RESULTS from the 2013 Statesville Open

held June 21-23, 2013

A strong field of 99 players competed in the 2013 Statesville Open chess tournament, held June 21-23 in Statesville NC at the Ramada hotel. In the Open section there was a three-way tie for first place: Peter Suich of Tennessee, along with North Carolinians FM Ron Simpson and Patrick McCartney, each scored 4.0/5 and won $390 for their efforts. Suich won the first place trophy on tiebreaks, as he had defeated FM Simpson in their head-to-head game in Round 3 that ended in a fatal king-hunt.

This year's Open section was the strongest in recent history, with four NMs and two FMs. No master was safe, as evidenced by the the bloodletting that occurred during Round 3 on Saturday night, where all the masters on the top four boards lost their games:

NM Rusty Potter described the Round 3 carnage on the top boards as "a murderer's row" and "the most upsets ... that I've witnessed in nearly 50 years". This further cements the Statesville Open's reputation for providing extremely strong competition at an affordable price!

In the Amateur section, there was a five-way tie for first place: Samuel Thompson, Jordan Joseph, Thomas Jobe, Mike Eberhardinger, and Benjamin Blair all scored 4.0/5. Each won $209. Jobe won the trophy on tiebreak.

In the Booster section, scholastic player Neo Zhu won clear first place with 4.5/5 and took home $535 plus the trophy. There was a four-way tie for second place among Arthur Huey, Andrew Rayle, Sri Uppaluri, and Philip Billings who all scored 4.0/5 and won $127.50.

This year's projected prize fund was $4,300 based on 90 players; but with 99 entries and 6 re-entries we were able to pay $4,600 instead! Also numerous raffle prizes were awarded, and there were three "Money Boards" in Round 4 and again in Round 5. Including these extras, altogether nearly $4,800 in prizes were awarded, making this the richest Statesville Open ever with a payout of 81.5%!

The tournament was organized and directed by Mike Williams, assisted by his wife Andra and sons Dawson & Matthew. Special thanks to Martha, Rocky, and Francisco at the Ramada for ensuring we had everything that we needed and for once again making this event special!

Photos of 2013 Statesville Open section champs:


From left to right: Peter Suich (Open champion), Thomas Jobe (Amateur champion), Neo Zhu (Booster champion)

Slideshow from The 2013 Statesville Open