The final three days of May finished with a flourish of chess and competition with over 80 people squaring off against each other in three different tournaments. Friday night filled the tournament hall with 9 quads in the Friday Action Quads (FAQ), each fighting it out to see who would win prizes and glory. On Saturday and Sunday, the Club hosted the monthly Unrated Adults’ Beginner Tournament and Unrated Beginner Tournament for Kids 12 & under, respectively. Winners in the Beginner Tournaments received either a free annual membership to the Chess Club or a United States Chess Federation (USCF) membership for their efforts.
Fresh off his great, second place finish in the U2300 section at the Chicago Open, NM Matthew Larson shellacked his strong competition, going 3-0, in the top quad. The second quad saw tight standings as all competitors were tied with 1 point each going into the final game of the night. Shared top honors went to Julian Proleiko and Adil Skuka with last round victories. Two of the Club’s most colorful members, Ken West and “Adjourn” Puri, split the prize for Quad 5 with an undefeated performance. Following up on his fantastic, Show Me Classic victory over James McLaughlin, Mario Roper gained 160 quick rating points by obliterating Quad 7. Mike Kummer’s new student Agastya Diwan showed his new fearless attitude by sweeping Quad 9.
In the Adults’ Unrated Beginner Tournament, Lixin Chen, father of the talented youngster Samuel Chen, secured a Club membership by winning his three games. Chess grandfather Steve Moore won a Club membership, purchased a USCF membership, and said he plans to bring his grandson with him to future Friday Action Quads.
The excitement continued on Sunday afternoon at the Club with kids’ chess being the focus of three different classes. It all culminated with the Beginner Unrated Tournament for Kids 12 & under. Chess enthusiast, Sundaram, coming off his failure to capture the Mike Kummer blitz bounty, started 2-0 by utilizing the delayed checkmate but couldn’t seal the deal with his loss to Solon Sun in round three. That set up the Championship game between Tyler He and Solon Sun in the K-3 section. Tyler He came through with a 4-0 record and won a Chess Club membership. The Champion isn’t resting on his success, and has started Chess Camp with 2008 U.S. Champion GM Yury Shulman at the Club this week.
In the 4th and up section, Mr. Martin He entered the tournament as the odds-on favorite. Starting with a blistering 3-0 score, his opponents were clearly intimidated by his skill. In round 4, Michael Pugachev and Mr. Martin He faced off for the title. The tense match provided a rules lesson to both players as He lost the game by playing his queen to a square that he quickly realized was a mistake. Having let go of his queen but not having hit his clock, He determined the move had been made, and resigned. Michael Pugachev finished undefeated and claimed his annual Club membership.
Fun was had by all. If you missed it this time, come join us on Friday nights for some rapid rated games in the FAQ. In June, you can still win your Club or USCF memberships with the Beginner Unrated Tournament for Kids 12 & under (June 14, 2015) and the Adult Unrated Beginner Tournament (June 20, 2015).
