Fairfield County Masters & Class Championships

By NM Daniel Lowinger

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63 players competed in the sold out Fairfield County Masters & Class Championships!

The 2014 edition of CCFC’s Masters & Class, our largest and strongest event to date, was a tournament for the ages. 63 players came to Connecticut to do battle, among them 7 grandmasters, 2 IMs and a top section with an average rating of 2430! The class section, not to be outdone, boasted 16 experts – fully 40% of the section. Grandmaster Michael Rohde was overheard remarking in astonishment that he couldn’t remember the last time he had been seeded 8th. A spectator exclaimed unbelievingly that a 2400 had been paired up in the first round.  Indeed, the competition could not have been fiercer.

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Round 1 of the top boards in the masters section with the top games broadcast live on the internet and on the big screen.

Reprising his pattern from last year, IM Jan Van De Mortel, who sports the rating of a grandmaster (over 2500 US), started off on a tear, remaining undefeated until the very last round, when he was ousted by clear tournament winner GM Alexander Stripunsky. Stripunsky only needed a draw to guarantee uncontested first place and the $500 prize, but in true gladiator spirit he eschewed the “grandmaster draw” and took his opponent for the full point. See the game below.

Interestingly, Van De Mortel was on the opposite side of a strategically very similar game, colors reversed, against Paragua. Have a side by side comparison here.

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Spectators gathering for a peek at one of the crucial prenultimate
round games of the Class Championships.

CCFC Instructor GM Michael Rohde, in spite of being seeded 8th, finished laudably with 3.5, good for a 4-way split of 2nd place which also included GMs Paragua, Barbosa, and Kudrin. Rohde was rightly proud of his win against fellow GM Mark Paragua. Have a look at that here.

In the class section it was Rainer Labay and Evan Rabin who tied for first place with 4.5. Both earned their National Master title as a result of their superb performances and we heartily congratulate them. Tournament veteran Sam Barsky and youngster Yoon-Young Kim shared 3rd-4th with 4 points. Top honors under 2000 was also split between Jeronimo Salazar and Julio Maldonado. Kevin Zimmerman took U1800 clear with 2.5, while U1600 was divided 4-ways between John Twombley, Sean McGuinness, Jose Dela Cruz, and Mario Russo.

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The winners circle with (L-R) GM Mark Paragua, GM Michael Rohde, Yoony Kim, Sean McGuinness, John Twombley, Kevin Zimmerman,
Rainer Labay, Evan Rabin, GM Oliver Barbosa, Jeronimo Salazar, GM Alexander Stripunsky, and Jose Dela Cruz

Congratulations to all prize winners, and thank you to all our participants for a fantastic event. See you all soon!

Masters Final Standings

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot Prize
1 GM ALEXANDER STRIPUNSKY 2652 W12 W7 D2 W3 W6 4.5 1st $500
2 GM SERGEY KUDRIN 2582 W11 W8 D1 D6 D3 3.5 2nd $125
3 GM MICHAEL ROHDE 2503 W21 W20 W4 L1 D2 3.5 2nd $125
4 GM MARK PARAGUA 2625 W15 D6 L3 W14 W9 3.5 2nd $125
5 GM OLIVER BARBOSA 2591 D16 W14 L6 W17 W11 3.5 2nd $125
6 IM JAN VAN DE MORTEL 2516 W13 D4 W5 D2 L1 3.0  
7 GM MAXIM DLUGY 2555 W10 L1 D11 W13 D8 3.0  
8 FM LEIF PRESSMAN 2454 W22 L2 W18 D9 D7 3.0  
9 NM JOSHUA COLAS 2430 D19 W17 W20 D8 L4 3.0  
10 NM KAPIL CHANDRAN 2359 L7 L12 W22 W16 W15 3.0  
11 IM JAY BONIN 2394 L2 W22 D7 W12 L5 2.5  
12 NM RUIFENG LI 2420 L1 W10 D13 L11 W14 2.5  
13 NM DANIEL LOWINGER 2333 L6 W15 D12 L7 D17 2.0  
14 NM FURQAN TANWIR 2223 B--- L5 W16 L4 L12 2.0  
15 NM ARSLAN OTCHIYEV 2409 L4 L13 W21 W18 L10 2.0  
16 NM NICOLAS CHECA 2394 D5 D19 L14 L10 W21 2.0  
17 NM IAN HARRIS 2305 H--- L9 W19 L5 D13 2.0  
18 NM LEVY ROZMAN 2382 L20 W21 L8 L15 W19 2.0  
19 NM JASON SHI 2224 D9 D16 L17 D21 L18 1.5  
20 GM MIKHEIL KEKELIDZE 2573 W18 L3 L9 U--- U--- 1.0  
21 NM OLIVER CHERNIN 2270 L3 L18 L15 D19 L16 0.5  
22 NM BEN GERSHENOV 2263 L8 L11 L10 U--- U--- 0.0  

