• TCC G/60 #1
• Stephen Christopher Memoiral
• TCC U1800
• Northwest Open
• TCC G/60 #2
• Daffodil Open
• Pierce County Open
• TCC G/60 #3
• Evergreen Empire Open
• Tacoma City Championship
• Tacoma Chess Club Championship
• Pierce County Quick Championship
• Puget Sound Open
• Tacoma Open
• TCC G/60 #4
• Christmas Congress

TCC G/60 #1

January 7, 2006

Tournament Report

Although six players registered to play, Nathaniel J. Fico didn't appear and so five players competed in Tacoma's first tournament of the new year. After their third round draw, Bill McGeary and Michael MacGregor were tied at 2.5 points each. The last round would determine the winner. Bill McGeary was paired against Paul Bartron and had a better position but faltered in the endgame and Paul took the point. Michael MacGregor took first with 3.5 points, Paul was second at 3.0, and Travis Bleich, who plays better than his 1345 rating, took 1st U1700 with 2.0 points.

Stephen Christopher Memorial

January 28-29, 2006

Tournament Report

Ten players competed in the club's annual Stephen Christopher Memorial this year. Michael MacGregor, Paul Bartron, Andrew Walker, and Dan Mathews tied for first with 3.5 points. However, Andrew Walker paid the economy fee and was not eligible for cash. Dan Mathews took his $31 for 1st place in Group 1 as it would pay more than splitting the first overall money. Paul Bartron and Michael MacGregor split $52 for $26 each. Eric Holcomb won Group 2 with 2.5 points ($30), and Constantine Etingher won Group 3 ($28) with 2.0 points.

The drama of the tournament ocurred when Paul Bartron upset Michael MacGregor in the third round, both of whom had fourth-round byes. Paul needed half a point to secure first place, but was upset by Dan Mathews, creating the four-player tie for first.

TCC U1800

February 11-12, 2006

Tournament Report

Twelve players competed in at the Tacoma Chess Club's Under 1800 tournament, which was held at the same time the Washington State Championship was being played at the Tacoma Campus of the University of Washington. Top-seeded and perennial favorite in his class, Stephen Buck, never quite recovered from his first round loss to John Hornickle. Second-seeded Eric Woro won the tournament with 4/5 points, although in the last round he should have lost against Bill Rogers who had a chance to win his rook. Ron Gist, who was leading into the fifth round with 3.5/4 points, found a way to lose his game after being up a full piece against Dan Mathews. This loss allowed Eric to win the tournament a half point ahead of Ron. For their efforts, Eric won $63 for 1st place, Dan Mathews $38 for Group 1, Ron Gist $35 for Group 2, and Bryan Spence $34 for Group 3. Some of the key games are recorded for your review on the Games web page.

Northwest Open

March 11-12, 2006

Tournament Report

Sixteen players came to play in the Northwest Open. There were four Experts, two Class A players, four Class B players, five Class C players, and one Class E player. As has been common this year a couple of young players upset their higher-rated opponents. In this tournament, both Alex Guo (1661) and Michael Wang (1561) scored three points to win their respective category. In the first round, Stephen Buck (1834) lost to Anthony Guo (1127) and Bobby Ferguson (2181) drew Alex Guo. In round three David Butler (1837) lost to Alex Guo. In round four Bobby Ferguson lost to Paul Bartron in a Caro-Kann as Black and subsequently withdrew from the tournament. Geoffrey Gale (2062) lost to Stephen Walloch (1692), David Butler drew Dan Mathews, and Stephen Buck drew Nathen Lee (1629).

In the final round Michael MacGregor had 3.5 points and was paired against Alex Guo (3.0). Paul Bartron (3.0) was paired against Stephen Walloch (3.0). With only a half-point advantage, Michael needed to win his game to secure first place. Although he had a positional advantage in the middlegame, he let this slip away slightly but was able to convert the endgame into a win by centralizing his king, securing the seventh rank for his rook, creating a passed h-pawn, and then invading the kingside with his king when White had no way to prevent it. Paul Bartron won his game against Stephen Walloch.

Michael MacGregor finished first with 4.5/5.0 points and $74, Stephen Walloch finished first in Group 1 with 3.0/5.0 points and $45, Michael Wang finished first in Group 2 with 3.0/5.0 points and $40, and John Hornickle finished first in Group 3 with 2.0/5.0 points and $39.

