DCC 2023 Spring Classic Report

... yet here she is, holding her own against strong, experienced, and much higher rated players.

The inaugural Denver Chess Club Spring Classic tournament was greeted by an excellent registration of 90 players. In addition to occasional one day tournaments, the DCC will now have four major weekend tournaments yearly - This DCC Spring Classic in May, the DCC Tribute to Martin Luther King in January, the DCC Denver Open in July, and the DCC Fall Classic in October - for chess players to participate in for their enjoyment, and the opportunity to put their hours of studying chess to the test. Of course, there is also the chance to be rewarded by winning substantial DCC tournament prize money.     

This is a photo from the outstanding 2022 Denver Open, where GM Jesse Kraai was a special guest.

Next up is the 2023 DCC Denver Open, scheduled for July 22-24.  In my opinion, our last several Denver Open tournaments have put Denver on the national chess tournament map. We are not at the level of other big city tournaments such as the Chicago Open or the Philadelphia World Open, but with a sponsorship of some kind, I believe the Denver Open could rise to that level. After all - with great weather, all 4 major sports teams, a world renown art museum, and easy access to Rocky Mountain recreation - Denver is an attractive destination city. 

Tim Brennan is at the board and ready to play...

So then, on to who won what at the 1st DCC Spring Classic. I really liked how the prize money payout was structured at this DCC tournament, and would like to see it adapted for all DCC weekend tournaments. There is no question that everyone, regardless of their USCF rating, had a chance to win significant prize money. Fully 25 players won a share of the - can I say enormous - 4500 dollar prize fund.   

...and a  crowd has gathered for the finale of Mr. Brennan's game against Sara Herman. Ted Doykos, standing on the left.

In the Championship section, Daniel Herman continued his winning ways by taking clear 1st place with 4.5 points. Only giving up a last round draw to his sister, Sara, when their last round pairing was forced, to their credit they played a real game and not a McConnell brothers 3 moves and call it a draw game :-) Mr. Herman takes home 600 dollars for his outstanding play. 

Iris Li with the black pieces against Daniel Herman. Keith Oxman has White against Richard Shtivelband on the other board. 

Richard Shtivelband, Sara Herman, and rising star, Iris Li share the combined 2nd, 3rd and U2200 place prize. Each player ended up with 3.5 points and they each won 266 dollars and 67 cents. I'm guessing Iris is still in grade school, and yet here she is, holding her own against strong, experienced, and much higher rated players. She held NM Shtivelband to a draw, and won against near Expert strength, Keith Oxman, and Earle Wikle. 

Will Osborne and Caleb Pena share the combined 2nd U2200 and 1st U2000 prize of 300 dollars. Mr. Osborne had a big round 2 upset win over Expert Juan Brenes. The 2nd U2000 prize of 100 dollars was shared by Mr. Oxman, and Grayson Manuel, another youngster who is serious about his game and improving fast. 

Ted Doykos (b) vs. Luis Jimenez (w) I think it is Rocco Degeest (b) on the other board.

In the U1800 section, I was glad to see DCC Treasurer, Luis Jimenez share 1st place with Rocco Degeest, and Abhiram Palle, two kids that can already play better than I ever have. (meaning no offence, I call anyone under 20 years old a kid) :-) They each finished with 4 points and share the combined 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize of 900 dollars.  Jacob Zirin ruled the U1600 section, ending up with an unmatched perfect 5-0 score that won 350 dollars. Mark Weston, Seth Lichtenstein, and Tyler Poole each won 116 dollars and 67 cents with final scores of 3.5 points. 

Jacob Zirin in the colorful shirt is playing Tyler Poole.

The U1400 section was won by DCC TD, Weston Taylor. He finished with a near perfect 4.5 points and won 300 dollars. Micah Pena took 2nd place with 4 points and won 200 dollars, and Audrey Li won 100 dollars with 3.5 points. Each half point difference in these final scores was 100 dollars. I remember a GM saying something like, "in a tournament, winning is good, but it is more important not to lose."

