Chess tournaments are unique, stand-alone events, that often taken on a personality of their own. The tournament "personality" can be based on the venue, the tournament hall, the weather (yes the weather), the format, the closely contested time scramble games, the vibe from the champion's run, and many other random "chess" variables. This year's rendition of the Northern Open took on the personality of "chess talent'. There were a number of players who displayed their chess

Some of our top Minnesota Junior chess players were in Calgary recently for the North American Junior Open. They posted some excellent results! Sammy Narayanan led the way with 7.5/9.0 to claim clear 2nd prize and an IM Norm. Nastassja Matus was 6/9 for 5th place overall for the women/girls. John Blomer had a great tournament scoring 5/9 and raising his FIDE rating significantly. Ahmed Ilyasov scored 4/9 and Ksenija Matus was 3/9. Congrats to all of these great junior c

Sammy Narayanan continued his winning ways in Minnesota with another perfect 5-0 score at the Roger Hale Open, the 5th leg of the MSCA Grand Prix series. In his last 3 in-state open chess events Sammy has accumulated 15 wins, 1 draw (against Andrew Titus), and exactly 0 losses. Joining Sammy in the Sectional Winners Circle were James Johnson & Nathan Dohman who tied with 4.5 points in the U1600 and Angela Lee who posted an impressive 5-0 in the U800. Angela zoomed her provi