The United States Chess Federation - Qualifier Open Kicks Off

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Qualifier Open Kicks Off

By Dr.Alexey Root, WIM

March 28, 2008

GM John Fedorowicz and Jon Haskel.

The Qualifier Open attracted 102 participants, including 57 master-level or higher players, to Tulsa, OK, March 28th-30th, 2008. (Scroll down to see the most current wallchart.) The $11,000-guaranteed prize fund, seven-round tournament is a qualifier for the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Chess Championship and the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship. That is, the top seven U.S. finishers will qualify for the U.S. Championship, and the top U.S. female will qualify for the Women's Championship. Tom Braunlich wrote a Qualifier Open preview article with additional information. Jerry Hanken will report the event for Chess Life, and GM Jesse Kraai will write a CLO summary of the tournament after it ends. Jon Haskel is broadcasting games for MonRoi. He also helped me get on the Internet, and help John Fedorowicz with his MonRoi unit. (See the photo to the left.)

Organizer Frank K. Berry pointed out the strength of the event by saying, "Mikhail Langer is complaining because he is lower-ranked here than he was at the 2007 Frank K. Berry U.S. Chess Championship." GM Alexander Ivanov said that many players at the 2008 FKB U.S. Chess Championships in May will break even, as the $1000-$2000 that they will win will go toward travel and hotel expenses. Still, he is trying to qualify for that event. As he said, "I'm a player, so I want to play in May. And right now, for the May event, I'm ranked #15. Only the top 10 get invitations for May. So I am playing here to earn a qualification spot. It is tough because there are a lot of GMs here."

The top players in the Qualifier Open, in pre-tournament USCF rating order, are: 1. GM Julio Becerra (2637) 2. GM Alexander Ivanov (2622) 3. GM Eugene Perelshteyn (2615), 4. IM Ben Finegold (2613), 5. GM Sergey Kudrin (2610) , 6. GM Alex Goldin (2597), 7. GM Alex Yermolinsky (2587) and 8. GM Jesse Kraai (2659). The first non-U.S. representative among the top players, ranked 26th, is University of Texas at Dallas student Taut Verdrickas (2369), representing Lithuania. The top eight players were paired down to 2200-rated players.

One of the most interesting top board games was between Alex Yermolinsky and Chess Life reporter for the event, Jerry Hanken:

1760

Unlike the top eight overall players, who all represent the U.S., two of the eight participating women play for other countries. These non-U.S. players are eligible for the $1000 top women's prize, but only the top woman representing the U.S. is eligible for the wild card qualification spot. The seven women, in pre-tournament USCF rating order, are: 1. WFM Bayaraa Zorigt (Mongolia, 2219), 2. WFM Iryna Zenyuk (U.S., 2205) 3. WIM Liudmila Mokriak (Ukraine, 2175). 4. WFM Chouchanik Airapetian (U.S., 2143), 5. Hana Itkis (2084) 6. Courtney Jamison (U.S., 2064), 7. WIM Alexey Root (U.S., 2001) , and 8. Jennifer Acon (U.S., 1972).

Bayaraa Zorigt won her first game, after a big adventure getting here. Friday morning, UT-Dallas students Bayaraa Zorigt, Sal Bercys, Taut Verdrickas, and Gerald Roberts left Dallas by car at 6 a.m. Then the water pump gave out. They had to wait 45 minutes at a gas station for repairs. Even with that slowdown, they got here at noon, when the first round started.

Tom Braunlich told me that the youth had a great first round, "Maxx Coleman from KS beat IM Ginsburg. Conrad Holt beat Carl Boor. Devin Hughes drew Michael Aigner."

Young star Ray Robson (2427) also won. Chouchanik Airapetian said she played a good game against Ray, but got in time trouble. Instead of continuing her attack, she erred with "knight back on move 30. And that is not good, because when you are attacking you have to keep attacking."

