The Asheboro Open
Hall of Champions
The Asheboro Open 60 Grand Champion
Life Master Chris Mabe
(Winner, best Chess Abs)
August 2010
August was unpredictable, with two former NC Champions in contention for the coveted Asheboro Crown. As it turned out, the two were not destined to meet. Randy Lovelace pulled off a major upset by fighting FM Ron Simpson to a draw in round one action. Simpson admitted to going a bit off the reservation in the game, trying for too much. (I'm still dogging him for a copy of the game). Life Master Chris Mabe made it past all of the giant killers, scoring a perfect 3-0 to be crowned Grand Champion for August. Chris sashayed back to Charlotte with $140.00, and bragging rights for one month. He jokingly attributed some of his success to his lucky Led Zeppelin T-Shirt! For his part, FM Ron Simpson had to fight his way past NM Leland Fuerstman in round three to finish with clear second and $65.00 cash. NM Fuerstman describes his style of play as "slippery" and "tricky," but there is plenty of soundness in his fury as demonstrated in his endgame win against Grace Campbell. The class prize of $30.00 was split two ways between Randy Lovelace and Matthew Greene with two points each. Lovelace had a particularly strong showing with a win and two draws. See his draw with NM James Watson in our games database: a chess delicacy.
FM Ron Simpson
Second Place, Championship Section
August 2010
Look for some of the exciting games in the NC Chess Games Database.
Congratulations to our August 2010 Champions!
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The Asheboro Open 60
Kevin Chen
First Place, Candidates Section
Winner, Best Game Face
August 2010
Kevin Chen will soon have more money than the US Government (maybe that's not the best example, since Uncle Sam is broke). Seriously, though, Kevin Chen has a knack for earning prizes: it's called great Chess! After his surprising victory last month, earning him the title of Grand Champion for July, Kevin bounced back with another victory to earn $140.00 as the top player in the Candidates Section this month. Still, his victory was not a gimmie, and he had to prevail over tough competitors like Jordan Eliseo. Second place was split between four players with 2.0 on the scoreboard: Jordan Eliseo, Joshua Taylor, Brad Fowler, and Dane Simon. The four shared $95.00 in cash prizes. For his part, Dane Simon proved he belonged in the Candidate's Section, and earned a rating jump to 1408 (from 1291). What a performance! Ian Haigler was a man on a mission this month, after placing "second" in the cool T-Shirt Competition last month. This month, he won first place with flying colors--literally! I hope to get more photos up soon, so you can see for yourself. Or, just look out the window on a clear day LOL.
The Asheboro Open 60
Dane Simon (L) and Brad Fowler
(Not Pictured: Josh Taylor and Jordan Eliseo)
Second Place Tie, Candidates Section
August 2010
The Asheboro Open 60
David Blair
First Place, Club Section
August 2010
David Blair had a solid tournament, going 3-0 as "top dog" in the Club Section. He earned $140.00 for his efforts, and a good handful of rating points that should put him squarely into the Candidates Section next time out. Second place was split three ways, with Paul Ingram, Julian Billings, and Josh Roth sharing the honors. Josh Roth is a scholastic sharpshooter with a lot of promise, especially with a mentor like uncle Michael McHale.
Julian Billings (L) and Josh Roth
(Not Pictured: Paul Ingram)
Second Place Tie, Club Section
August 2010
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*The 2010 North Carolina Grand Prix*
A Win is a Win, So Everybody is In!
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