The decision to write this post came after an exchange with Daniel Lucas, the current Senior Director Of Strategic Communication for the United States Chess Federation. Daniel was the editor of the Georgia Chess Magazine prior to taking the job with USCF. He was contacted by this writer recently, and it is good to know there is someone at HQ whom can be contacted if necessary.
I am a proud Georgian, who is also a proud Southerner, who has been involved with the Royal Game for over half a century. This post is to bring to your attention the results of some of my fellow Georgians, who have recently caused me to feel proud.
Georgia Chess has come a long way. My very first Chess road trip was with an exchange student from Yugoslavia who was residing in Georgia, IM Branko Vujakovic. The tournament director, who will remain nameless, paired #1 with #2; #3 with #4, etc. I kid you not… Chess in Georgia has obviously come a long way, baby…
A headline at the USCF website this morning caused my eyes to water, if’n you get my drift… This happens more frequently if one is fortunate enough to grow old. Noticed the ‘er’ was not included after recalling something an old codger said earlier in life: “The first time they roll you into the emergency room on a stretcher is when you drop the ‘er’ from “older.” A bad back has caused me to be placed on a stretcher more times than I want to relate, so I accept the fact that I am now nothing but ‘old’…it beats the alternative. This is the headline:
Georgia is Top Dawg on Day Four of U.S. Open
It also caused me to hear a song in my mind by a fellow Georgian:
Grandmaster Arthur Guo leads the hit parade after going 6-0 to again finish first in the Arnold Denker tournament of High School champions.
With IM Arthur Guo’s comeback victory over IM Maximillian Lu in round five, all he needed was a draw to clinch clear first and become a Denker Champion two years in a row. However, FM Gus Huston wasn’t going to make it easy with the white pieces, looking to repeat his victory at the 2023 High School Nationals. But this time, Guo continued his amazing form through this tournament to play accurately and aggressively to emerge victorious and claim clear first with a perfect 6/6.(https://new.uschess.org/news/georgia-top-dawg-day-four-us-open)
In the Haring Tournament of Girls Champions eleven year old Jwalanthi Ram, rated only 1911, finished in a tie for second place after winning five games. Her only loss was to the first place finisher FM Ruiyang Yan, rated 2356.
In the Rockefeller Tournament of Elementary Champions eleven year old Anmay Kumar Chaudhury, rated 1955, finished only one half point behind the three leaders after losing in the first round before winning four and drawing one, to finish in the second score group.
Finally, in the Irwin Tournament of Senior Champions, 2000 rated James Altucher finished in the fourth score group with three and a half points after losing to IM Ron Burnett,
one of the truly ‘good guys’ involved with Chess, in the ultimate round. The game will soon be presented on this blog. Mr. Altucher has been playing much Chess recently while showing the Georgia colors, and he has been playing some good and interesting Chess. I look forward to meeting James, and all the other above players at a future tournament.
In concluding this post I would like to mention my friend Chris Chambers, aka, The Discman (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/the-discman/), a transplanted Volunteer from the Great State of Tennessee, is playing, along with his son, Cooper. Chris has been keeping this writer informed of the exploits of the two of them as they travel the Chess road recently, which has been greatly appreciated. I am proud to call The Discman a friend.
Armchair Warrior 