The Asheboro Open
Hall of Champions
The Asheboro Open 53 Grand Champions
Life Master Chris Mabe (left) and Expert Patrick McCartney
(also tied for 1st place in the cool tee-shirt competition!)
January 2010
Charlotte twin towers LM Chris Mabe and Patrick McCartney cut a six-game swath through the Championship Section to finish with three points each, earning a warm fuzzy feeling and $100.00 for their efforts. Young fireball Will Campbell finished with two points, a fine performance in a tough section, to win the $30.00 Class Prize. The Championship Section was stoked with chess talent this month, with an average rating of 1927! Among these were NM Leland Fuerstman, underrated Expert Adam Holmes, and last month's Co-Champion Tanner "T-Rex" Hogue. Add to this incredible cast of characters David High, who is flirting with an Expert rating, and who will soon be defending his title of NC Scholastic Champion. What a fantastic lineup!
Before the first round started, I pointed out to young William Campbell (photo left) that he would be eligible for the Class Prize. "I'm going for that one," he said, pointing to first place on the sheet. Well, it's only a matter of time!
Earning much respect from me was Grace Campbell, who got promoted into the Championship Section this month. She and brother William are regulars in Asheboro, and are two of the strongest scholastic players in the state. Grace displayed exceptional sportsmanship after a brutal time loss in round one, then succumbed to more time pressure in round two, and finally had a bye for round three. Rather than "sit it out," she agreed to play TD Tom Hales an unrated game during the final round. There was plenty to do at Randolph Mall, but Grace came to play chess. After our game, I have a word of advice: Don't underestimate her!
Be sure to check out some of the tournament games posted in the NC Chess Games Database.
Congratulations to our December 2009 Grand Champions!
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The Asheboro Open 53
First Place, Candidate's Section
Daryl Gordon (left) and Reynaldo Diaz
January 2010
Daryl Gordon and Reynaldo Diaz split the point in round three to tie for 1st place in the Candidates Section. Each won $100.00 for a fine performance. Daryl hails from the Charlotte area, and is a regular at both the Charlotte Chess Club and the Queen City Chess Club. Reynaldo can be seen playing at the Lauren Keller Memorial Chess Club in Greensboro when he is not volunteering with the Peace Corps in Africa. Austin Liu was awarded the Class Prize for a solid 2.0 performance which also netted him 94 USCF rating points!
Congratulations to these talented players!
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The Asheboro Open 53
First Place, Club Section
Julian Billings
January 2010
This was Julian Billings' third Asheboro Open in four months, so it was no surprise to see his dedication pay off. Each month he has gained ground, but this time he went a perfect 3-0 ton win first place and $140.00 in cool cash. Above he displays his trademark sunglasses and poker face.
Derek Chen (L) and Yu Wang
Second place was shared by Greensboro's Derek Chen and Chapel Hill's Yu Wang with 2.5 points each. They split the $60.00 second place prize by drawing one another in round three. The Class Prize was split three ways, with Patrick Messina, Joe McDonald, and Sean Pollock dividing the $30.00 spoils.
Nicely Done!
*The 2010 North Carolina Grand Prix*
A Win is a Win, So Everybody is In!
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New Feature: Last Month's Champions