Georgia Chess Association News

L. Thad Rogers

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 01:19:35 GMT

In Memoriam: Mr. Thad Rogers

With heavy hearts, the Board of the Georgia Chess Association (GCA) mourns the passing of our beloved President, Mr. Thad Rogers.

Thad was more than a leader—he was a legend in the Georgia chess community. As a Multi-Term President of the GCA, a tireless national chess volunteer, and a lifelong ambassador of the game, Thad dedicated his life to making chess accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to players of all level.

He was the force behind The Atlanta Chess …a chess organization that hosted chess events in many states. Known for his famously low entry fees—often sacrificing profit to keep chess affordable—Thad put players first, always. His events were never just about competition; they were about building community.

Thad’s passion, generosity, and unwavering belief in the power of chess left an indelible mark not only on Georgia but on the national chess landscape. His work created opportunities for players, cultivated local talent, and brought people from all walks of life together over the board.

The Georgia Chess Association extends its deepest condolences to Thad’s family, friends, and the many lives he touched. We will be forever grateful for his leadership, his service, and his enduring love for game.

Rest in peace, Thad. Your legacy will live on in every move we make.

Georgia Chess News - online Magazine has launched

Tue, 01 Apr 2014 22:28:53 GMT

In our efforts to continue to grow and improve, Georgia Chess Association would like to take this moment to announce one particularly exciting development that has recently launched...our online magazine Georgia Chess News!

Introduction Letter

Results for K-8 State Championship

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:15:23 GMT

Here are the final standings for each section of the K-8 State Championship. Congratulations to our new State Champions:

East Side K-1, Brookwood K-3, Eastside K-5, Westiminster Middle School.

K-1 Final Standings

K-3 Final Standings

K-5 Final Standings

Middle School Final Standings

2014 Georgia Open College TEAM Chess Championship Results (Ted Wieber)

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 18:32:37 GMT

The defending champion University of Georgia "A" team dominated four matches to decisively claim the 2014 Georgia Open College Team Chess Championship title. Ten teams from 5 schools competed at Emory's Winship Ballroom on Saturday, February 22, 2014. No teams from outside Georgia competed this year and Morehouse College was the only first-time participant.

Final Standings

The top three teams overall were recognized with awards as was the highest ranked second or "B" team. Five individuals were recognized with awards for highest score at each of the four board positions. The four-round event was conducted in 4-board team format at a time control of G/45. This year's competition featured 3 USCF rated chess Masters, 2 Experts, and a number of strong Class A and B level players.

The Georgia Chess Association (GCA) congratulates the 2014 champion University of Georgia "Chess Dawgs A" team consisting of Richard Francisco, Leo Martinez, Samuel Zimmerman, Gautam Narula and Adam Kostrinsky. UGA teams have either won the team championship outright (3 times) or shared the title as co-champions for the past 6 years straight.

The clear 2014 runner-up team was the Emory University "A" Team consisting of Grant Oen, John Lattier, Jinseok Kim and Jon Schoder. The Emory University "B" Team took the award for Top B-Team, while finishing 5th overall.

Five students were recognized for having top scores at each of the four board positions:

Board 1: Richard Francisco, UGA A (4 game points); Deepak Aaron, GA Tech A (4)

Board 2: Leo Martinez, UGA A (4)

Board 3: Jinseok Kim, Emory A (4)

Board 4: Troy O'Neal, GA Tech C (3)

This open college team-format competition has become a well established annual tradition. Very few other states regularly hold college team championships of any kind. We thank the Emory University Chess Club for their continued support on this unique event.

The Georgia Chess Association looks forward to even more participants next year around this time. Until then, the collegiate community is welcome at many other Georgia tournaments including the upcoming 2014 Georgia State Championship and the 2014 Castle Chess Grand Prix.

Results, crosstables, future events calendar and more are available at www.GeorgiaChess.org

Recent Georgia College Team Chess Champions include:

2014 -- University of Georgia

2013 -- University of Georgia

2012 -- Co-Champions University of Georgia and Georgia Tech

2011 -- Co-Champions University of Georgia and Emory University

2010 -- University of Georgia

2009 -- Co-Champions University of Georgia and Georgia Tech

2008 -- Georgia Tech

2007 -- Georgia Tech

2006 -- Emory University

2005 -- Emory University

2004 -- Emory University

Comments, questions and suggestions for improvement are always welcome.