I believe Andy Hoang is the gentleman with the Black pieces and well combed hair in the center of this photo. 

Paragraph after paragraph, the list of prize winners continues. In the U1200 section, Mason Brady and Vijaya Ramesh tied for 1st place with 4 points and they won 200 dollars. Then Andy Hoang, Tanay Kataru, Johnathan Lowell, and Evan Holnquist all ended up with 3.5 points and they share the 3rd place prize of 100 dollars.  Except for round 2, Mr. Lowell's points were all from upsetting higher rated players. Mr. Holmquist had big upset wins in rounds 4 and 5 to earn his share of the prize money. 

The youngster is taking one of Cori Iannaggi's pieces. The nerve of some kids :-)

As always a big THANK YOU to all the players who are participating in DCC tournaments. We are also very appreciative of Cori Iannaggi and the Aurora Library system for their most welcome support of DCC tournaments. Cori is moving to Ohio and she will be missed by the DCC, and I'm sure by the Aurora libraries. Many thanks for all you did for us, Cori. In addition, Ms. Iannaggi, took several of the photos used in this report. Shirley Herman's photos were also used. 

Many thanks also to assistant TD Peter Barlay, who along with Earle Wikle, directed the tournament in fine fashion.

1) Eric Wolcott vs. Weston Taylor. Round 5. In this position, White has just blocked the Queen check with 40. Qf5-f2. Why was that a bad move? 

2) Andrew Robichaud vs. Eric Wolcott. Round 4. I chose this position after 35...Bb7xg2, just because it looks cool :-) Mr. Wolcott next wins the c2 pawn, and with what I would say was dubious technique, goes on to win the game. 

3) Wyatt Wear vs. Andrew Robichaud. Round 5. in this position after 14...O-O White played the classic sacrifice 15. Bxh7 and a chaotic game ensues. Note: no result is given, but it was recorded as Mr. Wear winning after 47. f6-f7

4) Audrey Li vs. Andrew Robichaud  Round 1. Final position. A well played game from both sides. 

5) Andrew Robichaud vs. Tom Needham Round 2. After 19. Nc3-d5, attacking the Queen, Mr. Needham goes pawn grabbing with 19...Qxb2 and after 20 Ra1-b1 20...Qxa2. Let's just say Mr. Robichaud gets sufficient compensation for the pawns :-)

6) To bolster this games section, I went back in time and selected a few Brian Wall games from his nearly 2800 games that have been posted to DCC Games. In this game against John Brezina, Mr. Wall modestly calls himself, "Super GM Brian Wall, world's foremost Fork Trick specialist, Exchange Sac Pawn Wave Guy". Here is the position that justifies that title in Brian's mind :-) 

7) In this game against Sullivan McConnell, Super GM Brian Wall gives himself another title: "World's Greatest Ponziani Expert". Sullivan's 23...h5 was given a ?? by the Super GM who then awards himself a !! for the remainder of his moves :-)

8) Super GM Brian Wall vs. Griffin McConnell. Brian is well known for mentoring young rising Colorado chess stars. I doubt if either of the McConnell brothers would be as good as they are today without first being schooled by Mr. Wall. In this position after 31...Rc8-c7 what move forces Griffin to resign?

9) Super GM Brian Wall vs. Daniel Herman. Mr. Herman is another young player who has come a long way. Surpassing the USCF benchmark 2200 rating. After 13. Bb5+!! (Brian is prone to the overuse of exclamation marks) :-) Black played 13...Nf6-d7 and immediately resigned. Why? 

10) Super GM Brian Wall vs. Turpana Molina  Turpana is an adult, but his game has also greatly improved since this game was played in 2021. Going from USCF 1628 then, to USCF 1940 now.  Here after 40. Rf1-c1 he is facing an overwhelming Brian Wall attack. Could you defend this "only a pawn down" position? Neither could Mr. Molina :-)

Thanks again to all,

J.C. MacNeil