Oklahoma Chess Association
The official U.S. Chess affiliate for the state of Oklahoma
Registration is open for the 2022 Jerry Spann Memorial Oklahoma Open & Championship! MORE INFORMATION
Oklahoma continued its winning streak against Texas with a 17.5 to 10.5 victory in the 20th Annual Red River Shootout (RRSO), held April 23 at the Treasure Valley Casino Hotel in Davis.
The RRSO is a team match that pairs each Oklahoma player with a Texas opponent of similar rating. A place on the RRSO roster is a serious commitment, since each player has a designated opponent from across the state line. Oklahoma co-captains Jim Berry and Rebecca Rutledge are grateful to everyone on the team for making the commitment and showing up ready to play on Saturday.
One veteran and three first-time RRSO players finished with perfect 2/2 scores for Oklahoma. Jake Ferguson won both his games, as did newcomers Preston Koloen, Rishi Rathi, and Gianluca Rodriguez.
On the top board, Wayne Hatcher (1921) scored 1.5 points against Thomas Capps (2048). Viraj Singh and Andrew Kennedy also finished with a win and a draw against their Texas opponents. RRSO regulars Bruce and Rubin Wells scored a point each, as did first-time players Joe Zacharias and William Lin. Eli Mooney, who graciously stepped in to fill a last-minute vacancy, gave Oklahoma the half point that completed the team's seven-point win over Texas.
Our thanks to Tom Crane, the event's lead organizer and the Texas team captain, for his hard work making the event such an enjoyable one for everyone who participated. Results are posted here.
OKLAHOMA WINS RRSO XX!
The Oklahoma team at the 20th annual Red River Shootout, held on 23 April at the Treasure Valley Casino in Davis. FRONT ROW: Joe Zacharias, Jake Ferguson, Carl Latino, Rubin Wells, Wayne Hatcher, Bruce Wells, William Lin, and Gianluca Rodriguez. BACK ROW: Rishi Rathi, Andrew Kennedy, co-captains Jim Berry and Rebecca Rutledge, Preston Koloen, Shaun Graham, Viraj Singh, and Eli Mooney.
NM Tom Braunlich is the 2022 Oklahoma Senior Champion
Oklahoma Senior Open & Championship held in Stroud
by Harold Brown
Fourteen seniors competed in the 2022 Oklahoma Senior Open and Championship at the Cattle Country Lodge in Stroud, Oklahoma. The field included four national masters, three of whom (Tom Braunlich, Tom Amburn and Chuck Unruh) have ten state championships between them. NM Mark Hulsey, a former state senior champion, was the fourth national master in the field.
Braunlich and Unruh tied for first place with 3.5 out of 4.0, splitting first and second-place money, with Braunlich declared the 2022 Oklahoma Senior Champion. Along with the title, Tom earned the right to represent Oklahoma at the John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions in Rancho Mirage, California this summer, with a stipend to support his attendance.
Chris Dooley won the Class A prize and Mike Mulford (Missouri) won the Class B prize. Leon Toliver and Danial Smith shared the Class C prize. Our Class D/Unrated winner was a first-time tournament player: 84-year-old Richard Kayholm of Dewey.
A record may have been set for the most coffee consumed per capita in a chess tournament. Nobody withdrew. This demonstrates that these seniors are committed to chess. If you're 50 or older, watch for the announcement for our 2023 senior championship. We hope you'll plan to compete! View the results here
PHOTO BY MIKE TUBBS Front row: Wayne Hatcher, NM Tom Amburn, Chris Dooley, Steve Byas, Richard Kayholm, Vijayakumar Kurup (TX), Mike Tubbs. Back row: Michael Mulford, NM Mark Hulsey, Istvan Szabad, NM Charles D. Unruh, Leon Toliver, and NM Tom Braunlich. Tournament Director was Harold Brown. and assisted by David Luscomb and Chris Dooley.
PHOTOS BY MIKE TUBBS. 1. NM Charles D. "Chuck" Unruh with chief TD Harold Brown and assistant TD David Luscomb. 2. Chris Dooley with the black pieces against Unruh. 3. NM Tom Braunlich with the black pieces against NM Mark Hulsey.