83rd WV State Championship

28 players from five states competed in the 83rd WV State Championship, held September 10-11 in Huntington. After 5 rounds of play, Benjamin Good emerged as the clear first with 4.5/5. Lewis Sanders and Andrew Thomas (Ohio) shared 2nd-3rd with 4 points.

1st – Benjamin Good 4.5
2nd-3rd – Lewis Sanders, Andrew Thomas 4.0
U1900 1st-2nd – Kevin Chen, John Boylin 3.5
U1600 1st – Gagana Sadineni 3.0
U1600 2nd – Michael Wilson 2.5
U1300 1st – Elijah Tipton 2.5
U1300 2nd-4th – Steve Meade, Ryan VanBibber, Tarunsai Bhumanapalli 2.0
Upset Prize – Gagana Sadineni

Crosstable

2022 Barber, Rockefeller, and Irwin Representatives

John Boylin, Gagana Sadineni, and James Fuller represented WV in the 2022 Barber (Middle School Champions), Rockefeller (Elementary Champions), and Irwin (Senior Champions). Facing very stiff competition from across the US, each represented us well. John finished with 3/6 in the Barber tournament, while Gagana and James each had 2/6 in their events.

Chess Fundamentals Camp in Huntington

14 students, ages 12-17, from WV and the tri-state area participated in the first ever chess camp in WV. Organized by the Huntington YMCA Chess Club, and sponsored by HIMG, Camden Park, Delta Hotels, Paris Signs, and Dan O’Hanlon, Chess Fundamentals was taught by St. Louis and CA-based GM Dariusz Swiercz.

Three days of intense instruction, games, puzzles, simuls, a mini tournament, lots of snacks and a pizza party left the participants tired, happy, and full of new chess skills and strategies. As one camper stated, “I did not think it would be this much fun!”

GM Swiercz loved Huntington and enjoyed working with the students. The Huntington YMCA Chess club hopes this will be an annual event.

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Article by the Herald-Dispatch

2022 WV Action Championship

22 players competed in the ’22 WV Action Championship, held in Huntington on June 11. Lewis Sanders and John Boylin share the Action Championship, each scoring 5-1. 6 players tied for 3rd, including Sam Timmons, Ryan Ward, and Elijah Schultz who took home the U1700 prizes. Ryan VanBibber and Max Aguilar were 1st-2nd in the U1100 class.

Lewis has extended his lead in the Grand Prix and can likely only be caught by going into hiding and Sam Timmons winning the State Championship.

USCF Crosstable

Chess Camp with GM Dariusz Świercz

Chess Camp with GM Dariusz Świercz

The Huntington-YMCA Chess Club announces Chess Fundamentals with GM Dariusz Świercz

This is a 3-day chess camp with study of strategy, calculations, endgames, and more! June 27, 28, and 29th at the Phil Cline YMCA, 917 Ninth St., Huntington, WV 25701 for the first 20 young people age 12-18. Fee: $100 per student, non-refundable

Registration and Payment or Inquiries: HuntingtonChess@gmail.com

GM Dariusz Świercz (FIDE 2664) is a Polish-American chess Grandmaster. In 2011, Świercz won the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2016 he won the 3rd Millionaire Chess tournament. In 2019 he represented the United States in World Team Championships. He also earned a wildcard spot in the prestigious 2021 Sinquefield Cup.

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