Round 4 - March 25, 2003

Attendance continues to soar at the monthly tournaments, with a staggering 80 players competing in March. Igor Foygel led the way as usual, returning after a two-month absence and taking up right where he had left off, capturing clear first place in the 26-player Open section with 3.5 points. Fellow masters John Curdo and Charles Riordan each was stung with an upset draw along the way and had to settle for splitting runner-up honors a half-point back.

Foygel, Riordan, and expert Ed Epp won their first two games to share the lead at the halfway point, setting up a pair of critical Round 3 clashes. The two masters drew on Board One while Curdo, who had dropped his half-point to Jeff Penta in the opening round, defeated Epp on Board 2. Meanwhile A-players Trevor De Koekkoek and Randy Brueckner also won their third round games to catch the leaders and make it a five-way tie for first place.

Curdo had already put in for a bye, however, so the other two masters squared off against the A-players in the last round. Foygel, having played black in the key draw with Riordan, had white against De Koekkoek and came through with the full point. Riordan had a chance to match that, of course, but playing black he could only draw with the fast-rising Brueckner, leaving Igor all alone at the top.

Phil Mercurio, George Goulding, and SeverineWamala finished in a three-way tie for first place in the 25-player U1700 section. The first two won three straight games each to share the lead going into the last round, then drew their head-to-head clash to finish with 3.5 points apiece. Wamala, who had taken a second-round bye, won all three games he played to match that total.

The U1400 section was the biggest of all (29 players) and also the most competitive, with a two-way tie for first place between Tom Powers and Pierre Fleurant with 3.5 points each and a six-way deadlock for third place among Greg Siciliano, Harvey Reed, Jenshiang Hong, Tom Simon, Andrew Taylor, and Thomas Martin.

Danny Ashman (1572) was the upset king of the tournament, playing up in the Open section and scoring big wins over Neil Cousin (1855) and Ames Abbot (1767). Calvin Hori also pulled an upset "double" in the Open section, as did Sam Giler in the U1400. Hori (1662) knocked off Al Ward (1846) and drew Na Ruthramoorthy (1874), while Giler (874) drew Greg Siciliano (1367) and defeated Justin Grimes (1069).

The three draws affecting first place in the Open section were also noteworthy. Penta’s half-point against Curdo was the biggie (1845 rating vs. 2253), while Riordan was on both sides: holding Foygel to a draw despite a 2206-2516 rating differential, but then tasting it the other way against Brueckner (1912-2206).

Other upsets meeting our 100-point criterion:
Harry Henriques (1405) over Edwin F Burnett (1556); Gabriel Frieden (1689)over Niki Konovalchuk (1831; James Klinkenberg (1464) over Menno G Koning (1593); Lomer J Cormier (1491) over Paul J Vlahos (1614); Joey Kagan (1501)over Vlahos (1614);
Alexander Paphitis (1736) over Ward (1846; and Lanny Sun (1259) over John Mc Laughlin (1368)
 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
DANNY M ASHMAN (1572) 	195.0 	Ames M Abbot (1767) 
Randy Brueckner (1912) 	147.0 	Charles Riordan (2206) 
Alexand Paphitis (1736) 	110.0 	Alfred G Ward (1846) 
Robert L Harvey (1866) 	73.0 	Edward R Epp (2012) 
Derek C Slater (1989) 	9.0 	John Chamberlain (2007) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Joey Kagan (1501) 		61.5 	Walter Champion (1624) 
Edwin F Burnett (1556) 	43.5 	Phillip Lee (1643) 
George Goulding (1578) 	11.0 	Philip Mercurio (1600) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Harvey G Reed (1318) 	24.5 	Gregor Siciliano (1367) 

Round 3 - March 18, 2003

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Charles Riordan (2206) 155.0 	Igor Foygel (2516) 
Gabriel Frieden (1689) 142.0 	Niki Konovalchuk (1831) 
Edward Astrachan (1819) 85.0 	Derek C Slater (1989) 
Howard Goldowsky (1741) 52.5 	Alfred G Ward (1846) 
Neil B Cousin (1855) 	37.5 	Michael D Pollen (1930) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Joey Kagan (1501) 	113.0 	Paul J Vlahos (1614) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Sam A Giler (874) 	195.0 	Justin P Grimes (1069) 
Douglas Thompson (1317)  28.0 	Thomas E Powers (1373) 
Harvey G Reed (1318) 	  3.0 	Pierre Fleurant (1324) 

Round 2 - March 11, 2003

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Calvin G Hori (1662) 		184.0 	Alfred G Ward (1846) 
Randy Brueckner (1912) 	  47.5 	John Chamberlain (2007) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Jame Klinkenberg (1464) 	129.0 	Menno G Koning (1593) 
Lomer J Cormier (1491) 	123.0 	Paul J Vlahos (1614) 
Alan D Schaefer (1449) 	  87.5 	Walter Champion (1624) 
Brian T O'Rourke (1414) 	  71.0 	Edwin F Burnett (1556) 
Plamen Krastev (1411) 	 70.0 		John Stengrevics (1481) 
Matthew W Phelps (1545) 	  13.5 	David W Martin (1572) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Lanny Sun (1259) 		109.0 	John Mc Laughlin (1368) 

Round 1 - March 4, 2003

Top-seeded Igor Foygel, back from a two-month hiatus playing in and recovering from the U.S. Championship, took up where he left off by winning his initial test to share the early lead with eight other competitors. No. 2 seed John Curdo 2253, was held to a surprise draw by Jeff Penta (1845), Danny Ashman (1572) knocked off Neil Cousin (1855) and Calvin Hori (1662) drew Navan Ruthramoorthy (1874) in the only upsets in the Open section. Form held true down the line otherwise, as master Charles Riordan, experts Ed Epp and John Chamberlain, and A-players Robert Powell, Michael Pollen, and Randy Brueckner all won.

Phil Mercurio heads a group of 10 players winning their first games in the U1700 section, while Tom Powers is top-rated among 11 competitors prevailing in the U1400 group.

There was only one upset in each of these sections: Harry Henriques (1405) defeating Edwin Burnett (1556) and Sam Giler (874) drawing Greg Siciliano (1367).

A total of 69 players turned out for the opening round (22, 21, and 26, respectively, in the three sections), with the usual "jump-ins" expected to increase the field later.

Name                                        Pnts    Victim 
Danny Ashman (1572)               283.0    Neil B Cousin (1855) 
Jeff Georg Penta (1845)             204.0    John A Curdo (2253) 
Calvin G Hori (1662)                  106.0    Na Ruthramoorthy (1874) 

Name                                       Pnts     Victim 
Harry Henriques (1405)             151.0     Edwin F Burnett (1556) 
Matthew W Phelps (1545)           98.0     Phillip Lee (1643) 
James H Rafferty (1528)              96.0     Walter Champion (1624) 
Ethan Thompson (1512)              88.0     Mukund Chorghade (1600) 
Lomer J Cormier (1491)               51.0     Menno G Koning (1593) 

Name                                             Pnts     Victim 
Sam A Giler (874)                         246.5     Gregor Siciliano (1367)