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Tournament Recap - September 13, 2008

The second Master Trek Grand Prix Cup of the Fall Season took place last Saturday, September 13th, at ASU. Although not quite as many Trekkers showed up for this tournament, we still saw 66 players battle it out in their respective sections for first place, and Grand Prix Cup glory!

In the 1900 and Up Section we all watched as National Master Joel Johnson mowed down the young players one by one as usual… oops, not this time! Joel’s own protégé, Joshua Zhu, took his coach down in the first round! Josh completed the tournament with a 3-1 score, tying for first with the only other player to hand Joel a loss on the day, John Williams. Needless to say, Joel was extremely proud of both his own student, as well as all the other young stars. “They continue to make life very difficult on me,” said Joel after the tournament, “I don’t know how much longer I can fight them off. They are all so underrated!” We shouldn’t count Joel out just yet though. He will be playing for the Arizona Scorpions in their upcoming match on Wednesday, and with a little preparation, I am sure Joel will muster up an exciting game for us to watch. (NOTE: The only luxury of posting this article a little late is that I can give you all an update on exactly what happened in that match: The Master Trek’s own, Joel Johnson, played a beautiful game of chess against FM John Bick in the U.S. Chess League last Wednesday, and he won in 20 moves! Check it out here!)

The 1600-1899 Section saw the reemergence of an old “Trek Star”. Peter Fenger returned from his sabbatical from ACE Chess tournaments and dominated the field to go 4-0 and win clear first. Needless to say, Peter will be off to a great start in the “Race for the Cup”, but Chevalier Noir’s, Matthew Hoffman finished in the top 5 for the second Trek in a row, so watch out for him!

In the 1300-1599 Daniel Harmonick, a team leader for Chevalier, went 4-0 to grab first place easily. He was followed closely by Trek regular, Shunta Hashimoto, and it should be noted that last season’s MVP, Philip Godfrey, finished in the top 5 to get on the board in this season’s Grand Prix Cup standings.

The 1000-1299 Section played host to our first Blitz Playoff of the Fall Season. After finishing in a tie for first, the Blitz match between Jeffrey Poppell and Cortez Schenck was definitely a back and forth game. However, in the end it was Mr. Poppell who made his breakthrough (both literally and figuratively as Jeffrey seems to have finished in 2nd or 3rd place more times than many other Trekkers in that section) to win first place. Congratulations to him! Mike Stern of Basis also finished in the top 5 for the second Trek in a row. Look for him to be involved in the “Race for the Cup” as well.

Finally onto the 700-999 Section where we saw another strong turnout of first time Trekkers. A.J. Anthony of Chevalier Noir, after barely missing on August 30th, grabbed first place this time with a perfect score. Among other strong performances, we saw Adam Nehmeh finish in the top 5 which, after taking first place last Trek, should be good enough to help him get off to a solid start in the Grand Prix Cup standings.

Thanks again to all those who participated, and we will see you on the 27th! Remember that FIDE Master Robby Adamson of the Arizona Scorpions U.S. Chess League team will be the guest lecturer. Don’t miss it!

*NOTE: We apologize for the late posting of our Trek Recaps. Logistical and technical difficulties have inhibited us, and we will be more prompt in the future. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

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