-Ted Wieber, Tournament Coordinator

Article about the 2014 Amateur Team South Championship by Frank Johnson

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 22:29:43 GMT

Check out Frank Johnson's article posted on uschess.org about the 2014 Amateur Team South Championship!

Invitations for the Georgia K-8 State Championship will be sent by Friday February 21st.

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:09:19 GMT

Invitations for the Georgia K-8 State Championship will be sent out by Friday February 21st...hopefully sooner, but no later than next Friday. Thanks for your patience.

Final Standings Posted for 2014 State Qualifier

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 03:50:22 GMT

Final standings for the 2014 State Qualifier are now posted. Click on the Standings tab on the homepage.

Hurry! Only 24 minutes to register for the State Qualifier!

Wed, 05 Feb 2014 04:26:47 GMT

Time is running out - over 1,000 players are registered for the State Qualifier -have you registered your child? 24 minutes left...

MLK 2014 - Team Results Posted (Vijay Jayaram)

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 23:19:44 GMT

Same link, but team results are added (see the tabs at the bottom of the google spreadsheet)

MLK Final Standings (Vijay Jayaram)

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:46:04 GMT

MLK 2014 Scholastic Tournament final standings

(hint: use tabs at the bottom of the google spreadsheet to change sections)

Georgia's HS, Middle & Elementary State Champions/Denker, Barber Nominees

Mon, 13 Jan 2014 03:50:44 GMT

Congratulations to Reece Thompson, Sanjay Ghatti and Anand Srinivasan who won their sections in the GA Scholastic State Championship Invitational at Emory this weekend.

Reece is Georgia's 2014 High School State Champion and nominee for the Denker tournament of HS State Champions. Sanjay is Georgia's 2014 Middle School State Champion and nominee for the Barber tournament of State Champions. Anand is Georgia's Elementary State Champion for 2014. Congratulations to all players who met the criteria to attend this prestigious scholastic event - there was great competition among Georgia's top scholastic players!

Results are on USCF (not tiebreak order).

Crosstables

Georgia players Daniel Gurevich and Damir Studen competed in the Bay Area International (Scott Parker)

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 18:47:42 GMT

Georgia players Daniel Gurevich and Damir Studen competed in the Bay Area International January 2-8, 2014. Daniel scored 5.5/9 (+4,-2,=3) and won $1000 for first U2300 (FIDE ratings were used here). Damir scored 4/9 (+1,-2,=6). For a pgn game file, complete final standings, and photos by Inga Gurevich click on this link:

http://sfinternationalchess.org/

-Scott Parker

GA Top 100 List - John Austin

Fri, 03 Jan 2014 22:40:30 GMT

Here is the Georgia top 100 list for January. (and top scholastic players)
Top gainers for the month were Jeremy Stephens Nodine and Raghurama Bukkarayasamudram, co-winners of the 2013 Georgia Class A Championship. With four wins and one loss, Nodine improved 193 points, from 1775P to 1968P. Bukkarayasamudram defeated Nodine but drew games with Nathan Wu and Shanmukha Meruga to tie for first with 4 points. His rating increased 143 points, from 1717 to 1860.
Other interesting news is shown below:

GEORGIA CHESS top 100
Five Years Ago and Today
Number of Players Jan-09 (first number) Jan-14 (2nd number)

2500 and above: 0;1
2400 and above: 1; 3
2300 and above: 1; 6
2200 and above: 5; 13
2100 and above: 10; 21
2000 and above: 26; 33
1900 and above: 44; 51
1800 and above: 61; 78
1734 and above: 78; 100
1700 and above: 89
1672 and above: 100
Median Rating of Top 100: 1863.5; 1903

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year,
John Austin

Justice Blog - Drew competes in World Youth Chess Championships

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 21:43:23 GMT

Local player Drew Justice competes in the World Youth Chess Championships - you can follow this family's chess adventure in Dubai and Drew's performance via their blog:

http://drewjustice.com

Best of luck Drew!!

Results for Emory Campus Series VI

Sun, 08 Dec 2013 15:57:56 GMT

Congratulations to Grant Oen, Frank Johnson & Robert Nolan who tied for first in the Championship section (Grant won in tiebreaks); Kavin Jayavel Kumaresan and Michael Fu who tied for first in the U1600 section and Girish Senthilkumar who won first with a perfect score in the U1000 section at the Emory Campus Series VI on Saturday.

