32 players from 6 states showed up at the Idaho State University Student Union Building Salmon River Suites South Fork room in Pocatello, Idaho, to play in this one-day, 4-round event. The tournament took place on 23 April 2017. The time control for the first two rounds was game in 60 minutes, and it changed to game in 90 minutes for the last 2 rounds.
Tournament Director Jay Simonson, who has a well-earned reputation for starting his chess tournaments on time, was overwhelmed by the large number of people registering on site, and, for the first time as an ICA TD, he delayed the start of the tournament by 1 hour. Once everyone was registered, there were 22 players in the Open Section and 10 in the Reserve (under 1400) section.
Playing in the tournament were ICA President, Adam Porth, and ICA Vice President, Alex Machin. ICA Treasurer Jay Simonson was the chief TD. Also bringing the chess heat to the tournament was current Utah State Chess Champion, and former Idaho State Scholastic Chess Champion, Phillip Humpherys. Four-time Idaho Open winner, 82 year old Hans Morrow, now from Farmington, Utah, also came to take home some Idaho money. Once the tournament started, we had players from Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, and New Mexico.
In a tough fight to the finish, ICA VP, Alex Machin of Meridian, Idaho, won the 4th round battle against Andrea Chimenton for a perfect 4-0 score and the title of 2017 Idaho Open Champion. His prize was $200. Winning clear 2nd Place in the Open Section, (and $100) scoring 3.5, was DeWayne Derryberry, from Pocatello, Idaho. Three players, Andrea Chimenton, and Kevin Xu, both from Boise, Idaho, and Jacob Nathan of Idaho Falls, Idaho, tied for 3rd thru 5th Place, and each took home $25.
The Reserve Section was also a good battle which ended in a 2-way tie for 1st and 2nd between Tom Uptain, of Evanston, Wyoming, and Logan Call, of Boise, Idaho. They each received $62.50 for their efforts, and had a score of 3.5. They drew against each other in the 3rd round. Andrew Kitterman, also from Boise, earned a score of 2.5, and collected $25 for 3rd Place in the Reserve Section.
A great big thank you to all who participated in this great event. Come back and play in all of our Idaho Chess Association tournaments.
