U.S. Amateur Team North
Ian Edgerle reports
The US Amateur Team North (USATN) was a great event, both with a good result and a great atmosphere. The directors are very knowledgeable and experienced in organizing big events like this. My team personally had an expected result going 4-1 finishing tied for third, 4th on tie breaks. We witnessed a tough loss at 1.5-2.5 in the 2nd round pretty much shattering our title hopes on day 2 of the tournament. Individually Seth Homa had an OK tournament with 3/5 playing tough opponents every round. Atulya got 5/5, Michael with 3/5 with an upset in round 1 and myself with 4/5 not playing too badly but completely botching my 2nd round game against a 2100. The tournament also featured a blitz tournament with the top half/bottom half line at 2000! I was paired up and played eventual champion Erik Santarius and finished with a mediocre 5/10. Overall I would highly recommend this tournament to anybody considering to play. The rounds were started on time; the side event was great, as was the overall atmosphere.
Joe Meyer, Eddie Barber, Greg Bailey, and National Master Kevin Czuhai face Ian Edgerle, Michael Bowersock, National Master Atulya Shetty, and FM Seth Homa on one of the top boards in the last round. The older players lost 3-1. Czuhai shared his thoughts right after the tournament: “We went down Friday and chilled for a bit. I started the Blitz 5-0, then lost my last games, including two to Atulya Shetty. Free breakfast buffet both days. Bad rain coming back. I played well against Angelo Young, had an isolano which I dropped. I went into a Q+P endgame where I was a pawn down, I made a bad move with …f6.”
Photo Credit: Joe Meyer
Peter Chen, David Peng, and Michael Chen. Peter and Michael’s mother Xinqun Wu wrote, “The third board is David Peng from Chicago. He is only 7 years old and his rating has reached 1831! David played very well until the last round, when he was upset by a 1400 player. Our last round opponent team’s name is called Obstacle. I like the name--they were our obstacle to getting a Best Junior or Under 1900 prize.”
Photo Credit: Joe Meyer
FIDE Master Seth Homa, National Master Atulya Shetty, Expert Michael Bowersock, and former Michigan High School champ Ian Edgerle. “They only lost to the
2009 Amateur Team North Champion led by Jim Dean.” – Xinqun Wu
Photo Credit: Joe Meyer
Brighton Chess Club’s Matt Trujillo, Eugene McClure, Scott Marvel, and Eric Wright
Photo Credit: Joe Meyer
Maestro!
Photo Credit: Joe Meyer
You can find games by Michigan players here: