The Wellsburg Open - Part 3

After my second round game, I enjoyed a 20 minute break as the remaining games finished.  Soon, I was fired up and ready to go for the 3rd round.  Pairings were relatively easy this time, especially with printer problems resolved.  

In the photo above, players review games in the skittles room after the second round.  The only players in the Reserve section with perfect scores at this point were matched against each other for the third round: Ben Darr played Seth Derby, and Steve Jacobs played Daniel Carson.  Ben and Daniel both won their games and would meet for the Reserve championship in round 4.

The Wellsburg Open - Part 2

Saturday morning began early as we loaded our tournament supplies into the van, and arrived at the church by 7 A.M.  Pastor Mark of Wellsburg Reformed helped us set up the tables, and my family set up the concessions stand they provided.  Mayor Daggs of the neighboring town of Ackley had kindly loaned me extra tables for the skittles rooms. 

 

Hank Anzis arrived at about 7:30 with Seth, an aspiring player from the Marshalltown chess club.  Registration began at 8:15.  Several players who had not pre-registered showed up on site, so that in total, there were 35 competitors.

Searching for...Wellsburg? - Part 1

I've attended chess tournaments throughout Iowa for nearly half my life, and have enjoyed them all.  This past weekend, however, was a first for me. I got to see a chess tournament first hand from a director's point of view as I organized the Wellsburg Open.  

Early this year I decided on and rented the venue, Wellsburg Reformed Church, and announced the tournament.  About two weeks before the tournament, a very small trickle of pre-registrants began.  Most players waited till the week of the tournament to register; by the day of the tournament there were 26 players signed up.  One thing I will consider if I run another event is adding online registration, so players can see a list of other participants.

Profoundly Loved & A Good Fence

I'd like to take a moment to thank Moriah Peters from Home on the Erie Canal for nominating me for the Profoundly Loved tag.  Below are Moriah's questions and my answers.    

Follow Jesus

Not long ago, I was evaluating my performance so far in life.  I'm a competitive person, but I usually have sense enough to compete against myself by topping past goals and checking off to-do lists.

  For a moment though, I started to think about where I stand compared with the rest of the world.  

Liebster Award from Kelpie

I'd like to take a moment to thank  Kelpie from Created by the Created for nominating me for the Liebster Award.  The Liebster Award is a way of learning more about fellow bloggers by asking them questions.  I've answered Kelpie's questions below.

1. What is your favorite (non Biblical) quote?

2015 Iowa Class Championships

The Iowa Class Championships were held on March 21st in conjunction with the state championship event, the Iowa Closed, at the Physicians' Clinic in Cedar Rapids.  This year I played in Class B (U1800).  Papa and Daniel played in Class C (U1600), and my youngest sister played in Class D (U1400).

Before the first round, I played a blitz game with my sister, and then two other (awesome) participants agreed to join us for a few games of bughouse.  Soon pairings were posted.  The time control was 75 minutes per player with a 5 second delay per move.  My first opponent was Nathan Chen (1444).