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…

Schoessler, Sneeden, Skovron Tie at the St Patrick Open   The inaugural 2019 St. Patrick Open left a few feeling the luck o’ the Irish, and others green with envy! The event was held in Billings, MT the weekend of 3/16-17/2019 at the Mary Alice Fortin Room of the Billings Clinic (check Facebook for Photos)…

Jim Skovron Wins the January Thaw   Jim Skovron won the 2019 January Thaw, emerging with 4 points from a tight race in the annual tournament held the last weekend in January.  Wilton Strickland, Dan Mattson, and Mike Mueller tied for the second place finish with 3.5 points apiece. The 16 player tournament produced long…

Benjamin Vogel wins 2018 Turkey Open   Congratulations to all of the prize winners. Benjamin Vogel, who recently moved to Montana from Maryland, won clear 1st in this year’s Turkey Open. Young Dorje McPherron of Missoula won 2nd; Scott Caldwell of Missoula and young Jonathan Geyman of Bonner’s Ferry, ID shared the “B” prize; Michael…

Big Sky Country Chess Tournament – Butte – Sept 2018   Brad Bodie – Champion   5-0   Dan Mattson – 2nd   4-1   Thomas Walthall – Junior Champion  4.5 – 0.5 & Open Biggest Upset (539 pts)   The Big Sky Country Open tournament launched the Montana Grand Prix season with a firecracker start September…

Duke – McPherron – Strickland   Montana State Co-Champions 2018   Congratulations to David Duke, Wilton Strickland, and Dorje McPherron for playing rough and hanging tough through the May 19-20 weekend at the 2018 Montana Closed in Butte.  Each finished at 3.5 with David gaining the tie-break edge and the champion seed for the 2019…

5th Annual MIS Tournament Results   The 5th annual Missoula International School Scholastic Chess Tournament drew 28 participants from various schools around western Montana as well as good crowd of local talent.  De La Salle School in Browning won the “door prize” –a bag of chess themed pencils with six entries.  Alberton After-School Program brought…

TURKEY OPEN 2017 This year’s Turkey Open was once again well attended with 40 entries thanks in large part to the addition of 11 new players from the Hamilton Chess Club who participated for 2 rounds. Hopefully they enjoyed their indoctrination to tournament chess and we’ll be seeing them again in the future. The Spokane…

Raelund and Duke Share 2017 Championship Title September 23-24, Helena:   Antonius Raelund rolled to 3 wins during the Saturday go-round and convincingly inserted himself into front-runner status at the MCA Closed….and future MCA events.   His 5th round victory earned him a 4-1 result and a share of the Montana Championship. Meanwhile, David Duke put 2-point…

National Chess Weekend in Great Falls Strickland and Cohen Land on Top Congratulations to Wilton Strickland and Larry Cohen—4-points and tops in the 2017 Chinook Open. Cohen, visiting from Villa Park, Illinois, matched Strickland’s score but Wilton held the edge on tie breaks. 3rd place went to Chris Baumgartner (also from Illinois), Scott Caldwell and…

Nineteen players attended the 2017 January Drakes’ Thaw, in Helena, the last weekend in January, including four individuals playing in their first rated matches. This tournament is named in honor of Mel and Joyce Drake, long-time players and supporters of Montana Chess. Jim Skovron walked away with top honors, posting 4.5 points, followed by Wilton…