International Master Justin J Sarkar (NY) won the 86th Annual Southwest Open with 6 points in seven games over Labor Day weekend in Irving. Hersh Sing (WI) placed second with 5.5 points, while FM Nathan Resika (NY), NM Shelev Oberoi (TX) and NM Austen J Green (TX), finished in a three-way tie for third with 5 points each.
Shaun Graham (OK) won the Reserve section with 6 points in seven rounds. Derek Hoover won the Novice section with a perfect seven points. Sean Patton won the Scholastic U1000 side event with 5 points in five rounds.
Participants enjoyed a rendition of America the Beautiful by FM Nathan Resika, a bass vocalist of some acclaim who finished 3rd in the Open Section.
The Southwest Open began in 1935, the same year TCA was founded and brings in player from around the world. The 86th Annual Southwest Open was organized by the Dallas Chess Club. This year’s event brought in 81 players during a worldwide pandemic. Louis Reed was Chief TD. Louis Salinas and Barbara Swafford were Assistant TDs. Tom Crane was TD for the scholastic side event.
Congrats to Luis, Barb, Louis, and Tom for pulling off this event during these crazy times.
The stories behind the story.
International Master Justin Sarkar, from New York, is a US Chess Life Member. He earned the Nation Master certificate in 1996 and the Original Life Master title in 1998. He is ranked in the top 2,400 for world active players and in the top 100 for USA players. He is in the 98th percentile for all USA and New York players. US Chess online records credit him with 1,437 tournaments, nearly 6,500 rated games and a lifetime 65%-win percentage.
National Master Shelev Oberoi is one of the fastest rising chess stars in Texas. He earned the National Master certificate in 2019. From the Houston area, he plays extensively around the nation in the toughest competitions. He is ranked Number 9 on the US Chess Age 14 list. He is ranked in the 99th percentiles for all USA players, all USA juniors and all Texans. US Chess online records credit him with 286 tournaments and over 1,200 rated games.
TCA Lifetime Patron member Austen Green earned the National Master certificate in 2008 and Original Life Master title in 2010. He won the Texas Amateur Champion title in 2005. He won the Tarrant County (TX) Championship three times (2005, 2006, 2007). He is ranked in the 99th percentiles for all USA players and all Texans. US Chess online records credit him with 465 tournaments, nearly 2,000 rated games and a lifetime 75% win percentage. In his early years he thrived under the mentoring of TCA Lifetime Patron member Carmen Chairez and the support of the old Watauga Chess Club. Texas Chess Team member.
Shaun Graham won the Oklahoma State Championship in 2009. He is ranked in the 93rd percentile for all USA players and 89th percentile for all Oklahoma players. US Chess online records credit him with 292 tournaments and over 1,200 rated games. Oklahoma Chess Team member.
Texan Derek Hoover, playing in his first tournament, swept the Novice section with a perfect 7.0/7 score.
The 86th Southwest Open was widely watched with great interest, especially in the home of Maxwell Barnes, a young rising star in Oklahoma chess circles. Two of his students, Sean Patton and Clinton Eli Mooney, placed 1st and 2nd in the 1 Day Scholastic: U1000 section.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Dallas Chess Club (DCC) is one of the major chess organizations in the United States and a gold affiliate of the United States Chess Federation (US Chess, formerly USCF). The club has approximately 300 members, including a number of FIDE titled players such as: Grandmaster Alejandro Ramírez, GM Amon Simutowe, IM Jacek Stopa, IM Marko Zivanic, IM John Bartholomew, IM Keaton Kiewra, FM Keith Hayward, GM Darwin Yang, FM Tommy He, and WIM Sarah Chiang. There is also a number of US Chess masters such as: Mihail Bantic, Austen Green, Jimmy Heiserman, Adarsh Jayakumar, Nelson Lopez, Jarod Pamatmat, and Abhishek Mallela. James T. Campion directed the club for many years from old East Dallas. Historically, the club’s most famous member was Ken Smith for whom the Smith-Morra Gambit is co-named, and the DCC hosts an annual tournament in his honor.
Also, from Wikipedia.
DCC utilizes volunteers for club activities. Two notable volunteer TD’s are Luis Salinas and Robert Jones. DCC hosted Robert Smeltzer (1930–2010), who set the world record in 1995 for playing the most rated chess games in a single year, for a total of 2266. Smeltzer was subsequently featured on the cover of the official USCF monthly magazine, Chess Life.
Correction: International Master Justin Sarkar … is in the 99th percentile for all USA and New York players.
I promise I will try being a better chess reporter tomorrow. — Jim H —