2009 WHATCOM COUNTY SCHOLASTIC CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
JANUARY 10, 2009
LYNDEN FAIRGROUNDS - 184 PLAYERS
K-2ND GRADE SECTION
pos last name first id numb start end/#gms rd1 rd2 rd3 rd4 rd5 total
1 BUNN, SAM LARB9041 901 989/ 10 W29 W8 W7 W9 W3 5.0
2 FRAZIER, JOSHUA ASTAI906 579 797/ 15 W37 W6 W10 D7 W9 4.5
3 DEBOO, OWEN ASTC2870 729 801/ 28 W18 W28 W14 W4 L1 4.0
4 GHANBARI, DARMON CARCF886 653 764/ 15 W20 W25 W11 L3 W12 4.0
5 SUN, LUCY HPVCA489 480 666/ 10 W33 L10 W17 W11 W13 4.0
6 BOTEZ, ANDREA BLEB9457 765 779/ 15 W32 L2 W19 W27 W15 4.0
7 SALVATIERRA, CHRISTIAN NORCA411 627 702/ 26 W35 W15 L1 D2 W19 3.5
8 DANENHOWER, ASA SAICA314 565 613/ 17 W39 L1 D18 W26 W22 3.5
9 KAECH, RICHY SKYCC022 669 691/101 W24 W27 W13 L1 L2 3.0
10 PACHECO, OBERON SAIC2848 660 665/ 29 W21 W5 L2 L12 W26 3.0
11 WONG, DYLAN ASTB9914 913 856/ 30 W26 W12 L4 L5 W18 3.0
12 ANTICO, MORGAN LARC8876 542 624/ 10 W34 L11 W29 W10 L4 3.0
13 RIEMANN, DOMINIK WKEB2718 586 605/ 10 W43 W31 L9 W16 L5 3.0
14 PARKS, JOB CIAC2825 613 607/ 24 W23 W36 L3 L15 W30 3.0
15 ZIMMERMAN, BLAKE CARC7516 450 547/ 10 W41 L7 W36 W14 L6 3.0
16 REMMEL-COAKLEY, SETH LARB8941 400 570/ 5 L25 W20 W30 L13 W27 3.0
17 SCHAEFER, COLM ASTB9423 400 666/ 3 HPD HPB L5 W29 W28 3.0
18 STEELE, RILEY CARCD330 400 500/ 32 L3 W37 D8 W25 L11 2.5
19 GANGLE, EVAN CARC3127 531 514/ 14 D22 BYE L6 W24 L7 2.5
20 MCKAY, CONNOR WKEBJ352 400 468/ 9 L4 L16 W40 W38 D25 2.5
21 WAGNER, BRODY LARCF603 400 434/ 10 L10 W33 L27 D31 W36 2.5
22 SLAUGHTER, NICKOLAS SKYCG121 400 429/ 27 D19 L26 W41 W32 L8 2.5
23 ROSS, SPENCER NBLC9963 400 425/ 14 L14 W38 D25 L30 W39 2.5
24 PARKS, LONA CIAA9437 400 451/ 9 L9 W40 D28 L19 W37 2.5
25 STEWARDSON, LIAM EAGCB112 490 482/ 21 W16 L4 D23 L18 D20 2.0
26 MALQUIST, JOHN WKEBF952 438 455/ 35 L11 W22 W31 L8 L10 2.0
27 VERRET, NOLAN CARBJ627 529 515/ 29 W42 L9 W21 L6 L16 2.0
28 ROWEMOULDS, JAMIE LARCG804 510 491/ 34 W40 L3 D24 D34 L17 2.0
29 DANENHOWER, MAX SAIAE991 425 461/ 10 L1 W39 L12 L17 W42 2.0
30 HOEMANN, CONNOR CARB7081 473 438/ 10 L31 W43 L16 W23 L14 2.0
31 WOLFISBERG, RAFE HSCBJ385 400 400/ 5 W30 L13 L26 D21 D35 2.0
32 DEYERIN, DEVAN WKEBA041 423 419/ 13 L6 D34 W42 L22 D33 2.0
33 FELLER, MICHAEL LCSBA528 400 400/ 5 L5 L21 W39 D36 D32 2.0
34 OOSTRA, LEVI ISOCF274 400 479/ 4 L12 D32 W35 D28 U 2.0
35 STEWART, DANIEL SKYCI552 400 400/ 10 L7 D41 L34 W42 D31 2.0
36 MCWILLIAMS, CAMERON HPVCF745 400 400/ 5 W38 L14 L15 D33 L21 1.5
37 ROMANYSHYN, MARKIAN WKECI933 400 400/ 5 L2 L18 D38 W41 L24 1.5
38 WINE, TAHLIA RESBA750 539 439/ 41 L36 L23 D37 L20 W41 1.5
39 SCHOENECKER, LILLY ASTCA073 400 400/ 5 L8 L29 L33 W40 L23 1.0
40 PEARSON, LUKE WKCC2690 400 400/ 4 L28 L24 L20 L39 BYE 1.0
41 COOL, GUYAN CIAC7005 400 400/ 5 L15 D35 L22 L37 L38 0.5
42 GRIMES, ELIAS ROVAT655 400 400/ 4 L27 HPB L32 L35 L29 0.5
43 BISHOP, JACOB PARB5182 400 400/ 2 L13 L30 U U U 0.0
3RD - 5TH GRADE SECTION
pos last name first id numb start end/#gms rd1 rd2 rd3 rd4 rd5 tot
1 CARPENTER, COLTON SAIE4173 1078 1157/149 W24 W19 W11 W7 W4 5.0
2 KAECH, STONE SKYF6398 899 1057/176 W46 W35 W21 W16 W13 5.0
3 ZEHNDER, RILEY HSCF4476 908 1006/160 W28 W23 D15 W14 W16 4.5
4 HOWARD-SNYDER, WILLIAM SAIDE130 1133 1138/216 W41 W8 W20 W5 L1 4.0
5 TILLEY, JAREN HPVEF561 907 942/ 18 W42 W26 W10 L4 W19 4.0
6 SUTER, ANDREW SAIF4434 851 908/ 97 W40 W32 W18 L13 W26 4.0
7 HAN, HENRY HPVFD948 799 881/ 63 W64 W51 W17 L1 W31 4.0
8 SUN, KEVIN HPVF5342 734 858/ 15 W55 L4 W24 W22 W17 4.0
9 VELDHUISEN, TY COLDH107 838 874/ 84 W38 W29 L16 W35 W21 4.0
10 HARLE, NIKHIL CDRDJ930 751 835/ 59 W68 W22 L5 W27 W20 4.0
11 VALDEZ, PHILIP HSCE8125 781 862/ 25 W69 W52 L1 W29 W25 4.0
12 DEBOO, LOGAN ASTEB063 691 800/ 29 W72 L13 W39 W48 W18 4.0
13 PARKS, ISAAC CIAF4924 1064 1055/ 45 W30 W12 D14 W6 L2 3.5
14 PYLES, CHRISTOPHER SAIF8739 891 904/129 W43 W27 D13 L3 W41 3.5
15 DRURY, GABE CIAE1769 778 808/ 93 W67 W63 D3 L17 W36 3.5
16 LOWRY, JASON SAIDG811 1104 1067/101 W33 W49 W9 L2 L3 3.0
17 HOWARD-SNYDER, PETER SAIDH798 1084 1030/221 W34 W50 L7 W15 L8 3.0
18 DEVANGE, ISAAC LARF6005 952 911/114 W44 W47 L6 W23 L12 3.0
19 KAHLE, JIMMY SKYF2025 692 719/ 83 W71 L1 W30 W44 L5 3.0
20 SMARTT, HENRY HSCD5454 898 881/103 W58 W36 L4 W45 L10 3.0
21 KING, TAYLOR ASTEH361 687 737/132 W70 W25 L2 W52 L9 3.0
22 GOO, AUDREY ASTE6863 569 603/107 W57 L10 W63 L8 W44 3.0
23 GOIT, ELLIOT WKED7271 674 692/ 15 W66 L3 W40 L18 W48 3.0
24 SCHOENECKER, JAMES ASTEF322 492 607/ 25 L1 W77 L8 W59 W47 3.0
25 STEELE, ZACHARY CAREH880 1019 962/ 74 W48 L21 W45 W47 L11 3.0
26 WENDLING, JACK ASTEG787 663 704/ 88 W73 L5 W55 W37 L6 3.0
27 SPENST, CARDIN LYCF3861 639 654/ 20 W54 L14 W53 L10 W52 3.0
28 BRAUNBERGER, KRISTOPHERASTE3479 462 611/ 10 L3 W66 D36 W51 D37 3.0
29 FRAZIER, JACOB ASTEA879 647 658/ 15 W75 L9 W54 L11 W58 3.0
30 GOODIN, ZACHARY ASTEJ531 479 598/ 45 L13 W59 L19 W53 W45 3.0
31 EVANS, ADAM CIAFB851 577 598/ 23 L63 W60 W57 W49 L7 3.0
32 HERRON, TREY HPVDE372 668 650/ 97 W74 L6 L44 W67 W46 3.0
33 HORNSTRA, BRADY LYCFA279 530 622/ 60 L16 W56 L37 W68 W49 3.0
34 SAYLER, BEN NORDD371 501 587/ 23 L17 W72 L49 W61 W50 3.0
35 REAVLEY, WILSON HPVE9808 666 660/ 74 W53 L2 W67 L9 D39 2.5
