The impromptu unrated tournament at this week’s meeting, with a free clock to the victor, was a great success.  We had 12 participants and nearly 20 chess in total players attend.  One of the folks who stopped by was in town from Cleveland!  It’s always fun to give out of town chess players a place to keep their skills fresh.

The Quest for the Clock themed event was won by Life Master, Bill Melvin, but not without a fight from a strong pool of players.

Going into Round 4, Joel Friedman was a clear frontrunner with 3 points after (Bill Melvin and Paul Mulqueen had drawn each other in round 3), while Bill and Paul were tied for 2nd with 2.5.  After the round, both Bill and Paul emerged victorious, resulting in a two-way tie for first place.

It was determined beforehand that any tie for the clock would result in a playoff.  This took place in the form of 2 consecutive, G5;0 delay games where each person would have the opportunity to play both colors.  They were tense games that were made even more tense by the gathering of spectators interested in the final outcome that surrounded the players.  Bill solidified his results with a win with each color.

The unsung hero of the evening was Chris Hayes, our newest Board Member at Large and Tournament Director in Training.  What started out as a plan to train-up on the tournament pairing software with a mini tournament of 4-6 participants ended in a 4 round, fast-paced 12 player tournament with a playoff!  She did a great job and we are extremely grateful for her continued support.

Below are the official results (click to view):

Next week’s meeting is planned to be a rated blitz tournament with a unique time control.  Stay tuned for the registration announcement that will be sent out this Wednesday (7/25) or Thursday (7/26)!

The Huntsville Chess Club