1759

Finally, I've been wondering who is older, Jerry Hanken or Viktors Pupols? I've known both men for years. Here are the photos:

Jerry Hanken in Tulsa

Viktor Pupols in Tulsa

Vik suggested showing a photo of him climbing a mountain to help readers get the right answer. Jerry says he is working on a book manuscript of his life as a chessplayer and chess insider, which he describes as "Chess Don with a little chess." If the readers wish to vote in comments, I'll give the answer next time. (Jerry wants to know the answer too, and Vik won't tell him.)
Until next time,
Alexey

Dr. Alexey Root is a WIM and former U.S. Women's Champion. She will continue to report from Tulsa this weekend. You can find out more about her and her books in the following links: http://lu.com/authors/AlexeyRoot.pdf , Science, Math, Checkmate and Children and Chess.

SwissSys Wall Chart. Qualifier: Open (Standings)

			St/Tm	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Total
2	GM Alex IVANOV	MA	W 49	B 27	W 11	B 7
	2622 12513936 (2554) (2000202)		1.0	2.0	3.0					3.0
7	GM Alex YERMOLINSKY	SD	B 54	W 34	B 20	W 2
	2587 12534917 (2522) (2005492)		1.0	2.0	3.0					3.0
1	GM Julio BECERRA	FL	B 48	W 26	B 12	W 13
	2637 12778049 (2573) (3501728)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
5	GM Sergey KUDRIN	CT	B 52	W 32	B 14	W 18
	2610 11257585 (2566) (2000164)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
8	GM Jesse KRAAI	NM	W 55	B 33	W 17	B 19
	2569 12442362 (2510) (2002035)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
9	GM John FEDOROWICZ	NY	B 57	W 36	B 24	W 30
	2532 10604737 (2470) (2000083)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
10	IM Josh FRIEDEL	NH	W 58	B 37	W 21	B 25
	2531 12593986 (2487) (2017199)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
15	IM Joe BRADFORD	TX	B 63	W 42	B 6	W 4	bye
	2467 10378583 (2419) (2000539)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
17	IM Mike MULYAR	CO	B 65	W 44	B 8	W 6
	2439 12524770 (2381) (2008742)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
4	IM Ben FINEGOLD	MI	W 51	B 30	W 78	B 15
	2613 11264417 (2529) (2000261)		1.0	1.5	2.5					2.5
3	GM Gene PERELSHTEYN	MA	B 50	W 28	B 13	W 14
	2615 12627196 (2551) (2012529)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
6	GM Alex GOLDIN	KY	W 53	B 31	W 15	B 17
	2597 12556822 (2566) (2019540)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
12	IM Dean IPPOLITO	NJ	W 60	B 39	W 1	B 21
	2495 12445752 (2417) (2009870)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
13	IM Sal BERCYS	NY	B 61	W 40	W 3	B 1
	2474 12909023 (2421) (12802212)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
14	IM Vinay BHAT	CA	W 62	B 43	W 5	B 3
	2472 12551720 (2481) (2011352)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
21	FM Dan LUDWIG	FL	B 69	W 71	B 10	W 12
	2425 12717400 (2357) (2024322)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
30	FM Mike LANGER	TX	W 79	W 4	B 97	B 9	bye
	2323 12581229 (2314) (2015064)		1.0	1.5	2.5					2.5
24	IM Jay BONIN	NY	W 72	B103	W 9	B 11
	2385 10098327 (2351) (2000644)		1.0	2.0	2.5					2.5
19	IM Blas LUGO	FL	B 67	W 46	B 86	W 8
	2428 12647631 (2411) (2011263)		1.0	1.5	2.5					2.5
25	FM Jake KLEIMAN	TN	B 73	W 86	B 46	W 10
