The Recession Buster Open

The Recession Buster Open 2/18/12 - 2/20/12

At the Sheraton San Diego Mission Valley Hotel over Presidents' Day weekend

$20,000 Guaranteed Prizes

6 round Swiss in 5 Sections, 40/2,SD/1, d/5. This is the classical 6 hour game that is the gold standard for QUALITY CHESS. It works out to an average of 3 minutes per move (120 minutes/40 moves), which goes by pretty fast when you are trying to find a saving move!!

Or for those who like a faster pace, there is the 2 day option, where the first 3 games are G/60, also with the 5 second delay, then the 2 day and the 3 day players merge in round 4.

Total entries came to 142 players. We were hoping for about 150 or more, but considering this was a brand new event at a new location, 142 wasn't too bad. The Open Section was very robust with 2 GMs, 7 IMs and 15 other Masters. No surprise that the two GMs tied for first, but would any of the IMs be able to match their score? Only 11th ranked Raymond Kaufman and he did it with a last round bye, which had to be declared before round 2 and was irrevocable. Several other players from out of town choose this option to make the weekend a bit shorter and to get back home at a reasonable hour.

Open Section, 48 players:

First/Second/Third Place: Gregory Kaidanov (5), Melikset Khachiyan (5) and Raymond Kaufman (5), $1,866 each

4th - 5th Place: Enrico Sevillano (4 1/2) and Alexandre Kretchetov (4 1/2), $750 each

BU2300: Michael Brown (4 1/2), $800

6th - 7th Place: Zhanibek Amanov (4), Jack Peters (4), Dionisio Aldama (4), Timothy Taylor (4), Luke Harmon-Vellotti (4), $180 each

BU2200: Alexander King (4), $1,000

2nd U2300: Vadim Kudryavtsev (3 1/2), $400

2nd/3rd U2200: Daniel Diskin (3 1/2) and Raoul Crisologo (4), $500 each

4th U2200: Craig Clawitter (3), Alaa-addin Moussa (3), Vanessa West (3) and Jamieson Pryor (3), $50 each

Premier (U2000) Section: 33 players

First Place: Chris Roberts (5), $1,000

2nd - 4th Place: Agata Bykovtsev (4 1/2), Justin Arnold (4 1/2) and Michael Taylor (4 1/2), $400 each

Amateur (U1800) Section: 26 players

First Place: William Li (5), $1,000

2nd - 4th Place: Fridha Melissa Becerra (4 1/2), Steve Perry (4 1/2) and Gert Lykke (4 1/2), $400 each

Reserve (U1600) Section: 18 players

First Place: David Whitten (5 1/2), $1,000

2nd Place: Theodore Pringle (5), $600

3rd - 4th Place: Kenneth Carter (4) and Louis Wonnell (4), $300 each

Booster (U1400) Section: 17 players

First Place: Stanford Talcott (5), $600

Second Place: Cassidy Liu (4 1/2), $400

Third Place: Keric Rivas (4), $200

BU1200: Stephen Zhu (4) and Walter Greismeyer (4), $225 each

Best Unrated: Carlito Lanada (3 1/2), $100

Plus Best Game Prizes of $75, $50 and $25, one reserved for non-Open Section

Rounds: 11 AM and 6 PM on Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM and 4:30 PM on Monday

2 Day schedule: 10:30 AM, 12:15, 3 PM (3 games at G/60), then merge with others and play regular time control (40/2,SD/1) at 6 PM on Sunday, 10 AM and 4:30 Monday

High Quality 6 hour chess games with 5 second delay for those who love classical chess at this traditional time control, or three quick 2 hour games to start off if you are tough enough to handle that grueling schedule. Directed by Bruce Baker with assistance from Chuck Ensey.

Bye policy: Two byes allowed, but byes in rounds 5 and 6 MUST be requested before round two and are irrevocable. Byes in rounds 1-4 can be requested anytime up to 1 hour before the round.

Questions? email Chuck Ensey at chucnglo@aol.com or call Bruce Baker at 619-239-7166

State Championship Qualifier, 150 Grand Prix Points (enhanced)