It was a really solid tournament! Lots of strong players (an 1800, about 3 in the 1700s range, 1500, 1400s) attended. Sixty-two (62) players in total. There were three (3) sections of Beginner, Reserve, and Championship. The bottom two sections were combined (as is done at times to accommodate pairings). Many folks from out of town came to play, from Rio Grande Valley (RGV) to San Antonio area, with one player registered with the USCF in the state of Illinois. It was nice to see some familiar players make an appearance that have been away from the board for a while. There were some other folks that couldn’t attend who reached out to me expressing their great sadness and disappointment at missing it. This was a very smooth tournament and one of the largest non-scholastic tournaments the area has seen in a while.
Check out the tournament results here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202307011102-16572715
We had four (4) players representing the Third Coast Chess Club in attendance (which incidentally is the first, best, only, and most elite and inclusive chess club in Rockport, TX). Yes, it’s true. Lincoln, Walter, Theodore, and myself. We’re hoping more folks can come out to represent in a future tournament!
Not only did I volunteer as the Chief Assistant Tournament Director, but I was also able to compete in an “Extra” event. We had one person withdraw from the tournament, so the player who received a BYE for the 4th round in the Championship section got to play a separate game in an “Extra” section… with me. The unique aspect of the game was that my opponent was visually impaired and had a special board where the dark squares were elevated, the white squares were recessed, and the pieces had pegs that fit into all of the squares. This allowed my opponent to feel the board and pieces. But what about the touch-move rule? Well, it still applies, but only if a piece is pulled from it’s slot. I wasn’t picky and it was a good game. Coming off of a longer time controls tournament a few weeks ago, G30/D5 (game of 30 minutes per side with a delay of 5 seconds every time the clock is hit) didn’t seem very long at all.
I had a hard time “seeing the board,” but I think that’s because I wasn’t planning on playing in the tournament and not because of the board itself. I played black and had a horrible opening, but pulled off the win starting with a rook fork, then grinding my opponent down to the point of resignation when he came under time pressure. Though given enough time, I would have mated.
Check out the photo gallery below! Hope to see you at the next event!
