2007 INLAND EMPIRE OPEN

BARTRON, SINANAN SHARE 2007 IEO TITLE

        Paul Barton of Tacoma and Josh Sinanan of Seattle won the 2007 Inland Empire Open.  Their scores of 4.5 topped the 39 player field.  Dan Mathews, the 2006 champion, finished third with 4.0.  The tourney title was up in the air to the very end.  Sinanan stopped John Julian in one of the last contests of the day.  Bartron then upended top seed Dave Sprenkle in the very last game of the tourney to share the title with Sinanan.

        The Class A prizes were shared by Chris Kalina and Michael Murray, each of whom scored 2.5.  The Class B prizes were split by Cyrus Desmarais and John Walton, both of whom also scored 3.5.  The Class C prizes were won by Ryan Ackerman and Travis Elisara.  Ackerman also won the prize for the second largest upset.

        The Class D category was won by Taylor Coles.  Taylor, the lowest rated player in the tourney, scored an impressive 3.0 en route to claiming the section prize.  The second place in Class D was split between Elliott Chow and Jim Waugh.  Waugh, the oldest player in the event, celebrated his 78th birthday on the final day of play.  Way to go, Jim!   The largest upset prize was secured by Scott Engelhard.

    The USCF cross table link: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200704291371-10328357

2006 INLAND EMPIRE OPEN

MATHEWS WINS IEO!

       Dan Mathews of Edmonds won the 2006 installment of  the Inland Empire Open on April 29-30.  His 4.0 score edged out five who shared second place with 3.5 scores: Pat Herbers, John Rosell, Phil Weyland, eleven-year-old Alex Chow, and tournament director (!) Dave Griffin.  Mathews claimed the $175 first prize by winning both of his Sunday games and overtaking the others when the Herbers-Chow and Weyland-Rosell final round games ended in draws.  Each of the five second place winners received $77 as their share of second and third places as well as the A and B class prizes.

    There were 14 draws, all long fought, in the tourney.  Mix in quite a few first and third round byes, and it was easy to see why there were no perfect scores after the first day.  Both the tourney leaders and the class prize groups were closely bunched the whole way, with many of the prizes dependent upon the outcome of the last few games.

    The Class C prize was shared by Zach Countryman, John Hornickle of Tacoma, and Bill McBroom of of Missoula.  Each received $27.  The Class D prizes were claimed by Ted Baker and Jim Waugh, who received $40 each.  Waugh celebrated his 77th birthday on the first day of the tourney!  He capped the day by winning his third round game and then tied for the class prize the following day.  Way to go Jim!

    William Spencer of Helena claimed the biggest upset prize of $50 by drawing a player 820 points higher than him!  Ted Baker captured the second upset prize ($30) for his first round victory of a player rated 322 points higher.

    There were 30 players taking part this year, including John Downes who participated in the very first IEO in 1954!  The IEO is the oldest of our Spokane's annual weekend tourneys and one of the longest running events in Washington state.

    Well-known NW chess personality Rusty Miller dropped by during the first round to check out the tourney.  He forwarded some pictures, including this shot:

The 2006 USCF cross table link: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200604305861-10328357

2005 Inland Empire Open

The Inland Empire Open, first played in 1954, is the Spokane Chess Club's oldest weekend Swiss tourney.  This event is traditionally played in late April or early May.

Collyer, Julian Win 2005 Inland Empire Open!

    Curt Collyer  and John Julian won the 52nd Inland Empire Open, Spokane's oldest tournament with scores of 4.5.   Each won $200 for sharing the first and second prizes.  Finishing third in the field of 27 were Geoff Gale, Pat Herbers, Elston Cloy, and Robert Martin with 3.5 scores. They each earned $68.75 for splitting third place, first and second in class A, and first in class B.  Martin won the B section with his score while the others topped the A section.  The cross table for the event and some annotated games can be seen on the IEO page (link at left).

