Chess club captures first place
Contributed
October 14, 2008
Four members of the Floresville Chess Club, under Coach Howard Berger, participated in the Hill Country Classic Chess Tournament on Sept. 27, capturing two first-place finishes, a second-place finish, and a first-place team trophy.
Titus Shanks, a home-schooled high school student, participated in the open section, which included adults as well as any students brave enough to try. He finished in a three-way tie for first place. Given the complex system of tie-breaks in chess tournaments, Titus wound up with an overall first-place finish.
In the high school section, which also included middle school players, teammates Galen Schmidt and Eric Nolin wound up competing for first place in the last round. Eric, at the end of the game, had cornered his higher-ranked teammate in the dominating position with two queens; in the end, Galen salvaged a draw and thereby won the first-place trophy. Eric consoled himself with the second-place trophy, as well as sharing in the first-place team trophy.
Both Eric Nolin and his younger brother, Kevin, were participating in their first U.S. Chess Federation-rated tournament and did extremely well. Many more-seasoned tournament players would be happy with the Nolins’ final results.
The Floresville Chess Club meets every Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Building of the Floresville United Methodist Church.
Source: http://www.wilsoncountynews.com/
Yessssss!