Click the following link for the USCF crosstable – 8th PHM Scholastic

Report and photos to follow soon.

National Life Master Klaus Pohl of Greenville, S.C., winner of the 39th Snowstorm Special

NM Klaus Pohl of Greenville, S.C., won his tenth Snowstorm Special last weekend with a final score of 4.5 – .5, drawing only his compatriot from the upstate, Expert Wayne Christensen.  Two crucial games decided his final standing, one in the 3rd round when he defeated NM Philipp Lamby, and the other in the final 5th round when he defeated NM Pat Sciacca.  Lamby won against Christensen in the final round to finish 2nd, with local “A” player, Ian Morton, who also took the U2000 prize.  Sixteen players competed in the Open section, including the U1700 prize winner, “B” player, John Retarides of North Carolina.

In the U1400 Section of the tournament, local player, John King, and upstate player, Joe Rochester, Jr., tied for 1st-2nd with a final score of 4-1.  John was returning to chess after a long layoff and showed he was not “out of form” with his result.  Only seven players competed in the newly established “U1400” section, so we hope this will grow as players realize their missed opportunity to compete.

Thanks to all who played and we hope you had an enjoyable tournament!  We even had a little snow in Summerville to commemorate this special tournament!

Click this link to see the USCF final crosstable and ratings – 39th Snowstorm Special

                                  The Charleston Chess Olympic Spirit tournament was held Saturday, June 23, 2012, at the office of SPARC (2387 Clements Ferry Road on Daniel Island).  Six supporters attended and battled against a full array of rated players, some with surprising results.  Chris Falter, who organized the event and secured his company’s office for the playing site, also succeeded in placing first with a 3-0 score, upsetting last year’s tournament winner at this location, John Von der Lieth.  Congratulations to Chris for his efforts and well deserved result.  Below is a link to the USCF- rated crosstable for the event:

Charleston Chess Olympic Spirit crosstable

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

Before departing with their prize money, we captured the above Snowstorm Special winners for the record.  Left to right, Wayne Christensen (Top Expert prize), Expert Donny Gray and current S.C. champion, Philipp Lamby (Tied for 1st/2nd).

37th Snowstorm Special —             Cross Table
February 4-6, 2011
Charleston, SC
Chief TD – Stephen Welt

  No.    Name                              St Rate 1     2     3     4     5     Score

   1. Lamby, Philipp (1)…………  SC 2190 D12   W15   W11   D3    W4      4.0  1st/2nd
   2. Gray, Donny (2)……………  GA 2099 W16   D6    D8    W5    W3      4.0  1st/2nd

   3. Christensen, Wayne (3)……..  SC 2056 W13   W5    W4    D1    L2      3.5  Top X

   4. Morton, Ian Gregor (7)……..  SC 1882 W14   W10   L3    W6    L1      3.0  Top A(tie)
   5. Vonderlieth, John (8)………  SC 1830 W19   L3    W13   L2    W9      3.0  Top A(tie)
   6. Murrah, Erik Lee (11)………  SC 1691 W18   D2    D9    L4    W10     3.0  Top B(tie)
   7. Falter, Christophe (12)…….  SC 1652 D8    L11   W16   -H-   W13     3.0  Top B(tie)

   8. Holmes, Douglas R (5)………  SC 1992 D7    W12   D2    D10   -U-     2.5
   9. Causey, David Y (6)………..  SC 1951 L10   W19   D6    W12   L5      2.5
  10. Sellards III, Harry (13)……  NC 1608 W9    L4    W18   D8    L6      2.5

  11. Welt, Stephen Alex (4)……..  SC 1994 -H-   W7    L1    -H-   -U-     2.0
  12. Musulin, Rade (9)………….  SC 1788 D1    L8    W15   L9    -H-     2.0
  13. Bryan, Paul A (15)…………  SC 1429 L3    W14   L5    -X-   L7      2.0  Top C
  14. Woodworth, Robert (17)……..  SC 1148 L4    L13   W19   D15   D16     2.0  Top E

  15. Goodwin, Bruce (10)………..  NC 1707 -H-   L1    L12   D14   -H-     1.5
  16. Doyle, Michael Mal (14)…….  SC 1473 L2    L18   L7    W19   D14     1.5

  17. Miller, Gordon (18)………..  SC  868 -B-   -U-   -U-   -U-   -U-     1.0  W/D
  18. Cook, Randall Burk (19)…….  SC nnnn L6    W16   L10   -F-   -U-     1.0

  19. Pilaud, William (16)……….  SC 1400 L5    L9    L14   L16   -H-     0.5

Check out the official USCF crosstable by clicking here – 37th Snowstorm Special 2011

The Folloween IV chess tournament attracted  just 10 players in one section, but the competition more than made up for the low numbers.  In attendance was the 2010 South Carolina champion, Philipp Lamby, from Columbia, who scored two wins and one draw against three of the Charleston Chess Club’s top “A” players to take first prize.  Stephen Welt, Ian Morton and David Causey tied for 2nd with two points and split the 2nd and 3rd place prize money.  A special Under 1200 prize was created for the lower rated players playing in the main section and Charles Ommen and James Pollard split the prize with one point.  See USCF crosstable below for the  final results.

Folloween IV, Charleston, SC, 11/20/10

The 1st Annual National Chess Day and Festival attracted twenty-one players and was battled down to the last games for a share of the prizes.  When the final handshake was made, Ian Morton and Stephen Welt shared first and second place with 3 points in the Open section, leaving the Under 2000 prize to David Causey with 2.5 points.  Ian reeled off three straight wins after losing to Stephen in the 1st round, while Stephen went undefeated with a win, two draws and a full point bye to tie.   In the U1800 Section,  Bob Halliday from  Columbia scored 3 wins and 1/2 point bye to secure 1st place.  Tied for 2nd were Paul Bryan, Mowei Tang and Michael Kruse.  The interesting story of the tournament was the participation of Trung Tran, a local computer scientist with SPAWAR, who had immigrated in 1992 from Vietnam.  He played in only one tournament in 1993, but did well enough to garner a 2051 provisional rating.  By his play in this, only his second USCF tournament, his rating should hold over 2000.  We look forward to his participation in future Charleston tournaments.  Many thanks go out to our fellow clubmember and Orbis, Inc. employee, Bill Mummert, who arranged access to his company’s classroom and was a gracious host of the event.

Click here for the USCF crosstable

Fifteen local players showed up on 7/10/10 at the Blackbaud Office on Daniel Island and participated in a two section Game 60 USCF-rated Swiss event to benefit prison chess in South Carolina.  This was the “brainchild” of SCCA Prison Chess Coordinator, Chris Falter, of Summerville, who organized and directed the event.  All proceeds were donated to fund prison chess activities under Chris’ direction in S.C.  As for the chess event, go to the following link to see the outcome of the competition – Make a Difference Game 60 Swiss.  Hopefully, Chris will stage another benefit for prison chess so that we can encourage more players to visit the excellent facility that hosted this event and help with this important cause.