18 players competed in the 2017 WV Senior Championship. Peter Snow of Virginia won the tournament with 4.5/5. David Hines and Ed Garner, who scored 3.5/5, are the 2017 WV Senior Champions.
2017 Fall Open and Scholastic
30 players competed in the Fall Open and Scholastic at St. Francis of Assisi in Saint Albans. The Open Section was won by Sam Timmons with 2.5/3, while the Scholastic Section was won by Natasha Rousseau with 4/4.
Concord Southern Open
12 players competed in the Concord Southern Open on November 18, 2017 in Beaver. Mike Baker won the event with 3.5/4, with Sam Timmons and Dave Hundley just behind at 3.
USCF Crosstable
2017 WV Junior Championship
Nine youngsters competed in the 2017 WV Junior Championship on September 30 at Notre Dame High in Clarksburg. Omkar Yadav won all 3 games and is the 2017 WV Junior Champion. Four adults showed up to have an open event, with three of the four tied at 2/3.
2016 – 2017 Final Grand Prix Standings
Sam Timmons won the 2016-2017 Grand Prix in convincing fashion. Sam collects $320 for his efforts, thanks to a $250 donation by the Ripley Chess Club.
Events Included:
2017 Action Championship
2017 Winter Open
2016 National Chess Day
17th Mountaineer Open
4th Peter DuPuy Memorial
Mid-Ohio Valley Open
79th WV State Championship
1. Sam Timmons 77.88
2. Ed Garner 47.75
3. John Roush 35.75
4. David Bruner 31.08
5. Omkar Yadav 29.33
6. Nicholas Palmer 29.05
7. David Hundley 28.50
8. John Sefton 27.25
9. Michael Felton 26.00
10. Charles McCallister 25.50
11. Daniel Preece 23.67
12. Jimmy Fuller 23.33
13. Sefus Ellis 20.83
14. Markle Butcher 20.50
15. Joseph Craddock 19.58
16. Benjamin Good 18.17
17. David Hines 18.00
18. Nikhilesh Kunche 17.00
19. Adam Pell 15.33
20. Craig Timmons 12.50
21. Keith Lilly 11.50
22. Aaron Richardson 11.17
23. James Reszler 9.50
24. Nathaniel Palmer 8.00
Parker Benson 8.00
26. Lewis Sanders 7.00
27. Lawrence Iorio 6.33
Robert V Greer 6.33
29. Dan Cady 6.00
30. Gilbert Stone 5.17
31. Douglas Snuffer 4.75
Richard Holsberry 4.75
33. Vincent Price 4.00
34. Preston Male 3.50
Richard Greathouse 3.50
36. Cody Kropp 3.50
37. Ryan Fitzwater 2.67
79th WV State Championship
The 79th WV State Championship was held on September 9-10, 2017 at the Shall We Dance Ballroom in Mount Nebo, WV. 19 players from 3 states competed in the event. Ted Belanoff, a master with ties to WV, won the event with a 4.5/5 score. The WV championship race in the last round consisted of Ed Garner, John Roush, Ben Good, Sam Timmons, and Lewis Sanders. Ed Garner drew quickly and any non-draw on board 2 and 3 would result in a championship. John Roush outlasted Ben Good and Sam won over Lewis in a position where at one point he had 4 pawns for a bishop. John and Sam finished with 4 points to tie for 2nd-3rd. Ed finished with 3.5 just out of the prizes.
1st – Ted Belanoff 4.5
2nd-3rd – John Roush, Sam Timmons 4
U1900 1st – Sefus Ellis 3
U1900 2nd-4th – David Hundley, Joseph Craddock, Michael Felton 2
U1600 1st – Omkar Yadav 3
U1600 2nd – David Bruner 2.5
U1300 1st – Charles McCallister 3
U1300 2nd – Surya Perla 2.5
Special thanks to Matt and Amanda Barber, owners of the Shall We Dance ballroom for supporting the event. They will also host the WV Action Championship in conjunction with their annual Missing Pieces charity tournament.
Special thanks also to Ted Belanoff for a $100 donation to the WVCA.
The Players
Playing Hall
2017 Champions Sam Timmons and John Roush
Ulf Andersson Award for Exceptional Endgame Play – Sam Timmons (versus Mike Felton)
Mikhail Tal Award for Courageous Actions and Questionable Soundness – Sefus Ellis (versus Daniel Preece)
Upset Prize – Craig Timmons (895 rating point upset versus David Hundley)
WV Chess Bulletin 2017-1
The latest bulletin can be downloaded here.
Mid-Ohio Valley Open
19 players competed in the Mid-Ohio Valley Open in Parkersburg on August 20, 2017. The open section was won by Tom Magar of PA with a perfect 4-0 score. David Hines, Sam Timmons, Omkar Yadav, and John Sefton tied for 2nd at 3-1.
Due to a budget shortfall, the Parkersburg Homecoming did not hold events on Sunday. The tournament site and name for the Parkersburg Homecoming chess tournament was changed as a result. This is the 25th year for the event.
Missing Pieces Charity Event
Update:
Thanks to Total Defense Internet Security Solutions, the donation to NCMEC has been doubled!
The Missing Pieces Charity Chess Tournament recently celebrated its second year with an impressive showing from the community who turned out to support the organization in its annual attempt to raise both awareness and funds for The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children – which boasts an AMAZING 97% recovery rate when it comes to finding our nation’s missing children!
Many hands were on deck – Maloney’s Pub’s back deck to be specific – to play and cheer on this year’s bunch of competitors. In the junior division, Mr. Maddox Smallwood of Summersville, WV, returned to successfully defend his title against an increasingly difficult lineup of competitors, while in the adult division a new champion was crowned… Mr. Michael Hennessey, an employee of Maloney’s Pub, who was reluctantly dragged into competition, served himself up his first taste of a Missing Pieces title all-the-while serving other restaurant patrons!
Maloney’s Pub graciously donated 10% of all sales during the competition, and Mr. Benjamin Good showed what a true champion is made of! Mr. Good, multi-time West Virginia State Champion and all-around “Good guy,” donated his time, his expertise, his company, and his chess books for auction at the tournament! Mr. Good played ousted individual competitors one-on-one, he handily beat 12 players in a simultaneous exhibition, and he beat the newly crowned adult champion never once looking at the board!
Missing Pieces wishes to thank all the competitors and their families and friends who turned out for the event, Maloney’s for offering the use of their space and the donation from the proceeds of the tournament sales, and Mr. Benjamin Good for his tireless efforts and incredible generosity and who continues to make the event such an amazing success!
Due to all those who attended and participated in the tournament, the book auction, the food sales (yum!), and who gave generous donations, Missing Pieces is proud to report that several hundred dollars were raised for The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. If You would like to find out more about this incredible organization, please check out their website: www.MissingKids.org. The simplest way to donate to the NCMEC is to change all of Your Amazon purchases from www.amazon.com to smile.amazon.com where You’ll find all of the same low prices, fast shipping, and great customer service; however, a portion of the proceeds can be directed by You to support either The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children or the charity of Your choice. To stay up-to-date with next year’s tournament please “like” Missing Pieces’ Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MissingPiecesCharity
Report provided by Matt Barber, organizer of the Missing Pieces Charity Event
2017 WV Action Championship
The 2017 WV Action Championship was held June 10, 2017 in Ripley. Jimmy Fuller is the 2017 WV Action Champion, taking clear first with 5/6. Sam Timmons, Ed Garner, and Dave Hundley tied for second with 4/6.