Results

Georgia Top Players for December (John Austin)

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 00:11:54 GMT

Here is the Georgia Top 100 list and the Georgia Top 20 Scholastic Players for December.

Comparisons between Georgia chess in August 2007 and December 2013:

Number of players rated 2200 or higher: 5 vs 13
Average rating of top 100 players: 1896 vs 1942
Median rating of top 100 players: 1870.5 vs 1891.5

-John Austin

Georgia Class Championships - Final Standings

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:59:57 GMT

Here are the final standings in tiebreak order for the 2013 Georgia Class Championships.

Congratulations to the following players who won their sections and are our current Georgia Class Champions:

Premier - Damir Studen

Class A - Ram Bukkarayasamudram, Jeremy Nodine

Class B - Francisco Montanez

Class C - Aviva Smith, Calvin Jackson

Class D - Jacob Holleman

Class E - Pranit Mishra

*note to those who won prize money - all checks have been initiated from WellsFargo and are due on or before Dec 3rd.

Georgia's National Champion Drew Justice to attend World Youth Chess Championships in Al Ain, UAE

Fri, 22 Nov 2013 20:38:53 GMT

Local resident and K-1 National Champion (SuperNationals 2013), Drew Justice will be competing in the World Youth Chess Championships in Al Ain, UAE this December. Drew is the youngest of 4 in a super star chess family. We wish him all our best, and happy holidays from afar. The GCA recently awarded Drew a $500 stipend to attend this prestigious event. If you would like to help support Drew's family or other local players please contact scholarships@georgiachess.org. Go Drew!

Emory Campus Series V - Blitz Results

Sun, 17 Nov 2013 15:06:26 GMT

Congratulations to Carlos Perdomo who placed 1st in the Emory Blitz tournament's Premier Section and Otto Robinson who placed first in the U1600 section.

Results for Premier Section

Results for U1600 Section

Local HS Student Reece Thompson wins $56K Scholarship

Wed, 13 Nov 2013 18:52:35 GMT

Congratulations to local high school student Reece Thompson who tied for 1st place in the Susan Polgar World Open in Chicago Nov 1-3. GM Susan Polgar offered Reece Thompson a $14,000 per year scholarship for a total of $56,000 to Webster University in St. Louis, MO.

GCA President's Message (Fun Fong)

Wed, 06 Nov 2013 04:29:26 GMT

GCA President's Message

2013 Georgia K-12 Grade Level Results

Sun, 03 Nov 2013 14:38:21 GMT

Congratulations to our new Georgia State Champions!

Paul Taylor (12th)

Sumit Sohani & Justin Swaby (11th)

Shanmukha Meruga (10th)

Daniel Chou (9th)

Vikram Ruppa-Kasani (8th)

Quentin Mot, Robbie Grattan-Smith, Zachary Justice (7th)

Vedic Panda (6th)

Charlie Troutman (5th)

Maxwell Feng (4th)

Kavin Jayavel kumaresan (3rd)

Raj Mehta (2nd)

Anshul Gokul (1st)

Sanjay Jagadeesh (K)

Final Standings

USCF rated

Top 100 list for November 2013 - Georgia Chess Getting Stronger (John Austin)

Sat, 02 Nov 2013 02:28:58 GMT

Georgia chess is getting measurably stronger. It is noteworthy that this month the 100th player on the list has the highest rating since I began compiling it in August 2007.

- John Austin

Top 100 Players in Georgia

Emory Series IV G/45 Cross Tables

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 02:32:54 GMT

Cross tables for the Emory Series IV G/45 Tournament on Saturday Oct 26, 2013.

Congratulations to Jeffrey Domozick and Grant Oen who tied for first place in the Premier section, Jeremy Nodine 1st place U1800, John Mauldin (perfect score) 1st place U1400 and Ellison Desrochers 1st place U1000.

GA Open Prize Distribution list

Sun, 20 Oct 2013 22:05:37 GMT

The GA Open Prize Distribution List was calculated by both Scott Parker and Thad Rogers. Many thanks to them as well as Fun Fong who supplemented the prize fund with $450 so that the entire prize fund would be guaranteed.

