Okoboji Open Report

Bartholomew wins Open, 4 way for first in Reserve!

April 21, 2013

The 2013 Okoboji Open kicked off on Friday afternoon with a simultaneous exhibition by International Master John Bartholomew, which saw the personable chess teacher and aspiring grandmaster from Minneapolis score 11 wins out of 12 games with Southwest Minnesota Chess president Sam Smith notching the sole blemish on Bartholomew’s record when his Budapest Defense gained a draw offer from the IM.   When the simul ended, the tournament began with the first round of the three day open and reserve schedules and it soon became apparent that this tournament was going to be hotly contested with no one safe from being on the wrong end of an upset. In the reserve section, Smith couldn’t capitalize on his IM draw and found himself on the wrong end of a 325 point upset at the hands of JP Wagle while pre-teen Nastassja Matus scored a 341 point upset of perennial reserve prize winner Bill Broich. In the open section, NM Okechukwu Iwu scored a relatively easy victory, three time Iowa champion and life master Tim McEntee managed to convert a drawn endgame against 2012 Jackson Open champion Eric Bell, but 2011 Iowa champion Bob Keating caught a 290 point upset bug at the hands of David Floeder and re-entered into the two day section.   On Saturday morning, the two day section kicked off while the three day section continued and an Okoboji record 62 players were matching wits on Saturday morning, with each game having its own large table in the spacious Bay Hill room of the host facility Arrowwood Resort. The increase in tournament attendance was aided in large part by the use of Dr. Sisira Amarasinghe's excellent chess registration website www.onlineregistration.cc. The two day open section was packed with top level players with IM Bartholomew being joined by FM Kevin Wasiluk, the youngest ever USCF master in history in 10 year old FM Awonder Liang, 14 year old master Andrew Tang, master Prasantha Amarasinghe, as well as the re-entered Keating and former master James Ellis. There were no upsets in the Open’s two day section opening round or the Saturday morning round two of the three day section, but the reserve section wasn’t immune to carnage as the two day section began with defending champion John Flores being knocked off by unrated Nathaniel Arnold in the opening round.

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