Chess Action in the Summer at the Pre-Summer Open

By FM Robby Adamson

The 2007 Pre-Summer Foothills Open was held June 16, 2007, at Orange Grove Middle School. This is the first time we ran a tournament in June, and it was a wonderful success, drawing 81 players. The tournament had mostly scholastic players, but also some adults, including four “young men” who traveled from Green Valley to take on the ever tough scholastic monsters in Tucson.

The Championship section was won by Eli Alster (now rated 1688), who won his first three games and choosing not to play his last round, and Carlos Trujillo (now rated 1616). Eli Alster defeated top rated Sam Cotter (1721), Bryan Hu (1570), and Jessica Martin (1536), while Carlos overcame a loss to Sam Cotter by defeating Steve Ostapuk (1611), Jessica Martin, and Bryan Hu to tie for first.

The Reserve Section was won by Hunter Brogna with an impressive 4-0 score, defeating number one seed David Orozco (1471) in the last round. Hunter entered the tournament rated 1145, but finished with a whopping 1390 rating. Congratulations Hunter on an impressive performance. Finishing tied for second was David Orozco (from Mexico), Michael Shevelev (from Basis), David Fan (from University High), and Mario Acosta (from Mexico).

The Booster section usually has the better scholastic players who decide to play up, rather than in the K-3 or K-6 sections. Anno Baliani and Lora Temyanko tied for first, both tallying 3-1 scores. James Zipperian and Rolf Anderson (adult) tied for second, with 2.5/4 scores.

Leading the way in the scholastic sections, Sumhith Aradhyula won the K-6 section with a perfect 4-0 score, while Ian Bell and Sreekar Bommireddy both finished 4-0 in the K-3 sections. These youngsters have tremendous potential and we should see a lot more from them in the future.

Thanks to Vaishnav Aradhyula for directing the event, Satheesh Aradhyula for assisting, and Erwin De Sa for his running of the snack bar. The next Foothills Open will be August 18, 2007, back at Catalina Foothills High School. The Foothills Chess Team appreciates all the support of those who attend the tournaments.