For all you long-time players as well as newcomers, try taking the “Chess Career” test by clicking on the link on the right side of the home page. See how you measure up as a veteren chess player. It’s just for fun, but it is a good way to see how much your involvement has been throughout your chess career. Give us your feedback on the message board.
Take the Chess Career Test!
March 1st, 2012
Ananth Pappu and Donny Gray share 38th Snowstorm Special title
February 10th, 2012
The 38th Snowstorm Special was held February 11-12, 2012, at the Best Western Plus Downtown, Charleston. Twenty-four players competed for top places plus class prizes with the final outcome not decided until late afternoon on Sunday. Local National Master Ananth Pappu and Expert Donny Gray from Augusta, Georgia, tied for 1st-2nd with a 4-1 final score. Local player, John Von Der Lieth, won the Top “A” prize with an undefeated score of 3.5-1.5. Seth Taylor-Brill from North Carolina won the Top “B” prize with a 3-2 final score. John Schnacke, also a local player, won the Top “C” prize with a final score of 3.5-1.5 and gained 98 rating points to boot! The Top “D” prize was a given for local Ken Fickling since he was the only entry in that class, but he proved deserving with a solid win over a “C” player in the final round after having two 1/2 point byes on Saturday. The Top “E” prize came down to the Navy versus the Marine Corps in the final round, with Navy petty officer, Gordon Miller, facing off against a visiting Marine from Beaufort, David Ortiz, in the final round. Ortiz won the game and claimed the Top “E” prize for the Marine Corps. Thanks to all who attended and supported our hertiage tournament in Charleston. Below are some photos taken during and after the competition:
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- David Ortiz, Top “E”
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- Ken Fickling, Top “D”
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- John Schnacke(left), Top “C” and Seth Taylor-Brill(right), Top “B”
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- John Von Der Lieth, Top “A”
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- Expert Donny Gray shared 1st-2nd for the second year in a row.
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- NM Ananth Pappu tied for 1st-2nd with a final score of 4-1
Click on the following link for the final rated crosstable: 38th Snowstorm Special 2012
38th Snowstorm Special, Feb. 11-12, 2012
February 3rd, 2012
The 38th Snowstorm Special will be held begining Saturday, February 11, 2012, with rounds 1-3 that day and rounds 4-5 on Sunday. This is a change from past Snowstorm’s, but actually it reverts back to the original format in the early years. In a effort to reduce entry fee costs for our players, but still maintain the same class prizes of $100, we have gone to the 2 day schedule by reducing the cost of the meeting room by one day. We encourage all of our local players to not miss the opportunity to play in a weekend tournament in their home area, thus saving on hotel and travel costs. Early registration at the lower $50 entry fee is available until Wednesday, Feb. 8, and if you cannot get it in the mail before then, just stop by our club meeting that night and you can still register for the lower rate. USCF and SCCA membership is required for play. If your USCF membership has expired, you can renew online at “uschess.org”, but if you just need a SCCA membership, you can join or renew at registration. SCCA memberships are just $10 a year for adults and $5 a year for juniors under 19 years of age.
Our annual Snowstorm Special is considered a “heritage” event by the USCF, having been held for more than 25 years. It is our premier tournament in Charleston and is proud to have not only strong International Masters as winners, but also some of our best local players. This year’s tournament has been tailored more towards the “class” player, since it does not offer grand prix points to attract touring masters, but instead focuses on giving the class players a chance to win either a place prize or a class prize. For those that have not played in awhile, dust off that set and clock, confirm your USCF membership, and get your entry fee in so that you can “capture the glory” once again with your “over-the-board” chess prowess!
The site for this year’s tournament is the same as in the past few years, the Best Western Plus Downtown near the corner of Spring St. and Lockwood Blvd. Parking is free and there are many eateries nearby, including a restaurant in the hotel. We look forward to seeing our regular tournament players, but are always encouraged by those that show up and support our tournament as their lone annual tournament. Newcomers are welcome and we will help with the details of joining all the required associations so that you can become a rated tournament player.
The tournament announcement details can be viewed by clicking on “Upcoming Tournaments” on the right side of the home page. Any questions can be sent to David Causey (email:chessbass@att.net).
Looking forward to seeing all our players!
