Pikes Peak Open

Playing White in round 1 is top seed R ANDERSON (2251)

I had a great first day scoring 2.5/3.0 including a 3rd round draw against NM Brian Wall

Brian is a very interesting Chess personality check out the following links:

http://brianwallchess.net/

http://www.walverine.com

http://chessville.com/Wall/index.htm

Wijetunge,I (1810) - Wall,B (2207) [A40]
Pikes Peak Open (3), 01.08.2009

1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 f6 3.c4 e5 4.d5 Nce7 5.e4 Ng6 6.Nc3 Bc5 7.Na4 Bb4+ 8.Nd2 Nh6 9.a3 Be7 10.g3 f5 11.Bg2 0-0 12.0-0 f4 13.Nf3 d6 14.Qd3 Bd7 15.Nc3 Qc8 16.Ne2 Bh3 17.Bd2 Rf7 18.Kh1 Qd7 19.Bxh3 Qxh3 20.Nfg1 Qd7 21.b4 Raf8 22.gxf4 exf4 23.Qh3 Qa4 24.Rac1 Bf6 25.Bc3 Qxa3 26.Ra1 Qb3 27.Bxf6 Qxc4 28.Bd4 [28.Bg5 Qxe4+ 29.Qf3 Qxb4 30.Bxh6 Ne5 31.Qc3 Qxc3 32.Nxc3 gxh6 33.Rxa7] 28...f3 29.Rfc1 Qxb4 30.Rab1 Qa4 31.Ra1 Qb4 32.Rab1 ½-½

Round 4 - Win by forfeit

Round 5
R ANDERSON #4 in Colorado (2251) vs me
Tied for first playing on board 1 in the last round, it doesn't get much better than that! I played a great game to reach this position with Black to play. I preferred Black here, but failed to see the danger associated with the attack on e6 after I played ...Na5 and White plays Bd7. I should have played ...Nb8 or ...Bd8.

USCF Results

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Pikes Peak Open History
2009 34 R ANDERSON,J EVANS
2008 28 R ANDERSON
2007 30 R ANDERSON,B WALL,J HAMBLIN,S MACMILLAN
2006 27 I BARLAY,P ANDERSON

Waukesha CC Round Robin

The tournament has been rated : Click here
First three rounds : Click here

Format : G/90 Double RR. 8 six person sections.

Location : Waukesha Chess Club

There are 48 players, making this the most attended tournament at the WCC.

Click here for schedule

Round 3
Cardenas widthraws. Since he has played less than half his games, results against him will not count toward section totals. The first three rounds have been rated, since Cardenas' member ship was to expire before the tournament ends. Click here for those results.

Round 1. (June 10)
James Coons ended Jake Kohlenberg's 15 game unbeaten streak.

Click here for the game.

This was Coons 7th straight win, but he lost the next day to Jerry Zhou at the SWCC.

	Player	Rating	1	1	2	2	3	3	4	4	--	--	6	6	Total
1	W. Williams	2200	**	**	.5	.5	1	0	0	1	--	--	.5	1	4.5
2	D. Paitrick	2007	.5	.5	**	**	.5	.5	1	U	--	--	1	1	5.0
3	J. Kohlenberg	1993	0	1	.5	.5	**	**	1	1	--	--	0	.5	4.5
4	J. Veech	1972	1	0	0	U	0	0	**	**	--	--	1	U	2.0
6	J. Coons	1842	.5	0	0	0	1	.5	0	U	--	--	**	**	2.0
	Player	Rating	1	1	2	2	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	6	Total
1	J. Nickell	1755	**	**	0	0	0		0	0	.5		.5	0	1.0
2	R. Jayne	1748	1	1	**	**	1	.5	0	0	1				4.5
3	S. Garvin	1739	1		0	.5	**	**	0	1	0	.5	.5	1	4.5
4	A. Krause	1724	1	1	1	1	1	0	**	**	0	0	.5	1	6.5
5	T. Schneider	1714	.5		0		1	.5	1	1	**	**	.5	.5	5.0
6	T. Zimmermann	1676	.5	1			.5	0	.5	0	.5	.5	**	**	3.5

Chess in Texas

After leaving Wisconsin I played in the San Antonio City Championship and had a pretty good result. After that it has been all down hill. I usually don't play rated games with a time control faster than G/60, but since I did not have much options in Corpus Christi decided to play in 3 such events which brought my rating down from 1852 to 1821. (I am going to stick to G/60 of slower!)