36 SINGLETON, SHION SAIF6426 645 643/ 39 W65 L20 D28 W42 L15 2.5
37 MISZCZAK, LIAM SAIF8682 921 842/106 W39 L45 W33 L26 D28 2.5
38 RECORD, CHANDLER WKEF8293 400 463/ 10 L9 L54 W62 W57 D51 2.5
39 HILBURN, CAMERON CAREE469 467 541/ 10 L37 W70 L12 W71 D35 2.5
40 FULLER II, PATRICK R LYCF9059 400 457/ 23 L6 W73 L23 D63 W65 2.5
41 HASKINS, CORY RESFH815 543 571/ 19 L4 W68 HPB W56 L14 2.5
42 HASKINS, TYLER RESFA345 454 488/ 19 L5 W61 HPB L36 W64 2.5
43 GONZALEZ, GABRIEL ASTE6169 401 474/ 15 L14 W75 D51 L50 W63 2.5
44 SULLIVAN, KOBE MTNDE320 477 505/ 33 L18 W62 W32 L19 L22 2.0
45 WITZEL, BEN CIAF8369 678 671/ 80 W61 W37 L25 L20 L30 2.0
46 ROSS, MCKAY NBLE1906 448 455/ 29 L2 L53 W64 W54 L32 2.0
47 LOISEL, CHASE SAIEF394 682 648/ 79 W62 L18 W58 L25 L24 2.0
48 DRURY, ABBEY CIAF4320 480 519/ 39 L25 W71 W50 L12 L23 2.0
49 MALQUIST, BENJAMIN WKEEJ768 724 675/102 W77 L16 W34 L31 L33 2.0
50 WINE, TRISTAN RESEE596 700 642/139 W59 L17 L48 W43 L34 2.0
51 JACOBSEN, JOSHUA LYCE4866 610 567/ 15 W76 L7 D43 L28 D38 2.0
52 SCHWINDT, ETHAN WKEDF266 400 438/ 8 BYE L11 W60 L21 L27 2.0
53 LANGE, DAVID MTNDD425 400 470/ 5 L35 W46 L27 L30 W69 2.0
54 FEENSTRA, HENRY SPAD2294 400 444/ 5 L27 W38 L29 L46 W71 2.0
55 WARD, CASEY LYCEE688 400 400/ 14 L8 BYE L26 D60 D56 2.0
56 RANDALL-GRUTTER, ROWAN SILEE364 400 421/ 5 D60 L33 W65 L41 D55 2.0
57 KIVLIGHN, ANDREW BVEE5716 400 413/ 5 L22 W69 L31 L38 W70 2.0
58 WILLIAMS, KOLBY CIAFC816 404 435/ 35 L20 W74 L47 W70 L29 2.0
59 PICKERING, TAYSON NORDG207 400 447/ 5 L50 L30 W74 L24 W73 2.0
60 WOLFISBERG, LUKE HSCDB994 573 500/ 20 D56 L31 L52 D55 W74 2.0
61 DANVILLE, MICAH WKEEG125 400 433/ 5 L45 L42 W77 L34 W67 2.0
62 PIETRO, DOMINIC GENFK367 500 404/ 5 L47 L44 L38 W77 W76 2.0
63 WILLETT, PATRICK CUEDF580 400 429/ 5 W31 L15 L22 D40 L43 1.5
64 MOORMEIR, FREDERICK LYCE2226 400 400/ 14 L7 D65 L46 W66 L42 1.5
65 MCPHAIL, DYLAN ISOD7213 400 400/ 5 L36 D64 L56 W72 L40 1.5
66 ODEGAARD, CAMERON SILE8764 400 400/ 5 L23 L28 D69 L64 W68 1.5
67 SCHOENECKER, SAVANNA ASTFG180 400 400/ 15 L15 W76 L35 L32 L61 1.0
68 SALAM, ABDALLAH SAID9182 400 400/ 8 L10 L41 BYE L33 L66 1.0
69 PETERSON, TOMMY WKEDC276 400 400/ 29 L11 L57 D66 D73 L53 1.0
70 WILLIAMS, TULLEY SILF3147 500 400/ 5 L21 L39 W76 L58 L57 1.0
71 URCUYO, CONNOR SILF7459 500 400/ 5 L19 L48 W75 L39 L54 1.0
72 STONE, TAZER CIADB624 400 400/ 5 L12 L34 D73 L65 D77 1.0
73 LOVE, JAMIE SILDC377 400 400/ 5 L26 L40 D72 D69 L59 1.0
74 DUNCAN, EVAN SKYFI410 500 400/ 5 L32 L58 L59 W75 L60 1.0
75 FELLER, ELIZABETH LCSE1195 400 400/ 4 L29 L43 L71 L74 BYE 1.0
