Pawns Fly at Burlington High

51 high school students (and one 7th grader) participated in the Northwest Chess League Pre-Season Action Chess Tournament held Monday evening November 29 at Burlington-Edison High School.

The tournament paired students from nine area high schools in six separate divisions. Students playing in the tournament gained a state level rating, or handicap, as awarded by the Washington High School Chess Association.

"Action Chess" refers to tournament chess games where each player is given 30 minutes for all of their moves, thus ensuring that each game lasts less than one hour and enabling a full three-round tournament to be completed in an evening.

Results:

Fischer Division: 1st: Kyle Wahlgren, Ferndale H.S.
Dzindzichashvili Division: 1st: Maksim Gomdysey, Ferndale H.S., Zac Holyoke, Mount Vernon H.S.
Polgar Division: 1st: Jeremiah Smith, Blaine H.S., Brian Williams, Mount Baker H.S.
Waitzkin Division: 1st: Matt Hammons, Lynden H.S.
Giuoco Piano Division: 1st: Kai Schumacher, Ferndale H.S., Aaron Chang, Burlington-Edison H.S.
Capablanca Division: 1st: Brandon McMillan, Lynden H.S. ____________________________________________________________
The Championship Game, Fischer Division:
White: Kyle Wahlgren, Ferndale H.S, WSRS 1231
Black: Bert Rutgers, Lynden H.S., WSRS 1390
Opening: Nimzo-Indian Defense

1.c4 e6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 Nc6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.a3 Be7 7.e3 d5 8.Be2 b6 9.O-O Bd6 10.b4 dc 11.Bxc4 Nd5 12.Nxd5 ed 13.Bb5 Ne7 14.Rc1 a6 15.Qa4 Bb7 16.Bd3 Bc6 17.Rxc6 b5 18.Qc2 Nxc6 19.Qxc6 Re8 20.Bc2 Re6 21.Qc3 c6 22.Bf5 Rf6 23.Bh3 Rg6 24.Rc1 Qe7 25.Qc2 a5, and White went on to win.

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    PRESEASON ACTION CHESS TOURNAMENT    
    November 29, 1999
    Burlington-Edison High School
                                            W=win L=loss D=draw
(rating)(grade)(name)         (school)      Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Total

FISCHER DIVISION
1. 1390 12th Bert Rutgers     Lynden        W5  W6  L7  2.0
2. 1305 12th Karl Keller      Lynden        L6  W3  W8  2.0
3. 1300 9th  Oleg Solodyankin Meridian      D7  L2  L5  0.5
4. 1294 10th Chad Hamm        Mount Baker   L8  W5  W6  2.0
5. 1285 12th Derek Schwede    Ferndale      L1  L4  W3  1.0
6. 1235 11th Asher Paisley    Ferndale      W2  L1  L4  1.0
7. 1231 12th Kyle Wahlgren    Ferndale      D3  W8  W1  2.5  1st
8. 1185 10th Brian Hemmat     Mount Vernon  W4  L7  L2  1.0

DZINDZICHASHVILI DIVISION
1. 1182 12th Andrew Ohlsen    Mount Vernon  L5  L3  W2  1.0
2. 1087 12th Justin Blotsky   Blaine        L6  L4  L1  0.0
3. 1067 9th  Dominic Baker    Meridian      L7  W1  L8  1.0
4. 1065 10th James Rienstra   Lynden        L8  W2  L5  1.0
5. 1058 10th Benjamin Weaver  Sedro-Woolley W1  L7  W4  2.0
6. 1042 12th Tristan Anderson Lynden        W2  D8  D7  2.0
7. 1028 9th  Maksim Gomdysey  Ferndale      W3  W5  D6  2.5  1st
8. 1024 12th Zac Holyoke      Mount Vernon  W4  D6  W3  2.5  1st

POLGAR DIVISION
1. 982  9th  Marshall Smith   Sedro-Woolley L6  L10 W9  1.0
2. 980  12th Jeremiah Smith   Blaine        W8  W5  W4  3.0  1st
3. 915  9th  Ricardo Garza    Ferndale      W7  L4  L6  1.0
4. 907  12th Nathaniel Brown  Mount Vernon  W9  W3  L2  2.0
5. 978  12th Randy Cuellar    Lynden        W10 L2  W7  2.0
6. 903  11th Brian Williams   Mount Baker   W1  W8  W3  3.0  1st
7. UNR  12th Josh Dolan       Blaine        L3  W9  L5  1.0
8. UNR  12th Ravid Dientjes   Oak Harbor    L2  L6  L10 0.0
9. UNR  12th Tate Robbins     Burlington    L4  L7  L1  0.0
10.UNR  12th Elizabeth Welch  Burlington    L5  W1  W8  2.0

