The SCCA has
appointed Mike
Games of Greenwood as the state's Scholastic
Chess Coordinator. He is also the director of the Greenwood Chess Club.
As Scholastic Coordinator Mike will report to SCCA Vice President Mickey Lauria.
Please welcome Mike to his new post.
SC Open: Results
The 2008 South
Carolina Open was held in downtown Greenville on June 27-29. Ninety players
participated in three sections. This was a huge increase over last year (65
players) which allowed the Greenville Chess Club to pay out 145% of the promised
prizes (i.e. 1st prize in the open section was raised from $600 to $870, 2nd
prize was raised from $300 to $435, etc.). There were forty-two competitors in
the Open Section with 2 Grandmasters, 5 master players (2200+) and 9 experts
(2000+). The U1800 and U1400 sections were very competitive also with 23 and 22
participants respectively.
North Carolina State Champion Chris Mabe and GM Roman Dzindzichasvili tied
for first in the Open Section with a score of 4.5/5. Defending SC Open Champion
GM Lubomir Ftacnik had two draws, placing him in clear third with 4.0/5. The
U1800 section was won by Ian Morton of Charleston, SC, and the U1400 section was
won by Brittney DeWitt of North Carolina, each winning an improved prize of
$435.
The YouTube video shows the two GMs reviewing their game.
Games
Thanks to Florida Chess Retailer SIG'S
CHESS for bringing his outstanding collection
of chess merchandise; thanks to the Greenville
Club for sponsoring the event; and special thanks to the tournament directors
and organizers Mickey Lauria and Bob Jones — their shoulders are broad!
Ftacnik Simuls: Results
In preparation
for the 2008 South Carolina Open, GM Lubomir "Lubo"
Ftacnik of Slovakia completed his tour across the state, playing a total of
seventy games with only one loss (James MacDougall - Columbia) and four draws
(Paul Farb - Columbia; Philipp Lamby - Columbia; Ian Morton - Charleston; Josh
Nissenboim - Charleston). The big finish was held at the Greenwood Mall in
Greenwood, SC, where twenty-seven boards were filled including fifteen
scholastic players! The final tally:
Florence, (June 23): 8 wins - 0 losses - 0 draws
Columbia, (June 24): 19 wins - 1 loss - 2 draws
Charleston, (June 25): 11 wins - 0 losses - 2 draws
Greenwood, (June 26): 27 wins - 0 losses - 0 draws
FINAL SCORE out of 70 games: Lubo 67 points, South Carolina 3 points
The photo shown on the right is the "bishops of opposite colors endgame" draw
held by Josh Nissenboim against the Grandmaster. (GM on left, Josh on right.)
The GM finally offered the draw with three extra pawns. Josh is the only player
to score against Lubo twice in a row, having drawn the GM last year.
The South Carolina Chess Association would like to thank the following club
directors for making all this happen: Dan Johnson/James Baxley of Florence; Bob
Halliday of Columbia; David Causey of Charleston; and Mike Games of Greenwood.
2008 High School Invitational: Results
The first annual
Palmetto State High School Invitational, between the four highest rated
high school players in the state that were able to accept the invitation, was
held on Saturday and
Sunday June 21-22 at Jittery Joes (upstairs room), 385 Old Greenville Highway,
Clemson, SC 29631. The event was a Game in 60, double round
robin (switching colors).
The final standings:
Michael Lauria 5.5
Rade Musulin 3.5
Kenzie Moore 1.5
Daniel McEachern 1.5
The Aiken County Chess Club
hosted the first Lee Hyder Memorial Tournament in Aiken, April 26-27, 2008.
Twelve-time state champion Klaus Pohl won the event with a perfect score.
Erik Walker won the U2000 section, while Gerald Battaglia took first U1600. The
field included two other master level players, as well as several experts and
Class A players.