	2371 12683681 (2322) (2020041)		1.0	1.5	2.5					2.5
18	IM Mike BROOKS	MO	W 66	B 64	W 56	B 5
	2435 11045685 (2478) (2000334)		0.5	1.5	2.5					2.5
11	IM David PRUESS	CA	B 59	W 38	B 2	W 24
	2497 12601834 (2431) (2014254)		1.0	2.0	2.0					2.0
20	FM Ray ROBSON	FL	W 68	B 45	W 7	B 44
	2427 12847250 (2389) (2023970)		1.0	2.0	2.0					2.0
78	Conrad HOLT	KS	W 29	W 22	B 4	B 23
	2053 12937909 (2169) (2034387)		1.0	2.0	2.0					2.0
49	John BICK	Lou	B 2	W 73	B101	W 26
	2205 12544520 (2201) (2012790)		0.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
16	IM Dmitry ZILBERSTEIN	CA	W 64	B 66	W 41	B 42
	2457 12610669 (2411) (2010739)		0.5	1.5	2.0					2.0
22	IM Ron BURNETT	TN	W 70	B 78	W 91	B 45
	2423 12093120 (2371) (2002159)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
26	Taut VEDRICKAS	LTU	W 74	B 1	W 53	B 49
	2369 13744777 (2283) (12802654)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
32	Alex BETANELI	WI	W 82	B 5	W 58	B 68
	2299 12560488 (2242) (2012359)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
33	Sam SHANKLAND	CA	B 84	W 8	B 63	W 48
	2279 12852765 (2279) (2004887)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
37	FM Daniel NARODITSKY	CA	B 88	W 10	B 67	W 57	bye
	2256 12892910 (2205) (2026961)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
42	Ashish VAJA	WI	W 95	B 15	W 79	W 16
	2224 12744905 (2213) (2019698)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
44	FM Greg MARKZON	NJ	W 98	B 17	W 81	W 20
	2218 12057550 (2150) (2003694)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
48	WFM Iryna ZENYUK	NY	W 1	B 72	W 93	B 33
	2205 12846035 (2227) (2022966)		0.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
57	FM Robert ROWLEY	AZ	W 9	B 85	W 27	B 37	bye
	2200 10420181 (2231) (2001020)		0.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
45	Pete KARAGIANIS	IA	B 99	W 20	B 90	W 22
	2210 12542549 (2201) (2022753)		1.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
59	Glen BADY	PA	W 11	B 87	W 29	B 41
	2185 12536162 (2226) (2027046)		0.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
68	WFM Ch AIRAPETIAN	WA	B 20	W 99	B 38	W 32
	2143 12629918 (2092) (2020564)		0.0	1.0	2.0					2.0
41	Mike AIGNER	CA	B 94	W 83	B 16	W 59
	2242 12595730 (2242) (2017288)		0.5	1.5	2.0					2.0
46	Kalin NONCHEV	TX	W100	B 19	W 25	B 66
	2209 12892206 (2184) (2024462)		1.0	1.5	1.5					1.5
86	Jennifer ACON	CA	W 35	B 25	W 19	B 39
	1972 13313093 (1735) (2031159)		1.0	1.5	1.5					1.5
64	Mark DEJMEK	TX	B 16	W 18	B 94	W 34
	2162 12350320 (2134) (2017628)		0.5	0.5	1.5					1.5
66	Steve Harrington	NM	B 18	W 16	B102	W 46
	2154 12091900		0.5	0.5	1.5					1.5
28	FM Matt BEELBY	CA	W 76	B 3	W 55	B 62
	2340 10450951 (2248) (2001802)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
31	FM Eugene YANAYT	CA	B 80	W 6	B 61	W 56
	2301 12598805 (2255) (2020165)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
34	FM Movses MOVSISYAN	OK	W 85	B 7	W 62	B 64
	2273 12797252 (2247) (2020807)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
36	Bart GIBBONS	MO	W 87	B 9	W 65	B 55	bye
	2261 10433762 (2250) (2003244)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
39	IM Walter SHIPMAN	CA	B 90	W 12	B 71	W 86	bye
	2248 10114357 (2216) (2001357)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
