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TACOMA CHESS TIMES  by Gary Dorfner

November 2009

On Sunday Sept. 20th from 12:00-3:00 PM, the Mega-Chess event was held on The Plaza at 17th and Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. The pieces were household appliances attached to inverted buckets. There was also a large clock with two people inside. There were two teams of players. One player from each team would walk out onto the giant board and make a move. They were playing over the "Game of the Century" between Bobby Fischer and Donald Byrne. Eight people were white and eight were black. There was also a guy acting as the TD. After this exhibition was finished, Steve Buck and Gary Dorfner were invited to play each other. Each of them had a team of eight players to make the moves for them. Steve won the match. The people who were the team players also made the pieces. The men also had help from their wives. There were also two men who acted as commentators. This event was co-sponsored by Grandmasters of Guerilla Art and the Tacoma Chess Club. The organizers hope to do this event again next year.

The club had its annual Puyallup Fair booth on Sept. 17, 20 and 21. The chairman was Gary Dorfner. The TCC would like to thank those who helped to staff the booth. They were: Bill Rogers, Rich and Karen Sewell, Jeff Lowther, Paul and Vivi Bartron, David Wight, Daniel Reisinger and Tony McCarthy. A number of games were played, information sheets handed out and questions answered.

September 2009

• Last month we did something new (“CHESS IN THE PARK”) at Wrights Park. Members Steve Buck, Paul and Vivi Bartron, David Wight, Gary Dorfner and Geo. Cridell set up boards and sets and then took turns playing anyone who wanted to play a game and handed out club flyers, newsletters and Kids Night flyers as well as NWC magazines. 7 adults and 3 kids for a total of 10 players showed up for a few games of chess. We hope to do this again next year.
• The TCC will be working with the Boys and Girls Clubs on chess related projects. More on this next issue.
• The TCC will also be working with the Tacoma Public Libraries. They are starting chess club activities at two of their libraries: the main library on 11th and Tacoma Ave. and the Wheelock library at 3722 N. 26th St. The hours are 3:30-5:00 pm two Wed. afternoons at the main library and one Thursday afternoon at the Wheelock library. The dates at the main library are: Sept. 9, 23, Oct. 7, 28, Nov. 10, 24, Dec. 16. Wheelock Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 19, Dec. 17. Two TCC volunteers are need to help out on each of these dates. If you can help out please contact Gary at (253) 535-2536 or e-mail ggarychess@aol.com.
• Nov. 14 is National Gaming Day. There will be a chess tournament at the main library that day. Details in the next newsletter. Chess at the libraries started on 9/23rd. Five kids showed up for chess at the main library. At Wheelock one adult player was there for chess. No kids. These were only the 1st two days for this event. We will re-evaluate this program at the end of the year to see how it has done up to that time. You are all welcome to come and play at Wheelock but the program at the main library is only open to kids.
• We will have our booth at the Puyallup Fair again this year. We will be in the Education Bldg. which is located just inside the Gold Gate at 9th and Meridian St.
• We will also be building up the club library, adding books, CD’s and DVD’s. We also have a computer and a external hard drive loaded with various chess games, books etc. If you have any chess books, CD’s or DVD’s you would like to donate to the club please feel free to do so. Those who donate will get $5.00 off of their dues when they renew or take out a new membership.
• Grand Prix Report: As of Sept. 2009 only three TCC members are on the grand prix list. They are: Masters, Mike MacGregor 22.5, Experts Paul Bartron 55.5 and Class B Stephen Buck 65. We used to have five or six members on this list at one time, now there are only three, the same three who have been on there each month. The members are not supporting the weekend tournaments, Why!
• Tournament reports: Te Evergreen Open was held at the club on July 12-13. There were 12 players in all. The winners were: 1st Howard Chen 4.5 $39.00, 1st Group #1 Mike MacGregor 3.5 $23.00, 1st Group #2 Michael Wang 3.0 $22.00, 1st Group #3 Nevin Ramanujan 2.0 $20.00.
• The Tacoma City Championship was held at the club on Friday nights in June and July. There were 10 players in all. The winners were: 1st Paul Bartron 4.5, 2nd Larry Anderson 3.5, 3rd Bill Rogers and Gary Dorfner 2.5.
• The Firecracker Swiss was held on the last three Friday nights in July. It was held in two sections, The Woodbuster for those 1600 on up and the Woodpusher for those 1599 on down. In the Woodbuster the winners were: 1st Paul Bartron 3.0, 2nd Lee Corbin 2.0, In the Woodpusher the winners were: 1st David Wight 3.0, 2nd Gary Dorfner 2.5, 3rd Geo Criddell 2.0. There were five players In the Woodbuster and 10 in the Woodpusher. Please let me know if you would like to see this format used in more of our Friday night tournaments.
• The 50th Tacoma Open was held at the club on Aug. 8-9. There were eight players in all. The winners were: 1st Bill Schill and Justin Yu 4.0 $30.00 each. 1st overall and 1st Group #1 were added together. 1st Group 2, Zach Wener-Fligner 2.5 $17.00.
• The Tacoma Summer Open was held on Friday nights in Aug. There were 12 players in all. The winners were: 1st Paul Bartron 3.5, 2nd Drayton Harrison, Peter Marriott and Tony McCarthy 3.0 each.
• The Wash. Women’s Championship was held at the club on Aug. 29-30. Only one player showed up, Kate Tokareva. She won the title by default and will be seeded into the Wash. Invitational Section (next February). She won $40.00.
• The Wash. Sr. Adult Championship was held at the club on Aug. 29-30 as well. There were only eight players in all. The winners were: 1st Paul Bartron 4.0 $50.00.(Paul adds this title to a long list of titles he has won over the years), 2nd H.G. Pitre 2.5 $45.00, 1st U1800 Ernst Rasmussen 2.0 $35.00. TD for all of these tournaments; Gary Dorfner.

