Chess Stuff

After a 28 year absence, Mike started playing competitive chess again. If you haven't played tournament chess, well, each game's a bit like taking a four-hour final exam in college. "Fun" is not really a good word for it, but it's gripping, absorbing, addicting. Mike did most of his tournament playing back in the late '60s through the mid '70s . He enjoys relatively low-key regional tournaments.

In December of 2006, he entered Clint Ballard's Bainbridge Island Slugfest tournament, mostly to show support for chess in this region. With a gig on Sunday, he could only play the first day of the weekend event, and since he hadn't played in so many years, he entered the Reserve section. His opponents turned out to be two fellow Port Townsend residents! But it was enough. He was hooked again. Since then, he's

Won the 2006 Montana Open in Helena Montana.
Tied for 2nd - 4th in the 2007 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC.
Second Place on Tiebreaks in the 2007 Montana Open in Missoula, Montana.
Tied 4th through 11th in the 2007 Inland Empire Open in Spokane, Washington.
Second Place on Tiebreaks in the 2007 Turkey Open in Missoula, Montana.
Third Place in the 2007 Washington State Quick Chess Championship in Tacoma, Washington.
had a mediocre result in the 2008 2008 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC.
had another mediocre result in the 2008 Inland Empire Open in Spokane (although he did win the Class A prize).
a decent score (8.5 - 5.5), considering the strength of the opposition, in the 2008 Washington State Blitz Championship in Bellevue. Probably a tie for 5th-6th -- the official results haven't been published.

Some photos, thanks to Jay at Junior Chess up in BC, from the tournament website):

(versus BC's Sam Churchill, from the 2007 Grand Pacific Open website)

(versus BC's Elliot Raymer, from the 2008 Grand Pacific Open website)

Some games from these recent competitions: