All 27 players of the tournament! Photo taken by Jamie Lang who happened to be on hand to take the photo before the start of round 2.

by Jeff Roland
Chief Tournament Director

The Western Idaho Open chess tournament was played December 11-12, 2010 at the AmeriTel Inn at the Boise Towne Square Mall in Boise, Idaho. The Chief Tournament Director was Jeff Roland, and the Assistant Tournament Director was ICA President, Jay Simonson. Kevin Patterson, Trustee for Tournament Organization was also very involved in the organization and promotion of the event. Barry Eacker, Trustee for Tournament Organization could not be present due to work obligations, but was with us "in spirit". In an attempt to bring the tournament to Barry, Jeff Roland attempted to play, to direct, and to update the web site with Live Coverage. This proved a little too much under the circumstances and after the fourth round pairings were posted Saturday night, it was decided that in this particular case, the live coverage would have to stop (however, the door is open for future events!)

The players in both sections played hard and played well. It seemed very much like a room full of chess Grandmasters! In attendance was current Idaho State Chess Champion, Phil Weyland (Boise) as well as former Idaho State Chess Champion, Paul M. Johnson (Boise) and former Idaho State Chess Champion, John B. Carr (Victor). It was also very nice to have ICA President, Jay Simonson in attendance to not only be Assistant TD, but also to conduct official ICA business, such as leading the group in song as we sang "Happy Birthday" (out of key) to Angie Abderhalden for her birthday on Sunday!

In the Open Section, Phil Weyland (Boise) and Randall W. Pellam (Boise) tied for first place with 4 points each, followed by Katie Abderhalden (Boise) and Paul Johnson (Boise) with 3½ points each.

The competition in the Reserve Section was intense. After round 4, there were six (6) players all tied for first place with 2½ points each (and 4 of the 6 players at that point going into the fifth round were undefeated in a field of nine players!!!). In the end, it turned out to be a 3-way tie for first place between Deeban Ramalingam (Boise), Adam Porth (Bellevue), and Katie Rae Patterson (Meridian).

We would like to thank all the players and their families and friends who came and supported this event. Every ICA event seems to reaffirm why it is so great to play chess. We meet some of the most wonderful people at chess tournaments.

Please join us at future ICA events!!