40	Kenneth JONES	MO	W 92	B 13	W 77	B 65
	2245 10364841 (2187) (2004259)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
43	WFM Bayaara ZORIGT	MGL	B 96	W 14	B 75	W 71
	2219 13526576 (4901010)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
71	Maxx COLEMAN	KS	W 23	B 21	W 39	B 43
	2136 12751215 (2209) (2027119)		1.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
91	David Zelnick	OK	bye	W 47	B 22	B 27
	1923 12766727 (2007444)		0.5	1.5	1.5					1.5
23	IM GINSBURG	AZ	B 71	W102	B 50	W 78
	2414 10172918 (2365) (2000563)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
50	Erik SANTARIUS	TX	W 3	B 74	W 23	B 77
	2204 12841108 (2125) (2025817)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
55	FM Jerry WHEELER	TN	B 8	W 84	B 28	W 36
	2200 10242126 (2135) (2007371)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
61	Sergey GALANT	OK	W 13	B 89	W 31	B 35
	2175 12810540 (2248) (2022117)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
62	WIM Mila MOKRYAK	UKR	B 14	W 96	B 34	W 28
	2175 13017250 (2147) (14110644)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
65	FM Darwin YANG	TX	W 17	B 95	B 36	W 40
	2160 12945617 (2074) (2029111)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
35	FM Jim DEAN	IN	B 86	W 70	B 82	W 61
	2267 12497557 (2248) (2012340)		0.0	0.5	1.5					1.5
70	Jeff de Jesus	TX	B 22	B 35	W 76	W 47
	2141 12839764 (2017407)		0.0	0.5	1.5					1.5
97	Julie O'Neill	TX	bye	B100	W 30	----
	1800 10457262 (2921447)		0.5	1.5	1.5					1.5
75	WFM Hana ITKIS	NJ	W 27	B 51	W 43	B 52
	2084 12667543 (2065) (2020190)		0.0	1.0	1.5					1.5
56	CM Nick SCHOONMAKER	TX	bye	W 94	B 18	B 31
	2200 11270972 (2202) (2022680)		0.5	1.5	1.5					1.5
47	LM Steve GREANIAS	VA	bye	B 91	W103	B 70
	2208 10034191 (2122) (2006987)		0.5	0.5	1.5					1.5
52	Viktor PUPOLS	WA	W 5	B 76	B 83	W 75
	2201 10511186 (2228) (2008009)		0.0	0.5	1.5					1.5
77	Courtney JAMISON	TX	bye	bye	B 40	W 50
	2064 12746751 (1979) (2025698)		0.5	1.0	1.5					1.5
27	FM Todd ANDREWS	TN	B 75	W 2	B 57	W 91
	2348 12583055 (2312) (2012456)		1.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
29	Carl BOOR	OH	B 78	W 69	B 59	W 80
	2337 12480475 (2300) (2017008)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
53	LM Tim MC ENTEE	IA	B 6	W 80	B 26	W 92
	2200 12298150 (2147) (2022770)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
63	Robert PLUNKETT	MN	W 15	B 92	W 33	B 79
	2164 12525711 (2115) (2018772)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
79	Drew HOLLINBERGER	IN	B 30	W 54	B 42	W 63
	2031 20070967 (1878) (2031760)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
90	Paul Fricano	WI	W 39	B 60	W 45	B 51
	1946 12687514 (2037904)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
38	Alex CHUA	TX	W 89	B 11	W 68	B 74
	2256 12744151 (2279) (2021641)		1.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
58	Eric HANSEN	CAN	B 10	W 88	B 32	W 99
	2199 13264840 (2224) (2606771)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
67	Brad SAWYER	TX	W 19	B 98	W 37	B 93
	2153 12669552 (2116) (2023784)		0.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
73	Dana MACKENZIE	CA	W 25	B 49	W 95	B103
	2115 10277604 (2117) (2010925)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