76 MORRISON, MICHAEL CUEEI596 400 400/ 4 L51 L67 L70 BYE L62 1.0
77 LOVE, AUSTIN SILE3026 400 400/ 5 L49 L24 L61 L62 D72 0.5
6TH - 8TH GRADE SECTION
pos last name first id numb start end/#gms rd1 rd2 rd3 rd4 rd5 tot
1 BOTEZ, ALEXANDRA BLNIX598 1641 1653/ 70 W42 W6 W10 W9 W2 5.0
2 GOO, ANTHONY C ASTI7666 941 1022/154 W18 W34 W11 W4 L1 4.0
3 RIANDA, WILL CIAG2326 987 1037/154 W15 W21 L9 W8 W12 4.0
4 PITCHER, RYAN LYCH8308 995 1021/152 W26 W27 W14 L2 W11 4.0
5 SMARTT, KALEB HSCG4368 1085 1081/ 98 W37 L9 W15 W10 W13 4.0
6 BLOK, DYLAN LYCHG840 904 984/ 87 W38 L1 W26 W22 W16 4.0
7 STEWARDSON, PAUL LYMI4704 1176 1158/110 W30 L10 W20 W27 W14 4.0
8 VALDEZ, PAUL HSCGF938 884 956/ 25 W32 D12 W28 L3 W9 3.5
9 MORRIS, JULIA LYCGE440 809 916/ 78 W25 W5 W3 L1 L8 3.0
10 RIANDA, BEN VSTI7794 846 910/153 W31 W7 L1 L5 W29 3.0
11 EVANS, ETHAN HSCH3309 773 896/ 25 W13 W19 L2 W28 L4 3.0
12 BROWN, KENNETH FHVG4291 1199 1157/147 W29 D8 W23 D16 L3 3.0
13 FERGUSON, JUSTIN VSTI9127 800 927/ 5 L11 W18 W29 W19 L5 3.0
14 DUNN, HUNTER ASTH9733 914 920/120 W40 W24 L4 W21 L7 3.0
15 PYLES, GRACE SAIH8127 579 703/ 86 L3 W25 L5 W31 W27 3.0
16 SYMONDS, CALOB LYMI4003 1140 1102/129 D20 W17 W36 D12 L6 3.0
17 MABERRY, DAVID LYCHI939 787 794/ 67 L24 L16 W32 W20 W26 3.0
18 BOERSMA, JACK LYCGG216 561 655/ 33 L2 L13 W33 W37 W30 3.0
19 WITECKI, IAN ASTG9565 968 933/206 W35 L11 W39 L13 W23 3.0
20 HAN, AMY FHVIK070 620 678/ 50 D16 W37 L7 L17 W35 2.5
21 LIKKEL, DRAKE LYCH7027 778 778/ 56 W41 L3 W24 L14 D22 2.5
22 BLECHA, CAMERON SKYGI550 600 742/ 5 L23 W40 W30 L6 D21 2.5
23 DUNFORD, NATHAN HSCI8195 751 786/ 24 W22 D28 L12 W36 L19 2.5
24 FERGUSON, WILLIAM VSTID516 800 750/ 5 W17 L14 L21 D35 W36 2.5
25 ALLEN, LAMON VSTII994 484 517/ 41 L9 L15 BYE W38 D28 2.5
26 VAN DE POEL, ALEXANDER ASTG9605 586 600/113 L4 W31 L6 W34 L17 2.0
27 CHAMBERS, SEAN ASTHH930 810 776/ 86 W33 L4 W35 L7 L15 2.0
28 TEFFT-MEEKER, DEVON FHVI5594 949 875/119 W39 D23 L8 L11 D25 2.0
29 KOLODYCHUK, STEPHEN ASTG3596 651 662/ 81 L12 W32 L13 W40 L10 2.0
30 CUMMINS, KYLE FHVH3068 656 636/ 15 L7 W38 L22 W39 L18 2.0
31 DEBOOM, MICHAEL LYCIH864 509 517/ 15 L10 L26 W38 L15 W37 2.0
32 RICCI, EVAN LYMI7739 524 538/ 51 L8 L29 L17 W41 W39 2.0
33 APPLE, KURT VSTII841 503 482/ 22 L27 L35 L18 BYE W40 2.0
34 COMCHOC, BJ LYCIC635 400 400/ 12 BYE L2 L37 L26 W41 2.0
35 ROSS, BRENDON NBLG8236 577 572/ 29 L19 W33 L27 D24 L20 1.5
36 SELIG, LUKAS FHVGG814 755 695/ 59 HPB BYE L16 L23 L24 1.5
37 SEMSAK, DEREK HORH7016 609 505/ 10 L5 L20 W34 L18 L31 1.0
38 RICCI, ANTHONY ISOHK278 550 443/ 12 L6 L30 L31 L25 BYE 1.0
39 VANDER ZOUWEN, BRETON LYCH2788 564 513/ 45 L28 W41 L19 L30 L32 1.0
