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by CSCA President Dean Brown
During March, April, and May the Colorado Chess scene saw 44 rated tournaments with a total of 891 players played in 7 towns (Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Denver, Durango, and Manitou Springs). Unrated team events and scholastic tournaments occurred in many other locales.
The tournament of choice for Denverites has been the Denver Chess Club Tuesday Night monthly events which as drawn 43 to 57 players in recent months. Drawing 40 or more players were the Boulder Open and the one-day St Patrick's Day tournament in Colorado Springs.
At the Colorado Chess Festival Brian Wall was "crowned" the 2007 Colorado Closed Champion scoring 6.0 out of 7.0, a full point over second place Tyler Hughes. Richard Herbst is the Colorado Scholastic Closed Champion scoring 6.5 out of 7.0, a full 2 points above second place finishers Matthew Kasper and Paul Carroll. The Tour Weekender Open was won by Jim Hamblin and the Under 1400 section was won by Nebraskan Matthew Turner. Jim Hamblin also won the Standard Swiss Open section on the Festival's first weekend while newcomer Mark Peterson had a perfect score in the Under 1400 section. The McMahon Swiss top scorers were Matthew Krump, Jim Hamblin, and Jason Zetterval. The disappointing turnout of less than 70 participants for the Colorado Chess Festival has the CSCA board thinking of eliminating the non-Closed events in the future. The non-Closed events were added several years ago to help offset the site costs of the Closed events but they are now becoming a financial liability.
26 Colorado Scholastic players traveled to Kansas City to participate in the National High School Championships. Although no titles were brought home, Stetson Zirkelbach gained 302 rating points, and John Cordos 234 rating points. David Vargas scored 6.0 out of 7.0 points, Jesse Crall and Stetson Zirkelbach scored 5.0 in their respective section. Though the summer is a Scholastic Chess lull, I hope to see many of the scholastic players maintain their form by participating in the many summer tournaments.
Scholastic Chess and the instruction, coaching, and assistance to our youth are a pillar to the continued good health of Colorado Chess. The CSCA supports Chess instruction through the free use of our Chess Instruction web page. We encourage interested parties that have the will and energy to support our chess youth to seek out opportunities to do so. The CSCA does not endorse one instructor/coach over any other. The CSCA does not recognize or support territorial rights or an instructor's monopoly over an area, school district, niche, or community. The interests of different instructors/coaches occasionally collide when they seek to support the sane niche, the CSCA wishes all to be above-board and not to bad-mouth their competition. Denigrating other coaches/instructors presents a bad overall image to Colorado Chess. The CSCA does recognize the free market on chess services, but in stating your case, please speak clearly of your own capabilities…there is no need to cast falsehoods on others capabilities; facts speak clearly and honorably.
As we head into summer the opportunity to play chess abounds with rated tournaments scheduled in the June through September timeframe for Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Manitou Springs, and one-day tournaments in Pueblo, and Salida! There are tournaments of every ilk, style, and time control…many that you will find most enjoyable; come out and enjoy the competition and friendships.
The Colorado Open over Labor Day weekend returns once again this year to the Ramada Gateway on Zuni next to the Speers @ I-25 interchange in Denver. This is the Keystone Tournament of Colorado Chess, invariably the tournament with the largest turnout each year in Colorado (excepting Scholastic-only tournaments of course); 6 rounds of Chess Bliss (more rounds if you simultaneously play in the one-day Membership Open). This tournament initiates the 2008 Colorado Chess Tour season. Do see the current 2007 standing elsewhere in this Informant. As of this writing there are still at least 5 Colorado Tour events left for the 2007 season; no one has yet to lock-in the Tour prizes for this year.
We will be electing our new CSCA Board during the Colorado Open. If you have good ideas on how to enhance Colorado Chess and have the industry to support the CSCA, please consider running for the CSCA Board. I know of at least one vacancy, the CSCA President…after 10 years of service to the CSCA, I will not be seeking a position on the new board. Family health issues and a full schedule prohibit my candidacy for a second term as the President. No need to fear my disappearance from the Colorado Chess scene…I will maintain a hefty playing schedule and plan to put my energies into keeping the annual Al Ufer Memorial and Southern Colorado Open chess tournaments as quality, fun, must-attend tournaments. I will also continue to represent Colorado as one of its USCF Delegates this year (Cherry Hills, NJ) and next (Dallas, TX) at the annual USCF delegate meetings.
See you soon.
Dean Wm Brown, CSCA President
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