TCC G/60 #2

April 8, 2006

Tournament Report

Although only six players showed up for the game in 60 event, half of them were rated above 2000 so that it was a relatively strong event. Even one player, Michael Taylor, came all the way from Oregon to play. Bill McGeary (2215) was the only Master to compete and won the event with 3.5/4 after drawing Geoffrey Gale (2062) in round 3. Michael MacGregor came in second place with 3/4 points after losing to Bill McGeary in round 2. There were no upsets in the tournament. The only scoresheets submitted from the tournament were by Mike MacGregor and Bill McGeary. See Games for viewing these games in your browser.

Daffodil Open

April 22-23, 2006

Tournament Report

Sixteen players came to the Freighthouse Square on Apirl 22nd to play in a four-round Swiss tournament. There were no Masters but four Experts who were the top-seeded players of the event. There was one Class A player, six Class B players, two Class C players, two Class D players, and one Unrated player. There were no upsets, although several players escaped an upset. Michael MacGregor won the tournament with 3.5/4.0 and was paid $64. Dan Mathews scored 2.5 points and was paid $38 for Group 1. Stephen Walloch scored 2.0 points and was paid $36 for Group 2. John Hornickle scored 1.5 points and was paid $33 for Group 3. See Games for viewing these games in your browser.

As an aside, the time control was changed from 40/90;SD/60 to 40/90;SD/30 to accommodate the hours of the shopping center located adjacent to the Tacoma Dome. In round four the time control was reduced further to G/90 because Freighthouse Square now closes at 5:00 on Sundays when a year ago it closed an hour later. This last-minute change was not viewed favorably and will limit Freighthouse Square tournaments to G/60 or Quick Events only in the future.

Pierce County Open

May 6-7, 2006

Tournament Report

Fifteen players came to Freighthouse Square to play in another four-round Swiss event at Freighthouse Square. As previously noted for the Daffodil Open, the fourth round had to be reduced to G/90 because of the mall's shortened Sunday schedule. Because the event had already been advertised in Northwest Chess at Freighthouse Square, it was too late to relocate the event to the Tacoma Chess Club to keep the 40/90;SD/30 time control for the fourth round.

Paul Bartron won all four rounds to win the event and a check for $65. Darren Wu also was undefeated, winning three straight games after a first-round bye; however, he paid the Economy entry fee ($10), which excluded him from prize money. Michael Wang won Group 1 with a score of 3.0/4.0, also undefeated, with a first-round bye, draw in the second round, and wins in rounds three and four. He received a check for $40. John Hornickle won Group 2 with a score of 2.0. points. Jay Charleston, rated 1153 and seeded last, won two games against his higher-rated competition, and won Group 3 and a check for $36.00.

TCC G/60 #3

June 3, 2006

Tournament Report

Sixteen players came to compete at the Tacoma Chess Club for this one day event, the most to attend a game-60 event in a long time. There were two Masters, Bill McGeary (2215) and Viktors Pupols (2200), with Bill winning the event with a perfect score, 4.0, which earned him a check for $65. There were three Experts, Michael MacGregor (2188), Joshua Sinanan (2060), and Geoffrey Gale (2008), with Michael getting second place with 3.0 points, and a check for $60. There was one Class A player, Allen Smith (1866). There were five Class B players. Stephen Buck (1713) won the U2200 prize with 2.5 points, and earned a check for $40. Larry Anderson (1668) and Daniel Van Wyk (1520) won the U1700 prize, splitting $40 between them, with a score of 2.0. Peter Watts won the U1700 prize with 2.5 points, and received a check for $30. It should be noted that Peter was under 1400 before June, but as of June 27 has a rating of 1707!

Evergreen Empire Open

July 8-9, 2006

Tournament Report

Although 13 players were scheduled to appear, only 12 played: Bill McGeary did not come as planned. Consequently, the only Master to compete was Nick Raptis (2299). The winner would be decided by the Experts in round 4 when Paul Bartron (2133), with 2.5/3.0, played Joshua Sinanan (2093), 3.0/3.0. Josh has been playing some great chess lately and won the event by winning all five games, a perfect score! Of course the fourth and decisive round was set up by the upset in round three when Josh defeated Nick Raptis, who went on to finish with 3.5 points. Allen Smith (1884) won Group 1 with 3.5/5.0 points. For more information, click on the tournament's title for a link to the cross table.

Tacoma City Championship

August 19-20, 2006

Tournament Report

Twenty-one players came to Freighthouse Square to play in a two-day G/60 event with the first three rounds on Saturday and the last two rounds on Sunday. Since Freighthouse Square has limited hours, the standard 40/90, SD/60 time control cannot be used in a five-round event. Traditionally the G/60 events are a one day; however, this also is not possible with five rounds. So to accommodate the mall's schedule, the club made the tournament two days. This was a success. A lot of players came and there was some good chess.

