[imagefield_assist|fid=15424|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=Life Master Jim McLaughlin fought through a tough field to claim the top spot in the Premiere section of the Amateur & Premiere.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=700|height=525]
By Alex Marler
The 2012 Amateur & Premiere (my favorite tournament) went quite smoothly as we attracted 42 players, all vying for a guaranteed total prize fund of $1,200. This tournament was a little different than the average weekend Swiss. There were two sections: the Premiere (an open section), and the Amateur (an U1600 section). This format is great no matter where you are on the rating scale. Many of the U1600 players have a chance for some serious prize money as there was a 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-place prize for both sections. Also, if this event was your first tournament, then you didn't have to play anyone over 1600, thereby avoiding any serious trauma to your ego. If you elected to play in the Premiere Section, then you were all but guaranteed four tough games as the lowest rated players were still all 1600+.
Some might think this event was a little like an endurance challenge! With four games at G/90, that's 1.5 hours per player, per game (three hours per round), in one day. Who would not be tired by the last round? The games began around 9 a.m. and ended just before 10 p.m.; that's almost 13 hours of chess in one day!
The event featured an appearance by the mysterious Marek Ziolowski. Ziolowski use to play regurarly in our events, but he has taken a break for about eight months ... we had almost forgotten about him! He called the club 10:09 p.m. on the Friday night before the event to register, and after some troubles with registration he decided that he was not sure if he wanted play. He said if he changed his mind and felt like playing he would appear for the second round tomorrow with a half-point bye in round one. Well, not only does he decide to play (showing up literally at the last second before round 2 began), he managed to destroy everyone in his path to pocket some prize money. Now that is a great comeback tournament! Ziolkowski took down Brett Eckert, Matthew Flint, and William Little. However, he did not get to keep all the prize money, because of Steven D. Evans' smashing 3.5/4 performance. Evans dismantled Mike Buckley, Dan Tuttle, and Joseph Michael Bean. His only draw was to the up-and-coming Clark Zhang Berry, who finished with a respectable three points, netting him some prize money and a nice third-place finish. Bean also won money and took 4th on tiebreaks with a nice 3/4 finish. The fifth-place prize was split four ways between Levi Grant, Dan Tuttle, Willam Little, and Dennis Hourcade.
The Preimere Section was the toughest it's ever been with five players rated over 2000: FM Doug Eckert, NM Vic Feldberg, Life Master Jim Mclaughlin, Barry Manthe and myself (both Candidate Masters). These are some seriously strong players, and I'm not just saying that because I'm one of them! FM Eckert has played in the 2009 U.S. Championship and is on the Saint Louis Arch Bishops U.S. Chess League team, NM Feldberg plays for the extremely strong Washington University Chess Team and LM Mclaughlin has endless tournament victories over the past 30 years.
This tournament, McLaughlin rose to the top as he managed to crush each of his opponents. A few of his big wins are shown below. FM Eckert, Matthew Larson (soon to be the highest rated Club member) and I all tied for 2nd place through 4th place with 3/4. Matt Barrett (a new club employee), Jay Lewis III and NM Feldberg tied for 5th through 7th.
The tournament proved to be a fun event, and I hope to see everyone at the next tournament, the Saint Louis District Championship, on September 1.
