Exchange student win chess tourney
By Special to the Tribune
Wed Feb 04, 2009, 09:32 AM EST
Cheboygan Daily Tribune – Cheboygan, MI, USA
Cheboygan, Mich. –
Finn Hilgendorff, a foreign exchange student from Germany at Cheboygan High School, won the adult section of Saturday’s Cheboygan Invitational Chess Tournament. There were 44 people of all ages who participated in the tournament, which is the largest annual chess event in northern Michigan. A total of 15 medals were awarded in four categories:
Elementary, Middle School, High School, and Adult. This was the 13th year for the Chess fundraiser was held at Cheboygan High School.
The winners were:
Elementary-David Meyer of Traverse City (First); Kacilee Legato of Cheboygan (Second)
Middle School-David Meyer of Traverse City (First); Trent Douglas of Cheboygan (Second); Rachelle Vieau of Cheboygan (Third); Zachary DeMoinds of Carp Lake (Fourth).
High School – Patrick Brewster of Sault Ste Marie (First); Greg Brewster of Sault Ste Marie (Second); Cody Dodd of Cheboygan (Third); Lou Agee of Cheboygan (Fourth).
Adult- Finn Hilgendorff of Cheboygan (First); Josh Ferraiuolo of Petoskey (Second); Ralph Ferraiuolo of Wolverine (Third); Joe Meyer of Traverse City (Fourth); Kyle Johnston of Gaylord (Fifth).
Because of numbers, the elementary and middle school sections were combined this year. Travis Meyer, who is only in fifth grade, surprised everyone by winning all four of his games against middle school students. For this reason, he received the first place medal for both elementary and middle school.
In the high school section, the Brewster brothers from Sault Ste Marie dominated. Both Patrick Brewster and Greg Brewster won their first three games, forcing them to play one another in the fourth round. Patrick won the game to take first, leaving Greg to take second.
In the adult section, Finn Hilgendorff won all four of his games to take first place. Finn is a foreign exchange student from Germany who attends Cheboygan High School. Finn could have played in the high school section, but he elected to play in the more competitive adult section. He had no difficulty defeating four of the best adult chess players in northern Michigan. Luckily for Cheboygan, Finn will be playing first board when the Cheboygan High School Chess Team travels to Flint for the State Tournament.
The Cheboygan Invitational Chess Tournament is the primary fundraiser for the high school’s Chess Team. The money will be used to send the team to Flint on Feb. 28. The team has won six team trophies in the last six years.
Source: http://www.cheboygannews.com
What’s his rating?
It’s not very high.
According to FIDE his rating is only 2006 ELO
I played him and he ground a small advantage in a well played game. He’s probably close to master in the uscf.