7th Patrick D. Hart Memorial Scholastic – Results
January 22nd, 2012
CCC member, Kean Balentine, accepting the K-8 2nd place trophy from S.C. Scholastic Coordinator, David Whatley
A total of twenty-two scholastic players turned out for the 7th annual edition of the Patrick D. Hart Memorial Scholastic chess tournament held at the Best Western Plus Downtown in Charleston this past Saturday. After four rounds of competitive play, the final standings were as follows:
K-12(K-8 Combined) Cross Table
No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 Score
1. Fleming, Perry R (1)………. SC 1117 W4 W5 W2 D3 3.5 1st K-8
2. Carroll, Austin Re (2)…….. SC 1108 W7 W3 L1 W4 3.0 1st K-12
3. Balentine, Kean (3)……….. SC 1106 W6 L2 W5 D1 2.5 2nd K-8
4. Whatley, Hannah V (4)….. SC 1009 L1 -B- W6 L2 2.0 2nd K-12
5. Radev, Simeon (5)……….. SC 814 -B- L1 L3 W7 2.0 3rd K-8
6. Utley, Eugene R (7)……….SC nnnn L3 W7 L4 -B- 2.0 3rd K-12
7. Blackman,III, Bardin (6). SC nnnn L2 L6 -B- L5 1.0
K-5 Cross Table
No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 Score
1. Younce, Tres (5)………….. SC nnnn L3 W5 -B- W2 3.0 1st
2. Setser, Austin Tho (1)…….SC 576 W4 D3 W5 L1 2.5 2nd
3. Healy, Aiden James (2)…. SC 563 W1 D2 D4 -H- 2.5 3rd
4. Myers, Donovan Way (3).. SC 538 L2 -B- D3 D5 2.0
5. Desplaces, Jack Ro (4)…… SC 430 -B- L1 L2 D4 1.5
K-3 Cross Table
No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 Score
1. Apostolico, Vince (3)……… SC 678 W6 W7 W3 W5 4.0 1st
2. Mini, Ulisse (9)………………. SC nnnn L3 W8 W6 W7 3.0 2nd
3. Setser, Brady P (2)……….. …SC 750 W2 W5 L1 D4 2.5 3rd(TB)
4. Osborne, Riley Wil (7)…….. SC 213 -B- W9 L5 D3 2.5
5. Varadarajan, Varun (1)…… NC 858 W8 L3 W4 L1 2.0
6. Lewis, Jacob (8)…………….. SC nnnn L1 W10 L2 W8 2.0
7. Swanson, Adam Mich (4)…. SC 386 W10 L1 D9 L2 1.5
8. Lewis, Joshua (5)…………. …SC 338 L5 L2 W10 L6 1.0
9. Healy, Sean Stuart (6)……… SC 320 -H- L4 D7 L10 1.0
10. Wassung, Luke (10)…………SC nnnn L7 L6 L8 W9 1.0
Congratulations to all the trophy winners and many thanks to the participants and parents for another successful PHM Scholastic!
Upcoming Tournaments!
December 8th, 2011
May 19, 2012 – Charleston Chess Club/Park Circle Fundraiser
May 25-27, 2012 – The South Carolina Open, Greenvile, SC
Don’t miss your locally held tournaments!
Check out the details on the above tournaments and others by clicking “Upcoming Tournaments” on the right of this page.
CCC will meet on Wednesday, November 23rd
November 21st, 2011
Just so our CCC members and guests can get in some last minute games before the Thanksgiving holiday, the club will meet on Wednesday night at 7pm. In the past, we have had reasonably good turnouts before the holiday, so plan to come out and play some chess.
Charleston Scholastic Kickoff III, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011
November 3rd, 2011
Click on “Scholastic” link to see details.
2nd Annual National Chess Day and Festival, Oct. 7-9, 2011
September 2nd, 2011
Mark you calendar and get prepared for the 2nd Annual National Chess Day and Festival being held Oct. 7-9, 2011, at the Hawthorn Suites, 2455 Savannah Hwy (US 17S), Charleston, S.C. Be sure to take advantage of the early entry fee of $49 if received before 9/07/11; otherwise, it’s $59 thereafter and at the site. Check out the following link at the SCCA site for details – 2nd Annual National Chess Day and Festival or click on “Upcoming Tournaments” on our main page. This is an important event for Charleston chess since it’s the largest tournament being held in our state commemorating this important date.
Early report: Final standings at following link – 2nd Annual National Chess Day
Grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik – Lecture and Simul – Aug. 24th, 7pm
August 11th, 2011
Grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik of Slovakia will be at our club on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011, to present a chess lecture and simultaneous exhibition. The lecture is free to all members and guests, while for the simul, we request a $5 contribution from adult players which goes towards scholastic chess. Scholastic players can play for free! Join us at 7:00pm to attend both events and bring your set and board if you plan to play in the simul. GM Ftacnik has attended twice before in the past and has given very instructive lectures on famous games. His tour of our state has been sponsored by the generosity of Precision Tune Auto Care.
Check out his info at Wikipedia – GM Lubomir Ftacnik
“Make a Difference 2” attracts fourteen players
July 25th, 2011
The “Make a Difference 2” chess tournament held on Saturday, July 23rd, brought out fourteen supporters who graciously donated their entry fees for the benefit of the fledgling Summerville High Chess Club. The organizer and tournament director, Chris Falter(pictured below, right), held the tournament in the office of SPARC on Daniel Island, where he is employed. The conditions where excellent for the players, where the amenities in the office were well suited for creativity and thought.
With numerous players from the Charleston Chess Club as well as high school players, a Swiss-system format was used, so many of the newcomers had games against higher rated players. After three rounds, the only player achieving a 3-0 score was CCC member, John Vonderlieth, a long-time class “A” player and former Expert. Congratulations to John for his effort!
For the benefit of the younger players, the CCC offered a free set and board for the top player under 1400. After tiebreaks, Joshua Hutchins(pictured below, left), won the prize and has an extra set and board to help with his chess career. Thanks to all who participated and keep up the good chess!
Best under 1400 - Joshua Hutchins