Forty two players from four states (ID, UT, WY, OR) descended on the Holiday Inn Express in Twin Falls, Idaho on November 10 to take part in the 2018 version of the Southern Idaho Open chess tournament and Veteran's Recognition Day. All veterans in attendance received free entry, an American flag to keep at their table and a red and white vinyl chessboard from Idaho Chess Association president Adam Porth. The ICA is hopeful this board will assist in facilitating the recipients future chess prowess. In addition, all veterans were placed at the top tables for the duration of the event to further recognize and appreciate all that they have unselfishly sacrificed so we can selfishly participate as a family in the game of kings.
Expert (2039) Josep Marie Companyo of Jackson Hole, WY and Class A (1907) Cody Gorman of Eagle, ID both finished tied for first place with 4.0/4. Class A player (1810) John Glenn from Mountain Home, ID took clear third place with a 3.5/4 score. The only blemish for Glenn was a mini-upset in round two when he was nicked for a draw by C player (1500) Tom Booth of Caldwell. The double winner of the day was C player (1478) Andrew Kitterman of Boise, who participated in the U1600 prize while scoring 3.0/4, with his only loss coming against number one seed Companyo in round four. He also took the upset prize by virtue of his third round victory over A player (1900) and Idaho Hall of Fame member Hans Morrow of Farmington UT. The prize was a very nice hardback 1973 edition of “The Grandmasters of Chess”, donated by long time player Brett Hamilton of Eagle, ID. Brett also donated several issues of Chess Life for the players to enhance their learning. THANKS Brett! Very appreciative of Hank Harris of Boise for supplying the beautiful wooden board, pieces and Garde clock that resided on board one for the four round event. Old school chess for sure. Love to hear the analog clock ticking away. We also live streamed round two of the Carlsen – Caruana World Championship match for the players to be distracted by. Draws in both rounds in London.
42 players is, I believe, the largest turnout we have ever had for this event. It was great to have everyone participate, with some players driving almost 300 miles to play! Now that is dedication to playing chess! Something that could have been more palatable for the players would have been one more round to decide the prize race a little better, due to two 4.0 scores, eight 3.0 scores and twelve 2.0 scores. Lots of small payouts with multiple winners. We should perhaps consider a five round event in the future.
Many thanks to David Ahrens and the rest of the Holiday Inn Express staff for allowing us
to use the great site and excellent facilities, and to all the players who took the time to participate in this tournament. Thanks, Adam, for driving 9 hours from northern Idaho to not only play, but to be assistant TD. Also grateful to TD Jay Simonson of Idaho Falls for assisting on rules interpretation and taking care of the monetary end of things. Please say THANKS to the veterans in attendance once more: Fred Bartell, Hans Morrow, Zachary Fritchen, Jason Gold, Joshua Southwick and Jay Simonson.
Photos by Adam Porth