by Dennis LaRue
A grand total of 53 Chess enthusiasts visited The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis to compete in this year’s Chess Like It Oughta Be tournament on Saturday, January 21, 2017. The five round dual rated G/45 tournament offered an opportunity for Tournament players to put their endurance and skill to the test against a wide variety of playing strengths. Congratulations to: Alex Marler(2145) for earning first place with a four and a half points; Dritan Nerhati(1993), securing the U2000 prize with four wins; Luke Ye, placing first in the U1800 section with four points; Joseph Conklin Jr.(1573), Richard Pope(1522), and Benjamin Liu(1460) tying for the top U1600 prize with three wins respectively; Kevin Li(1315) and Keith Bass(1258) sharing top place in the U1400 section; Rowan Riney(1019) clinching the U1200 prize with two and a half wins; and Lamce Murati(UNR) who won the Unrated prize with three points.
In order give an idea of some of the exciting chess that took place during the competition, we offer an interesting miniature that was played between longtime members Alex Marler and Joseph French:
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. a4 a6 8. Na3
Be7 9. Bg5 O-O 10. Qd2 Be6 11. O-O-O Nd4 12. Be3 Nc6 (12… b5) 13. f3 Nb4 14.
Nc4 Rc8 15. Nxd6 Qa5 16. Nxc8 Rxc8 17. Qf2 Rxc3 18. bxc3 Na2+ 19. Kb2 (19. Kd2
Nxe4+ (19… Qxc3+ 20. Ke2 Bc4+ 21. Rd3 Qxc2+ 22. Ke1 Bb4+ 23. Rd2 (23. Bd2
Qc1+ 24. Ke2 Qxd2#) 23… Qc1#) 20. fxe4 Qxc3+ 21. Ke2 Bg4+ 22. Qf3) 19…
Qxc3+ (19… Ba3+ 20. Kxa3 (20. Kb1 Nxc3+ 21. Ka1 Bb2+ 22. Kxb2 Qb4+ 23. Kc1
Na2#) 20… Qxc3#) 20. Kb1 Qb4+ 21. Ka1 Qxa4 22. Bc5 Nc3+ 23. Kb2 Nxd1+ 24. Kc1
Nxf2 25. Bxf2 Bb4 (25… Qa1+ 26. Kd2 Bb4+ 27. Ke3 Qd4+ 28. Ke2 Bc4#) 0-1
A big thank you goes out to all the players who came out to compete. The next batch of tournaments is just around the corner, so be sure to register for your chance to win. The Metro Class Championships, a three round G/85;d5 tournament will be held on Saturday, February 4th at the Chess Club. Entry is free for GM’s and IM’s, $50 on the day of the event, and $40 for annual members of the club if registered by 2/3. The prize fund is $2000 guaranteed! Register, and find information about our upcoming tournaments at https://saintlouischessclub.org/events/tournament-calendar.
