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Another tie with Texas at the 22nd RRSO
Wayne Hatcher 2-0'd his Texas opponent. So did Aayush Praveen and Lafayette Chen.
Round one of this year's RRSO ended with Texas ahead by two points. By the middle of round two, Oklahoma had surged ahead. But when the dust settled, so did the score: Oklahoma 15, Texas 15.
The 22nd Red River Shootout was held May 11, 2024 at the Lake Murray Lodge in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The event is a team match held annually between Oklahoma and Texas. Players are paired with an opponent near their own rating for two games. Thirty players participated in this year's RRSO, which was organized by Tom Crane, the Texas captain and one of the event's founders, and by Oklahoma's team captain, Rebecca Rutledge.
Another of the tournament's founders, Jim Hollingsworth (TX), also participated this year, as did Oklahoma's Bruce Wells, who has been a part of this event every year since the first RRSO in 2003.
The organizers wish to thank everybody who came out and made this year's RRSO such a great day for all of us. We're already looking forward to the next one. Crosstable is here: RRSO XXII
NM Mark Hulsey Wins Oklahoma State Senior Championship
by Tom Braunlich
The Tulsa Midtown Chess Club hosted the annual state championship for seniors this past weekend, which qualifies the winner to play in the prestigious national tournament of state senior champions held alongside the U.S. Open this summer. NM Mark Hulsey won with 3.5 points, tied with veteran master Bill Orton from Arkansas, but of course Mark got the Okie title. Both won $250. The event was generously organized by our Harold Brown, and he directed it as well. There were three masters present and four Class A players (three of whom were former Expert-rated), and it was a very hard-fought tournament. There will be a full report in the next Oklahoma Chess Magazine. Crosstable of the event is here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202404212642.
ELIZABETH BRADDY IS OSCO STATE CHAMPION
Elizabeth Braddy won the top prize at the 2024 Oklahoma Scholastic Chess State Championships, held April 13 at the University of Central Oklahoma. Her win made her the first girl to win the state title and the first girl to qualify for both the Denker Tournament of High School State Champions and the Haring Tournament of Girls State Champions. She chose the Haring and will represent us there for the fifth consecutive year. Oklahoma's other scholastic invitationals representatives for this year are Oscar Wang (Denker), Lafayette Chen (Barber), and Aayush Praveen (Rockefeller). Oklahoma's representative to the Seniors event will be named later this month. Read more about this year's OSCO championships on our Scholastics page.
PHOTO (from left) OSCO Chief Tournament director Josie Braddy with Oklahoma's 2024 Invitationals team: Aayush Praveen (Rockefeller), Lafayette Chen (Barber), Oscar Wang (Denker), and 2024 state champion Elizabeth Braddy (Haring).
PHOTO: National Master Chuck Unruh presents the state championship trophy to Elizabeth Braddy at the 2024 Oklahoma Scholastic Chess State Championships.
Chaturanga Open held in OKC
FM Ryan Amburgy and David Luscomb tied for first place at the first Chaturanga Open, held May 4 at the Oklahoma City Chess Club. The India Association of Oklahoma (IAOK) sponsored the event, with proceeds donated to victims of the tornados that swept through Oklahoma last month. The 51-player event was directed by Joel Gargus.
Amburgy and Luscomb both scored 3.5 out of 4 points. Low seed Ivan Ding played up to the top section and fought his way to third, finishing at 3.0 and picking up a whopping 90 points.
Aayush Praveen scored a perfect 4.0 for the win in the U1600. Four players tied for second with 3.0 points each: Chris Amburgy, Eshawn Samadder, Roshan Valentine, and Anurag Roy Choudhury.
In the U1000, Jedediah Marler and Lorenzo Folsom tied for first with 3.5 points apiece. Four players finished with 3.0: Jeremiah Marler, Praveen Lakshmiganapathy, Jonathan Qin, Paarth Jain, and Pallab Ghosh.
PHOTO: Jay Variathody (left) and Sreedhar Domakonda (right) of the India Association of Oklahoma present FM Ryan Amburgy with the first-place trophy at the Chaaturanga Open, held May 4 in Oklahoma City.
James Joy wins Eclipse Rapid in Tulsa
James Joy, with a 4-0 score, won the Midtown Chess Club (Tulsa) Pre-Eclipse Day Rapid on Sunday, April 7. NM Chuck Unruh, David Hughes and Jordan Locust tied at 3-1 for second place. Fourteen players competed in this tournament, including new US Chess member Arnold Iselin, age 76, who scored 2-2 with a last-round bye.
This event was part of the Midtown Chess Club monthly tournament series for 2024. View the results of this event and the rest of MTCC's blitz and rapid tournaments at the link below.
