First of all, on behalf of the Idaho chess community, please join me in thanking Joyce Friedman for generously supporting the Idaho Chess Association! Second, for those of you who never had the opportunity to meet Norman Friedman, please take the time to read the article about his amazing life on the ICA website.
Now let’s get down to brass tacks. In the Blitz, we had 13 players from three states: Idaho, California and Washington. Few Idaho players will be surprised that James Wei prevailed. Blitz is his thing. He’s just really good at it. James beat out Pranav Sairam from California on tie breaks for first. Finn Belew came in third. He’s a newcomer on the podium.
The Classic had almost the same demographics as the Blitz – players from Idaho, California and Washinton. There was, however, one difference. The Classic had a female player from Seattle – Karen Schmidt. Welcome aboard Karen! We hope to see you in future events. Let’s get back to business. There was a big surprise in the Classic. An out-of-towner beat all the local boys! Arun Dixit, from California, took a clean first place. Alex Machin got second on tie breaks and James Wei came in third. James is the only player to get on the podium in both tournaments. Way to go James!
All in all, “The Friedman” was a great tournament that attracted a lot of skilled players. Details can be found below. Keep checking the ICA’s home page on Chess.com because we’re planning another event on October 24.
