IN THE ARENA

October/November 2011

By Mike Tedder

Chess activity for the month of October began with the club’s third open event of the year, HVCC3. Although the turnout was lower than some of the earlier HVCC’s the chess was competitive and intense. Five scholastic players entered the U1000 section and seven players matched up in the Open section. First round games of the Open section were all upsets. Lawrence Bacudio earned a draw against higher-rated Ray Hight. Bethany Ray scored her first rated win over her father, Gordan. Rudy Abate scored a win over Mike Tedder. In round two, Rudy defeated Bethany and Chris Barnes scored a win over Ray Hight to share first place going into the final round. Rudy’s win in that final round pairing gave him clear first place in a club event for the second time in less than a month. Rudy’s wins boosted his rating to 1440, a gain of almost 200 points in recent weeks. Bethany Ray broke the 1300 ratings barrier for the first time and newcomer Chris Barnes scored a big provisional ratings jump with his results. Gordan, Bethany, and Chris all tied for second with two points each.

In the scholastic section, Leowell Bacudio won the first place trophy with a perfect 3-0 score. Jacob Garner’s two points were good enough to gain the second place medal. Everyone was impressed by the play of our improving scholastic section players. But the Open section scholastic players created the buzz around the tournament room between rounds. In addition to his draw against Ray Hight, scholastic player Lawrence Bacudio held what appeared to be a winning position over veteran Gordan Ray before stumbling in the endgame. Bethany Ray’s rating jump places her in the top thirty of NC scholastic female players. If our two highest rated scholastic players, Michael Fussell and Patrick Bounds, show up at the next event, the veterans will be pushed hard to hold off these up-and-coming youngsters.

On the first weekend in November over 100 players gathered at the Holiday Inn in Charlotte to compete for the title of “ North Carolina Class Champion” for Expert, A, B, C, D, and E USCF classes. Each player competed against players of his own class in the five round event. Rudy Abate, Ray Hight, and Jim Sawyer represented HVCC in the Class D U1400 section. Jim was able to muster two draws in the event despite his recent medical problems. Ray Hight took a first round bye and had 2.5 points going into the final round. Ray had a chance to claim the third place prize with a W, but came up short. But Rudy Abate confirmed what most of us in HVCC have known for a long time—he is the toughest Class D player in the state! Rudy swept the section the section with a perfect 5-0 score to claim first place. Rudy won $600 for his performance, boosted his rating by over a hundred points, and earned a Category 3 norm. Rudy extended his winning streak to twelve games in rated events. Congratulations to Rudy Abate for the most impressive performance of the year for a HVCC member.

On November 12th the club held its first championship to determine the club’s top player. The players invited to participate in the championship round robin quad were the four highest rated members according to the November rating supplement. Two of the club’s higher rated players, Ramses Celestin and John Wehrenberg, did not qualify because they were unable to participate in enough club tournaments during the year. Patrick Bounds and Michael Fussell had to withdraw the week before the event. That left four veteran club players-Gordan Ray(1624), Mike Tedder(1550), Rudy Abate(1540), and Ray Hight(1299) to battle it out for the HVCC Championship 2011. Lots were drawn to determine pairings and colors and the four friends sat down to decide the issue over the chess board. Gordan Ray was paired with the club’s hottest player, Rudy Abate, in round one. After an even battle in the opening and middle game, Gordan snagged a knight in the endgame and stopped Rudy’s win streak at twelve games. Mike Tedder and Ray Hight played a long game with neither player getting much of an edge. It came down to a time scramble in the end with Mike’s passed pawn deciding the game in his favor. The wins put Mike and Gordan in the driver’s seat after the first round, but Rudy and Ray were not about to give up. In round two, Mike gained the upper hand in the opening against Rudy, but lost the advantage and the game when Rudy stormed the queenside of the board. Ray Hight benefited when Gordan dropped a piece. Ray played a precise end game to score the win. That left all four players tied with identical 1-1 scores going into the final round. Rudy and Ray squared off with one another in the final round. Their game was quickly finished when Rudy gained the upper hand and cruised to win and at least a share of the championship. Gordan drew the white pieces against Mike in the final round. Mike was able to penetrate along the “C file” and disrupt Gordan’s position. When the smoke cleared, Rudy Abate and Mike Tedder earned the title of co-champion of HVCC for 2011. Due to his win over Mike, Rudy also earns a position in next year’s championship.

In other action of the day, a quad was formed for Bethany Ray, Mark Knight, Lawrence Bacudio, and club newcomer Shawn Shelters. Shawn’s two points were good enough for clear first in a very competitive set of games. In our “double Swiss” for scholastic players, Jacob Garner finished first with a good tiebreaker over Lance Bacudio. Jacob bumped his rating up over 200 points as he continues to develop his chess skills.

A special thanks to those who assisted in the event—to Ray Hight for the coffee, to Lynn Ray for the snacks, and to club president Rudy Abate who did his usual good job of directing. The club is very grateful to the First United Methodist Church for allowing the club to use its facilities for all our club events. Qualifying for next year’s championship will begin with our first club closed tournament early next year.

Out-of-town member John Wehrenberg had an outstanding result in the Summer Slow event held in Greenville. John W swept three games against very good players to win first place and boost his rating to 1685, the highest rating of all players on the current HVCC roster. Gordan Ray had a tough time of it in the Thanksgiving weekend TACO in Raleigh, scoring only

a half point in the open section; however, new member Shawn Shelters scored three wins in the four round U1600 section to take second place. Another new member, Mark Knight, scored 2

We are scheduling more chess action in the upcoming year with an informal and unrated match with the Wake Forest chess club in early 2012 plus four open competitions and four club competitions scheduled throughout the year. In addition, the 25th Land of the Sky tournament will be held in Asheville on the last weekend of January. The club holds its regular meetings on Thursdays with the exception of December 22 and 29. So bring a friend and join the fun.