June 2009

• 1st Sunday Quads has been dropped. Instead 1st Sunday will be a casual Chess day. (skittles and blitz) No tournaments. Those of you who work the swing or night shift and older players who can no longer drive at night, this is an opportunity to come and spend a Sunday afternoon playing a little casual chess. If this works out and several players show up, then we will open every Sunday. If you are interested please email me and let me know if you like this new set up and if you think we should open on the 1st Sat. as well. ggarychess@aol.com. Sunday hours: 1:30 pm-?

• The club has just purchased a laptop computer. It has a number of chess programs on it. Programs like Fritz 10, Chess Informant, Chess Base 9, Shedder 9, Openings in PGN, etc. There are a lot of games on these programs. You can use the computer to analyze your tournament games when you finish your round. The computer will be set up during tournaments and on casual chess nights for you. Also, I have an external hard drive that is loaded with chess programs, CD’s, DVD’s, books, etc. I will bring it with me to the club on club nights and weekends the club is open. We also have about 30 DVD’s in the library as well as some CD’s. These may be checked out for 1 month. If you are interested see Gary at the club. We also have a large number of books in the library. Several of these are on CD’s. Some are for sale and some are for in club use or they may be checked out for 1 month. If you are interested see Gary at the club.

• If you have any chess DVD’s, CD’s, books, boards, sets, clocks, etc. that you no longer need please feel free to donate these items to the club. We can make good use of them. We will give you $10.00 off on a year membership and $5.00 off on a ½ year and a ¼ year membership if you make a sizeable donation. This offer good until Aug. 31st. Some of these donations will be kept for club use and some will be given out as tournament prizes and some will be sold to help raise money for the club.

• TOURNAMENT REPORT: The Daffodil Open was held at the club on April 18-19. There were 11 players in all. The winners were: 1st Mike MacGregor 3.5 $65.00, 1st Group #1 Mark Saarenas and Johnny Rajkumar 3.0 $18.00 each, 1st Group #2 Mike Kamrath 3.0 $33.00. The Pierce County Championship was held in April-May. There were 14 players in all. The tournament began with a preliminary 5 round event. The 4 players with the 4 highest scores move on to the championship which is a 3 round quad, with all points from both sections being combined for the final scores to determine the champion. In case of a tie then there will be a playoff to determine the champion. This format was used at the club in the 40s, 50s and early 60s. I decided to try it and see if the players like it. If not then I will use the old format.

• A 4 round Quick Chess Tournament (G/15) was held on Friday May 15th. There were 14 players in all. The winners were: 1st Larry Anderson 4, 2nd Drayton Harrison, Steve Buck and David Wight 3 points each.

• I met with the Tournament Committee and we made the following changes to the tournament calendar; 1. Suspend Kids night for the summer (July-Aug.) and start up in Sept. 2. Drop Wed. Night Quads and have only casual chess. 3. Drop Sun. Quads and have only casual chess. 4. After last round of Tacoma City Championship on July 10th, there will be only casual chess on Friday nights in July and Aug. and one 1-night tournament each month. We will go back to our regular schedule in Sept. Please email me at ggarychess@aol.com and let me know what your thoughts are on these changes. I need your input. Your ideas and suggestions will be a big help in planning and organizing the tournament calendar for the rest of the year.

March 2009

March was a busy month for tournaments at the club.

• The Sunday Quads were held on 3/1. There was only 1 quad with 3 players. The winner was Dennis Ambler 3.0 from Everett.

• The Wed. Night Quads was held on 3/11. There were 2 quads with 7 players. The winners were: Quad #1 David Wight 3.0 and Quad #2 Drayton Harrison 3.0 points.

• The Northwest Open was held on March 14-15. There were 15 players in all. The winners were: 1st Huso Hadzic 4.5 $52.00, 1st Group #1 Mike MacGregor 4.0 $31.00, 1st Group #2 Vernon Vanpoucke 3.0 $29.00, 1st Group #3 Mike Kamrath 2.0 $28.00.

• The March Madness Quads were held on 3/20. There were 4 quads, 15 players. The winners were: 1st Quad #1 Jose Silva 3.0, 1st Quad #2 David Wight 3.0, Quad #3 Geo Criddell 3.0, Quad #4 Garry Dorfner received 2.5 points.

• The TCC Gambit Tourney was held on 3/27. There were 10 players in all. The winners were: 1st Peter Marriott 3.0, 2nd Steve Buck. Larry Anderson and David Wight each received 2.0.

• The prizes for these one day or night tournaments were chess books.

• TD for all of these events was Gary Dorfner.

• The McChord AFB Championship was held on 2/28 at the base. There were 2 sections, 9 players in all. The winners were: Active/Retirees Section 1st Amos Matsick and Dale Bateman 3.0 each. In the Youth Section 1st Alan Duell and Alex Stephens received 3.0 each. TD, Gary Dorfner.

• The Tacoma/Seattle Chess Club Match was held at the SCC on 3/7. The results were as follows:

S.C.C. vs. T.C.C.

Bill Schill 1 - 0 Mike MacGregor

Geoff Gale 0 - 1 Paul Bartron

Fred Kleist .5 - .5 Allen Smith

David Kelly .5 - .5 Tony Fernandes

Boas Lee 0 - 1 Gary Dorfner

TOTAL 2 - 3

See 2008 Tacoma Chess Times