April 2009

NW News Briefs
Chess4Life Friday Night Quads
On January 30th, NM Elliott Neff
directed the ‘grand opening’ night of
scholastic Friday Night Quads in Bothell,
hosted now every week by Evergreen Karate
(www.evergreenkarate.com). Chess4Life
added the Bothell location for the popular
event which is run every Friday at
Chess4Life’s center in Bellevue. Opening
night at Evergreen Karate, players from firsttime
competitors through 1300-rated
competed in this NWSRS-rated event. At the
end of the evening, NM Elliott took on four
players simultaneously in five-minute blitz
for some fast action to finish the evening.
More info on Chess4Life’s Friday Night
Quads: these quads are open to players
grades K-12 – and, for those brave enough,
parents can play if their child is playing that
evening! After registration is complete,
players are grouped according to rating, and
for each quad there is a trophy to the winner!
Players that come frequently strive to collect
four trophies in order to gain the 4x Winner
trophy.
The ultimate trophy in Friday Night
Quads action is the “Triple Crown” cup. This
prized award requires earning three of the
4x Winner trophies – eight players have
achieved this in the last three years.
Friday Night Quads are intended to be a
great way for students to put into practice
what they are learning in chess classes.
Students can even attend weekly classes at
Chess4Life on Friday afternoons, following
this with the rated quad competition. At the
Chess4Life Center, there are typically
players rated from beginner up through 1500
(occasionally even 1800!), and all first-time
quad attendees receive a door prize!
For directions, visit www.chess4life.com
or call 425-283-0549.
– Johanna Neff
Scholastic Tournament Round-up
The Washington High School Individual
Championship was held January 30-31.
There were 85 players, 34 in the Open
Section and 51 in the Reserve. Open section
winners: 1 st , Kerry Xing, 5-0. Kerry will be
the Washington Representative at the
Denker Tournament of High School
Champions August. 2 nd , Andy May, Elliot
Knudsen, Peter Lessler, Devon Manber &
Peter Watts, with 4-0 each. In the reserve:
1 st Mark Rathvon, Francesca Renouard, and
Iris Emerman, 4.5 each. Team results: 1 st ,
Lakeside; 2 nd , Seattle Prep; 3 rd , Interlake; 4 th ,
Bainbridge Island; 5 th , Ballard. TD: Kirk
Winges.
The Washington Junior Open was held
January 19 th . There were 168 players, 65 in
the Open, and in the Reserve, 58 in the
grades K-3 section, 39 in the grades 4-6
section, and 6 in the grades 7-12 section.
The winners: Open: 1 st , Krishnan Warrier
and Devon Manber, 4-0 each. They played
a speed match which was won by Warrier.
3 rd , Ethan Gottlieb, Michael Wang, and
David Inglis, 3.5 each. Reserve: K-3: 1 st ,
Kanish Puri and Bryan Zhu, 5-0 each. 4-6:
1 st , Jordan Price, 5-0; 2 nd John Leece, Vishnu
Sarukkai, Sean Burznski, Nic Pisani, and
Jason Zhu, 4-0 each. 7-12: 1 st , Jeremy
Kohlenberg, 5-0; 2 nd , Matt Coopersmith, 3-
2. Team results: Open Section: 1 st , Odle
Middle School; 2 nd , Evergreen; 3 rd , Interlake
High. Reserve Section: K-3: 1 st , Somerset.
TD: David Hendricks.
– Gary Dorfner
Reader board at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon.
Neil Dale directed. Photo credit: Russell Miller.
Tacoma Report
The New Year Quads were held at the
club on January 2, 9, and 16. There were 12
players in three quads. The winners were:
Quad 1, Paul Bartron; Quad 2, Stephen
Buck; Quad 3, Lani Martin. TD: Gary
Dorfner.
The Tacoma Chess Club 30-30 was held
on January 23 rd . There were 10 players. The
winners were Mike MacGregor and Mike
Kamerath, 3-0 each. TD: Gary Dorfner.
The Pierce County Open was held Jan.
25 th . There were 8 players; the winners were:
1 st , Mike MacGregor and Howard Chen with
3.5, earning $47.50 each; 1 st U1700, Darby
Monahan and Catherine Smith, with 1.5,
winning $14.00 each. TD: Gary Dorfner.
The Tacoma Chess Club membership
meeting was held on Friday night, January
30 th . The following were elected officers
for 2009: President Stephen Buck; Vice
President (vacant); Secretary Paul Bartron;
Treasurer Mike MacGregor; Tournament
Director, Gary Dorfner; P.D. & Sergeant at
arms (vacant).
– Gary Dorfner
Spokane Chess Club: Ackerman,
Weyland Winter Champions
Ron Weyland defeated Ryan Ackerman
in their fifth-round encounter to tie Ryan for
the title of Club Champion. Both finished
at 4-1. Kevin Korsmo was third with
3.5. Ron and Ryan split the $55 cash prize
for first place and the best over 1500. The
best under 1500 prize went to Ted Baker
with a 3-2 score.
Ted Baker’s first-round conquest of
Kevin Korsmo stood as the biggest upset of
the tourney.
In addition to the cash prizes, each of
the section winners and the biggest upset
winner received one-year WCF
memberships as part of the prize packages.
– Kevin Korsmo
Washington High School Team
The short report on the results of the
Washington State High School Team
Championships, held at Mount Vernon High
School, February 27 and 28, 2009:
1-2 Interlake A 19
1-2 Lakeside A 19
3 Seattle Prep. A 18.5
4 Skyline A 18
5-6 Garfield A 16.5
5-6 University Prep 16.5
Page 4 Northwest Chess April 2009