June ends with four-tourney weekend

National Master Kevin Cao took home the top prize at the Friday Action Quads the last weekend in June.

By Mike Kummer

Four different tourneys rocked the Chess Club the last weekend of June.

Friday night kicked off with the weekly Friday Action Quads where National Master Kevin Cao crushed the top quad going 3-0. Newly crowned expert Alex Vergilesov and tournament veteran James McLauglin shared the $36 top prize in quad 2.

Tha Dun was able to knock off the top two competitors in his section to take home the $36, and in quad 4 Ronit Kirumaki continued to impress. His rating has increased dramatically over the past year. Last June, his provisional rating was a miniscule 295. His rating now stands at a robust 1540. Ronit plays all the tournaments he can and takes advantage of the free ladder games on Tuesdays.

Bishop DuBourg alum Peter Immer showed ‘em what it was like in quad 5. The Cavalier swept the field 3-0.

Shelly Rode and Abdul Shakoor were victorious in quad 6 and quad 7, respectively.

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 1

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 2

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 3

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 4

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 5

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 6

SwissSys Wall Chart. w: Quad 7

The Student Action Quads were held the following day on a rainy Saturday afternoon. A total of 16 players competed in four quads. In the top Quad, Diamond Shakoor survived round 1, crushed in round 2, and then took a peacable draw with Thomas Xiong in the final round to split the $16 top prize.

In quad 2, things weren’t as friendly as Derian Ryker asserted a take-no-prisoners attitude. After winning the first two games, he was determined to take out the top seed. Derian succeeded and took home the $16. Derian has recently been getting lessons from chess guru Mr. Ed Baur.

In quad 3, Vyomesh Tripathi won them all to take first, and in quad 4, three players tied for first netting them a sweet 35-cent profit, which would have been good for a phone call in 1994.

SwissSys Wall Chart. SAQ: Quad 1

SwissSys Wall Chart. SAQ: Quad 2

SwissSys Wall Chart. SAQ: Quad 3

SwissSys Wall Chart. SAQ: Quad 4

The Unrated Adult Tournament for Beginners started while the SAQ was still in progress. A record 26 players showed up for a chance to win a membership to the CCSCSL or the USCF. They came from as far away as California for this wonderful opportunity.

On board 1, it was a battle of the Katherines. Katie Stujenske got the better of Kate Yee to win the name game.

Round 1 did not end without controversy. Player 2 was losing badly to Player 1, and Player 2 was running low on time. Player 2 then let his flag fall and declared “draw!", dubiously thinking that since he had mating material when his flag fell it was a draw. The tournament directors, howver, quickly corrected him and resolved the situation.

A total of seven players went into the final round with a 2-0 score and four came out unscathed to win a special prize. Katie Stujenske just barely “qualified” to participate in this Beginner Tourney with a USCF rating of 572. She made the most of the opportunity and got an extra year tacked onto her club membership. Harold Hadman from Hannibal won a USCF membership. Do not overlook him if you get paired with him in an upcoming tournament. Dave Betz, from California, got very lucky to win. After dropping a piece for nothing early in round 3, he outlasted his older opponent who got fatigued after a long day of chess. Keith Davies also went 4-0 to get a free membership to the club. His child is also a member and enjoys the Kids classes on Sunday afternoons.

SwissSys Standings. Adult Beginner: Open

The staff then set-up for the Unrated Beginner Tournament for Kids! The tournament runs right after the two Kids Classes taught by GM Yasser Seirawan.  Once again, 26 was the magic number as 14 kids competed in the 4th & Up section, while 12 played in the K-3 section.

Roman Ryker tried to match his older brother’s success from the SAQ but was struck down by Samantha Glover in round 1. Samantha and her brother Elliot were visiting from Oklahoma.

The tournament came down to an epic finish between two of Ben Simon’s students: Tanish Sreedharan and Callan Sukanek. Callan was the favorite as he has USCF experience while Tanish has none. Mid-way through the game, Tanish was doing great as he was up a queen. But Callan checked him with the rook on the back row. With the king not having an escape square, Tanish was left with a choice. Block the check with either the knight or the queen, and Tanish suspiciously chose the latter. The game got even crazier as Callan chose not to capture the queen, but to protect the rook with one of his “two” dark-squared bishops! Tanish made the exchange and quickly proceeded to show Callan how a real back rank checkmate is delivered. Tanish won a free membership to the Chess Club.

In the 4th & Up section, Matthew Yee finished first to add 6 month’s to his family’s club membership.

SwissSys Standings. Kids Beginner: Open

SwissSys Standings. Kids Beginner: 4th & Up