WAITZKIN DIVISION
1. 869  10th Aaron Wright     Meridian      W5  W3  L2  2.0
2. 848  9th  Matt Hammons     Lynden        W6  W8  W1  3.0  1st
3. 800  9th  Troy Griffin     Sedro-Woolley W7  L1  D6  1.5
4. 798  10th Sean Kenney      Meridian      L8  L6  W7  1.0
5. 780  12th John Brendon     Lynden        L1  W7  D8  1.5
6. 761  12th Brian Pringle    Mount Vernon  L2  W4  D3  1.5
7. 728  10th Tom Irwin        Meridian      L3  L5  L4  0.0
8. 689  10th Jason Moyer      Sedro-Woolley W4  L2  D5  1.5

GIUOCO PIANO DIVISION
1. UNR  11th Aaron Chang      Burlington    W7  W5  W10 3.0  1st
2. UNR  11th William Cory     Burlington    W8  L10 W6  2.0
3. UNR  11th Kai Schumacher   Ferndale      W9  W7  W5  3.0  1st
4. UNR  11th Rachel Welch     Burlington    L10 W8  L9  1.0
5. UNR  10th Ian Antons       Mount Baker   W6  L1  L3  1.0
6. UNR  10th Mikhail DanilenkoFerndale      L5  L9  L2  0.0
7. UNR  10th Mike DeHart      Mount Baker   L1  L3  W8  1.0
8. UNR  10th Mark Hamilton    Mount Baker   L2  L4  L7  0.0
9. UNR  10th Robby Orlowski   Mount Baker   L3  W6  W4  2.0
10.UNR  10th John Prather     Mount Baker   W4  W2  L1  2.0

CAPABLANCA DIVISION
1. UNR  9th  Brandon McMillan Lynden        W5  W4  W2  3.0  1st
2. UNR  9th  Ben Crockett     Meridian      W6  D3  L1  1.5
3. UNR  9th  Kyle Gatti       Oak Harbor    W7  D3  L8  1.5
4. UNR  9th  Jacob Dodds      Mount Vernon  W8  L1  LF  1.0
5. UNR  9th  Dane Britten     Meridian      L1  L8  W7  1.0
6. UNR  9th  Bayard Taylor    Mount Vernon  L2  W7  LF  1.0
7. UNR  9th  Lawrence Waters  Blaine        L3  L6  L5  0.0
8. UNR  7th  Patrick Kyle     Edison Elem.  L4  W5  W3  2.0

Below is the original event description:

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Chessplayers from 8th-12th grade, of all abilities, are invited to the....

Pre-Season Action Chess Tournament

November 29, 1999
Burlington-Edison High School Cafeteria

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High school chessplayers of all abilities are invited to attend an Action Chess tournament at Burlington-Edison High School on Monday evening, November 29.

"Action Chess" refers to tournament chess games where each player is given 30 minutes for all of their moves, thus ensuring each game lasts less than one hour and enabling a full three-round tournament to be completed in an evening.

Registration for the event is between 6:00 and 6:15 pm in the Cafetorium. Players will be placed in several separate divisions based on their level of experience. There is no entry fee. Medals will be awarded for first in each division.

Open to students from 8th through 12th grades, the Action Chess event is co-sponsored by the new Burlington-Edison H.S. Chess Club and the Northwest H.S. Chess League. Players who complete the evening event will gain a state level rating, or handicap, as awarded by the Washington High School Chess Assocation.

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Full Details:

November 29, 1999 (Monday eve after Thanksgiving weekend)
Registration: 6:00 - 6:15pm; Clocks Start 6:25 or ASAP
Estimated time of conclusion: 9:30pm
WSRS rated
No entry fee

Format:
Action chess (30 minutes per player)
Eight player sections, three rounds each ("Octagonals")
Players seeded by rating; if unrated, then by grade
Open to all 8th through 12th graders
Medal awards for 1st in each Octagonal

Tournament rules are in effect! Which means, if you touch a piece, you must move it. And both players must record their moves (until one player has five minutes or less remaining on their clock.)

For further information contact director Randy Kaech.

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Kickoff Action Chess Tournament

36 high school students participated in the Kickoff Action Chess Tournament held Monday evening October 18 at Meridian High School. The tournament, sponsored by the Northwest High School Chess League, paired students from seven different high schools in four separate divisions. Students playing in the tournament gained a state level rating, or handicap, as awarded by the Washington High School Chess Assocation. (NCL Rating List here.) Quite a few "time scrambles" were seen as students adjusted to using chess clocks, which limited each player to 30 minutes per game for all of their moves. Behold, the results....

