The
1st Bruce Bowyer Memorial Chess Tournaments
were held at the Manhattan Chess Club, on March 25 & 26,
2000.
Sponsored by Royce & Associates,
the turnout was outstanding. Results and related information
below provided by Royce. A fine time was had by all, and our
plan is to make this an annual event in Bruce's honor.
Saturday's open tournament
ended in a tie, with two 4-0 scores:
Two-time U.S. champion and Grand Master Joel Benjamin,
and FIDE Master Asa Hoffmann.
Vladimir Polyakin had the best
score with a rating under 2200,
Chris Mink won the Under 2000
prize, and
Gerald Yellen was the best
under 1800.
That evening, we held a"bughouse"
tournament. Bughouse is a fast-moving variant of chess,
played by teams of two, that was a favorite and specialty
of Bruce's.
After the initial round-robin
ended in a three-way tie, two playoff rounds were required
to decide a clear winner: Murray Schecter and Peter Kopke.
In second place were FIDE Master
Ron Young and Jeremy Graham.
In Sunday's junior tournament,
the 5-0 winner was
Dmitry Schneider, who won a $500 savings bond.
Smaller bonds were won by
second place finisher Steve Baston,
third place Marcus Mairena, and
class-prize winners:
David Wigglesworth (under 2200),
Christopher Johnson (under 2000),
Samuel Montalvo (under 1800) and
FIDE Master Katharine Pelletier (under 1600).
Many thanks to the Manhattan
Chess Club and its staff,
and special thanks to Fritz Gaspard of Chess In The Schools.
A great deal of logistical and emotional support was
provided by Bruce's sister Pat, and the rest of his family.
The event would not have been
possible without help from Chuck Royce
and the following Royce employees:
Mark Penkower, John Burke, David Wilson, Dan O'Byrne,
Denis Fitzgerald, Nicole Fitzgerald, John Davis, Rich Coiro,
Cheryl Leban and Tanya Baum.
The tournament was a tremendous
success, and we are proud to have
hosted an event that celebrated Bruce Bowyer's memory by honoring
his beliefs.
