Oklahoma chess tournaments | Oklahoma Chess Association

OKLAHOMA CHESS MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2022

In this month's issue, Tom teaches us how to bake a tactical cake! Also: the story of 10-time Oklahoma champion Bela Rozsa, a letter from OCA president Chris Amburgy, a report from the 1st Norman Fall Championship, and LOTS OF GAMES from players like NM Bill Orton, Vaughan Rees, Thomas Nguyen, Marvin Lee, Luke Tran, Matt Dalthorp, Daniel Herman, William Lin, Kevin Litke, Max Barnes, Elbert Fang, NM Tom Braunlich, and FM Ryan Amburgy—plus puzzles, book reviews, and bonus games featuring Bela Rozsa, William Steiner, Ruy Lopez, and Emanuel Lasker.

Advance entries are posted for the Holiday Open!

Holiday Open entries

If you haven't signed up yet for this year's Holiday Open, what are you waiting for? Register here.

Max Barnes wins 1st Norman Fall Class

November 14, 2022
Sixty-two players from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas came together this weekend for the inaugural Norman Fall Class Championship, held November 12 & 13 in Norman.

Max Barnes with the black pieces against Marvin Lee at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championship, a chess tournament held November 12 & 13 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Jake Williams.

Leo Xie and Matt Dalthorp at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championship, a chess tournament held November 12 & 13 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Jake Williams.

Jake Williams and David Buck at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held in Norman, Oklahoma in November 2022.

PHOTOS: 1. Maxwell Barnes with the black pieces in his round 4 game with Marvin Lee 2. Matt Dalthorp with the white pieces in his round 4 game with Leo Xie. 3. Jake Williams with the white pieces against David Buck.

Format was five rounds, G/90;+30, one open section. Prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overall, 1st in classes A, B, and C & D combined, plus an upset prize, a prize for the top-scoring unrated player, and a perfect score bonus.

The latter went to Maxwell Barnes, who finished first overall with a perfect 5 out of 5. Five players tied for second place with scores of 4.0: Matt Dalthorp, Marvin Carlson, David Buck, Joshua Li, and Rylan Lopez. Carlson was the Class A winner. Buck and Li split the Class B prize. Lopez won for Class C/D.

The prize for biggest upset went to Arya Roy Choudhury (940), who won his round 5 game against a high Class C player. Another upset victory worth mentioning happened in the third round, when unrated Leo Xie won a game against a Class A player. Xie, the father of longtime Oklahoma players Kelvin and Maxwell Xie, finished his first tournament with an impressive score of 3.5 and the prize for top unrated.

Michael Langston was the organizer, with Milam Dobbins as chief TD and Joe Veal assisting. Tom Nichols provided the venue and the sets. View the results here.

Leo Xie during his fourth-round game with Matt Dalthorp at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Elizabeth Braddy at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Joe Osley with the white pieces against Matt Dalthorp at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Jake Williams.

The 1st Norman Fall Class Championships was held November 12 & 13 in Norman, Oklahoma. Michael Langston organized and Milam Dobbins was chief TD. Photo by Jake Williams.

Ezra Dubé and Leon Toliver at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

The chess community has been glad to see this year's return of longtime Oklahoma player Marvin Lee. The inaugural Norman Fall Class Championships was Lee's second tournament after a 14-year hiatus. Photo by Jake Williams.

Jonah Brandenburgh and Parker Langston at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Parker Inglett with the white pieces vs. David Phillips at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Jake Williams.

David Buck with the white pieces vs. Garrett Hunt at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Jake Williams.

Leon Harvey, Jonah Brandenburgh, Parker Langston, and Ed Hinckley at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Jayce Kelley at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Jake Williams.

Ezra Dubé, Garrett Hunt, and Leon Toliver at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

(clockwise from left) Vaughn Rees, David Buck, Josh Li, Max Barnes, Martin Carlson, and Jake Williams at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Parker Inglett, Vaughn Rees, David Buck, Max Barnes, Jake Williams, and Jayce Kelley at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Parijat Majumdar and William Lin at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Martin Carlson, Jake Williams, David Buck, Josh Li at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Lawrence Zhang at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

William Lin and Parijat Majumdar at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Jayce Kelley and Parker Inglett at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Chess player Joseph (Joe) Zacharias at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Josie Braddy and Angelique Chen at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Rishi Rathi with the black pieces against Kelvin Xie at the 1st Norman Fall Class Championships, a chess tournament held Nov. 12 & 13 in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Rebecca Rutledge.

The results are in: University of Tulsa K-12 Open

October 23, 2022 One hundred and thirty-four players competed in the latest Oklahoma Scholastic Chess event, held at the University of Tulsa on Saturday, October 22nd. Results are here. Photos by Jake Williams.

THE 2022 OKLAHOMA BLITZ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Photos by Jake Williams.

Amburgy wins third state Blitz title

FM Ryan Amburgy finished at the top of the Open section at this year's Blitz Championships, held October 1 at the Chandler Baseball Camp. It was the third year in a row for Amburgy, who scored 11.5 out of 14. Behind him with 9.5 points were David Luscomb, Matt Dalthorp, and Maxwell Barnes. Shaun Graham (12.0) took first place in the U1700. Jacob Schultz (10.0) was second, and Viraj Singh (9.5) finished third. Gabriel Waters (11.0) won the U1000. Just a half-point behind was Arya Roy Choudhury (10.5) in second. Brian Marshall and Kirthika Duggisetty tied for third with 9.0 points. View the crosstables here.

Our heartfelt thanks to host Michael Bay for welcoming us once again to his beautiful facility in Chandler. Thanks also to Jake Williams for letting us use the outstanding photos he captured at the event.

Former U.S. Women's champion to visit OKC

Bring your set and join us at Full Circle Bookstore the evening of Monday, October 24, when we'll welcome former U.S. Women's Champion Dr. Alexey Root. She will be signing copies of her eighth book, United States Women’s Chess Champions, 1937-2020.

Dr. Root is a lecturer at The University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the Chief Science Officer for the online learning platform Chessable.

When: Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Chess club continues until 9 p.m.)

Where: Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 NW Expressway (inside 50 Penn Place) map

Check out the latest issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine for a review of the book by IM John Donaldson. For more information about the event, click here.

6th Frank K. Berry Memorial held in OKC

September 11, 2022 Eighty players competed in three sections at the 6th Frank K. Berry Memorial, held in Oklahoma City on 10 & 11 September 2022. Tom Braunlich was organizer and chief TD.

FM Ryan Amburgy won the 35-player Open section with 4.5 points out of 5. NM Bill Orton of Arkansas finished second with 4.0. Kansas player Luke Tran, who drew Amburgy in the fourth round, ended with 3.5 points and a tie for third with three Oklahoma players and a Texan: Matt Dalthorp, Max Barnes, Joe Veal, and Elbert Fang (respectively).

William Lin scored 4.5 points to win the Reserve (U1700). Tied with 4.0 were Stanley Crown and Garrett Hunt.

Brothers Ethan Nguyen and Long Nguyen tied for first place in the Novice (U1300). Just behind them were Erik Gonzales and Arya Roy Choudhury, both with 4.0 points.

Results are here.