Dr. M. Lee Hyder earned his PhD in Chemistry from
the University of California (Berkley) in 1962. He then took a position at
the Atomic Energy Commission's Savannah River Laboratories near Aiken, South
Carolina, where he worked as a research chemist until retirement. He was a
pillar of South Carolina's chess community. He won the state championship
six times: 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1974, and 1978. Dr. Hyder edited the
SCCA's newsletter from 1968-1975, 1981-1983, and 1990-1995. He organized
many tournaments and was instrumental in bringing the quarter-final
match for the World Championship between Korchnoi and Mecking to Augusta in
1974. He became the first and (so far) only South
Carolina resident to be elected to the USCF Policy Board, as national secretary.
He also served as a trustee of the US Chess Trust for over a decade. He
passed away on November 3, 2003. The picture to the right shows him at the
1999 SC Championships.
2008 National High School Championship
FOUR SOUTH
CAROLINA CHESS PLAYERS placed at the National K-12 High School Championship this
past weekend, April 17 - 20, in Atlanta, Georgia in the seven round, three day
tournament. In the "Under 1600" Section, Daniel Dodds scored 6.0 to tie for 3rd
- 8th, and Zach Templeton scored 5.5 to tie for 9th - 19th. In the "Under 800"
Section, Daniel Lee scored 6.0 to tie for 3rd - 5th, and Morgan Wang scored 5.5
to tie for 9th - 12th.
South Carolina sent a total of 26 players to the tournament, not counting
coaches, parents, and supporters. The results were promising as most South
Carolina contestants scored well. The three contestants in the Championship
"Open" Section all scored 4.0 or better. Michael Lauria and Rade Muslin
scored 4.5 each, with Lintu Ramachandran scoring 4.0 and beating an expert, Andy
May, in the first round. Andy, the 2007 Washington State High School Champion,
had already placed second in the Blitz tournament on Thursday and managed to
rebound and pull a total of 5.0 points to place 37th overall.
Team results -
the DW Daniel High School Team consisting of Kenzie Moore, Zachary Templeton,
Arjun Grover, and Jonathan Sarasua tied for 10th but placed 13th on tiebreakers
in the U1600 division. The RC Edwards Middle School Team consisting of Daniel
Lee, Morgan Wang, Paul Dutkiewicz, and Sam Cooper won 4th place in the U800
division.
Also of note for our state is the 8.5 points scored by Rade Musulin in the Blitz
Tournament. Maureen Grimaud was the sole S.C. participant in the Parents &
Friends Tournament.
Buncombe County Scholastic: Results
On April 12 the
following players from local schools participated in the 2008 Buncombe County
Scholastic Chess Tournament in Arden, North Carolina: Michael Lauria and Kenzie
Moore from D.W. Daniel High School; Zachary Templeton, Daniel Lee, and Morgan
Wang from R.C. Edwards Middle School; and Torin Moore from Clemson Elementary
School. All the players enjoyed some success. Torin Moore tied for
third in the K-5 section by winning 3 out of 4 of his games (but he did not
place due to tie breakers). Morgan Wang tied for third but placed 5th on
tie breakers by winning 3 out of his games in the K-8 section. Kenzie
Moore tied for second but placed third on tie breakers by winning 3 out of 4 of
his games (loosing only to the first place winner) in the K-12 section.
Zachary Templeton placed second by winning 3 out of 4 of his games (loosing only
to the first place winner) in the K-12 section, and reigning state high school
champion Michael Lauria placed first by winning all of his games in the K-12
section. The players represented their schools and the upstate well.
Congratulate them when you see them.
Border Battle 2008: Aliyev Wins Match!!
South Carolina
Champion Timur Aliyev won the four game match against Chris Mabe, North
Carolina's reigning chess champion. The first two games of the match
were played in Charlotte April 5-6, with each player winning a game. The final two games were
played in Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina, April 12-13. Game three was drawn. Aliyev won the fourth game and the match 2.5/1.5.
Our electronic newsletter, Palmetto Chess
E-Blast, is now active. E-Blast will provide the latest information about SCCA
events and tournaments. Please use the form to the right to submit your
email address to receive the latest SCCA news.
SCCA Database Updated: Now contains
over 1,200 games!
View the games in our online database using ChessTutor
here.
South
Carolina Chess Association