I was looking forward to the Houston Open with a time control of G/120 to recover some pride, but it was not to be!

I played round 1 of the 3 day schedule and had the following position as Black.
Some times you lose because you do not see tactics, other time you lose because you see tactics that are not there. Can you guess Black's losing move. (Answer in comments)

I decided to re-enter the 2-day event and had 1.5/2.0 before I got to the following position with Black to play in round 3 . Here I had to make a decision:
a) ...Rxa4 and after Rb4 play Ra7
b) ...Rxa4 and give up the b pawn and activate the rook behind Whit's b pawn
c) ...Rb5 and go for the pawn endgame

I thought that all the options would lead to a draw and chose option c, but managed to lose. The reason I lost was because I did not play b6 to cut off the White king.

That loss was hard to take. In round 4 I some how managed to draw a position that evaluated to +4.5! (I was white)

I had the following position in round 5 after the moves ...Bc2 and Rf1.
I played ...h6, allowing White to play e4 and trap my Bishop. Although I could have complicated matters with ...Rfd8, I did not find that move during the game & lost.

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I met fellow blogger Donnie from Liquid egg product who tied for 1st in the U1600 section. We played a few blitz games after the event.

My next tournament will be the Pike's Peak Open in Colorado Aug 1-2. That will be on our 2009 road trip.

Houston Open History
2009..153..JACEK STOPA
2008...94..KIRILL KUDERINOV
2007..156..AMON SIMUTOWE
2006..123..DANIEL FERNANDEZ

World Open : Wisconsin's Alex Gianos-Steinberg wins $14,000 Alex Responds (see comments)

Alex won clear first with 8.0/9.0 ! in the U2000 section.

He is also Wisconsin's newest expert!

Who is Alex Gianos-Steinberg?

All I know about Alex is his MSA record at uscf. After his first tournament at the WCC in 2001, he has only played in the Chicago Open until now, with very good results.

2002 U1400 Tie for 26th
2003 U1400 Tie for 4th
2004 U1600 Tie for 22nd
2005 U1600 Clear 1st $5000
2006 U1800 Tie for 8th
2008 U1900 Clear 1st $5000

San Antonio City Cahmpionship 2009 June 20, 21

San Antonio City Championship

48 players
1 Master
6 Experts
10 A-players

S ANDERSON & G STANLEY tie for first with 4.5/5.0

USCF Results

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I finished with 3.5/5.0 I lost to the top seed NM Selby Anderson in round 2 & took a last round bye.
I thought that Black could hold this ending. Although White can create a passed pawn in the middle of the board, I thought that Black had enough resources to defend. I played ..Ng5 to go into a Bishop vs Knight ending. But I think that was was a mistake.

I went over the position with an Expert and he suggested ...a5.

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History (year/players/winner(s))
2009 48 S ANDERSON, G STANLEY
2008 51 E MALAZARTE
2007 54 D SUTHERLAND, G STANLEY, A SMITH
2006 70 P YEH, J HYLTIN, A GUERRA

Waukesha CC 4 Round G/90

36 Players

USCF Results

Final cross table

Rnd 4
1-0 Coons(3.0) vs Krause(3.0)
1-0 Kohlenberg(2.5) vs Reese(3.0)
1-0 Williams(2.0) vs Smith(2.5)
1-0 Wijetunge(2.0) vs Zimmermann (2.0)

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My last game (at least for a while) in WI was memorable since I got to play Rc8 in the following position:

Black just attacked my knight on f3, instead of doing something about it, I sacAfter Rc8

