He Did It !
Tory Anderson emulates Bobby Fischer and goes undefeated, and untied, to win the 2008 Farewell Bobby Fischer chess tournament with a PERFECT score of 6 - 0 ! For those of us that were there, it will be remembered as a peformance that can only be described as truly impressive. With a string of victories over 6 very capable players, Tory achieved a tournament performance rating of 2105, which is at the "Candidate Master" level. Mr. Anderson entered the tournament with a 1996 rating, which jumped to a (then) new high of 2015. In addition to 1st place prizes, he also earned himself an extra hundred bucks for his monumental efforts. Congratulations to Tory Anderson!
Taking "clear-cut" second place was Jeremy Troff. Jeremy had a great tournament, scoring 4.5 out of 6, with 4 wins, one draw, and his only loss being to the tournament winner.
Tied for 3rd were Damir Trtanj, Steve Hoisington**, Shahram Nazarinia, Alex Hall, Oscar Gonzalez, and 2008 Utah Woman's State Co-Champion, Brenda Ahlemann. Each of these players scored 4 out of 6.
Tied for 9th were Tim Stakland, Jamie Olsen-Mills, Steven Papalia, and Alexander Gustaffson. Each of these players scored 3.5 out of 6. Mr. Gustaffson started the tournament with a provisional rating of 132. (Yes, 132) He gained nearly 500 rating points to finish at 616. Way to go Alex!
Tied for 13th were rising star Kayden Troff, Jose Garcia, Caleb Kircher, Shaun Taylor, Eliza McIntosh, Richard Papalia, and Ryan Lewis. Each of these players broke even at 3 out of 6. Caleb Kircher and his family joined us by travelling from Idaho!
Tied for 20th were "speed demon" Nozar Babanoury, and the 2009 Rookie Rumble III Champion, Daniel Fang. These two players scored 2.5 out of 6.
Tied for 22nd were, Michel Parsons, Eric Decker, Matthew Leduc, Dominic Croce, Jason Roush, Minna Wang, and Dave Pipkin. They all scored 2 out of 6.
Rounding out the 31 players were Joseph Garcia (1.5), Micah Goldstein (1) and Michael Morrell. Having been away from competitive chess for many years, Mr. Morrell had a bit of a rough tournament, but we are hoping that he has since shaken off the rust, and will once again come and play in 2009.
Those players whose ratings went UP are in the following list: Tory Anderson, Jeremy Troff, Alex Hall, Oscar Gonzalez, Brenda Ahlemann, Jamie Olsen-Mills, Steven Papalia (who decided to simply pass up the 1200's!), Alexander Gustaffson, Jose Garcia, Eliza Mc Intosh, Ryan Lewis, Daniel Fang, Eric Decker, Dominic Croce (who is now rated over 1200), Jason Roush, and Minna Wang (an up and coming player who is making some waves of her own).
Yes, but what about the Trivia Contest Winners?**
What can you say about a man who has a private library consisting of over 2,000 (yes,,,two thousand) chess books? You say,,,,, Steve Hoisington,,,,, YOU are the 2008 Champion of Bobby Fischer Trivia !!! In a contest that can best be described as fun and frenzied, Steve showed that when it comes to encyclopedic knowledge of all things Chess, he is in a class of his own.
Taking second place was Tory Anderson. He might have actually won the Trivia Contest had he not been concentrating so hard on how to spend his prize money.
Caleb Kircher took 3rd place, and showed that Idaho is a force to be reckoned with, not only in chess, but in chess trivia.
Congratulations to all 3 winners, and a heart felt - Thank You - to all who were brave enough to compete in the 2008 Farewell Bobby Fischer Trivia Contest!