David Luscomb wins the OKC Open
With a perfect 5.0 score, David Luscomb won the Oklahoma City Open, held March 22-24 at the Oklahoma City Chess Club. Garrett Hunt took second in the top section with a score of 4.0. Tied for third at 3.5 were Shaun Graham-Bowcaster and David Buck, who drove up from Texas for the event.
Amir Marquis Jallah, also from Texas, swept the U1600 to win with a perfect 5.0. Tied for 2nd/3rd with 4.0 points each were Ivan Ding, Rebecca Rutledge, and Arkansas player Nicholas Emlaw.
Fifty-two players participated in the event. Joel Gargus was chief TD and organizer. Some photos are below, and you can see the crosstables here.
Oklahoma players at the 2024 Southwest Class Championships in Irving, Texas (from left) back row: Roshan Valentine, Oscar Wang, Max Barnes, Joe Veal, Ryan Amburgy, Chris Amburgy; middle row: Anurag Roy Choudhury, Elizabeth Braddy, Rebecca Rutledge, Jake Williams; front row: Will Tate, Arya Roy Choudhury
Another big year for Oklahomans at the 2024 Southwest Class Championships
by Joe Veal
There were many pitched battles amongst the 429 competitors in the recently played 2024 Southwest Class Chess Championships, held February 16-20 at the Westin Hotel in Dallas, Texas . Fourteen Oklahomans played in seven sections this year: FM Ryan Amburgy, Maxwell Barnes, Joe Veal, Shaun Bowcaster, Elizabeth Braddy, Oscar Wang, Vaughn Rees, Jake Williams, Joel Gargus, Arya Roy Choudhury, Anurag Roy Choudhury, Roshan Valentine, Rebecca Rutledge, and William Tate. This is one of the most popular events on the chess calendar for Oklahoma players because of its lucrative cash prizes and the relatively short drive.
#1, Expert Class
Oklahoma's defending state champion, Maxwell Barnes (5.5 out of 7 games) was in a four-way tie for first in the 59-player Expert (Under 2200) section. He picked up $950 for his efforts. He won four games and drew three with no losses. With this performance, Maxwell crossed a new rating plateau, 2100, that very few Oklahomans of any age ever achieve in their tournament career. He currently is working with GM Steven Zierk and was the first scholastic student I ever worked with in my chess coaching career. Maxwell is a junior at Harding Charter Prep high school.
#6, Class A
Elizabeth Braddy finished just a half point off the leaders in the 84-player Class A (Under 2000) section. She scored 5 out of 7 and won $50. Our Haring representative for the last four years and another former student of mine, Elizabeth is currently working with a IM in Texas and is a homeschooled freshman in Oklahoma City.
#2, Class B
A second grader from the Moore Chess Club (a fantastic club that is the most kid-friendly club in the state), Arya Roy Choudhury, tied for second with a score of 5.5/7 in the 52-player Class B (Under 1800) section. He picked up a cool $750. What was noteworthy was that Arya played one section up—his rating qualified him for the Class C (Under 1600) section. This meant he was the rating underdog in every game, yet he still finished near the top of the field.
#2, Class D
Roshan Valentine, an eighth grader from Classen SAS and a current student of mine, scored 5 out of 7 in the 32-player Class D (Under 1400) section. Roshan received $250 for his result. He began with me as a 811-rated player and after this event, he is 1359.
The event crosstables are here.
As a current board member of the Oklahoma Chess Association, I wish to thank the Continental Chess Association and their staff for running an excellent event. I also wish to thank all of the Oklahomans who took the sojourn to Dallas to play in this hallowed event. I would like to advise all Oklahoma chess players to visit our tournaments page for the next chess events in Oklahoma. My thanks to all and I will see you next time.
Ryan Amburgy wins 2nd Rozsa Trophy
FM Ryan Amburgy won the 2nd Rozsa Trophy, an invitational round robin for Oklahoma's top six players. The event was held in Tulsa on January 26–28, 2024.
Amburgy scored 3.5 points out of 5.0. Three players tied for second place with 3.0: Maxwell Barnes, NM Tom Braunlich, and David Luscomb.
Harold Brown was tournament director. The games were streamed live with commentary from Jake Williams, NM Mark Hulsey, and Joe Veal.
Look forward to reading more about the event in the upcoming issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine. In the meantime, the stream and DGT broadcasts can still be viewed at the links below. Crosstable is here.
PHOTO (from left): Paul Covington, who ran the DGT boards for the event, and the players: David Zelnick, David Luscomb, NM Tom Braunlich, Anthony Paolercio, FM Ryan Amburgy, and Maxwell Barnes.