Wjetunge(1848) vs Zimmermann(1676) June 3, 2009
1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 Nf6 3.Nf3 e6 4.e3 Be7 5.Bd3 0-0 6.0-0 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.Nbd2 Bb7 9.c3 Nbd7 10.Rc1 c5 11.Re1 Rc8 12.Bb1 Re8 13.Qc2 b5 14.Ne5 Nf8 15.Ndf3 cxd4 16.exd4 b4 17.Qb3 a5 18.a3 Ba8 19.cxb4 Qb6 20.b5 g5 21.Bg3 Nh5 [21...g4 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Bh4 gxf3 24.Qxf3] 22.a4 Nxg3 23.hxg3 f6 24.Ng6 Rxc1 25.Rxc1 g4 26.Rc8 [26.Qe3 gxf3 27.Qxh6] 26...Rxc8 27.Nxe7+ Kg7 28.Nxc8 Qc7 29.Qc2 Qxc2 30.Bxc2 gxf3 31.gxf3 Nd7 32.Kf1 e5 33.Bf5 Nf8 34.Ke2 e4 35.Ke3 Kf7 36.fxe4 dxe4 37.Bxe4 Bxe4 38.Kxe4 Nd7 39.Kd5 Ke8 40.Kc6 Kd8 41.Nb6 Nf8 42.d5 Ng6 43.Nc4 f5 44.b6 Kc8 45.Nd6+ Kb8 46.Nxf5 Ne5+ 47.Kb5 Nd3 48.d6 Ne5 49.Nxh6 Kb7 50.b4 axb4 51.Kxb4 Kxb6 52.a5+ Kc6 53.f4 Nd3+ 54.Kc3 Nc5 55.Nf5 Nd7 56.Kc4 Nf6 57.Kd4 Nd7 58.g4 Nf8 59.g5 Kb5 60.Ne7 Kxa5 61.f5 Kb5 62.g6 Nd7 63.Nd5

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Rnd 3
Many upsets today!

1-0 A. Krause vs W. Williams
1-0 G. Reese Jr. vs C. McCutchin
0-1 T. Zimmermann vs J. Coons
0-1 Russ Montney vs J. Kohlenberg
1-0 J. Smith vs  S. Garvin
1/2 R. Hayes vs R. Lauzums
0-1 Pranav Kulkarni vs Ivan Wijetunge

Rnd 2 (Reese Jr vs Wijetunge)
I obtained a very good position, but bad time management did me in.Here I played Bd5 and White replied Ne1. Instead the best move for Black is Bxh3

Crosstable here

Waukesha Chess Club

SW Chess Club Quads G/100

There are 6 Quads and a 5 person Swiss
Quad 1

			1	2	3	4
1	John Veech	2040	X	-0-	-1-	-1-
2	Allen Becker	2000	-1-	X	-1-	-0-
3	Daniel Munoz	1854	-0-	-0-	X	.5
4	Ivan Wijetunge	1836	-0-	-1-	.5	X

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Veech vs Wijetunge Rnd 2
I got a chance to play WI newest expert. (so new that he still had the "new expert smell") We played a crazy game with inaccuracies on both sides and pieces flying every where. The following position is right after Veech played Rxh5? I didn't find the winning move f5 here, but played Bc6 which should have lost if White finds the right continuation, but since he did not I still had chances to be slightly ahead or =. But in the end I lost with the clock ticking down.

Postion after Rxh5?

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Wijetunge vs Becker Rnd 1
This is the position after I played Nf3xg5!!

The !! is not because it is the best move (I thought that Bg3 was the best move), it is because sometimes other factors also come in to play. Allen usually spends a long time on the first part of the game leaving him little time for the rest, and this game was no exception. One of the hardest things to do is defend with not much time on the clock. I give up a Knight for 2 pawns. In exchange I get:

• an annoying pin of the f6 knight
• good attacking chances with a possible rook lift with f4 and Rf3
• force Black to play accurately in time trouble

Sydney Chess

*Clicking on images will enlarge them

I had some time to checkout the the local chess scene today.