40 MACFARLAND, GAVIN LYCHB617 561 502/ 15 L14 L22 W41 L29 L33 1.0
41 KELM, SCOTT LYMH5290 700 400/ 5 L21 L39 L40 L32 L34 0.0
42 RIANDA, MEGAN NBLH2570 657 657/133 L1 U U U U 0.0
HIGH SCHOOL SECTION
pos last name first id numb start end/#gms rd1 rd2 rd3 rd4 rd5 tot
1 WITECKI, THOMAS LYEK8805 1488 1539/428 W10 W8 W7 W3 W2 5.0
2 BLANKERS, ELI LYCK8258 1350 1380/199 W18 W4 W6 W11 L1 4.0
3 DIETZ, STERLING LYEM1695 1640 1629/316 W21 W5 W11 L1 W6 4.0
4 HONCOOP, TERREN LYNM7330 1158 1231/121 W20 L2 W9 W8 W11 4.0
5 LOUDON, DAVID FERL4251 1159 1177/ 53 W12 L3 W15 W13 W10 4.0
6 JENNINGS, AUSTIN HSCJ4849 1226 1222/ 63 W14 W19 L2 W7 L3 3.0
7 HONCOOP, JOHN WILLIAM LYCM6365 876 966/ 74 W16 W17 L1 L6 W13 3.0
8 SMITH, DUSTIN SEDMA158 1117 1105/ 58 W22 L1 W20 L4 W14 3.0
9 LABRIE, LUKE FERJA937 900 1100/ 5 W17 L11 L4 W16 W12 3.0
10 STEENSMA, BEN LYCJ7236 768 808/ 55 L1 W22 W19 W21 L5 3.0
11 SPITZER, TIM SEDMD963 1326 1291/111 W15 W9 L3 L2 L4 2.0
12 WARD, CAITLYN LYCJ4793 900 827/ 5 L5 W18 L13 W15 L9 2.0
13 ABBOTT, ALEXANDER FERL2280 944 900/150 L19 W14 W12 L5 L7 2.0
14 NIEUWENDORP, TY MDIK4783 590 693/ 18 L6 L13 W17 W19 L8 2.0
15 DEBOER, KALVIN LYCKF479 604 638/ 46 L11 W16 L5 L12 W20 2.0
16 BARANETS, ALEXSANDR SEDK6957 1000 686/ 5 L7 L15 W18 L9 W22 2.0
17 LESH, ROBYN LYEJA140 1135 1049/123 L9 L7 L14 W20 W19 2.0
18 MENSING, KRIS FERLD129 702 689/ 93 L2 L12 L16 W22 W21 2.0
19 BARANETS, YEVGENIY SEDL2074 1100 673/ 5 W13 L6 L10 L14 L17 1.0
20 FISHER, GREG FERL5283 457 486/ 65 L4 W21 L8 L17 L15 1.0
21 BURDSAL, TREMAYNE SEDJ9072 837 723/ 14 L3 L20 W22 L10 L18 1.0
22 TAXDAHL, ZACH FERJ6120 900 400/ 5 L8 L10 L21 L18 L16 0.0
Whatcom County Scholastic
Chess Championships
Saturday, January 10, 2009
NW Washington Fairgrounds, Lynden
- Entry deadline extended due to snow -- entries accepted if postmarked by Wednesday, January 7. -
Sponsored by the Theresa Tromp Chess Trust. Established by the late Mrs. G. A. Lonnquist (the former Theresa Tromp, of Lynden) to develop thinking skills among youth. Assisted by Chess4Life.com.
A chess tournament and playday for chessplayers of all abilities, from beginner to experienced tournament competitor, from Kindergarden through 12th grade. Open to students residing in or attending school in Whatcom County. (High School division open to all NW Wa. students.)
Four playing sections: K-2 (Primary), 3-5 (Elementary), 6-8 (Middle), 9-12 (High).
State Qualifier Tournament! Kindergarten-6th grade players with winning scores (3/5) qualify to participate in the 2009 Washington State Elementary Chess Championships, being held this year in Spokane on April 25, 2009.
