[imagefield_assist|fid=8387|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=Jason Zhou earned $200 for helping his team finish first in the U3600 division.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=375|height=250]The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis celebrated National Chess Day on Saturday, October 9, with its second annual 2-on-2 Team Championship.
The event featured 44 players and 22 teams for a four-round G/75 event with a total prize fund of $1,200.
GM Ben Finegold and his son, Spencer Finegold, entered the tournament as the favorites and did not disappoint with a combined score of 8/8 to bring home $500 and the championship title.
Their team, ironically named Two Persons is Not Really a Team, made quick work of the opposition including a round three trouncing of Masters Ron Luther and Bob Holliman.
Luther and Holliman withdrew from the tournament following their 0/2 round three performance.
Spencer Finegold’s 4/4 score pushed him over 2000 for the first time ever, earning him the expert title and an unofficial rating of 2009.
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Expert Mark Ferber continued his impressive string of tournament performances. Since winning the reserve section of the Saint Louis Open in April as an unrated player, Ferber has consistently demonstrated strong play and finished this tournament with a score of 3/4 and an unofficial rating of 2136 after just 30 rated games. During that span, Ferber has notched 22 wins, four losses and four draws.
This tournament, Ferber formed a team with young Jason Zhou to compete for the U3600 prize. Jason scored a nice upset with a round two draw against Holliman and a final score of 2.5/4. Ferber and Jason, The Innocent Movers, took clear first in the U3600 division and $200 each.
There was four-way tie for the U3000 prize between John Slattery, Sathya Anand, Aravinda Ganapathy and Aadithya Palaniappan. Each took home $50. The U2400 section eneded in a six-way tie giving each player $16.50: Nathan Phan, Clark Berry, James Elliott, Gus Cappiello, Dan Thurber and Michael Kelly.
Click here to view the crosstable from the 2-on-2 Team Championship!