I first went by Hyde Park in down town Sydney where a lunch time crowd had gathered around the giant chess board. I didn't have time to wait around for a game today, I may get another chance later this week.

There was a spot about the board in today's news paper as well.
I then got a chance to play a few blitz games aginst fellow blogger Chee Tan [tanc (happyhippo) from Lousy at Chess]
Chee took me to the North Sydney Chess club, which is one of the strongest clubs in Australia. The club plays in the auditorium of the North Sydney Leagues Club, which has a casino, gym, restaurants etc. in a beautiful facility.Today the club played a 23 board match against another club (Manly). Below are the strongest members of the team. (Most of them did not play today)I got to play blitz with Eyal Gur, a visitor from Israel, who said that although he does not play in tournaments anymore, was rated 2300 at one time. The score was 4-0 in his favor. I may have had drawing chances in one of them.

Moving to Corpus Christi,Texas etc.

World Youth Championship Qualifiers There are 2 WI juniors : A. Velikanov & B. Luo in the Boys Under 12 category

WI Tour, J.Veech will be in the sole lead after the HCC IX totals have been calculated.

FM A. Betaneli is now the highest rated active WI player at 2325, With Eric Santarius closing in on 2301. Sheldon still holds on to the # 2 spot despite going from 2342 to 2316.

I will be in Sydney Australia April 26-May 12. I plan to stop by the North Sydney Chess Club, and play a game with fellow blogger Lousy at Chess.

I will be re-locating to Corpus Christi, TX in June. The Corpus Christ Chess Club is just starting up.

I also plan to start a chess club and coach Roshan's school team at SMA.

I plan to play in 2 more events in the Midwest: The Chicago Open and the G/90 Spring Swiss at the Waukesha Chess Club.

Hales Corners Challenge IX April 25th, Milwaukee

Rnd. 3 David Jin(1920) vs meI had a bad tournament. This is the position with Black to play. I was very happy with this position. I have a clear plan: minority attack. But in mutual time trouble I lost a drawn rook and pawn ending.

History: number of players (open+reserve) and the winner(s):

HCC IX...04/2009 (56+51=107)AMANOV,YOUNG,SANTARIUS,KOHLENBERG
HCC VIII.10/2008 (33+32=65) TATE,YOUNG,TENNANT,BECKER
HCC VII..04/2008 (22+30=52) BURGESS,TENNANT,PARKER
HCC VI...10/2007 (30+32=62) TENNANT, BREIDER,SANTARIUS
HCC V....04/2007 (40+22=62) TATE,STAMNOV
HCC IV...11/2006 (23+26=49) STAMNOV
HCC III..04/2006 (28+17=45) TENNANT
HCC II...10/2005 (20+18=38) BURGESS,BECKER
HCC I....04/2005 (34+36=70) BETANELI

Most wins:
4 TENNANT
2 TATE,YOUNG,SANTARIUS,BURGESS,STAMNOV,BECKER

Marshall Chess Club - NYC

We spent spring break in NYC and I got a chance to play at the Marshall Chess Club yesterday. It was 4 round G/30 event. It was a very strong event with 45 players. There was a GM, 3 IMs and a FM! along with several other masters and experts.

I was paired against NM Oliver Chernin in the first round. He played the English and we reached the following position with Black to play, but I could not hold in mutual time trouble.
In round 2 I beat 1658 rated 5th grader Lilia Poteat who should be around #30 in the May Top Girls Under 16 list. She became the 2009 KCF All-Girls Nationals Under-12 Champion

I drew 1939 rated Marcus Fenner in round 3.

My 4th round opponent didn't show up! Giving me 2.5/4.0 and a share of the U2000 prize. (Which was a little less than the entry fee since it was a 4-way tie)

I have now played in 20 states.

USCF Cross table here.

Official Marshall Chess Club website here.

Concentrate! Concentrate? Concentrate.

The above is chapter 5 in "Chess for Zebras". I am convinced that lack of concentration has a lot to do with why I lose games.

After a couple of mediocre performances, I had a chance to go 3-1 last night in the Waukesha Chess Club Championship. A win would have given me a nice rating gain. But I lost and it cost me over 30 rating points.

