By Lulu Wojcik
Always a popular and well-attended tournament, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis hosted the 7th annual Bill Wright Saint Louis Open from Friday, April 1, to Sunday, April 3. Before the tournament began, local chess player and Chess Club member Ken West gave a moving speech about Bill Wright, reminding everyone of the dear friend the chess community has lost. Named in memory of William “Bill” Wright, a pillar of the Saint Louis chess scene, the five-round tournament featured over 20 players in the Open section and over 30 players in the U2000 section. With a prize fund of $10,000, it is easy to see why this tournament brings so many players of all skill levels together every year.
The Open section included many impressive titled players, including GM Eric Hansen, WGM Katerina Nemcova and IM Awonder Liang. With such strong chess minds in competition, the results were hard to predict. In the end, it was GM Eric Hansen and IM Priyadharshan Kannappan who tied for first with four points each, earning them $1,250 a piece. IM Jake Kleiman and WGM Katerina Nemcova tied for second with 3 ½ points, splitting their prize and earning $725 each.
Bill Wright Saint Louis Open: Open Standings (FIDE Rated)
| # | Name | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Tot | Prize |
| 1 | GM ERIC HANSEN | 2657 | W6 | W4 | D2 | W5 | D3 | 4.0 | 1250.00 |
| 2 | IM PRIYADHARSHAN KANNAPPAN | 2573 | W19 | W8 | D1 | W7 | D4 | 4.0 | 1250.00 |
| 3 | IM JAKE KLEIMAN | 2445 | W18 | D7 | D5 | W9 | D1 | 3.5 | 725.00 |
| 4 | WGM KATERINA NEMCOVA | 2425 | W20 | L1 | W12 | W13 | D2 | 3.5 | 725.00 |
| 5 | IM AWONDER LIANG | 2515 | W11 | W12 | D3 | L1 | D6 | 3.0 | 150.00 |
| 6 | NM TONY DAVIS | 2147 | L1 | W17 | D10 | W12 | D5 | 3.0 | 400.00 |
| 7 | FM DOUG D ECKERT | 2239 | W15 | D3 | W14 | L2 | H— | 3.0 | 400.00 |
| 8 | IM MICHAEL A BROOKS | 2437 | W10 | L2 | W11 | H— | H— | 3.0 | 150.00 |
| 9 | CLAUDIO ABUD | 2185 | W13 | H— | H— | L3 | W14 | 3.0 | 400.00 |
| 10 | LOGAN WU | 2037 | L8 | W15 | D6 | D11 | W13 | 3.0 | 400.00 |
| 11 | NM JAMES MCLAUGHLIN | 2122 | L5 | W20 | L8 | D10 | W15 | 2.5 |
|
| 12 | RITHWIK MATHUR | 2097 | X21 | L5 | L4 | L6 | W17 | 2.0 | 66.67 |
| 13 | SELDEN TRIMBLE | 1885 | L9 | B— | W19 | L4 | L10 | 2.0 | 66.67 |
| 14 | MARIO ROPER | 1308 | B— | H— | L7 | H— | L9 | 2.0 | 66.67 |
| 15 | THALIA CERVANTES | 2000 | L7 | L10 | W20 | D18 | L11 | 1.5 |
|
| 16 | NM SPENCER FINEGOLD | 2185 | D17 | W18 | U— | U— | U— | 1.5 |
|
| 17 | CLAY POLK | 1935 | D16 | L6 | L18 | W19 | L12 | 1.5 |
|
| 18 | AYDIN TURGUT | 2088 | L3 | L16 | W17 | D15 | U— | 1.5 |
|
| 19 | NM JAMES R VOELKER | 2130 | L2 | H— | L13 | L17 | U— | 0.5 |
|
| 20 | HARPER EVAN SMITH | 2003 | L4 | L11 | L15 | U— | U— | 0.0 |
|
The U2000 had more decisive results, with clear first place and $1,000 prize going to Eric Hoffner, a familiar face at the Chess Club. Second place was split between Ben Shoyket and Robert Taras with each player going home with $550.
