Northwest League Rocks the State, Checkmate

Ferndale 7th, Lynden 8th at State, Ain't it Great

Ferndale placed 7th and Lynden 8th at the 1999 Washington State High School Chess Team Championships, held February 26 and 27 at Lincoln High School in Tacoma.

The five-round tournament, which concludes the scholastic chess season, brought together 44 of the best high school chess teams from around the state, each of whom qualified for State by posting winning records in their respective leagues.

Entering the final round of the two-day tournament, Ferndale was in 5th place and Lynden 10th. Lynden faced the KingCo league champion Issaquah, winning the match 3.5-1.5, while Ferndale was paired with the three-time defending state champions Shorecrest of the Seattle Metro league. Ferndale's Peter Rust scored a crucial victory (see game score below), and draws from Kyle Wahlgren and Asher Paisley guaranteed Ferndale's finish in the top ten.

Ferndale and Lynden each finished with 15.5 points, Ferndale placing above Lynden based on superior tie-break points (having played tougher opposition).

"For Ferndale to crack the top ten at State in their first year of league chess is a simply amazing accomplishment" said WHSCA Director Paul Zurybida.

Other Northwest League teams making their first appearance at State include Sedro-Woolley, who finished with 10.0 points, Meridian, 9.0, Mount Vernon 8.5, and Sehome 6.5.

Lynden's Karl Keller went undefeated for the tournament, giving up only two draws. Juan Perez of Ferndale had scored four straight wins heading into the finals, but just missed joining the all-star team by surrendering a win to Shorecrest's third board.

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1999 State Championship, Final Round
February 27, 1999
Peter Rust (Ferndale H.S.) vs Hiroshi Kuga (Shorecrest H.S.)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d5 3.c5 Bf5 4.Bg5 e6 5.b4 b5 6.e3 c6 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.Ne5 Be7 9.Nxc6 Qc7 10.Nxe7 Kxe7 11.Bxb5 Rhb8 12.Bxd7 Qxd7 13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.a3 a5 15.ba Rxa5 16.O-O e5 17.Nd2 ed 18.ed Rg8 19.Re1+ Kf8 20.Qh5 Bg6 21.Qh6+ Rg7 22.Qe3 Ra8 23.Rac1 Be4 24.c6 Qe6 25.Nxe4 dxe4 26.c7 f5 27.Qc3 Rc8 28.Qc5+ Kg8 29.d5 Qd7 30.Rb1 Rxc7 31.Rb8+ and Black resigned (checkmate in two moves).

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1999 Washington State High School Chess Team Championships

Final Standings (Top Ten):
1. Puyallup 22.0
2. Meadowdale 18.0
3. Shorecrest 17.5
4. Lakeside 17.0
5. Lincoln 16.0
6. Seattle Prep A 16.0
7. Ferndale 15.5
8. Lynden 15.5
9. Seattle Prep B 15.5
10.Federal Way 15.0

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Match Results and Individual Results
(Northwest League Teams)

Ferndale 15.5, Seventh in State
3.5 - 1.5 vs Yelm
2.0 - 3.0 vs Shorewood
4.0 - 1.0 vs Renton (Puget Sound League Champions)
4.0 - 1.0 vs Seattle Prep B
2.0 - 3.0 vs Shorecrest (3-time Defending State Champions)

Board 1: Derek Schwede 2.5
Board 2: Kyle Wahlgren 1.5
Board 3: Juan Perez 4.0
Board 4: Asher Paisley 3.5
Board 5: Peter Rust 4.0

Coaches: Dave Peters, Randy Kaech

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Lynden 15.5, Eighth in State
5.0 - 0.0 vs Auburn-Riverside
1.0 - 4.0 vs Lakeside
4.0 - 1.0 vs Cleveland
2.0 - 3.0 vs Garfield
3.5 - 1.5 vs Issaquah (KingCo League Champions)

Board 1: Ethan Neff 3.5
Board 2: Bert Rutgers 4.0
Board 3: Karl Keller 4.0
Board 4: Randy Cuellar 1.0
Board 5: Tristan Anderson 3.0

Coaches: Warren Pugh, Bruce Woodcock

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Sedro-Woolley 10.0
0.0 - 5.0 vs Shorecrest (3-time Defending State Champions)
2.0 - 3.0 vs Auburn-Riverside
5.0 - 0.0 vs Sehome
0.0 - 5.0 vs North Central
3.0 - 2.0 vs Meridian

Board 1: Ben Weaver 2.0
Board 2: Alex Gaertner 2.0
Board 3: Christian Sargent 1.0
Board 4: James Booker 2.0
Board 5: Josef Kunzler 3.0

Coach: Randy Walther

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Meridian 9.0
0.0 - 5.0 vs Lincoln
2.0 - 3.0 vs Lakes
4.0 - 1.0 vs Edmonds-Woodway
1.0 - 4.0 vs Renton
2.0 - 3.0 vs Sedro-Woolley

Board 1: Nathaniel Myers 1.0
Board 2: Rodney Till 1.0
Board 3: Drew Johnson 2.0
Board 4: Dugan McCloskey 3.0
Board 5: Cale Mabott 2.0

Coach: David Shick

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Mount Vernon 8.5
1.0 - 4.0 vs Bainbridge
2.5 - 2.5 vs Stanwood
2.0 - 3.0 vs Yelm
3.0 - 2.0 vs Lakewood
0.0 - 5.0 vs Mariner

Board 1: Jake Wilkerson 1.0
Board 2: Nathaniel Brown 0.5
Board 3: Brian Pringle 1.0
Board 4: Brian Hemmat 4.0
Board 5: Zac Holyoke 2.0

Coach: Paul Everyhope

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Sehome 6.5
0.0 - 5.0 vs Lakeside
2.0 - 3.0 vs Enumclaw
0.0 - 5.0 vs Sedro-Woolley
2.0 - 3.0 vs Riverview
2.5 - 1.5 vs Edmonds-Woodway

Board 1: Tom Munro 2.0
Board 2: Kris Palm 2.5
Board 3: Brett Gilfillan 1.0
Board 4: Keith Chambers 1.0
Board 5: (forfeit)

Coaches: Kevin Statema, Elliott Neff