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A total of 18 players came out to play in the five-round February Knights. Ken West got on the board early with a draw against the No. 4 seed, James Spalding, rated 1735. He took that momentum into the following week scoring a 173-point upset victory over Knights regular, Neil Schechter, rated 1400.
The most exciting finish in round two, however, was on board one. No. 1 seed Dan Coryea and CCSCSL chess Instructor Bill Thompson both were low on time in a rook-and-pawn endgame. Bill dubiously went for the win instead of playing it safe for the draw. Dan, foolishly still notating the game with less than minute to go, got extremely low on time, and had to blitz out his final winning moves with just one tick left on his clock!
The following week Dan drew last month's champ, Rodney Vaughn, ensuring that no player would finish with a perfect 5-0 score. Thompson got back on the plus side by getting the best of Ken West. In round 4, Ken played a mind boggling game vs. Unrated Beginner Champ, Michael De los Reyes. See the action here:
David Askin defeated Dan Coryea in round four to set up a showdown with Rodney. The game was an unspectacular draw leaving the door open for chess club student Jonathan Schrantz to get in on the first-place money. He was paired up against Dan Coryea. Dan was up an exchange for the majority of the game, but the clock was not Dan's friend this time as he lost on time in a king-and-pawn endgame. David, Rodney, and Jonathan each earned a $40 gift certificate to the Chess Club for their performance. David Askin qualified for the 2012 Knights Championship based on tiebreaks. Jonathan Schrantz, a regular at all the Chess Club classes, received a free entry into a subsequent Knights tourney for having the biggest upset of the tourney. Ken West didn't go home empty handed as he shared the Under 1300 prize with Alex Marler's student, Shaz Iqbal.
The four-round March Knights is already underway, but you can still join and take a 1/2-point bye for round one! The entry fee is just $10, and so what are you waiting for!
