a teenage wunderkind, Viktors Pupols is again the Eastern Washington Open champion. His 4.5 score claimed first place in the 30 player event held September 17-18. He defeated Carl Haessler, the only other perfect score of the first day, in fourth round action. Pupols then played a long final round game with Curt Collyer that finally ended in a draw when both players had just a few minutes remaining on their clock. The draw left Collyer in a three-way tie for second with Haessler and Dave Sprenkle, all of whom finished at 4-1. Pupols claimed the $150 first prize for his efforts, while the three second place finishers each received $67 as their share of the second and third place awards.

Perhaps the most outstanding result of the tournament belonged to young Zach Countryman, who scored the three biggest upsets of the event! His victories were over players rated 340, 312, and 246 points above him! His performance resulted in a rating gain of 130 points. Zach's three point total won him the $65 "C" prize as well as $50 for the biggest upset.

(L-R) Romie Carpenter, Carl Haessler, and Viktors Pupols (seated) are attracted to Dave Sprenkle and Chris Kalina's third round EWO game. Photo by Randy Countryman.

There were quite a few other winners. Geoff Gale (3.5) claimed the $65 "A" prize. John Julian and Dave Rowles (3.0) shared the $35 second prize in that class. Mark Anderson and John Downes (3.0) each received $50 for taking first and second in the "B" category. A four way tie for the $20 third prize was shared among Adam Attwood, Michael Cambareri, Steve Fabian, and Raleigh Foster. James Stripes and Dave Griffin (2.5) split the $35 second prize in the "C" category. Pat Kirlin and Vern Johnson (1.5) each won $40 for sharing first and second in the "D" category.

There were numerous outstanding games, even in the first round where there was not a single upset. The Haessler-Pupols game was a mutual time scramble with both players slamming at the clock while nearly 20 people watched the conclusion of the fourth round. Steve Fabian continued his age long tradition of playing on the edge -- nearly every one of his games ended with a few seconds (or less) on the clock. Steve Merwin also played a couple of memorable time scrambles. It is hoped that all of the winning players will submit at least one annotated game to Northwest Chess and submit a copy for posting here.

A cross table from the event is printed right below this photo.

First round action: Raleigh Foster faces off against Pat Kirlin on board 12 while Jim Waugh squares off against John Downes. Photo by Randy Countryman.

The USCF cross table link: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200509187921-10328357

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2004 Eastern Washington Open

NM Nick Raptis of Portland won the 2004 Eastern Washington Open with a score of 4.5 in the five round event. He won $125 for his efforts. Second place was shared by Spokane's David Sprenkle, Salem Oregon teenager Drew Serres, and Seattle veteran Hannigan Pitre. All scored 4.0. They each received $70.

Nick Raptis faces David Sprenkle in Round 4 (photo by Randy Countryman)

Thirty-four players from four states played in this year's tourney. Raptis, the top seed, played on board one throughout the event. He and #2 seed Sprenkle drew in round four. Raptis then defeated Missoula, Montana, veteran Romie Carpenter in the final round while Sprenkle drew with Tacoma Expert Paul Bartron. Pitre joined the second place tie by defeating Chris Drake (1986) who tried too hard to win a drawn endgame. Serres, who was joined Sprenkle and Raptis as the only players with a perfect score on the first day of the tourney, stopped Steve Fabian to gain the fourth point. Serres' only loss was to Carpenter in round four.

Notable upsets were scored by a pair of ten year olds the first day of the tourney. Alex Chow downed Dustin Benson in the first round despite a 510 point rating difference. In the second round, Zach Countryman bested Dave Griffin, an upset of 350 points. Chow continued his winning ways, scoring another upset victory and an upset draw enroute to a 3 point finish. That was good enough to win the $50 "D" section first prize. He also captured the upset prize ($25) for the first round victory.

Third Round Action (photo by Randy Countryman)

A total of $585 in prizes was awarded after an "A" prize was added to the advertised $535 guaranteed prize fund because of the strong turnout. Seven "A" players joined the two experts and two masters in the field. There was a three-way tie for the "A" prize between Pat Herbers, Dave Rowles, and Carpenter, all of whom scored 3.5. Each earned $17.

Pitre and Serres took first in the "B" along with sharing second and third overall with Sprenkle. The class "C" prizes were shared by Bill McBroom of Missoula and Garrett Morkill of Spokane, each of whom received $37.50. Ken Erickson received $25 for finishing second to Chow in the "D" category. Fabian, Dustin Benson, and Phil Weyland split the $25 prize for second in "B."

The cross table can be found on the 2004 EWO link below, along with pictures from the tourney. This was the first event held in Gonzaga's Schoenberg Center. The facility was very nice and won rave reviews from the players. The club hopes to use the site for future weekend tourneys.

The cross table: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200409199920-10328357