BANIEL IS CHAMPION, DULGER MADE HISTORY!
By Andres D. Hortillosa
http://www.usmilitarychess.org/
Army Specialist Baniel succeeded in demolishing the Air Force surgeon Dr. (Colonel) Echaure in the last round to secure top honors finishing with 5.5 points. A weeklong stellar performance earned him a hallowed place in the tradition-rich annals of military chess. His name is forever etched in the record books alongside world famous players like IM Emory Tate.
The sensation of the tournament, Elena Dulger of the Air Force finished in clear second. The young airwoman’s impressive performance commences a new beginning in military chess. For the first time ever, a woman player makes the roster of the US Armed Forces Chess Team for the NATO Chess Championship in Brussels, Belgium.
The noted IM Elizabeth Phatz represented Germany last year.
Other members of the team for the prestigious NATO event are: Tech Sgt. Robert A. Bucholtz (Air Force), Lt. Commander Paul L. Choate (Navy), and Corporal Carrelli (Marines). The last spot is being determined this very moment by a playoff match between MSgt. Dan P. Ranario (Air Force) and Captain Christopher Pitts (Army).
The unique rules for determining the composition of the team call for a playoff match between the 5th and 6th finishers if not all services have a player in the top four. The Marine qualifier finished 17th but because each service must be represented by its top scorer regardless of final standing, he makes the team.
This scheme puts players who finish in 4th, 5th and 6th places, respectively, in a playoff scenario. If the team is chosen by the order of their respective standings, the members would be in this order: Baniel (Army), Dulger (Air Force), Bucholtz (Air Force), Ranario (Air Force), Pitts (Army) and Choate (Navy). In this configuration, two are Army, three are Air Force and just one Navy will comprise the team. The Marines will not be represented but the team yields the strongest field.
Decisive results in the last round changed the ranking order dramatically. Pitts (Army) defeated Keough, the top seed for the Air Force. Macaspac (Army) who normally makes the team lost to Ranario (Air Force). Both Pitts and Ranario, with their decisive games in the last round, earned them a playoff and the winner the last spot on the team.
The Air Force bested the Army for the team championship by one point, Air Force totaled 26.5 points and the Army totaled 25.5 points. Had West won his struggle against Adkins, the team event for this year would have been tied between the two perennial rivals at 26.5 points each. The Navy finished in the distant third with 11.5 points. The Marines with just two players finished with 6.5 points.
Top 5:
1 Jhonel B Baniel 1932 5.5
2 Elena V Dulger 1828 5
3 Robert A Bucholtz 2013 5
4 Dan P Ranario 2024 5
5 Chris L Pitts 1915 5
Team Final Standings
AIR FORCE 26.5
ARMY 25.5
NAVY 11.5
MARINES 6.5
Socialism in the military ‘each service must be represented by its top scorer regardless of final standing’.