Individual Scholastic Championship results

Sun, 20 Oct 2013 13:54:56 GMT

Congratulations to HS State Champion Sumit Sohani, K-8 State Co-Champions Alex Berezovsky & Vedic Panda, K-5 State Champion Sujay Jagadeesh (perfect score), K-3 State Champion Kavin Jayavel Kumaresan (perfect score) and K-1 State Champion Anshul Gokul (perfect score) who won their sections at the Georgia Individual Scholastic Championship yesterday.

Final Standings

GA Open Results

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 03:11:34 GMT

Congratulations to GM Zapata (4.5) for placing 1st in tiebreaks for the 2013 Georgia Open as well as Chris Mabe (4.5) and Jinseok Kim (4.5) who tied for 1st and placed 2nd & 3rd respectively in tiebreaks.

GA Open CrossTables

QuickStart! Results - Xtables/Final Standings

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 14:56:16 GMT

In tiebreak order, here are the final standings/cross tables for QuickStart

USCF membership prize winners from QuickStart

Emory Campus Series III Results

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 14:34:10 GMT

In tiebreak order...

Results for the Oct 5th ECC III G/45.

Results for the 2013 Georgia Women's Open, Senior Open, & G45

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:42:19 GMT

Congratulations to WIM Carolina Blanco State Champion of the Georgia Women's Open, Christopher Ferrante & Van Vandivier, State Co-Champions of Georgia's Senior Open & Grant Oen Georgia's Collegiate State Champions and 1st place winner in the G45 this weekend.

Results for Women's Open, Senior Open, G45 (Parnell Watkins)

ECC Blitz Results

Sun, 15 Sep 2013 21:25:47 GMT

First Place Premier - Richard Francisco

First Place in tiebreaks for U1600 - Sagar Raut

First Place in U1000 - Suhas Gummadi

Biggest Upset Prize - Jordan Page

Results will be submitted to USCF as soon as possible...

Georgia resident & State Champion Damir Studen achieves an IM norm at the US Masters (Scott Parker)

Thu, 05 Sep 2013 17:29:08 GMT

Georgia resident Damir Studen scored 5.5/9 and achieved an IM norm at the US Masters in Greensboro, NC. Here are his round-by-round results:

Round 1 - Draw vs. GM Alex Fishbein (2587)
Round 2 - Draw vs. GM Georg Meier (2702)
Round 3 - Win vs. GM Kidambi Sundararajan (2549)
Round 4 - Draw vs. FM Alesandr Ostrovskiy (2495)
Round 5 - Loss vs. Denys Shmelov (2491)
Round 6 - Draw vs. FM Jonathan Chiang (2323)
Round 7 - Win vs. WFM Sarah Chiang (2243)
Round 8 - Win vs. GM John Fedorowicz (2490)
Round 9 - Draw vs. IM John J Cox (2468)

Georgia's Top Scholastic Players (Keith Sewell)

Mon, 02 Sep 2013 18:11:31 GMT

The list for Georgia's Top Scholastic Players has been updated on the GCA site (based on current published rating (September supplement). Many thanks to Keith Sewell for the update!

Disrespect Your Elders (Chris Ferrante)

Thu, 29 Aug 2013 22:56:37 GMT

All right, kids, I am going to let you all in on a secret: one of the keys to winning in tournament chess is to know how much respect to give your opponent. I can tell you right up front that one way to lose to a kid you should beat is to believe there is absolutely, positively no way you can lose to him. Confidence is good. Overconfidence can be suicidal. Here's a scenario to illustrate my point...(read full article)

Emory Campus Series I results

Sun, 25 Aug 2013 21:39:09 GMT

Cross Tables for the Emory Campus Series I G/45

Summer Chess Camps

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:31:07 GMT

A new summer camp page has been added on the GCA site under Resources. Coaches, if you'd like your summer camps posted here please submit contact info & link (no files please) to webteam@georgiachess.org. Happy Summer, Study Chess!

Savannah's Scholastic Chess Fest

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:17:37 GMT

Students in the Savannah area competed in their 2nd Annual Scholastic Chess Fest Friday. Read more about this event on Savannahnow.com. Thanks to M.Bacon for the link.

Georgia State Champion - Damir Studen!

