MICHAEL CHEN WINS IN WABASH; STEVEN COOKLEV IS NEW STATE CHAMP!
Report by Roger Blaine
10-year-old chess whiz Michael Chen, of St. Joseph, Mich., won the 69th Indiana State Championship tourney over Halloween weekend in Wabash, Indiana, with 4.5 out of 5. He defeated Indianapolis expert Drew Hollinberger in the final round to nail down the $500 first prize.
Steven Cooklev, 15, was clear second with 4-1 and took the 2010 Champion's crown as top Indiana resident of the 40 players. Steven is in 10th grade at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, and is the youngest person ever to become Indiana State Champion. He was undefeated, but drew for half-points with Hollinberger and former State Champ Garrett Smith.
Mat Leach, Mishawaka; John Wortinger, Greenwood; Phil Meyers, Kokomo; and Art Galstian, Indianapolis, all tied for first in the Reserve Section with 4-1 scores. Leach won the Reserve Champion's plaque with the best tie-break score.
Additonal notes by Andy Catlin
Michael's performance rating of 2383 caused his USCF to soar like a velociraptor to a "career high" 2058. Michael's brother Peter also put in a fine performance--his 3.0 out of 5 was good for a share of fourth.
You can find a selection of games from the tournament here:
http://www.westmichiganchess.com/Shared%20Documents/2010_2/2010indianastatechampionship.htm
The USCF rating report can be found here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201010318411.0-13405236