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In case you missed it in this month's Check This! newsletter, last month's Winter Open was a resounding success. Read about all the action here, and stay tuned for more tournament updates.

After finishing 2009 with two strong tournaments, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis was geared up for 2010. The newest addition to the CCSCSL staff, Grandmaster Ben Finegold, was slated to participate in the inaugural event to kick off the 2010 tournament schedule.

[imagefield_assist|fid=1818|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]It has been a little more than 2 weeks, and so far I have lost 12 pounds.  I go to the health club everyday, and work the treadmill for one hour.  I listen to music and watch tv whilst I work out, so the time passes pretty quickly.  I have been sticking to my diet of fruits, veggies, rice, and soup, and that has been easy as well.

I have been receiving a lot of congratulatory texts and emails due to being on the cover of the recent Chess Life magazine.  Also, I am featured on the back cover of the latest issue of "New In Chess" magazine, in the column "checking in."

[imagefield_assist|fid=1807|preset=frontpage_200x200|title=|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=200|height=200]I have decided to be referred to as "Big Ben" no longer!  For the last week, I have changed my diet to: Fruits, vegetables, rice, and soup. This is not as difficult as it sounds, since I have been a vegetarian since 1986!

I also have a health membership at Sante, which is located in the basement of the beautiful Chase Hotel.  Luckily, the health club is located only one block from the chess club, so I can work out every day.  I have been pounding the treadmill for an hour each day.

[imagefield_assist|fid=1794|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]My first slow-rated chess in Missouri (ever!) was more interesting than I had hoped.  Luckily, Spencer was able to keep the Finegold name in good stead, as he had a solid 3.5-0.5 score, beating three lower-rated players and drawing a higher-rated player (as well as winning $42). I, on the other hand, oscillated between playing like the Rams and the Lions, but was very fortunate to go 4-0. Perhaps I should ask Mark McGwire for some tips on enhancing my performance.

The tournament was VERY successful with 57 players in attendance. There were upsets all over the place, with experts losing to lower-rated players, in the vain attempt to make me look good by comparison.