The Asheboro Open
Hall of Champions
The Asheboro Open 55 Grand Champions
Reynaldo Diaz (L) and Jonathan Munnel
March 2010
No longer the lowest ranked player in the section, shooting star Reynaldo Diaz of Greensboro fought his way past worthy competitors to emerge with a perfect 3-0. Charlotte's Jonathan Munnel had a superb showing in his first Asheboro Open, also going 3-0 to share first place honors. As a tournament director, I was a bit chagrined to see Swiss Lightning strike with two perfect scores and no clear winner. Still, each player emerged with $87.50 and bragging rights for a month. Mark Gragg and Stephen Morales tied for the class prize with 2.0 each.
Look for some of the the tournament games to be posted soon in the NC Chess Games Database.
Congratulations to our March 2010 Champions!
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The Asheboro Open 55
Matt Embler (L) and Henry Johnston
First Place Tie, Candidate's Section
March 2010
Swiss Lightning strikes again! Despite a section of just 10 players, two players came through unscathed to tie with perfect 3-0 scores. I don't know what the odds are of such an occurrence; let's just say it is highly unusual. Scholastic Shogun Matt Embler bounced back after a disappointing run at the NC Scholastics to go 3-0, earning 48 rating points and achieving his highest rating ever: 1736! Henry Johnston went a little better with his 3-0 shutout, earning 76 rating points which put him at USCF 1639! Henry has been on a roll lately, gaining over 200 rating points in the past month! Word has it that NC Grand Prix Fever is to blame. Each player won $87.50 for their fine performance in a very competitive section. Austin Liu earned the $25.00 Class prize with 1.5 points.
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The Asheboro Open 55
Mike Timmons
First Place, Club Section
March 2010
One of the hardest things for me as a tournament director is when I see good people leave the game. This month, I had the happy instance of seeing a good man return--with a vengeance! Winston Salem's Michael Timmons took over two years off, and hadn't played rated chess since the 2007 LPO. We are glad to have you back, Mike! Mike had obviously been practicing a bit, and was perfect at 3-0 to win $125.00 and clear 1st place. Three players tied for second place honors with two points each: Julian Billings, Walter High, and Dan Stemen. Each player won $25.00 for a solid showing.
NCCA Vice-President Walter High may be the most tenacious player in North Carolina, earning his rating points inch by inch over the last few years. He currently leads the NC Grand Prix for most active player, and is in the top five overall! I'm posting a game in his honor this month. The final checkmate is quite interesting. Hats off to Walter for his dedication to NC Chess!
*The 2010 North Carolina Grand Prix*
A Win is a Win, So Everybody is In!
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