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:55:24 GMT

Congratulations to Damir Studen - Georgia's new State Chess Champion!

results

photo by Fun Fong

Annual GCA Meeting - Update & Election results (Fun Fong, GCA President)

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:12:03 GMT

The Annual meeting of the Georgia Chess Association took place at 2:30pm on 5 May. Events of the relatively successful year were reviewed. The GCA is planning for approximately 16 different events for the 2013-2014 year. We are also discussing a collaborative effort with the Emory Chess Club and the Georgia Chess Association, to have a chess event on the Emory campus approximately every three weeks (with numerous exceptions for busy chess schedules). This program will provide significant experience opportunities for TDs in Georgia. The GCA is encouraging the development and training of TDs in Georgia and will be having seminars to familiarize TDs with nuances of WinTD. Other new initiatives would be the return of the “Open Individual Scholastic” to the GCA schedule, an open weekend tournament during President’s Day holiday, and a weekend tournament in July 2014. Finally, the GCA is looking for approximately 6 non-Atlanta venues to have tournaments in collaboration with local chess organizations. Two TDs would be paid to go on the road to assist officiating at these events. Finally, the Georgia Chess Association will once again be involved with events outside the Atlanta area.

Katie Hartley was elected by acclamation to GCA 2nd Vice-President. The election last year between Tim Payne and Thad Rogers resulted in Tim Payne being elected for 2nd Member at Large. Jim Mundy and Thad Rogers will be rotating off the Board, and we appreciate their years of service. There is a vacancy for Treasurer. There is one candidate, GCA member Pam Little, who has been involved with the Financial Committee over the past year who is willing to serve. Others who may be interested should submit their candidacy to the Board at “gcaboard@georgiachess.org.” -Fun Fong, GCA President

GCA Report 2012-2013

Georgia's National Chess Champs!

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:25:20 GMT

We have a new National Co-Champion - Congratulations to Drew Justice for a perfect score in the K-1 section at SuperNationals last weekend!! And congratulations to Ryan Christianson & Jeremy Paul who won the Bughouse tournament yet again and are our 2013 National Bughouse Champions (a wonderful way to cap off many years of playing (and winning) bughouse together - Ryan graduates this spring). Many of our Georgia scholastic players did well and we had big turnout with over 260 players representing our state. Congratulations to all our kids for competing in a tough tournament and thanks to all the parents for supporting scholastic chess and making the weekend trek to Nashville. Go Georgia Chess! and don't stop now...check the GCA calendar for local tournaments throughout the spring and summer.

SuperNationals Results

Ruben Shocron 1921-2013

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:24:00 GMT

Ruben M. Shocron, 1972 Georgia State Champion, died March 8, 2013 at age 92.
He was an active player in Pennsylvania at the time of his death. An article about his life and time spent in Georgia will be published in the next Georgia Chess magazine. He will be missed.

Results for HS Team State Championship 2013

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:54:03 GMT

Congratulations to Co-Champions Northview HS and Pace Academy on winning the 2013 Georgia High School Team Chess Championship!

HS Team x-tables

Results for Georgia K-8 Team State Championship

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:25:35 GMT

Congratulations to Taylor Road Middle School (6-8), Eastside Elementary (K-5), Fulton Sunshine Academy (K-3) and Shakerag Elementary (K-1) who received a perfect score last weekend and are State Champions!!

K-8 Final Standings (tie break order)

Cross Tables: (not tie break order)

K-1 Cross Table by Team - Individual
K-1 Cross Table by Team
K-1 Cross Table by Board

K-3 Cross Table by Team - Individual
K-3 Cross Table by Team
K-3 Cross Table by Board

K-5 Cross Table by Team - Individual
K-5 Cross Table by Team
K-5 Cross Table by Board

6-8 Cross Table by Team - Individual
6-8 Cross Table by Team
6-8 Cross Table by Board

WABE's story on Scholastic Chess in Georgia

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:50:32 GMT

David Barasoain of WABE (90.1FM) is airing a story on scholastic chess in Georgia today on City Cafe at noon. If you missed it, you can find it here: http://wabe.org/post/chess-and-kids.

Collegiate Open Results

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:42:35 GMT

Results for the 2013 GA Collegiate Open held Saturday, March 2nd at Emory University.

Collegiate Championship Results

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 19:50:09 GMT

Congratulations to the University of Georgia, our 2013 Collegiate Georgia State Champions!

