The 17th Mountaineer Open was held Saturday, January 14, at the WVU Mountainlair. Proceeds after prizes ($220 plus canned goods) were donated to Empty Bowls of Monongalia County. 21 players competed in the Open Section, which was won by Josh Matti. 9 players competed in the rated scholastic section, won by Matthew Ellis. Special thanks to Viraat Das, a Morgantown High student, who organized the event.
Coverage from the Dominion Post:
https://youtu.be/uwIDPHhUZH4
The 2016 edition of the WV Senior Championship was held December 17-18, 2016. 18 players competed from 4 states at the Comfort Suites in Bridgeport. The event was combined into one section, which was won by Peter Snow of Virginia and Sam Timmons of Saint Albans. The senior title went to John Roush, who was 1/2 point back from Snow and Timmons.
Bill Rice of Elkins has passed away. He was an active member of the Elkins Chess Club and competed in the 2013 State Championship held in Elkins.
Obituary:
William Hargett “Bill” Rice, 69, and a resident of Elkins, passed away Friday, Nov. 18, 2016, at his home, of cancer.
The family will receive friends from noon until 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Tomblyn Funeral Home in Elkins.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Belington Public Library, 510 Elliot Ave., Belington, WV 26250 or to the West Virginia Regional History Collection, 1549 University Ave., Morgantown, WV 26505, in memory of Bill. Tomblyn Funeral Home of Elkins is in charge of the arrangements for William Hargett “Bill” Rice. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.tomblynfuneralhome.com.
Obituary courtesy of The Inter-Mountain.
The 2016 WV Junior Championship was held November 12, 2016 in Clarksburg. 24 players competed in two sections. Preston Male won the overall championship with 3.5/4 and Cole McDougal won the lower section with 4/4. The full crosstable is here.
34 players attended the 2016 National Chess Day event in St. Albans. 14 players competed in the Open Section, won by John Roush with a score of 3.5/4. John Roush takes the early lead in the 2016-2017 Grand Prix, followed closely by Markle Butcher and David Bruner.
The Missing Pieces Charity Chess Tournament was a non-rated event held in Summersville on September 24, 2016. 6 adults and 2 children from the Nicholas County area competed to raise over $1,000 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Jim Adkins of Mount Nebo won the single-elimination event.
3-time State Champion Benjamin Good attended the event and played a simultaneous exhibition, going 12-0. Ben tried his hand at a blindfold game with Chris Smallwood, runner-up of the main event, but forgot about one of the pieces, blundered his queen and lost.
Next year we plan on holding the event some time before the State Championship, with both rated and non-rated sections.
19 players participated in the 78th WV State Championship, held in Charleston from September 3 to September 5.
FM Nikhilesh Kunche and Dr. Armando Lopez, who drew each other in Round 3, are the 2016 WV State Champions. FM Kunche took the individual trophy on tiebreaks. They both scored 5.5-0.5. Nathaniel Eerenberg and James Fuller tied for third with 4-2.
5 players participated in a round robin Blitz Championship, which was won by Dr. Lopez with a 4-0 score.
The crosstable can be seen here.
The games can be downloaded here.
Lewis Sanders won the 2015-2016 Grand Prix.
Events included:
2015 National Chess Day, 2015 St. Francis Fall Open, 2015 WV Senior Open, 2016 Winter Open, 2016 Action Championship, 24th Parkersburg Homecoming, 78th WV State Championship
1. Lewis Sanders 52.83
2. Nikhilesh Kunche 41.92
3. David Bruner 41.83
4. John Roush 37.83
5. Dan Cady 37.67
6. Markle Butcher 34.92
7. Joseph Baker 33.33
8. James Fuller 28.67
9. Ed Garner 28.17
10. Mike Felton 27.83
11. Charles McCallister 27.67
12. Armando Lopez 27.17
13. Sam Timmons 22.08
14. Boyd Reed 18.58
15. David Hundley 18.50
16. Marvin Boyce 14.50
17. Bob Canary 14.00
18. Bill Haynes 11.50
19. Surya Perla 8.00
20. Ben Good 7.50
21. Nathaniel Eerenberg 7.33
Andre Linsky 7.33
23. Tyler Barnhart 6.83
24. Marty Clevenger 6.67
Daniel Preece 6.67
26. Edward Shade 6.50
27. Mayor Bob 6.33
28. Anthony Francis 6.00
29. Gary Cummings 5.17
30. Jim Fields 5.00
Ryan Ward 5.00
Chris Greer 5.00
33. Mike Price 4.92
34. James Olson 3.50
35. Miller Bushong 3.33
36. Alex Chouinard 1.67
The business meeting of the WVCA was held September 3, 2016 before the first round of the State Championship. Two things of note: the Ripley Chess Club is donating $250 to the Grand Prix prize fund and the format and date for the State Championship is no longer fixed.
These are the requirements for the State Championship going forward:
– 5 rounds or longer
– G/75 or longer
– Held between August 1 and October 31
The 2017 State Championship will be held in Mt. Nebo, just outside of Summersville. Expect a 2-day 5-round event with a shorter time control for rounds 1 and 2.
The 2017 Action Championship will be held in Ripley.
Officers:
President – John Roush
Vice President – James Fields
Secretary-Treasurer – Ben Good
Bulletin Editor – Mike Baker
At-Large Member – David Bruner
Delgate to USCF – Lewis Sanders, Charles McCallister alternate
Twenty players participated in the 24th Annual Parkersburg Homecoming tournament. Grant Perks from Ohio was the winner at 4-0, with Mike Felton just behind him at 3.5.
1st: Grant Perks, Thornville, Ohio.
2nd: Michael Felton, Grafton
3rd, tie: David Hines, Wiley Ford; John Everett Roush, Ripley; Lewis Sanders, Charleston.
Under 1800: Matthew Campbell, Morgantown.
Under 1300: Charles McCallister, Ripley.
Non-Rated Results:
1st: Gavin Yost, Davisville
2nd: Anthony Jenkins Walker
Winner Grant Perks
Non-rated Winner Gavin Yost
Non-rated 2nd Place Anthony Jenkins