The only Master, Bill McGeary (2215), tied for 1st with Expert Michael MacGregor (2188) after agreeing to a draw in the fifth round, and they split $90 and shared a score of 4/5. Alex Guo (1831) scored 3.5 points to win Group 1 and a check for $54. Steven Breckenridge (1646) scored 3.5 points to win Group 2 and receive a check for $50. Anthony Guo (1213) scored 2.0 points to win Group 3 and receive a check for $47. The key upsets of the tournament were Josh Sinanan's losses to Steven Breckenridge in the third round and Peter O'Gorman in the fifth round; Steven Buck's (1719) loss to Anthony Guo in the first round; and Allen Smith's (1884) loss to Ben Pettijohn (1700) in the second round.

Tacoma Chess Club Championship

September 22, 2006

Tournament Report

Paul Bartron scored 5.5 of 6 to win the championship this year. His only draw came against Mike MacGregor (2286), seeded first. MacGregor could not but also draw against Allen Smith in round 5, which put him a half point behind Paul. Ian McPherson (967), seeded third of four, won the Junior Championship with a perfect score of 6 points!

Tacoma Pierce County Quick Championship

September 30, 2006

Tournament Report

Eleven players competed in the annual Tacoma Pierce County Quick Championship at Freighthouse Square on the last day of September. Three Experts fought for first place overall. Paul Bartron, seeded third, won both Michael MacGregor (Q 2198) and Bill McGeary (Q 2176) to achieve a 5.0 score and supremacy over the field, and a check for $50.00. Bill McGeary came in second with 4.0 points and received a check for $40.00. In the U2000 groups, Allen Smith, Constantine Etingher, and Travis Bleich all tied with 3.0 points. By rating, Smith (Q 1566) and Etingher (Q 1395) each received $17.50. Travis Bleich (Q 1282) received $29.00. Because of the sudden death time control, game in 30 mintues, many of the recorded scores of the games for this tournament may be incomplete.

Puget Sound Open

October 21-22, 2006

Tournament Report

Twenty players--14 in the Reserve Section (U1800)--came to Freighthouse Square to compete in the four-round Puget Sound Open. In the Open Section the highest rated player was Joe Eversole (1906). Michael Wang (1659) played up a Section. No Experts or Masters competed. Allen Smith (1830) won 1st in the Open Section with a score of 3.5, and received a check for $90. H.G. Pitre (1825) placed 2nd with a score of 3.0, and received a check for $85. In the Reserve Section, Niles Desmarais won 1st with a score of 3.5, and received a check for $85. Stephen Buck and David Kriewall tied for second place; however, Steve paid an Economy Entry Fee ($10), which made him ineligible for prize money. David received a check for $75. Additionally, Eric Holcomb (1518) received a check for $70 for best score, 2.5, under 1600. Ian McPherson (962) and Dan Nikolskyy (750) each recieved $30.50 for best score under 1400.

Tacoma Open

November 11-12, 2006

Tournament Report

Fourteen players came to play at this year's Tacoma Open held at the Tacoma Chess Club. Nick Raptis (2299), the highest rated player, won the event with a score of 4.5 point out of a possible five. His only draw came against Paul Bartron in round five. Nick earned first prized for $90. Because of the number of Economy players, which are not eligible for prize money, those players rated under 2000 were split into two groups instead of the usual three. Tony Weller (estimated @ 1800), visiting from Australia, upset Paul Bartron in round 2, and won Group 1 with a score of 4.0, and received prize money in the amount of $50. Brian Hong (1365) scored 2.5 and received $50 for Group 2.

TCC G/60 #4

December 2, 2006

Tournament Report

Only six players came to play in the club's last game 60 event of the year. Nick Raptis (not David Rasche) won the event with a perfect score of 4/4, and received a check for $35. Michael MacGregor came in second with 3/4; however, no prize money. H.G. Pitre and Stephen Buck tied for the U2000 prize, each receiving $7.50! Constantine Etingher and Anthony Guo tied for U1700, each receiving also $7.50.

Christmas Congress

December 16, 17, 2006

Tournament Report

Eleven players competed in this year's Christmas Congress. Nick Raptis again won with 4/5 points. He drew both Paul Bartron and Michael MacGregor. The latter needed a win in the final round to tie Nick, but lost instead of accepting a draw because a draw would not prove sufficient for prize money. Nick received $80 for first place. Al Smith (3/5) took home $50 for winning the U2000 Group. Eric Woodlief (3/5) won the U1700 Group and $40.

Click on the title and link of each tournament above each report to access the cross table.