I am Black with the move, and was very happy with my position. I was sure that I could put pressure on the White pawn center, plus I had an overwhelming time advantage.

White's last move was Qg4. My first thought was to play Kh8 to side step any tactical ideas based on Bh6, but since I had ...Bf8, I decided not to take a time out for defence and played ...c5.

But ...c5 is a blunder here as after Bb5! Black must lose the exchange!

Supernationals 2009

Like they say, "you really had to be there". There is nothing quite like being in the midst of over 5000 chess players.

Click here for all the results.

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Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk

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I got to meet Polly from Castling Queen Side

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I played in the 4 rounds G/30 Parents & Friends event on Saturday.

USCF results here.

I don't usually play with rated games faster than G/60, but I had to make an exception. There were 75 players and I was the 9th seed. After winning the first 2 I had the following position in round 3. I am up a pawn, but could not come up with a plan and drew the game. After looking at the position later I came up with ...Nd3 with the idea of doubling rooks.

I was paired against expert Alan Kantor from TN in the last round. I had a great middle game position but we got to the following ending, where the queen-side pawn majority should give me the edge, but with less than 1 minute left on both clocks I managed to lose.
I added Tennessee to the list of States I have played in, to bring the count up to 19.

Waukesha Chess Club Championship

4 Round Swiss, G/90. The Open Section has 20 players, the U-1600 18.
The last round is scheduled for April 8.

CLARK O MCCUTCHIN Wins clear first

USCF results here

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Rnd 2 (March 25) William Williams (2200) vs. me
The obvious move is N g4 when I think that Black has a small edge. For some reason that I can't understand I played f4?? , losing a pawn for nothing.

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Rnd 1 (March 18) S.Dill (1533) vs. me
I had this very unbalanced & interesting position. I have an extra pawn, but my king is stuck in the middle, he has a bishop & I have a knight. It looks like I can make use of the open/half open files first. I was looking forward to a intriguing battle when he blundered with Rxd5.

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Last year's tournament was held as 8 person round robins. Alexander Velikanov & William Williams tied for first with 6-1=0. That was also the section in which I lost all 7 games! Click here for the cross table.

This and that.

Chess is so frustrating.

I was on a 10 game unbeaten streak. My last loss coming on Jan. 25th. But I have lost 2 games in 2 days. The first, I am not too concerned about since it was against a master and I played pretty well. But yesterday's loss to Pokorski (1660) was inexcusable. It's probably one of the worst games I have played.

Click here for the game.
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Supernationals April 3-5

I plan to play in the Parents and friends tournament. This year it is a 4 round G/30 event. In the past its been G/45.

I hope to go to a Kasparov book signing. I wonder how he would react if I ask him to sign this book.
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2009 Wisconsin Tour

Latest standings after 2 events: here

Jr. vs Jr. form the 2009 Waukesha Memorial

This is the 3rd round clash: Nolan Hendrickson vs Alexander Velikanov, with annotations by Nolan.Alexander Velikanov (left) [the #6 rated 11 year old in the nation] vs Nolan Hendrickson [the #86 rated 15 year old in the nation] . Nolan has increased his rating in every tournament he has played in. (Except for one where he finished even)

My round 3 win from the Waukesha Memorial

Please click here.

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Below is my last game againts the same opponent (Jason vs Ivan Jan. 25th 2009)

Black to move after Whites 26th move. A few days before this game I was reading a book where it taked about how the good players can feel it when there is a winning sacrifice. I decided to sac the exchange and played Bxh4,[ instead of that Rb8 and Black is much better because he at least wins the b pawn, since the Knight on h5 is hanging]. Well, that proves that I am not a good player yet!