 

Class Championships Final Standings

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot Prize
1 RAINER LABAY 2183 W22 W6 W3 W11 D2 4.5 1st $300
2 EVAN RABIN 2197 W23 W15 W14 W5 D1 4.5 1st $300
3 SAM BARSKY 2111 W24 W8 L1 W12 W11 4.0 3rd $50
4 YOON-YOUNG KIM 2121 W13 D16 W12 W30 D5 4.0 3rd $50
5 MICHAEL ADARLO 2162 W17 W20 W19 L2 D4 3.5  
6 JOSEPH BHILMEYER 2041 W21 L1 W17 W24 D9 3.5  
7 WILLIAM GRAIF 2114 W28 L11 W16 W20 D8 3.5  
8 JERONIMO SALAZAR 1951 W41 L3 W34 W14 D7 3.5 U2000 $50
9 JULIO MALDONADO 1865 W34 L19 W26 W15 D6 3.5 U2000 $50
10 MICHAEL AINSWORTH 2081 W25 L12 D22 W23 W13 3.5  
11 MICHAEL BOGATY 1988 W31 W7 W30 L1 L3 3.0  
12 ACHUTHA RAMAN 1875 W36 W10 L4 L3 W27 3.0  
13 JEREMY GRAHAM 1852 L4 W40 W18 W19 L10 3.0  
14 MATTHEW DEREK MEREDITH 2103 X--- W32 L2 L8 W24 3.0  
15 WILLIAM TORRES 2039 W29 L2 W38 L9 W28 3.0  
16 JASMINE CHEN 1999 W40 D4 L7 W25 D19 3.0  
17 JONATHAN AIYATHURAI 1855 L5 W27 L6 W36 W29 3.0  
18 DENNIS LI 2037 L26 W21 L13 W22 W25 3.0  
19 JACOB BERMAN 2063 W35 W9 L5 L13 D16 2.5  
20 PETER KORZEB 2034 W27 L5 W28 L7 D21 2.5  
21 KEVIN ZIMMERMAN 1630 L6 L18 W40 W34 D20 2.5 U1800 $100
22 MATTHEW FAILLE 1857 L1 W26 D10 L18 D23 2.0  
23 LEO BYKHOVSKY 1861 L2 D29 W35 L10 D22 2.0  
24 BRANDON WANG 1807 L3 W41 W39 L6 L14 2.0  
25 GUY COLAS 1753 L10 W36 W32 L16 L18 2.0  
26 JOHN TWOMBLEY 1572 W18 L22 L9 L29 W35 2.0 U1600 $25
27 SEAN MCGUINNESS 1556 L20 L17 W31 W38 L12 2.0 U1600 $25
28 GRANT WANG 1830 L7 W31 L20 W37 L15 2.0  
29 KENNETH YOUNG 1609 L15 D23 D37 W26 L17 2.0  
30 VLADIMIR POLYAKIN 2138 W38 W39 L11 L4 U--- 2.0  
31 JOSE DELA CRUZ 1537 L11 L28 L27 X41 W37 2.0 U1600 $25
32 MAXIMILLIAN LU 1938 W37 L14 L25 W33 U--- 2.0  
33 MARIO RUSSO 1554 L39 L38 W41 L32 W36 2.0 U1600 $25
34 ERIC STEIN 1039 L9 B--- L8 L21 D40 1.5  
35 ROBERT STEINDORF 1650 L19 D37 L23 W40 L26 1.5  
36 AL PINTO 1044 L12 L25 B--- L17 L33 1.0  
37 DYLAN YOUNG 1454 L32 D35 D29 L28 L31 1.0  
38 VLADIMIR KOTOV 1853 L30 W33 L15 L27 U--- 1.0  
39 ALEXANDRA WIENER 2021 W33 L30 L24 U--- U--- 1.0  
40 JONATHAN LIEW 1545 L16 L13 L21 L35 D34 0.5  
41 ROBERT CHEN 1536 L8 L24 L33 F31 U--- 0.0