DCC April 2025 Report

It was a unanimous DCC board decision.  

The heading photo is by Shirley Herman, playing around with AI. Either that, or Daniel Herman has a really big pet cat. Grayson Manuel is probably wishing he had brought his dog :-)

It is with regret, but also with some relief, that this is the last DCC tournament report that I will write. Mainly because I'm old and tired, but also because the DCC Board has inexplicably decided to discontinue the DCC tour. In my opinion, the DCC Tour was one of the things that set the DCC apart from other chess clubs. By withholding 10 cents from each Tuesday and Thursday night entry fee, and 25 cents from each DCC weekend tournament entry fee, a substantial year end prize fund was generated. Then doled out to the top three players in each USCF rating class at the end of the year. A reward for the players who played often and played well. It gave players something to strive for and to brag about. Not to mention, free money to spend. To me, any money won over an entry fee is free money.

The 2024 DCC Tour total was 3280 dollars and 50 cents. I'm sure it would have been the same or better this year. Dean Clow's caissachess software automatically tabulated the year end DCC Tour point totals and the prize winners. So, it's not like someone had to do the calculations by hand. Also, why not at least let the 2025 Tour run till the end of the year? And that will be enough sour grapes from me. It was a unanimous DCC board decision.  

I am truly grateful for all the chess players who have clicked on DCC News over the years. Hopefully, Ben DeGuire can find the time to include the monthly DCC prize winners in his monthly DeGuire's Digest articles. I'm also hoping Chris Peterson can work in a monthly DCC Best Game in between his medical school studies and exams.  So with all that said, on to who won what in the April DCC Tuesday and Thursday night tournaments. 

Tuesday night attendance is good and getting better.

This month was the annual DCC Championship tournament. Each champion receives a trophy along with a 20 dollar bonus prize, in addition to their 1st place prize money. In the Tuesday night Premier section, Daniel Herman became the 2025 DCC Premier Champion when he won his last round game against Rhett Langseth. Finishing with 4.5 points, and winning 163 dollars and 39 cents. Rising star Grayson Manuel only lost to Mr. Herman to end up with 4 points, and he won the 2nd place prize of 98 dollars and 3 cents. Mr. Langseth took home the 3rd place prize of 65 dollars and 36 cents with 3.5 points. 

Before the round starts, players warm up with some analysis and problem solving. 

Forrest Lundstrom (1844) won the 30 dollar Premier 1st Upset Prize with his Round 1 win against Eamon Montgomery (2273) The 20 dollar 2nd Upset Prize was won by Vedant Margle (1837) when he won his Round 1 game against none other than Richard Shtivelband (2205) Then in Round 2, Vedant also won against soon to be a USCF Master, Rhett Langseth. 

Grayson Manuel waiting for his opponent's next move.

In the Tuesday night U1900 section, after taking a 1st round bye, John Schoenke won four straight to finish in 1st place and win 157 dollars and 85 cents, in addition to becoming the DCC U1900 Champion. Karthikeya Kannan won the 2nd place prize 94 dollars and 71 cents with 4 points, which included a 170 rating point difference win against Kristopher Zelkin. Kaleth Torrens-Martin and Mr. Zelkin finished with 3.5 points and they share the 3rd place prize of 69 dollars and 14 cents. 

The 30 dollar U1900 1st Upset Prize was won by Shankar Parasuram (1532) in Round 3 when he won against Jeff Nohrden (1754). Thursday night TD, Weston Taylor (1329), won the 20 dollar 2nd Upset Prize when he beat long time DCC player Randolph Schine (1519) in Round 3. Weston also held another long time DCC player, Bill O'Neil (1600), to a draw in Round 2. 

Casual players are always welcome at the DCC.

There was a three way tie for 1st place in the Tuesday night U1500 section. Turan Karthikeyan, Bhaskar Rajagopal, and Tyler Hicks-Wright all ended up with 3 points, and they share the combined 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize of 315 dollars and 69 cents. Tyler finished with three upset wins. Thus, not only winning money but also plenty of USCF rating points. I guess on tie breaks, Turan will be the DCC U1500 Champion. The 30 dollar U1500 1st Upset Prize was won by Anay Gupta (801) in Round 4 when he took the full point from Gera Cruz (993). Mr. Cruz, in turn, won the 20 dollar 2nd Upset Prize when he held Mr. Rajagopal (1359) to a draw in Round 2. 

The DCC Thursday night tournament in progress. 

In the Thursday Night Premier section, two USCF Masters, Brian Wall and Daniel Herman, were joined by a USCF Class B player, Enrico Moss, In a three way tie for 1st place, they all finished with 3 points. Enrico played only one lower rated player. The rating difference in his other games totaled up to 515 points. Impressive play from Mr. Moss, I'd say. Each player won 69 dollars and 60 cents, and Enrico also won the 20 dollar Premier Upset Prize by holding Mr. Herman to a draw in Round 1.  Michael Silberberg won the Premier U1900 prize of 36 dollars and 32 cents. 

Daniel Herman {b) vs. Mr. Colorado Chess, Brian Wall {w) Photo by Shirley Herman

In the Thursday night U1600 and Unrated section, the DCC Treasurer, Niall Case, and Jonah Freed both won 84 dollars and 75 cents with 3.5 points. Lucas Vasquez won the 3rd place prize of 36 dollars and 32 cents with 3 points. Viaan Khandelwal and Cameron McCanless both ended up with 2.5 points, and they share the U1300 prize, with each player winning 18 dollars and 16 cents. The 20 dollar U1600 Upset prize was won by Chuck Price (364) for his Round 3 win against Glen Holguin (1108).

Niall Case (w) vs. Viaan Khandelwal (b) 

Games Section

1) Rhett Langseth vs. Brian Wall. Thursday. Round 3. Brian says, " My move 17 ... Bb7?  weirdly gave Rhett a repetition if he wanted it with 18 Bf4   Bd6  19  Bg5  Be7 but that wasn't good enough for Rhett.18 Bf4  Qc6  19  Rxe7  Qxf3  20 Qxf3  Bxf3   21 Rxa7  Ra8 is about equal." Commenting on another game against Mr. Langseth, Brian says, "You can always expect maximum resistance." - "One might describe his style as a maddening mind fuck" - "It's Rhett's playground no matter what you try."