Oklahoma Quick Chess Championship 2005

After six quick rounds in Tulsa on 7 May 2005, Chuck Unruh earned the Oklahoma Quick Chess Champion title with five wins and a draw. His son Charles Unruh was tied with Richard Ravits for second overall with 4.5 points on the day. Richard took home the B Class plaque and Charles earned the C Class plaque.

Rod Whitlatch had a very good day with 4 points and a tie for 4^th place which earned him the D Class Plaque. E Class player Dakota White was also in the cash prizes with a plus score of 3.5 when the dust settled. Mark Moesta had an excellent showing in his first tournament with a 3 point score, which earned him the Unrated prize.

As it turned out, this event offered the most rated games anywhere in the nation that day. So, A Class player Mark Ayers decided to fly out from California just for this event. His goal is to play a tournament in each of the 50 states. Now he has an Oklahoma event on his list and a new OCA shirt to add to his collection of nationwide memorabilia. He also went away with an appreciation for Oklahoma chess players.

Curtis Hartman of Arkansas had the best performance of the visitors from other states. After a 4 point performance in the first 5 rounds, his hopes for C Class money were dashed by Chuck Unruh in round 6. However, he was quite pleased with an arguably outstanding performance on the day.

Chess is becoming more and more of a family activity in the tournament scene. Robert McDonough played in his first tournament along with his son Sean. Robert has been a TD Floor Assistant at several scholastic tournaments and will soon become Oklahoma’s newest certified TD. Also, Mark Moesta has a son that plays in scholastic events and looks forward to to the day when his son is ready to join him in an OCA tournament for all ages.

A great time was had by all. Everyone is now looking forward to The 60^th Oklahoma Open State Championship at the same Tulsa location on June 25-26.