Location: Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden.
Format: Five round Swiss (no elimination). Game/30 (maximum one hour for each game.) Tournament rated by the Northwest Scholastic Rating System. Pairings by computer.
Schedule: Check-in 8:30 - 9:00am at the Fairgrounds in Lynden. Opening ceremonies at 9:05am. Approximate start times for each round: 9:40, 11:00, 12:30, 1:50, 3:10. Awards ceremony 4:30 or ASAP.
Individual Awards: Trophies for top five in K-2, 6-8, 9-12 sections, top seven in 3-5 section. Ties broken by computer as per WHSCA rules. Medals for all who post a winning (3/5) record. All Primary (K-2) players who complete all five rounds will receive a Certificate at the least.
Team Awards: Top teams (based on top four players from a school) awarded trophies in the K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 sections. A team shall consist of students enrolled in a school for the 2008-09 school year (as per Elementary State eligibility rules).
Bring: Chess boards/sets for the non-tournament ("skittles") area. If in sixth grade or higher, bring a pencil (or pen) and a chess clock if you have one.
TO ENTER:
Players must reside in or attend school in Whatcom County, and must pre-register to play. No on-site entries. Entry fee $10.
To enter online: Register online at Chess4Life. $1.75 convenience fee applies.
To enter via the mail: Make check to Theresa Tromp Chess Trust. Entries must be received no later than Tuesday, January 6.
- Entry deadline extended due to snow -- entries accepted if postmarked by Wednesday, January 7. - 
Mail entries to:
.....Theresa Tromp Chess Tournament
.....P.O. Box 705
.....Lynden WA 98264
Use the form below, or just include the following: Student's Full Name, Address, School, Grade, Phone, Email, Entry Fee. Include optional T-shirt and Lunch fees if desired (details below).
All players must check-in the morning of the tourney between 8:30 and 9:00. Players checking in after 9:00am will receive a half-point bye in round one.
CONCESSIONS OPTION: If you would like to pre-order a pizza slice, chips and pop for lunch, include an extra $4 with your entry. Indicate pepperoni or cheese pizza.
T-SHIRT OPTION: If you would like a Whatcom County Scholastic Chess Championships T-shirt, include an extra $10 with your entry. Indicate whether youth or adult size, then size desired, XS, S, M, L, or XL.
For further information: Email Randy Kaech at kaech@verizon.net or Theodore Neff at ttct@live.com.
