The Albany Open on Dec 10-11 was a lively affair, with an abundance of sharp, entertaining, and well-played games. It was a friendly, diverse group of players–from primary school to retired, from Eugene to Seattle and Pendleton, from provisionally-rated U1100s to the strongest players in the state. Overall, a very fun event.
In the Open section, Steve Breckenridge took first place with 4.5/5. Steve graduated from HS a year and a half ago and is well-known to the Oregon scholastic crowd because of his many OSCF championship titles and his fantastic work at the OSCF championships in Seaside last year–especially the ongoing simuls he played in the skittles room. After Albany, Steve will also be known as the highest-rated (2323) Oregon player.
Nick Raptis (2292) had other obligations Sunday afternoon and could not play the final round, but in typical Raptis style his performance prior to the last round was strong enough to earn him clear second place at 3.5/5. Nick contributed enormously to the success of the event by helping recruit the top four players in the tournament.
Mike Montchalin (2177) is a five-time former Oregon state champion but hadn’t played a rated game for eight and a half years before coming out of retirement in November. He showed little signs of rust as he scored 3/5 to tie for third.
Also tying for third at 3/5 were Mike Schemm (2004) and Calvin Parnon (1889). Calvin played wild, interesting, and strong chess to take the U2000 prize and move up to #2 among scholastic players in the state.
In the Reserve section (U1800), Yogi Saputra (1220), a student at West Albany High School, outshined significantly higher-rated players to finish in clear first at 4.5/5. Close on his heels was Fred Davis (1646) in clear second at 4/5. Maurice Maynard (1506) from Salem scored 3/5 to finish in clear third. The U1600 prize went to Praveer Sharan (2.5/5) and the U1400 went to Alathea Letaw (2.5/5).
