The Chess Club and Scholastic Center was packed for their first free blitz tournament and movie night featuring the classic "Searching for Bobby Fischer". Free chips and soda were available for all club members.
"I love "Searching for Bobby Fischer", commented an enthusiastic young club member. The movie chronicles 7-year old chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin's quest to become a national scholastics championship. It's not all fun and games as Josh deals with pressure from parents and coaches, the pros and cons of sandbagging and learning what it takes to be a true champion in all phases of life. "Searching for Bobby Fischer" is a must-see for all chess players, especially if you've played scholastic chess or have a child interested in chess.
Following the movie, the Chess Club held a free tournament for all club members. The "Movie Night Extravaganza" was divided into three sections: Open, K-8, and a non-rated Beginner section for non USCF Members. In the Open Section, Paul Mechem dominated the field going 5-0. He defeated an expert and 2 "A" players and blasted into Expert Class. Way to go, Paul! Paul received $30 of club merchandise and redeemed it for an Ultimate Set and a vinyl board. He hopes to get many Grandmaster autographs on the board during the 2009 US Championship. In the K-8 section, it was a see-saw battle between the top 3 competitors. In round 2, Stephen Zhang defeated Margaret Hua to put himself in prime position to capture 1st Place. But he lost a time scramble to Nathan Phan in the subsequent to fall to 2-1.
Now, Nathan Phan, who defeated WGM Jennifer Shahade in a blitz simul earlier this year, had control of the tourney with a perfect 3-0 score. But he couldn't capitalize as Margaret Hua got back into contention by defeating Nathan in Round 4. Now, Margaret, Stephen, and Nathan were all 3-1 heading into round 5 and all took care of business to finish for a three way tie for 1st. How do you split a DVD copy of "Searching for Bobby Fischer"? Easy, you give them all a Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis T-shirt. They were all thrilled with their prize. 9 players competed in their first tournament in the Beginner Section. As one would imagine, the most dubious actions occured in this section. In round 4, Armand Gauda tried to pause his clock in order to use the restroom. I told his opponent to keep the clock running in the 5 minute blitz game. Armand left the table anyway, then came back and won. Shaun Murray, one of 4 adults to play, swept the section 5-0 to win a USCF membership. "That guy's a ringer," lamented Anthony Gauda, an adult who finished 4-1 and would have captured 1st if it wasn't for Murray.
Quick Expert Joe Garnier(2030) continues to impress in the Saint Louis Blitz Series. He competed twice in April and amassed a 12-0 record. In Saint Louis Blitz 39, expert Jeff Van Order and John Boyer returned to the Club to take down Joe. John had a winning position over Joe, but during time pressure hung a piece. John "Boyer Time" finished clear second in the tourney breaking into "A" class with a Quick rating of 1835. Joe defeated Jeff in round 6 and James "the James Game" Miller in the final round to take home the 1st Place $30 prize. Namit Gaur, the self-proclaimed "Himalayan Knight" finished 4-3 and took home the Under prize and increased his Quick rating by a whopping 146 points to land at 1478.
For Saint Louis Blitz and other CCSCSL tournaments please visit the following link:
Chess Club and Scholastic Center Tournament Results
Remember, the prize fund for Blitz now includes a prize fund for ratings under 1600!!!