99	Gerald Roberts	TX	W 45	B 68	bye	B 58
	1765 13118471 (2029820)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
103	Jeremy Good	VA	bye	W 24	B 47	W 73
	1502 12488705 (2008300)		1.0	1.0	1.0					1.0
51	Jeff HASKEL	FL	B 4	W 75	B 85	W 90
	2202 12744467 (2105) (2024900)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
74	Shawn Noland	TX	B 26	W 50	B 96	W 38			----
	2105 12503122 (2017814)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
100	Jaime FERNANDEZ	KS	B 46	W 97	B 84	W 69
	1737 12663316 (2048) (2021480)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
54	OLM Jerry HANKEN	CA	W 7	B 79	W 87	B 81
	2200 10432766 (1932) (2009340)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
60	Garrett SMITH	IN	B 12	W 90	B 88	W101
	2178 12743596 (2158) (2024829)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
69	Robert AKOPIAN	CA	W 21	B 29	W 89	B100
	2142 12840448 (2134) (2023172)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
80	Tim STEINER	KS	W 31	B 53	W 98	B 29
	2030 12520946 (2134) (2025922)		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
92	Andres Hortillosa	TN	B 40	W 63	W 72	B 53			----
	1900 12455466		0.0	0.0	1.0					1.0
81	Larry COHEN	IL	bye	bye	B 44	W 54
	2013 10341841 (2022) (2026228)		0.5	1.0	1.0					1.0
93	Shaun GRAHAM	OK	bye	bye	B 48	W 67
	1885 12590577 (2084) (2027798)		0.5	1.0	1.0					1.0
101	Bran Whitcomb	OK	bye	bye	W 49	B 60
	1672 12824831 (2003295)		0.5	1.0	1.0					1.0
104	Steve Horn	TX	bye	bye	----	----	----	----	----
	1475 12454681		0.5	1.0	1.0					1.0
94	Devin Hughes	OK	W 41	B 56	W 64	B 82
	1870 12910233 (2011026)		0.5	0.5	0.5					0.5
76	J P HYLTIN	TX	B 28	W 52	B 70	W 83
	2079 10399289 (2018) (2027240)		0.0	0.5	0.5					0.5
83	WIM Alexey ROOT	TX	bye	B 41	W 52	B 76
	2001 10374651 (2039) (2004658)		0.5	0.5	0.5					0.5
102	Mark C. Anderson	FL	bye	B 23	W 66	W 84
	1660 12458601		0.5	0.5	0.5					0.5
82	Chris CLAASSEN	KS	B 32	bye	W 35	W 94
	2011 12932324 (2055) (2027100)		0.0	0.5	0.5					0.5
72	John Hendrick	TX	B 24	W 48	B 92	W 85
	2135 12579405 (2026139)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
84	Alan KOBERNAT	CA	W 33	B 55	W100	B102
	2000 10333849 (2079) (2016583)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
85	Mike MASON	FL	B 34	W 57	W 51	B 72
	1986 11441653 (2054) (2029090)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
87	Jim BERRY	OK	B 36	W 59	B 54	W 88
	1959 10384885 (2087) (2025990)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
95	Jacob BERGER	OK	B 42	W 65	B 73	B 89
	1865 12897056 (1981) (2007487)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
96	Mike NUGENT	OK	W 43	B 62	W 74	B 98
	1859 12704397 (1915) (2032341)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
88	Alex Gorbounov	NC	W 37	B 58	W 60	B 87
	1955 12685527		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
89	Kevin Cao	MO	B 38	W 61	B 69	W 95
	1953 12905349 (2036835)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0
98	Robert Stepp	Ark	B 44	W 67	B 80	W 96
	1782 10367719 (2011310)		0.0	0.0	0.0					0.0

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SwissSys Wall Chart. Qualifier: Open (Standings)

October - Chess Life Online 2008

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