Oklahoma Report on the US Open 2004

Oklahoma was well represented at the 105th US Open and side events at Fort Lauderdale.

Destiny Sawyer did outstanding in the GM Susan Polgar Invitational Tournament for Girls. Her 3-2-1 performance was a tie for 5th place finish!! Positive finishes against several higher rated players gave Destiny a healthy ratings boost from 1562 to 1633.

Chris Spencer (1789) was recognized for the biggest upset in his 2nd round win over Daniel Tapia (2158) as Oklahoma's representative in the Denker Tournament for High School Champions. He ended up with a 2-2-2 finish and a tie for 23rd. Cris also earned a lot of rating points for his outstanding performance, moving from 1788 to 1853. Both Chris and Destiny had scholarships from OSCO (Oklahoma Scholastic Org) to help with expenses.

Oklahoma's seven participants in the 9-round US Open included George Trammel (2014/5-0-4), Jim Berry (1924/5-0-4), Anthony Paolercio (1791/3-3-3), Chris Spencer (1789/3-1-4 +1/2 pt bye), Frank Berry (1774/2-4-3), Steve Sawyer (1561/3-0-6) and Istvan Szabad (1354/1-0-7 + 1 pt bye). Complete results for the US Open, Denker and Polgar Invitationals are on-line at www.suburban-chess.org/2004usopen .

Frank Berry, Jim Berry, Chuck Unruh, Jim Gray, Mike Swatek and Steve Sawyer were USCF Delegates at the meetings held at the US Open. They participated in several USCF committee meetings and the Annual Delegates Meeting which governs the USCF. Representing Oklahoma on USCF committees in the coming year are: Frank Berry - States Committee, Steve Sawyer - Scholastic Committee, and Mike Swatek - Website/IT/MIS Committee.

Advance Delegate Motion 04-22 raised by Frank Berry to change the USCF Official State Chapter from the OCA to the OCF was withdrawn from the Delegates Meeting, as recommended by the OCA. The motion withdrawal followed discussions between Frank Berry and many delegates. All USCF Delegates who participated in the Annual Meeting received the OCA position paper on ADM 04-22 and the supporting evidence of the OCA having fulfilled or exceeded all it’s commitments to the USCF. These papers are included in this OCB and appear in their complete form with attachments on-line at www.ochess.org/governance/uscf/adm04-22.htm.

One of the most exciting USCF meeting topics is a new on-line membership and ratings system being developed by Mike Nolan, with the assistance of several Beta Testers including Mike Swatek. The new membership system will allow new memberships and renewals to be processed on-line with USCF ID numbers available immediately. If an internet connection is available, ID numbers can even be provided to new members before leaving the tournament!!

Even more exciting is the soon to be released capability for tournaments to be rated on-line with results reflected in players' ratings within hours, instead of months. Wow!!!

A good time was had by all. Many Oklahoma participants are already looking forward to next year's event 6-14 August in Phoenix, Arizona. Contact President Chuck Unruh if you’re interested in representing Oklahoma next year.