KICKOFF ACTION CHESS TOURNAMENT
October 18, 1999
Meridian High School
                                            W=win L=loss D=draw
(rating)(grade)(name)         (school)      Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Total
                                                        
KASPAROV DIVISION
1. 1400 9th  Ben Vander Woude Lynden Chrstn.L6  L10 W7  1.0
2. 1307 12th Karl Keller      Lynden        W8  L3  W5  2.0
3. 1213 11th Asher Paisley    Ferndale      W7  W2  WF  3.0  1st
4. 1198 12th Kyle Wahlgren    Ferndale      W9  W6  W10 3.0  1st
5. 1197 12th Juan Perez*      Ferndale      L10 W9  L2  1.0
6. 1163 10th Brian Hemmat     Mount Vernon  W1  L4  LF  1.0
7. 1063 10th James Rienstra   Lynden        L3  W8  L1  1.0
8. 1051 9th  Ricardo Garza    Ferndale      L2  L7  L9  0.0
9. 1022 12th Zac Holyoke      Mount Vernon  L4  L5  W8  1.0
10.1021 10th Ben Weaver       Sedro-Woolley W5  W1  L4  2.0

KRUSH DIVISION
1. 1013 12th Tristan Anderson  Lynden       W5  W4  W2  3.0  1st
2.  946 12th Nathaniel Myers   Meridian     W6  W3  L1  2.0
3.  938 9th  Maksim Gomdysey   Ferndale     W7  L2  W4  2.0
4.  925 12th Nathaniel Brown   Mount Vernon W8  L1  L3  1.0
5.  UNR 12th Erin Bredeweg     Mount Vernon L1  L8  L7  0.0
6.  UNR 12th Andrew Ohlsen     Mount Vernon L2  W7  W8  2.0
7.  UNR 11th Tobias Fastenrath Meridian     L3  L6  W5  1.0
8.  UNR 11th Nicholas G. Smith Meridian     L4  W5  L6  1.0

RUY LOPEZ DIVISION
1.  UNR 10th Brian Foster     Meridian      L5  L3  W8  1.0
2.  UNR 10th Darin Hayes      Meridian      L6  W8  W4  2.0
3.  UNR 9th  Dominic Baher    Meridian      L7  W1  W5  2.0
4.  UNR 9th  Troy Griffin     Sedro-Woolley W8  L7  L2  1.0
5.  UNR 9th  Devon Martin     Meridian      W1  L6  L3  1.0
6.  UNR 9th  Marshall Smith   Sedro-Woolley W2  W5  L7  2.0
7.  UNR 9th  Oleg Solodyankin Meridian      W3  W4  W6  3.0  1st
8.  UNR 9th  Kaija Towner     Meridian      L4  L2  L1  0.0

SEIRAWAN DIVISION
1.  894 12th Jonathan Shipley Blaine        W6  W4  L5  2.0
2.  887 10th Sean Kenney      Meridian      W8  L5  L6  1.0
3.  882 12th Brian Pringle    Mount Vernon  L7  W10 L8  1.0
4.  849 10th Skylar Broad     Meridian      W9  L1  W7  2.0
5.  828 10th Aaron Wright     Meridian      W10 W2  W1  3.0  1st
6.  784 12th Rodney Till      Meridian      L1  W9  W2  2.0
7.  773 10th Tom Irwin        Meridian      W3  L8  L4  1.0
8.  743 12th John Brendon     Lynden        L2  W7  W3  2.0
9.  675 11th Mike Hemmat      Mount Vernon  L4  L6  LF  0.0
10. UNR  8th Dave Weaver      Sedro-Woolley L5  L3  WF  1.0


Kasparov Division:
1st:  Kyle Wahlgren, Ferndale H.S.
      Asher Paisley, Ferndale H.S.
2nd:  Ben Weaver, Sedro-Woolley H.S.
      Karl Keller, Lynden H.S.

Krush Division:
1st: Tristan Anderson, Lynden H.S.
2nd: Andrew Ohlsen, Mount Vernon H.S.
     Nathaniel Myers, Meridian H.S.
     Maksim Gomdysey, Ferndale H.S.

Ruy Lopez Division:
1st: Oleg Solodyankin, Meridian H.S.
2nd: Marshall Smith, Sedro-Woolley H.S.
     Darin Hayes, Meridian H.S.
     Dominic Baher, Meridian H.S.

Seirawan Division:
1st: Aaron Wright, Meridian H.S.
2nd: Jonathan Shipley, Blaine H.S.
     Skylar Broad, Meridian H.S.
     John Brendon, Lynden H.S.
     Rodney Till, Meridian H.S.