June 12th was the date that the Idaho Chess Association planned to hold four simultaneous tournaments in each region of the state to declare that over-the-board was board was back in business. Despite the plans, only one region was able to make it happen, the north. The Heck with Covid Tournament was held in the Coeur d'Alene City Park on a beautiful summer day with some incredible chess being played by 18 competitors that included players from Spokane, Kalispell, Moscow, Post Falls, Athol and Coeur d'Alene.
The tournament format was 4 rounds of G/45;d5 played under the canopy of a pavilion for two rounds and then under the blue sky for round 3 and 4. The top rated players to show up included Antonius Raelund (2002), Michael Camberari (2015) and Kenneth Erickson (1852). There were many unrated and scholastic players in the multi-generational event.
Everyone felt they were rusty in the 3 dimensional format, but the games were rather good. They will be posted soon on the ICA Website. Antonius Raelund won 1st place with 4 wins, and Michael Camberari, Kenneth Erickson, and Mr. Luke Zasadny won 2nd place with 3.0 points. Mr. Luke came to the tournament unrated but ended with a provisional rating of 1610. One unrated player played two unrated games against Griffin Herr, who won and Ryder Pimental, who lost against Mr. Richard Sweney.
The next OTB tournament will be on July 10 in the Coeur d'Alene City Park - the Northern Idaho Championship! Register here. Online chess continues this weekend with the Senior Championship and the Scholastic Team Championship. In more Idaho chess news, GM Kayden Troff is visiting Pocatello on June 26 for a lecture and a simultaneous exhibition. Sign up here. The Idaho Closed is set for Boise at the Riverside Hotel over labor day weekend and the Norman Friedman Memorial Tournament (FIDE and US Chess Rated!) is also in Boise at the Riverside Hotel on Oct. 9.
Wednesday nights are ICA Rated Free-for-all Nights at the Coeur d'Alene City Park. You pick your opponent and time control and the matches commence! Contact TD Adam Porth for details through ICA email.
