CFCC Back to the Board Open Swiss Tournament

Thanks to all the players that participated in our Back to the Board Open tournament this past weekend!

by Steven Vigil, CFCC Senior Tournament Director

After a year and a half of hosting online chess tournaments on chess.com, the Central Florida Chess Club held its much anticipated Back to the Board Tournament this past weekend, September 18th & 19th . It was the first over the board event that CFCC had held since the Winter Open in January of 2020! Registration was limited to 48 players and quickly filled up.

The event was held at the new Orlando Chess & Games Club. It was the first tournament ever to take place at this new venue in Altamonte Springs. Players were encouraged to wear masks as they battled over 5 rounds in an open format tournament with a 90 minute time control.

2-Way Tie for 1st Place!

Congratulations to Ryan Hamley (2207) and Theo Slade (2186) who tied for first place with a score of 4.5 points. As the two highest rated players in the tournament both were the only players to have a perfect score of 4 points heading into the final round. The battle for clear first proved uneventful as the players agreed to an early draw in a Berlin Defense opening to share first and second prizes, netting them $320 each.

Their draw left the door open for Andrew Rea (2065) and Jhonel Baniel (1900), who entered the 5th round with 3.5 points to win their final game and potentially tie for first place with Ryan and Theo. But it was not to be, as both of those players also drew their final round games finishing with 4 points. Two other players, Phillip Durand (2006) and Advait Nair (1852) would join them with a final score of 4 points. Congratulations to these four players who shared 3rd place honors and were each awarded a $40 prize.

Top Under Prize Winners

Three players finished with 3.5 points to share the top U1800 prize. Congratulations to Akshat Suresh (1735), Zoe Zelner (1696) and Arav Patel (1540) who each took a prize of $41.67. A group of five players tied for the U1500 prize, but because three of them were also under 1200, the U1200 & U1500 prizes were combined and shared by the five players who all finished with a score of 3 points. Congratulations to Srijan Ganta (1400), Soham Patel (1360), William Hardison (1168), Talha Ozsoy (1108), and William Lacey (210) who each took home $50 for the U1500/U1200 prize split.

Sunday Morning Lecture

On Sunday morning, National Master Larry Storch (2200) gave an insightful and entertaining lecture on opening preparation. The games he presented showed how he was able to learn thematic lessons from past tournament experiences and apply them to future games, a valuable lesson to any aspiring tournament player. 

It was personally satisfying to direct an over the board tournament again, after over a year and a half hiatus. It was great to see many familiar faces and some new ones as well. CFCC will be holding more events of this type at this venue in the future, so please check the website for upcoming tournament details. We hope to see you at a tournament soon!

-Steven Vigil

Back to the Board Gallery

All tournament photos have been uploaded.