Flanders, Jason (1628) - Wijetunge,Ivan (1883) [B13]
NEO Neenah 25.01.2009
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 e6 [6...Bg4 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Qa4+ Bd7; 6...Bf5 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qc2 Nxc4] 7.Rc1 Be7 8.a3 a5 [8...0–0 9.b4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 a5 11.b5 Nb8 12.a4 Nd5 13.Nxd5 exd5 14.Bd3 Bb4+ 15.Bd2 Qg5 16.Bxb4 axb4 17.Bf1 Re8+ 18.Ne2 Nd7 19.g3 Nb6 20.Bg2 Nxa4] 9.Nf3 0–0 10.Qc2 Bd7 11.cxd5 exd5 [11...Nxd5 12.Nxd5 exd5 13.Bd3 Bg4 (13...Rc8 14.Qb3 Bg4 15.Qxb7 Rc7 16.Qb6 Bxf3 17.gxf3) 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.Bd3 Bxf3 16.gxf3] 12.Bd3 h6 13.0–0 Rc8 14.Qb3 Bg4 15.Nd2 [15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 d4 17.exf6 Bxf6] 15...Qd7 16.Bb5 Bf5 17.Qa4 Bd8 [17...Ng4 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Qxa5 Ra8] 18.Ne2 Ng4 19.Ng3 Be6 20.Nf3 g5 21.h3 Nxe3 22.fxe3 Qd6 23.Nh5 f6 24.Bxc6 bxc6 25.Qc2 Bf7 26.Qf5 Bxh5?? [26...Rb8 27.g4 Rxb2 28.Rf2 Rb6 29.Rc5 a4 30.Qc2 Re8 31.Re2 Bxh5 32.gxh5 Qg3+; 26...Rc7 27.g4 Re8 28.Rc3] 27.Qxc8 Bxf3 28.Rxf3 Bc7 29.Qf5 Kg7 30.Rcf1 Qh2+ 31.Kf2 1–0

27th Annual Waukesha MemorialFebruary 28

Open Results

4.0 R BRUCH

3.5 J VEECH, J PRENOT, N HENDRICKSON, I WIJETUNGE, J ROMICH

*The main event has been rated, click here

*The blitz event has been rated, click here

The tournament was a huge success with a record 75 players.

Open winner ROBERT M BRUCH getting his travelling trophy from Jim Nickell

On the left is Top seed Alexander Velikanov [the #6 rated 11 year old in the nation] who was upset by Nolan Hendrickson [the #86 rated 15 year old in the nation] in 3rd round.

Last round board 2: On the right is unrated Thomas Irvin who was 3-0 before losing the "Battle of the Shaven heads" to J. Prenot . Looking on from board 1 is Wade Christensen , who lost to the tournament winner Robert Bruch.

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The blitz tournament was a very successful with 20 players. Thanks to Jim Rowe for his help in running this event. The tournament has been rated. Click here.

3 finished with 3-0

A. Velikanov
N. Hendrickson
J. Romich

History
2009 75 R BRUCH
2008 52 M WALLER, J KOHLENBERG, D CARDENAS
2007 47 P FRICANO
2006 38 P FRICANO
2005 42 A VAJA
2004 38 N GLEASON

U.S. Amateur Team - North

The Indiana quartet of "Jimmy Runs Deep" takes the North.

Open results here (tiebreaks here) USCF Results here

Scholastic results here

Blitz results here

Jim analyzing his last round draw with top seed FM Dennis Monokroussos

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Amateur Team Winners

North 144 Players, 34 Teams
"Jimmy Runs Deep"
2219 JIM H DEAN
2132 GARRETT L SMITH
2083 DREW D HOLLINBERGER
1942 DANIEL GATER

South 121 Players, ~29 Teams
"My girl is pissed!"
2485 Bruci Lopez
2210 Ernesto Alvarez
2069 Gilberto Luna II
2009 Makaio W Krienke

East 1201 Players, 283 Teams
"Palin Gambit: I can see checkmate"
2320 Paul Mac Intyre
2210 Brian Hulse
2189 Libardo Rueda
2052 Alan Price

West 335 Players, ~79 Teams
"ACA BEASTS!"
2412 John Daniel Bryant
2147 Michael Yee
2158 Vincent Huang
2049 Santy Wong

White to play and win

This is my round 2 game from the UW Winter Open See comments for the answer