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A total of 55 kids took over the Chess Club and Scholastic Center's tournament hall on Sunday, April 29, following Grandmaster Ben Finegold's kid's class; 38 kids participated in the K-3 section, and 17 tried their luck in the 4th Grade and over section.
Erik Ely, a regular at the Friday Action Quads, went 4-0 to win a $30 annual membership to the Chess Club. He defeated talented kindergartner Jason Tsao in the third round. Despite the crushing defeat, Jason battled on and prevailed in the final round to finish 3-1. Good job, Jason! Yecheil Shulman also finished the tourney undefeated, but had previously triumphed in a Beginner Tourney and was not eligible for prizes.
In the the 4th Grade + Up Section, Daniel Long from the Lindbergh School District took first with a 4-0 performance. He also earned an annual membership to the Club. Enthused about the victory and his chess future, he bought a Chess Clock and a CCSCSL T-shirt. Shawn Pernik went undefeated in the event to finish clear second with 3.5 points.
All the kids received a medal for finishing the event. Congrats to all of the participants!
The previous day, 12 Adults played a much quieter event in the tournament hall. Marty Chorkey got off to a difficult start being down a queen early in round 1. But he kept fighting, got the queen back, and got the victory. In round 2, he was was winning, but with lots of pieces on the board anything could happen. But his maneuvering convinced his opponent to resign prematurely. In round 3, Marty won a piece early, didn't blunder it back, and finished the event 3-0. He received an $80 Membership to the Club. Byron Gainers employed the French Defense to sweep the competition to add a year to his membership as well.
The unrated beginner tournaments will not be held in the month of May because of the U.S. Championships, but they will return in June! Come by the club to see live grandmaster commentary with Ben Finegold and Jennifer Shahade throughout the tournament. It's guaranteed to help your game!
SwissSys Standings. Unrated Adult Beginner Tourney: Open
| # | Name | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Tot |
| 1 | BYRON GAINERS | unr. | W8 | W4 | W3 | 3.0 |
| 2 | MARTY CHORKEY | unr. | W6 | W5 | W7 | 3.0 |
| 3 | DANIEL JADERKO | unr. | W11 | W10 | L1 | 2.0 |
| 4 | ROY WRIGHT | unr. | W7 | L1 | W8 | 2.0 |
| 5 | MATTHEW LORE | unr. | W9 | L2 | W6 | 2.0 |
| 6 | JIM SMITH | unr. | L2 | W9 | L5 | 1.0 |
| 7 | BRAD RUMANCIK | unr. | L4 | W12 | L2 | 1.0 |
| 8 | ROB HUETHER | unr. | L1 | W11 | L4 | 1.0 |
| 9 | BILL WULLER | unr. | L5 | L6 | W11 | 1.0 |
| 10 | MAXIM LEVIN | unr. | W12 | L3 | U--- | 1.0 |
| 11 | SYLIA JOHNSON | unr. | L3 | L8 | L9 | 0.0 |
| 12 | CALEB BERRY | unr. | L10 | L7 | U--- | 0.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Unrated Kid's Beginner Tourney: 4th Grade + Up
| # | Name | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Tot |
| 1 | DANIEL T LONG | unr. | W15 | W6 | W5 | W3 | 4.0 |
| 2 | SHAWN PERNK | unr. | H--- | W10 | W13 | W7 | 3.5 |
| 3 | ERNIE McCARTER | unr. | W4 | W16 | W7 | L1 | 3.0 |
