Article by Mike Williams. Updated 9:35 PM 4/18/2012.
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Thirty-one players competed in the Statesville Skewer #3, held 4/14/2012 at Shiloh United Methodist Church in Statesville NC. This (barely) broke our previous record of 30 at Skewer #1 in January 2010.
Despite the record attendance, oddly this was the first time Skewer history that we did not attract a master. However we did have one expert, five Class A players, and three Class B players in the Open section. The Silver and Bronze sections each boasted 11 players. Many games went down to the wire, in every section and in nearly all of the rounds.
As always at a Statesville tournament we awarded a number of free door prizes at the start of Round 1: chess bag-tags, a scorebook, a magnetic chess set, and one lucky winner of $10 cash. Free coffee, juice and soft drinks were provided throughout the tournament. The pizza delivery plan for lunch, unfortunately, was a FAIL due to a misunderstanding by the pizza shop, who mistakenly thought our order was to be delivered on Sunday, despite clear instructions to the contrary. Although the pizza arrived late and the afternoon rounds were delayed a bit, fortunately everyone took this minor setback in stride and there was no mutiny. (However, for the next Skewer I think we may do sub sandwiches instead of pizza!)
Open Section
Matthew Green won clear first place in the Open Section ($75), with 3 wins and a final-round draw to score 3.5/4. Second place in the Open ($30) went to Patrick McCartney who scored 3.0/4 and whose only loss was to Green in the third round in a rook endgame with severe time pressure for both players. The complete list of Open section winners:
- 1st place: Matthew Green (3.5, $75)
- 2nd place: Patrick McCartney, (3.0, $30)
- Top U2000: Eric Singer, (2.5, $40)
- Top U1800 (tie): DJ Cremisi, (1.5, $20)
- Top U1800 (tie): John Retarides, (1.5, $20)
Round 2 action. In the foreground: Patrick McCartney (L) vs. Will Mahan (R).
Background: Scott Baldwin (L) vs. Matthew Green (R).
Open Section champion: Matthew Green
Silver (Under 1600) Section
Our winner in the Silver section was Shawn Spencer with 3.5/4 ($95). This makes a repeat for Shawn, who also won his section at the previous Skewer. Josiah Pierce won 2nd place ($40). Silver section winners:
- 1st place: Shawn Spencer (3.5, $95)
- 2nd place: Josiah Pierce (2.5, $40)
- Top U1400: Juan Sierra (3.0, $45)
- Top U1200: Sahn Kiger (3.0, $45)
Shawn Spencer (L) takes on Stephen Haas (R) in Round 1 action.
Silver Section champion: Shawn Spencer
Bronze (Under 1000) Section
Carson Cook was the champion of the Bronze section, winning the first place trophy with a score of 3.5/4. His final-round victory over second place winner Maeve Kiger was an epic battle that had everyone crowding around to watch the finish! Bronze section winners:
- 1st place: Carson Cook (3.5/4)
- 2nd place: Maeve Kiger (3.0/4)
- 3rd place: Sanjit Tatavarthy (3.0/4)
- 4th place: Rishab Patil (3.0/4)
- Top Under 700: Joel Marquez (2.0/4)
- Top Under 400: Matthew Williams (1.0/4)
- Top Unrated: Caleb Fountain (2.0/4)
- Honorable mentions: RJ Raynoe (2.0/4), Noah Brookshire (2.0/4), Dawson Williams (1.5/4), and Paige Cook (1.0/4)
Bronze section winners show off their trophies!
From left: Caleb Fountain, Noah Brookshire, Matthew Williams, Carson Cook, Joel Marquez,
Maeve Kiger, Rishab Patil, Paige Cook, Sanjit Tatavarthy, Dawson Williams.
(Not pictured: RJ Raynoe)
Maeve Kiger (L) vs. Carson Cook (R) for all the marbles in their final round game.
THANK YOU to everyone who played in the Statesville Skewer #3. Without your support, this tournament series would not be possible. I hope to see all of you again sometime soon at our next Statesville tourney!