Bill Wright Saint Louis Open: U2000 Standings
| # | Name | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Tot | Prize |
| 1 | ERIC HOFFNER | 1880 | W12 | W6 | W9 | D5 | W4 | 4.5 | 1000.00 |
| 2 | ROBERT TARAS | 1865 | W11 | W3 | L4 | W21 | W5 | 4.0 | 550.00 |
| 3 | BENJAMIN SHOYKHET | 1628 | W25 | L2 | W28 | W18 | W14 | 4.0 | 550.00 |
| 4 | TROY KRIMMINGER | 1813 | W20 | D7 | W2 | W9 | L1 | 3.5 | 200.00 |
| 5 | STEVEN D BANGE | 1940 | W24 | W10 | W15 | D1 | L2 | 3.5 | 200.00 |
| 6 | NATHAN SUMMERVILLE | 1645 | W30 | L1 | W11 | D10 | W15 | 3.5 | 200.00 |
| 7 | ANDREW M PERAINO | 1467 | W28 | D4 | W13 | D15 | D10 | 3.5 | 400.00 |
| 8 | DALLAS LOVEN | 1791 | H— | D26 | W22 | B— | H— | 3.5 | 200.00 |
| 9 | JOSEPH FRENCH | 1926 | W19 | W21 | L1 | L4 | W16 | 3.0 |
|
| 10 | PAUL J GODDARD | 1781 | W27 | L5 | W26 | D6 | D7 | 3.0 |
|
| 11 | JONATHAN GOLLAPUDI | 1357 | L2 | W25 | L6 | W22 | W24 | 3.0 | 225.00 |
| 12 | SAMUEL ROBLE | 1426 | L1 | W30 | L16 | W27 | W17 | 3.0 | 200.00 |
| 13 | LUKE SICONG YE | 1333 | H— | W32 | L7 | D17 | W19 | 3.0 | 225.00 |
| 14 | IRIS YI-XIAN ZHOU | 1745 | H— | H— | W19 | X23 | L3 | 3.0 |
|
| 15 | DANNY MACHUCA | 1887 | W18 | W16 | L5 | D7 | L6 | 2.5 |
|
| 16 | BRIAN JERAULD | 1715 | W17 | L15 | W12 | H— | L9 | 2.5 |
|
| 17 | MERRICK ZHENG | 1117 | L16 | D18 | W32 | D13 | L12 | 2.0 |
|
| 18 | SEAN A MALONE | 1455 | L15 | D17 | W29 | L3 | D20 | 2.0 |
|
| 19 | JIMMIE CECIL | 1494 | L9 | W31 | L14 | W29 | L13 | 2.0 |
|
| 20 | SUSHEN KOLAKALETI | 1318 | L4 | L28 | W30 | D26 | D18 | 2.0 |
|
| 21 | JAMES OSLICA | 1717 | W31 | L9 | W24 | L2 | U— | 2.0 |
|
| 22 | PAUL FALBO | 1567 | H— | D29 | L8 | L11 | W27 | 2.0 |
|
| 23 | RICHARD POINTER | 1612 | W33 | H— | H— | F14 | U— | 2.0 |
|
| 24 | ADONIS REDDICK | 1549 | L5 | W27 | L21 | W25 | L11 | 2.0 |
|
| 25 | NATHAN C KRANTZ | 516 | L3 | L11 | B— | L24 | W31 | 2.0 |
|
| 26 | DENNIS TAYLOR | 1560 | H— | D8 | L10 | D20 | U— | 1.5 |
|
| 27 | AKSHAJ MATHUR | 1310 | L10 | L24 | W31 | L12 | L22 | 1.0 |
|
| 28 | JAMES D POLLITT | 1921 | L7 | W20 | L3 | U— | U— | 1.0 |
|
| 29 | REGINALD JACKSON JR | 1117 | D32 | D22 | L18 | L19 | U— | 1.0 |
|
| 30 | ROBERT BEEKMAN | 816 | L6 | L12 | L20 | L31 | B— | 1.0 |
|
| 31 | KEN WEST | 1239 | L21 | L19 | L27 | W30 | L25 | 1.0 |
|
| 32 | JAMES IVY | 1657 | D29 | L13 | L17 | U— | U— | 0.5 |
|
A sincere thank you to everyone who participated and to the staff at the Chess Club who make these tournaments possible. Keep an eye on the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis’ website, saintlouischessclub.org, for information on all the tournaments, lectures and other events coming up
