McGuire Open Round 3 - The Thrill of the Chase

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6/12/2012

Michael Cooper (right) in his win over Wendell Salveron.

Round 3 of the McGuire Open took place Monday, June 11 with four players emerging in the lead on 3/3.

Craig Faber (2211) defeated David Argall (2000) on top board by employing his trademark Scandinavian Defense. The wily Argall was unable to generate much play and Faber brought home the win.

On board 2, Henry Castro (2078) beat Oscar Ortiz (1988) with the black pieces. Castro's actual rating will be well over 2100 by the time of our next tournament and he continued his fine run of form this week.

On board 3, Michael Cooper (2040) crushed Wendell Salveron (1949) after Salveron unwisely played the Latvian Gambit as black. This opening is rather dubious and Cooper punished it convincingly, probably having a won position after only a dozen moves or so.

Phil Chase (1937) beat Matthew Hayes (2074) on board 4 with the white pieces. The game transposed into a French Defense that was favorable for white. Black never really got going and, after dropping a pawn, faced a tough and ultimately lost endgame. Chase joins Faber, Cooper and Castro as the only players with perfect 3/3 scores.

There were three big upsets this week, starting with Justin Chang's (1480) victory over Gordon Brooks (1900). The Chang brothers have made quite an impact since their arrival at Arcadia Chess Club, with both picking up some notable results. The second upset of the night was Hector Valdez' (1368) win against David King (1813). Valdez has now scored a few upset wins and his rating is climbing rapidly. Look for him to be a class C player by the next tournament and a class B player by the end of the year if he keeps his run going. The final upset belonged to Ryan Chen (1254) who had a fantastic draw against Melvin Bond (1794), and with the black pieces no less.

The McGuire Open will continue Monday, June 18.