One Page Tournament Flyer in .pdf format with handy entry form
Whatcom County Championships FAQ
I don't know how to play chess. Should I come?
Sure! Before tournament day, you can have a friend show you how to play, or you can learn the rules of chess online here or here. Only three things you need to know to play: 1.The starting position. 2.How the six different pieces move. 3.How the game ends. (Get the King!)
I'm not a good chessplayer. Should I play?
Sure! Come play with the rest of us patzers. We're all learning, and you don't have to be a Grandmaster to have fun at chess. Besides, the Swiss pairings system will match you with opponents of equal ability (after a few rounds). And just think of how much better you'll be after a day of chess playing.
I've never played in a tournament. I'm nervous! What do I do?
Have fun and enjoy the competition! You might have your parents read Considerations Before Competing, an article by a Whatcom County mom published in Neighborhood-Kids.com. Then you'll know a bit more about what to expect. (Also helpful is Tournaments - How They Work.)
How many games will I play?
All players will play five rounds, win or lose. With Swiss pairings, there's no elimination, and you'll always play someone with the same score as yourself (with a few exceptions). So for example, if in the first three rounds you have one win and two losses, you'll play someone else with one win and two losses in the 4th round.
I can't play in all five rounds. Can I still play?
Yes, you can still play! If you'll be arriving late, or must leave early, or have a basketball game in the middle, just check the schedule (above) and indicate on your entry which rounds you will be missing.
If I haven't taken my hands off of the chess piece yet, can I change my mind?
In a rated tournament like this one, if you even touch a chess piece, you must move it! And if you touch an opponent's piece, you must capture it! So sit on your hands until you know what you want to do. If a piece needs to be centered or adjusted, you may do so by first saying "I adjust".
Do I have to write down the moves?
Scorekeeping is required for the 6-8 and 9-12 sections, and recommended (but not required) for the other sections. To learn how, have a teacher or friend show you, or go here. Hey, it's good for you! One of the best ways to improve is to review your games after a tournament. (Besides being able to show your friends the awesome move you made that clinched the game.) Also, learning chess notation opens you to the whole wide world of chess literature.
Will we use chess clocks? How do they work?
Yes, we'll use clocks in the upper sections and on the upper boards, as they are available. And if a game looks like it may go long, we may place a clock on your game after about 40 minutes. Chess clocks are a great invention. They keep slow players from slowing and losing players from stalling. Here's how it works: After your move, you hit the button nearest you on the chess clock. Your timer stops, and your opponent's timer begins. In this tournament each player will get 30 minutes, thus ensuring that no game goes over an hour. If a player uses up all 30 minutes, it's a loss just like checkmate. So bring a chess clock if you have one, but if you don't, that's okay.
Will concessions be available?
Yes. You can also bring either a sack lunch, or lunch money.
How do school team awards work?
The team scoring used will be similar to cross-country meet scoring. That is, in each section, the best four results from a single school will be tallied and compared with other schools. Efforts will be made not to pair players from the same school. Eligibility rules are those used by WHSCA for State events at the MS and HS level, and at Elem. level we use the eligibility rules used at Elementary State.
Can I turn in the entry form and fee to my teacher?
Sorry, all entries must be mailed in advance, or done online, as stated above.
Is this tourney an Elementary State Qualifier tournament? Tell me about State.
The largest chess tournament in the state every year is not the Washington Open, the Seafair Open or the State High School Team Championships, it's the State Elementary Championships. Last year 1,422 players pre-registered to compete in Redmond. And consider this: to attend, players had to first qualify by posting a winning record in a qualifying tournament!
To qualify for Elementary State, a Washington student in grades 1-6 must post a winning record (score over 50 percent) in a NWSRS-rated Scholastic Chess Tournament in Washington State with at least 4 rounds, at least 6 players in their section, and at least 3 different school codes represented. Players in Kindergarten need to score 2/5 in a divison which includes K-2 players. A list of qualifying players for the current school year can be found at the WHSCA website.
I attend high school in Skagit County (or Island County, or San Juan County). May I play?
For K-8th grades this tourney is open to Whatcom County students only, but due to the very few number of regional tournaments available to high school students in Skagit-Island-San Juan counties, and considering the relatively small size of the WCSCC high school division in years past, for 2009 we are allowing high school students from Skagit, Island and San Juan counties to participate in the WCSCC high school division.