[imagefield_assist|fid=9067|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=CCSCSL employee Mike Kummer won the prize for most points and tied for the most-games-played prize.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=680|height=453]The final five days of the Chess Club Ladder saw a slew of activity with 33 rated games as members tried to hold on to their spot and fight for a portion of the $250 prize fund. Bill Thompson, comfortable with his leads in all three money categories with just five days remaining, chose to play only two games in the last five days and lost them both. This allowed the rest of the field a chance to eclipse his marks.
CCSCSL employee Mike Kummer seized the opportunity, starting out strong with a big win against CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich. But it wasn't all smooth sailing for Kummer, as he lost to Dennis Hourcade and struggled to draw Grandmaster Ben Finegold's student, Matt Larson (1323!). Kummer played nine games going 6-2-1 to boost his totals up to 8.5 points out of 12 games. Kummer collected the Most Points prize for the month and split the Most Games prize with Rich, who played five games in the last two days. Thompson held on to win the Biggest Upset prize for his win over Rich.
On February 1, there were major changes at top of the ladder as the members that failed to play three games dropped five spots. The top spot now belongs to GM Ben Finegold, followed by Expert Josh Frank, CCSCSL employee Alex Marler, Tony Rich and Alex Vergilesov. Anoth
Aside from getting eclipsed in the final days, Thompson put on a strong performance in the January Chess Club Ladder. Between the Ladder and the Waldo Odak Open, Thompson has improved his rating an astonishing 135 points already this year bursting into Class "A" with a rating of 1812. His competition has been no joke, defeating CCSCSL Scholastics Coordinator Alex Vergilesov (1897), Rodney Vaughn (1827), and even knocking Tim Nesham back to the "B" Class.
To see the latest Club Ladder crosstable, click here http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201101256621-12664377
