NW Wa. Chess News Pre-Feb. 99

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Locals Contend at State Individual Championships
The Washington High School Individual Chess Championships were held January 29-30, 1999 at Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood, and several area players made their mark.

The tournament, sponsored annually by the Washington High School Chess Association, features the best chessplayers of high school age from around the state and is divided into two sections: the Open section, and the Reserve section for unrated players or players whose chess rating falls below 1150. Over 170 students participated.

This is the first year of high school league chess competition in Whatcom County, and it didn't take long for local players to make their presence known at State. In the first round of the Open section, both Bert Rutgers of Lynden and Derek Schwede of Ferndale pulled off major upsets, defeating players rated over 300 points higher than themselves.

Also in the Open section, Ethan Neff of Lynden was undefeated going into the final round but lost a close game and ended up placing 5th in the state.

In the Reserve section, unrated chessplayer Tom Munro of Sehome was undefeated for the tournament, garnering 4 out of 5 possible points to tie for 4th.

The two remaining major events for area high school chessplayers this season are the Northwest League Finals on February 8 at Ferndale High School, and the State Team Championships at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, February 26 and 27.

--- Full Results, Whatcom - Skagit Players ---

OPEN SECTION:
(Score) (Name) (School District)

4.0 Ethan Neff, Lynden
3.0 Derek Schwede, Ferndale
3.0 Bert Rutgers, Lynden
3.0 Karl Keller, Lynden
2.0 Asher Paisley, Ferndale
1.0 Jake Wilkerson, Mount Vernon
1.0 Peter Rust, Ferndale
1.0 Juan Perez, Ferndale
0.5 Kyle Wahlgren, Ferndale

RESERVE SECTION:

4.0 Tom Munro, Sehome
3.0 Tristan Anderson, Lynden
3.0 James Rienstra, Lynden
3.0 Ben Weaver, Sedro-Woolley
3.0 James Booker, Sedro-Woolley
2.0 John Brendon, Lynden

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Lynden Player Ranks #1 in State
Lynden is home to the top 10th grade chessplayer in the state of Washington. Ethan Neff tied for first in the 10th grade playoffs to join the Washington Scholastic team in the annual Washington vs. British Columbia match, held on December 5, 1998. Though Washington lost by a single game, Ethan won his match, scoring a win and a draw.

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Northwest Chess League Approaching
Eleven high schools in Whatcom and Skagit counties are preparing to participate in the first season of the Northwest Chess League, and the remaining schools may yet join. Spectators are welcome for the three meets, which are scheduled for January 11, 25, and February 8, 6:40pm at Ferndale High School. With few high schools having an established chess program before this school year, the schools who did are marked as the teams to beat--namely, Lynden and Ferndale.

Other participating schools include Meridian, Sehome, Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley, La Conner, Blaine, Mount Baker and Lynden Christian.

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Bellis Fair Kids' Chess Club
If your youngster is weary of defeating you and needs some fresh competition, or if they'd like instruction, bring them to the Bellis Fair Kids' Chess Club. Open to elementary-aged youth, the club meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00pm in the Bellis Fair food court stage area. It's sponsored by Mark C. Anderson, the Executive Director of Chess for Kids.

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Chessmania at the Fair
Fourteen players participated in the first Chessmania at the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden, on August 20, 1998. In the High School division, Ethan Neff of Lynden went undefeated in five games to take the first place ribbon. Tied for second with three points each were Karl Keller, Lynden, Kyle Wahlgren, Ferndale, and Asher Paisley, Ferndale.

In the Junior High division, Edward Mitte of Edmonds scored four points for first place, Brett VanLeeuwen came in second with 2 points, and Max Gomdysey came in third with 1 point.

Two elementary players competed against the older players and did quite well, each scoring three points and taking home a ribbon: Lane Van Werdhuizen, Lynden, and Dan Mitte, Edmonds.

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Chess Jam '98
A total of 29 Whatcom County students competed in Chess Jam '98 on Saturday, May 16 at the Ferndale High School Cafeteria.

In the High School section Bert Rutgers of Lynden went undefeated in five rounds to take the first place trophy. Tying for second in a massive logjam with three winds and two losses were Kyle Wahlgren of Ferndale (10th grade), Karl Keller, Lynden (10th grade), Erik Schoen, Lynden (12th grade), and Asher Paisley of Ferndale (9th grade).

Here is the final round game between champion Rutgers and second-place finisher Paisley:

White: Bert Rutgers, Lynden, Sophomore
Black: Asher Paisley, Ferndale, Freshman
Queen's Gambit Accepted
1.d4 d5 2.c4 PxP 3.e4 f6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bf4 Qa5 6.BxP e5 7.PxP PxP 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxe5+ QxQ 10.BxQ Nf6 11.BxN Rg8 12.O-O Bh6+ 13.Kc2 Rf8 14.Rd8++.

In the Junior section, consisting of students in eighth grade and below, James Rienstra of Lynden (8th) racked up seven straight wins to earn the first place trophy. Brett Vanleeuen, Lynden (7th) placed second with five wins and a lone loss against Rienstra. Maksim Gomdysey of Ferndale (7th) came in third with eight wins, three losses and a draw.

The 4th grade and below subsection saw third-grader Lane VanWeerdhuizen of Lynden win the gold medal, Jeb Hobbs of Everson (3rd) took the silver, and David Morey of Blaine (4th) earned the bronze.

All of the entrants and spectators seemed to enjoy themselves. Door prizes, speed chess, participation prizes, chess videos, and a chess booktable, along with the tournament games, provided something for everyone. One contestant, David Cummins of Lynden, completed a full thirteen tournament games during the course of the day. Many thanks to the fine folks at The Chess House for donating the door prizes and bringing appropriate books for perusal and sale.

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VanLeeuwen Takes the Tromp
Brett VanLeeuwen took home $1200 smackers by winning the 27th annual Theresa Tromp Chess Tournament in Lynden on March 28, 1998, scoring five wins. Karl Keller and Jeanette Ritsema scored 4.5 and tied for second. Ten players came in at 4-1: Juan Galindo, Lane Van Weerdhuizen (3rd grader!), Bronwyn Miller, Tristan Anderson, James Kok, Nathan Kaemingk, Kyle Strengholt, Randy Cuellar, Erik Schoen, and Ben Vanderwoude.

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Lynden Places 18th at State
Lynden came away with an even score after competing in the Washington State High School Chess Team Championships on February 28, 1998. Scoring exactly 12.5 out of 25 possible points against the best in the state, they placed 18th out of 36 teams, tied with Cascade High School of Seattle. Team members were: Board One, Bert Rutgers (4/5), Board Two, Karl Keller (3/5), Board Three, Erik Schoen (1.5/5), Board Four, Tristan Anderson (2/5), Board Five, Trevor Nipges (2/5).