AMBURGY • BRAUNLICH • ZELNICK • PAOLERCIO • BARNES • LUSCOMB
Oklahoma's top six to meet in Tulsa for 2nd Rozsa Trophy
Watch the games live as the state's top players battle it out in the second annual Rozsa Trophy! The tournament is a round robin for Oklahoma's top six players.
All three boards will be broadcast live with commentary by Jake Williams, a chess historian and coach whose popular channel is known for sharp analysis and lively discussion that appeals to advanced players, new players, and everyone in between.
Round one starts Friday, January 26 at 5:30 p.m. CST. Rounds two and three will be Saturday at 10:00 and 2:30. The final two rounds are at 9:30 and 2:00 Sunday. Watch the games, participate in the analysis, ask questions and root for your favorite Oklahoma player here: twitch.tv/okie_chess/home
Oklahoman takes the U1600 title at Texas Winter Championship
Our congratulations to Oklahoma player Anurag Roy Choudhury, who took first place in the U1600 division at the 2024 Texas Winter Championship. Way to go, Anurag!
The event was held Saturday, January 20 at the Texas Chess Center's location in Frisco. David Gaston was chief tournament director.
Tulsa player rises to OKC's "challenge"
Luscomb wins both events at OKC Speed Chess Challenge
January 13, 2024
Dire predictions of a treacherous winter storm did little to deter players from attending today's OKC Speed Chess Challenge at the Oklahoma City Chess Club. Players from Arkansas, Tulsa, Ardmore, Dallas, and all over the OKC metro—thirty-four players in all—competed in two events: a morning Quick tournament (G/15+10) and an afternoon Blitz (G/5+5).
David Luscomb of Tulsa won them both. He scored 4.5 out of 5 in the Quick event. His only draw came from Max Barnes, whose 3.5 points landed him in a tie for second with Garrett Hunt and Matthew Ebrahimi.
Luscomb won the afternoon blitz event with 6.5 out of 8 points. Joe Veal came in second with 6.0, followed by Max Barnes with 5.5.
Kirthika Duggisetty's win in the U1500 Quick event comes right off the heels of her first-place U1200 finish in last week's Deer Creek K-12 Open. She scored 5.0 out of 6 today. Next came Anurag Roy Choudhury and Treyson Burton, who tied for second with 3.5 points each.
Another winner from last week's OSCO took first in the U1500 at today's afternoon blitz event. William Lin, who won the Premier section at Deer Creek, swept his division and won with a perfect 8.0 score.
Joel Gargus was chief TD and organizer. Results are here.
William Lin wins latest OSCO
Stillwater player William Lin took first in the most recent OSCO tournament, held in Edmond on January 6. The win places Lin in the lead among contenders for the nomination to the Denker Tournament of High School State Champions, to be held during the US Chess Open this summer.
191 players competed in five sections at this weekend's Deer Creek K-12 Open. Josie Braddy was chief tournament director. For more details and photos of the event, visit our Scholastics page. Crosstables are here.
PHOTO: Stillwater sophomore William Lin at the Deer Creek K-12 Open, held January 6 in Edmond. Lin won the event and leads the field of contenders for this year's Denker.
Highlights from the Holiday Open
December 31, 2023
For the first time in its thirty-two-year history, the Holiday Open took place in Oklahoma City this year. The fifty-nine player event was the second-largest ever for the tournament Jim Berry started in Stillwater in 1991.
Stillwater was home to the Holiday Open for twenty-three years. The Tulsa Midtown Chess Club took it over in 2017, and it was held there for five years. This year's Holiday Open was hosted by the Oklahoma City Chess Club, a new affiliate headquartered in the Kamp's 1910 building in downtown OKC.
Brian Slone, Adley Bufford, and Max Barnes tied for first in the Open section. They scored 3.5 points apiece (out of 4.0). Unrated player Saiyara Arun won the U1300 with a perfect 4.0. He was followed by five players who scored 3.0 points each: Kiara Pavithran, Kirthika Duggisetty, Seth Crockett, Justin Barton, and Aryan Karn.
Games from the top boards were broadcast live via DGT and can still be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/32ndHolidayOpen. Players featured are David Luscomb, Jeremy Tuttle, Gabe Coss, Max Barnes, Adley Bufford, Kelvin Xie, Garrett Hunt, Wayne Hatcher, Oscar Wang, and Joe Veal.
Joel Gargus was chief TD with assistance from Zachary Walling and event co-organizer Rebecca Rutledge. Some photos are below. Our thanks to all the players who came out and to the Oklahoma City Chess Club for keeping this tradition alive.
