Nebraska's Hall of Fame Chess tournament
Mixing old and new
Lincoln Nebraska this weekend was the place to be if you are a chess player from the area. Players who’ve been away from the game for many years came back to relive some old accomplishments and show the younger generation they’ve still got some fight left in them.
For myself it was a successful tournament, I won 2 games, drew 1 game and lost 1. For someone with my rating I’m often very happy to walk away from a tournament with an even score, so a plus result means I performed well. One thing about this tournament that was special for me is that I don’t usually get to play people with a title. And in this tournament I got to play 3 masters, and give it my best shot.
It’s a wonderful thing that we can take play so seriously.
Here’s a picture that shows how we get so many different people together
The best part of this tournament for me wasn’t even all the chess. It was all the stories I got from people’s lives. I learned about teachers in Texas, Living in Japan, promoting chess with books and online, and learning to live in New Mexico when the pandemic allowed people to work away from the office.
To me the people are the ends in themselves and when we gather to celebrate each other we really shine. So many people enjoyed this tournament because we were there to support each other. There were simuls, and a lecture, and plenty of good games.
Normally a two day tournament will have 5 rounds but with a blitz tournament in the middle of this one we didn’t get that same amount. But at the end of the tournament I can tell you I was worn out and in desperate need of a nap.
Puwit Sky Moerlien won First Place, with 4 wins showing how a short tournament with 70 players can give some unexpected results.
FM Nathan Solon, IM Keaton Kiewra, and JJ Lang all Shared Second Place, With 3 wins and a draw
All sorts of people had 3 wins and a loss.
So many people were involved in this tournament that it’s hard to thank them all. Coming from out of state, many players made a commitment to play and enjoy the games, the organizers, directors, hotel staff and volunteers put in a lot of work to put on a first class tournament. I’m sure there are grandmasters that wish they had such a good event.
People often complain that the post mortem is dead but after every round I saw players going over their games trying to learn and improve. And to show off, if the game happened to be a particularly good one.
I was busy this event trying to compete, but I hope a few pictures and a few words lets you know how much it means that we have so many people working to make chess an enjoyable experience in Nebraska.