| 4 | AHRON BLOOM | unr. | L3 | W12 | W6 | W8 | 3.0 |
| 5 | WILLIAM SCHMITT | unr. | B--- | W14 | L1 | W11 | 3.0 |
| 6 | VLADIMIR MURRAY | unr. | W8 | L1 | L4 | W17 | 2.0 |
| 7 | DAVID HIGUCHI | unr. | W9 | W13 | L3 | L2 | 2.0 |
| 8 | NOAH CEBALLOS | unr. | L6 | W15 | W9 | L4 | 2.0 |
| 9 | MILA SCHMIDT | unr. | L7 | B--- | L8 | W16 | 2.0 |
| 10 | MATTHEW CURTIS | unr. | H--- | L2 | W14 | D13 | 2.0 |
| 11 | JOSEPH GIOIA | unr. | L13 | W17 | W16 | L5 | 2.0 |
| 12 | ISMAIL HACKING | unr. | D14 | L4 | D17 | W15 | 2.0 |
| 13 | ENOCH LI | unr. | W11 | L7 | L2 | D10 | 1.5 |
| 14 | JOSHUA SAUNDERS | unr. | D12 | L5 | L10 | B--- | 1.5 |
| 15 | ALISA DURHAM | unr. | L1 | L8 | B--- | L12 | 1.0 |
| 16 | ANASTASIA LONG | unr. | W17 | L3 | L11 | L9 | 1.0 |
| 17 | CELIA TOENJES | unr. | L16 | L11 | D12 | L6 | 0.5 |
SwissSys Standings. Unrated Kid's Beginner Tourney: K-3
| # | Name | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Tot |
| 1 | ERIK ELY | unr. | W37 | W8 | W7 | W5 | 4.0 |
| 2 | YECHEIL SHULMAN | unr. | W6 | W38 | W13 | W10 | 4.0 |
| 3 | AMIT KADAN | unr. | W27 | W12 | W11 | D4 | 3.5 |
| 4 | WILSON GAO | unr. | W30 | W9 | W16 | D3 | 3.5 |
| 5 | CHAIM ZAROMB | unr. | W33 | W17 | W23 | L1 | 3.0 |
| 6 | FELIPE REY | unr. | L2 | W21 | W18 | W16 | 3.0 |
| 7 | JASON TSAO | unr. | W21 | W29 | L1 | W17 | 3.0 |
| 8 | YUSUF HACKING | unr. | W18 | L1 | W29 | W15 | 3.0 |
| 9 | LUKE MISSEY | unr. | W34 | L4 | W19 | W22 | 3.0 |
| 10 | ERIC ATKINSON | unr. | L15 | W31 | W28 | W2 | 3.0 |
| 11 | BENNY WOLFE | unr. | W24 | W20 | L3 | X23 | 3.0 |
| 12 | DERIAN RYKER | unr. | W28 | L3 | W36 | W24 | 3.0 |
| 13 | LIAM GODDARD | unr. | W32 | D15 | L2 | W25 | 2.5 |
| 14 | BRYSON LIANG | unr. | W31 | L23 | D15 | W26 | 2.5 |
| 15 | SAM BIGHAM | unr. | W10 | D13 | D14 | L8 | 2.0 |
| 16 | ANDREW VOELKER | unr. | W22 | W19 | L4 | L6 | 2.0 |
| 17 | BOGDAN HAMILTON | unr. | W36 | L5 | W20 | L7 | 2.0 |
| 18 | TATYANA SCHMIDT | unr. | L8 | W35 | L6 | W28 | 2.0 |
| 19 | FINIAN O'MAHONY | unr. | W26 | L16 | L9 | W30 | 2.0 |
| 20 | EVAN HOLDEN | unr. | W25 | L11 | L17 | W29 | 2.0 |
| 21 | DAVID NEWLAND | unr. | L7 | L6 | W35 | W37 | 2.0 |
| 22 | ANDRE PARDUE | unr. | L16 | W32 | W30 | L9 | 2.0 |
| 23 | J ELI ZINSSER | unr. | W38 | W14 | L5 | F11 | 2.0 |
| 24 | SELINA NEWLAND | unr. | L11 | D25 | W37 | L12 | 1.5 |
| 25 | ALEXANDER ALSWEADI | unr. | L20 | D24 | W38 | L13 | 1.5 |
| 26 | MCIR ZAROMB | unr. | L19 | D36 | W33 | L14 | 1.5 |
| 27 | JAMES ZHANG | unr. | L3 | L28 | D31 | W36 | 1.5 |
| 28 | MILES ONCKEN | unr. | L12 | W27 | L10 | L18 | 1.0 |
| 29 | ROBERT MIZE | unr. | W35 | L7 | L8 | L20 | 1.0 |
| 30 | EZARYA BLOOM | unr. | L4 | W34 | L22 | L19 | 1.0 |
| 31 | KARTHIK THOTA | unr. | L14 | L10 | D27 | D32 | 1.0 |
| 32 | MARIA DOLAN | unr. | L13 | L22 | D34 | D31 | 1.0 |
| 33 | ANDREW LI | unr. | L5 | D37 | L26 | D34 | 1.0 |
| 34 | IBRAHIM HACKING | unr. | L9 | L30 | D32 | D33 | 1.0 |
| 35 | LENKA SAUNDERS | unr. | L29 | L18 | L21 | B--- | 1.0 |
| 36 | MATT PUTNAM | unr. | L17 | D26 | L12 | L27 | 0.5 |
| 37 | ROMAN RYKER | unr. | L1 | D33 | L24 | L21 | 0.5 |
| 38 | BEN MILLER | unr. | L23 | L2 | L25 | U--- | 0.0 |