    Brad Bodie and Michael Cambareri shared second and third in Class B.  They each received $30 for their 3.0 scores.  This was Bodie's first return to tournament chess in several years.  Adam Attwood (3.0) won the Class C prize of $60 while Garrett Morkill (2.5) received $30 for finishing second.  Vern Johnson (2.0) won the $60 class D prize, while Jeff Burkert, Patrick Kirlin, and Jim Waugh each won $10 tying for second in the section with 1.5 scores.

   Ted Baker claimed the biggest upset (and $55 prize) for downing a player 585 points above him in round one.  Vern Johnson bagged the second largest upset with his first round conquest of a player 378 points higher.  He earned $30 for that accomplishment.

   There was a $1,000 Guaranteed Prize Fund, the largest in the history of this event.  Attendance was down due to a late date change and a conflict with the Supernationals in Tennessee which cost the attendance of six players.  Tournament Director David Griffin ran a flawless event.  Several players donated their winnings back to the club.  Thank you everyone for a great tourney!

    The USCF cross table link: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200504109111-10328357

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2004 Inland Empire Open

IEO Road Show A Success!

Eastern Washington’s oldest and longest running tournament, the Inland Empire Open, hit the road to celebrate its 50^th anniversary.  38 players, including four rated over 2000, entered the event, which was held in Richland.  FM David Bragg of Seattle was the top-rated player.

Upsets, most pulled off by rapidly improving teenagers, could be found in every round of the event.  A series of draws on the top three boards in the last round led to a six way tie for first with 4-1 scores between Bragg, experts Steve Merwin and Lewis McClary, class “A” players Geoff Gale and Marc Dippre, and “teenager Andy May (1510), a “C” class player.  May also recorded the biggest upset of the tourney when he downed Expert Matt Campbell (2092) in round 4.  He also beat two “A” players en route to his share of the title.

May was not the only youngster with a strong weekend performance.  Blake Salisbury (1714) of Clatskanie, OR, scored 3.5 while having to play the top three players in consecutive rounds!  He drew with Bragg in round two and defeated Campbell in round 3, before falling to Merwin in round four.  North Bend’s Matt Wilson (1367) scored 3.0 and tied for the best score in the “D” class.  Todd May, Andy’s brother, defeated a 1900 player en route to a 2.5 finish.  Another teenager, Yang So He, won two games.

The event also had an international flavor due to the presence of Steinar Bryn and his 16-year-old son Asklid.  The senior Bryn is a Norweigan diplomat who is teaching at Pacific Lutheran University for a semester.  The two ventured over from Tacoma, joined the USCF, and their respective 3.0 scores shared the “D and under” category prizes with Wilson.  The younger Bryn sports a Norweigan rating of 1850.  His only loss was to McClary on board 2 in round three, where the veteran’s endgame skills led him to pull out the victory in an even position. 

Dan Mathews, with 3.5, captured the “B” prize. Other class prize winners included Salisbury, Dustin Benson, Phil Weyland, Steve Fabian, and John Trullinger (3.0) tying for second in the “B” category.  There was a four-way tie for second in the “C” class with Bill McMahon, Yang So He, Steve Brendemihl, and Joe Rivera all scoring 2.0. 

The turnout was larger than expected, with most players coming from the Columbia Basin region where there have not been any formal USCF events in several years.  The facility was first rate.  The event was staged at the new Richland Community Center located in the beautiful Ammon Park along the Columbia River.  Those familiar with hydro races in the Tri-Cities will be familiar with the area.  An anonymous donor who also played in the event covered the hefty fee for use of the facility. The $1000 prize fund was guaranteed by the Gary Younker Foundation.  The Foundation was started in honor of late Spokane CC stalwart Gary Younker and is designed to promote chess in the Inland Empire region. 

The success of this event led to the decision to sponsor another major event (perhaps a revival of the Columbia Cup) next year at the same location.  The tournament benefactor will again sponsor use of the facility. The Inland Empire Open will itself return to Spokane for next year.

Selected games from the Open are posted via a link on the Inland Empire Open page of the web site.

The USCF cross table: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200404259720-10328357