Many thanks to the 8 teams who competed in the Georgia Collegiate State Championship this weekend, the volunteers who made it happen and Emory University for hosting...we hope to see more teams next year!! Here are the results:

1. University of Georgia A, 4.0
2. Emory University A, 3.0
3. Emory University B, 2.0
4. Emory University C, 2.0
5. University of Georgia B, 2.0
6. Albany State University, 1.5
7. University of North Georgia, 1.5
8. Agnes Scott College, 0.0

State Qualifier Results

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:05:27 GMT

Congratulations to all teams who spent a full day playing chess and supporting their friends and many thanks to all the volunteers who made the GCA's record breaking 990+ player tournament a success! It felt like a National event (and good prep for our players going to Nashville in April).

Team Standings

Middle School (6-8th) Individual Standings

K-5 Individual Standings

K-3 Individual Standings

K-1 Individual Standings

MLK Tournament Results

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 01:00:00 GMT

A beautiful day at Whitefield Academy - thanks to all our volunteers and host school for a fabulous event. Our service projects were a big success - over 75 backpacks for schools in need, care packages & snack packs for the homeless.

Individual:

K-1 Arthur Guo (1st), Raj Mehta (2nd) - both a perfect score of 5 points

K-3 Hunter Payne (1st) (perfect score)

K-5 Sagan Hartley (1st), Michael Fu (2nd), Arul Selvakumar (3rd) - All perfect score

6-8 Nathan Hayes (1st), Bill Zhang (2nd) both 4.5 points

6-12U1000 Caleb Corliss (perfect score)

9-12 Sumit Sohani (4.5)

Teams:

K-1 Cliff Valley (1st) (14.5 pts), Shakerag (2nd) (11 pts), Westminster (3rd)(10 pts)

K-3 Fulton Sunshine Academy (1st) (14.5 pts), Whitefield Academy (2nd) (13 pts), Medlock Bridge (3rd) (13 pts)

K-5 Crabapple Crossing (1st) (16.5 pts), Eastside Elem (2nd) (15pts), Paideia (3rd) (14 pts)

6-8 Taylor Road Middle (1st) (15pts), River Trail (2nd) (12 pts), Kittredge (3rd) (11 pts)

6-12U1000 Whitefield Academy (1st) (14pts), Tucker Middle (2nd) (9 pts), Fulton Leadership (3rd) (8 pts)

9-12 Northview HS (1st) (14.5pts)

Junior Invitational Results (Beau Hardeman, Chief TD)

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:30:00 GMT

I was Chief TD at the Georgia Junior Invitational this past weekend (2 sections, HS and K-8). Working with kids often brings out the unexpected/remarkable. In the K-8 section, black was down a rook in the last round, but fought valiantly with a king, queen and pawns versus a king, queen, rook and pawns. So much so that after much maneuvering, white inadvertently made a quiet move, losing tempo and allowing the black king to come down and check the white king on the 2nd rank with a forced draw by repetition in the offing. Any coach watching grimaced with chagrin as white allowed for a drawn position, being a full rook up [like I did recently when, after getting up to answer the phone and leaving my piping hot dinner en prise, the dog ate it within the 5 second delay it took for me to realize what had happened]. Then, the unexpected/remarkable happened: After pondering the position, black, out of nowhere, stopped the clock and extended his hand, resigning. Everyone looked on in sheer astonishment. I was perhaps the first to say out loud: "What? You had a forced draw!" "I know," he replied confidently. "I do not feel I deserved it.," muttering inaudibly about something that had happened earlier in the game. I guess it was why he felt that way, possibly what it was that caused him to be a rook down in the first place, yielding a sure lost position to a player who hadn't lost a game. Was it good sportsmanship, honor, a coach's nightmare,
the vagaries of youth, or just a plain "??" (terrible) move? That's for you to decide. For his visibly stunned opponent, he went on to a 4.0 score (3 wins, 2 draws) out of 5, in a 3 way tie for first place, 3rd place on tie breaks (a 4th grader). It came down to the last game of the last round in each section before a winner was determined and there were many good games and exciting finishes throughout the weekend.

- Beau Hardeman, Chief TD

XTables

Results (USCF) (type in Georgia Chess Association under club name)

Class Championship Results

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 18:30:00 GMT

Class Championship 2012 results