December K-12 tournament drew 197 players to Tulsa's Cascia Hall
December 11, 2023
Cascia Hall Preparatory School was the venue for the December Oklahoma Scholastic Chess tournament. Josie Braddy was chief TD and lead organizer. Read about the winners and see more photos on our Scholastics page.
Three more events remain on OSCO's calendar for 2023-24: Deer Creek on January 6, Jenks on March 9, and the state championship on April 13 at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Oklahoma players at the Forester Open
THE OKLAHOMA CONTINGENT at the 2023 Forester Open (from left): Joe Zacharias, Kiara Pavithran, Arya Roy Choudhury, and Anurag Roy Choudhury. (Not pictured: Aayush Praveen)
Five players represented Oklahoma this year at the Forester Open, held November 24-26 in Grapevine, Texas. Aayush Praveen, Anurag Roy Choudhury, and Kiara Pavithran played in the Amateur, with Praveen coming out as our top scorer with 3.5 out of 5 and a thirty-point rating gain. Anurag finished just behind with 3.0 and a forty-four-point jump. Pavithran, who played up to this section, scored a respectable 2.0.
Joe Zacharias scored two big upset wins in the Championship section. But our biggest winner was our smallest player: Oklahoma's second-grade champion Arya Roy Choudhury scored 3.5 in the Championship and walked away with a rating just shy of 1700. View the crosstables here.
PHOTO: David Luscomb and Charles Unruh.
Luscomb tops strong field at Tulsa quick event
With a perfect 4.0 out of 4, David Luscomb won the Midtown Chess Club's November quick event, held November 12 at the Harvard Avenue Baptist Church.
The ten-player field included three national masters and five other players over 2000. It also included a player we haven't seen in quite some time: Charles Unruh, an expert-rated player and longtime Oklahoma TD and volunteer who now lives in South Dakota.
Word on the street says Charles will be making an appearance at the November 18 Grade Championships at Tulsa University. I don't know about you, but this writer plans to be there in case the rumors are true!
Results for the November 12 tournament are here.
Tulsa Midtown Chess Club hosts Oklahoma's first Fischer Random Championship
by NM Tom Braunlich
On Saturday, October 21, the Tulsa Midtown Chess Club hosted Oklahoma's first full-day Fischer-Random tournament. Time control was G/45+15.
Heretofore Chess960 events in Oklahoma have been limited to blitz play. It makes a big difference to have a lot of time to navigate and explore the new middle games this variant provides.
Not a single game was drawn! The twelve-player field, which included two masters and two experts, enjoyed amazing games of this Chess960 variation with no opening theory available — just imagination and principled play.
FM Ryan Amburgy won with a perfect 4.0/4. Tied for second with 3.0 points each were NM Tom Braunlich, David Zelnick, and Chris Dooley. Class prizes were awarded to Jordan Locust, Istvan Szabad, and Gabe Coss. Four door prizes were also given out.
TD Harold Brown was generous with his support for the prize fund, giving two USCF memberships to new players (even though it wasn’t needed for this non-rated event), and good prize money.
Despite the low turnout, the fact the players all loved the event and were asking for more convinced Harold he wants to do it again, and currently the plan is for another 960 tournament in January. Stay tuned for that, and look for some annotated games from this event in the next issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine.
Check out those weird starting positions! Players eschewed opening theory for a day of Fischer Random chess on Saturday, October 21 in Tulsa. PHOTOS (top): FM Ryan Amburgy with the black pieces against David Luscomb. (bottom): James Joy watches Gabe Coss with the white pieces vs. David Zelnick; also pictured are Istvan Szabad with the white pieces against David Bowers.
Norman Chess Club hosts 1st Afternoon Swiss
Can you hold a regular-rated tournament during business hours at a Barnes & Noble? You can. All it requires is an open-minded store manager and players who won't let a loud toddler get in the way of a good game of chess. These elements were in place at the Afternoon Swiss #1, held Sunday, October 15 at the Barnes & Noble in Norman.
In the Open, Max Barnes won with 3.5 points. Garrett Hunt finished second with 3.0. Bryan Sloane won the U1600 with a perfect 4.0. Tied for third with 3.0 each were Kevin Chen, Justin Barton, Ivan Ding, and Anurag Roy Choudhury.
31 players competed in two sections at the four-round event. Time control was G/30;d5. Organizer was Michael Langston of the Norman Chess Club. TD was Rebecca Rutledge. Results are here.
Still the one!
Amburgy is state blitz champion again (and again...)
For the fourth year running, FM Ryan Amburgy is Oklahoma's blitz chess champion. Check out the crosstables from the 38-player event here—or better yet, read all about it in the October issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine.