Chess Stuff


After a 28 year absence, I 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. I did most of my tournament playing back in the late '60s through the mid '70s . Nowadays, I mostly prefer relatively low-key regional tournaments, although I started playing in some bigger national and international events in 2012.


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


  • 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.
  • Mediocre result in the 2008 2008 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC.
  • Another mediocre result in the 2008 Inland Empire Open in Spokane (although I did win the Class A prize).
  • Decent score (8.5 - 5.5), in the 2008 Washington State Blitz Championship in Bellevue. Probably a tie for 5th-6th -- the official crosstable wasn't published and the event was unrated.
  • Won the 2008 Turkey Open in Missoula.
  • Second Place in the 2008 Washington Class Game-10 Open in Redmond, Washington.
  • Tied for 3-6 place in the 2008 Washington State QuickChess Championship in Seattle.
  • Won the 2009 Port Townsend Open.
  • Shared the Under 2000 prize at the 2009 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria.
  • Scored 5.5 - 4.5 in an even stronger "midnight blitz" Grand Pacific Open side tournament, won by International Master Vincente Lee. That crosstable hasn't yet been published,
  • Awarded third place in the 2009 Washington State Blitz Championship in Bellevue. Actually, fourth place since the organizer took himself out of the list of prize winners.
  • Even score against strong opposition in the 2009 2009 Silverdale Beach Classic in Silverdale, WA.
  • Took second in the 2009 Spokane Game-10 Championship.
  • Took second in the 2009 Cranberry Blitz tournament in Missoula.
  • Tied for First through Third in the 2009 Turkey Open in Missoula (taking 3rd on tiebreaks).
  • Tied for Second through Fifth in the 2010 Port Townsend Open .
  • Mediocre result (but very strong opposition) in the 2010 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC.
  • Poor result (negative score) in the 2010 Washington State Blitz in Bellevue. Doing well until lost two games to Akobian and then fell apart.
  • Another even score against strong opposition in the 2009 2010 Silverdale Beach Classic in Silverdale, WA.
  • Took third on tiebreaks in the Rasmussen Blackmar-Diemer Tournament, October, 2010, in Port Townsend.
  • Tied for 1st and 2nd (2nd on tiebreaks) in the 2010 Turkey Open in Missoula, MT.
  • Took 1st in the 2011 Port Townsend Open.
  • Won the 2011 Montana Open in Helena, Montana.
  • Moderately respectable scores in the 2011 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC and its side event, the Midnight Blitz and I finally got a FIDE Rating. However, FIDE considers me a Canadian. :-)
  • Took 2nd place in the 2011 Washington G10 Open in Renton, WA.
  • Mediocre results (performed to rating) in the 2011 Oyster Bay Inn Classic in Bremerton, WA.
  • Tied for 2nd and 3rd (3nd on tiebreaks) in the 2011 Turkey Open in Missoula, MT.
  • I started out 2012 with a very poor result in the 2012 Port Townsend Open.
  • Followed it up with a mediocre score in the 2012 World Amateur Team in Parsippany, NJ.
  • At last, had a good result (considering the strength of the opposition) in the 2012 Reykjavik Open in Iceland.
  • Mediocre score in the 2012 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC
  • Collapsed the 2nd day, but still tied for 3-5 in the 2012 Montana Open in Missoula, MT.
  • Played a lot of tough opposition (1 GM, 3 Masters, 1 Expert, 1 Class-A, 2 Class B, and 1 Class C) (while tying for 147th out of 517 competitors) in the 2012 United States Open in Vancouver, WA.
  • Had my best event performance rating ever while tying for 3rd and fourth in the 2012 Oyster Bay Inn Classic in Bremerton, WA.
  • Took 2nd in the 2012 Turkey Open in Missoula, MT.
  • I started out 2013 taking 3rd in the 2013 Port Townsend Open.
  • Made another even score in the 2013 Reykjavik Open in Iceland.
  • Did fairly well in the 2013 Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC
  • Mild disappointment in the 2013 United States Open in Madison, Wisc
  • Won the 2013 Turkey Open in Missoula, MT.

    • 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: