Eighteen scholastic chess players turned out for the Bozeman FallScholastic Tournament which was held at the public library on November 23rd. Congratulations to Molly Tefft & Colton Woodcox – first placewinners in the 2 sections, both of whom finished the tournamentwithout a loss ! Thanks to the Bozeman Public Library for providing the space, GreatRocky…

Missoula Fall Scholastic & Simul Twenty-seven scholastic chess buffs turned out for the 4th annual MIS fall chess competition, Saturday, November 16. That number is the highest yet for the fall tournament. Another plus for the event was having 10 players with USCF ratings even though US Chess membership was not required. The five-round event…

2019 Turkey Open Results Michael Murray Wins the Turkey Open with 4.5/5.0 points in a field of 32 players. The 2019 Turkey Open was very well attended with 32 players including 3 experts and well dispersed class players, resulting in some very competitive and interesting games. Michael Murray garnered 1st place with a nice final…

Scott Caldwell and Daniel Mattson Tie for First Place in the Great Falls Chinook Open Pushed out of its usual National Chess Day alignment, the 2019 Great Falls Chinook Open still came through as a successful Grand Prix tournament.  Nine players turned in scores of 3.0 or better to get on the Leader Board or…

Montana City Scholastic Fourteen scholastic players braved the season’s first storm to compete in the first Montana City Scholastic held September 28. The group played in two sections. Six players entered the more challenging “Giants” section while the second section (‘Pioneers”) had eight players. Among the “Giants”, Paul Harmon and Royal Winston each turned in…

Billings Blitz – 10/2/2019   Nine players ventured out to the Last Chance Pub & Cider Mill on Wednesday, October 2nd, for Billings 2nd speed chess tournament. The games took place in the warehouse room (apple storage) just off of the main dining room. There were two very effective space heaters to combat the cooler…

Billings Boys & Girls Youth Club Scholastic – 9/28/2019   The Boys & Girls Club youth tournament, directed by Mo Bain, took place on Friday, September 28th. Twenty-six kids from ages 6-14 were on hand to play chess and eat pizza! The players were divided into 3 sections: age 8-9 (14 kids), age 10-11 (8…

2019 Big Sky Country Open   Congratulations to 4.0 co-champions, Josep Maria Companyo Pagerols, Wilton Strickland and Dustin Sneeden who split the 1st & 2nd prize money. The upset prize went to Daltri Freitas for his 251 point upset. The under 1500 prize went to Thomas Walthall who scored 3.0 with his 3 wins. The…

Billings Chess Club Blitz – August 22, 2019 The Billings Chess Club offered its first rated blitz tournament last night! The time control was G5 with no delay. Ten players came out to test their skills at speed chess, despite near hurricane like conditions outside as we waited for the last two players to arrive.…

Billings July Quads Billings chess players tried to beat the heat this past weekend (7/26-27) by playing some rated chess indoors! A summer quad, this time drawing 12 players, was organized for the second year in a row. The players were neatly divided into 3 playing sections based on rating. The time control was Game…

2019 Montana Champion – Dorje McPherron   Congratulations to Dorje McPherron who won the Montana Closed in Bozeman the weekend of May 18-19. The Closed featured the 6 highest (active) rated players in Montana, including 4 players with previous Montana Championships.  The games were held with all 3 boards on a single table giving all…