Murray wins Missoula's Turkey Open
Submitted by Brett Thomas-Dejongh on 11/02/2008

Michael Murray, from Port Townsend, Wash., topped a field of 19 players at this year’s Turkey Open in Missoula to take the top prize with four points out of five. Murray was the highest rated entrant at 1973 USCF.
Three players tied for second place with 3 and a half out of five: Romie Carpenter of Missoula, Ed McLaughlin of Anaconda, and Spokane’s John Walton.

Sande Wilson(1105) upset David Griffin(1624) for the biggest upset prize.

Prizes for the top finisher in classes D, E and F went to John Hay, Sande Wilson and Bill Spencer, respectively, as the lone entrants in their rating classes.

Class C was won by Bill McBroom with three points out of five.
Though the tournament fell short of the number of entrants required to pay the full advertised prizes, a generous donation by an anonymous benefactor allowed for tournament director Bob Rajala to pay out as much as possible.

A hearty thank you to all who traveled from outside of Missoula to participate. Watch the MCA newsletter for some interesting games and positions from the tournament.
-Brett Thomas-DeJongh

Skovron/Duke finish atop a small heap at GF Invitational
Submitted by Dan McCourt on 10/27/2008

Attendance was sparse at the Great Falls Invitational October 11-12. A snowstorm, opening day for antelope, and an unwelcome observer all contributed, no doubt. It was the biggest October snowfall in memory so folks were justified in staying home. Antelope and hunting seasons always get in the way of chess in October. The unwelcome observer was somewhat expected and the Higher Powers of the Elks Club capably handled the situation. No objects flew about but there was a lot of noise.
The Elks Club proved out to be a very nice setting for chess. Jim Skovron and David Duke led the pack with 3.5 points. The Game/40 setup left time for an double RR of Speedo Saturday evening as well as some kind of Texas style card game at the poker table. A good time was had by all.

Evil Triumphs in 1st Heart of Darkness Quick Chess Event
Submitted by Dan McCourt on 10/27/2008

Thad Suits scored victory in each contest of the double RR Heart of Darkness Open in Missoula. Mr. Suits legerdemain included the London System and the Caro-Kahn which his competitors, three local sleepy-heads, claimed made it too hard to stay focused or even awake for the first 10-15 moves.
Mr Suits countered that all the moves involved were legal and, therefore, both openings were legitimate. The Opponents were not convinced but lost confidence after realizing that none of them had read a book about chess in the past decade.
..We\'ll get that know-it-all and his rating points next time.. they grumbled.
Next time will be another Friday night when the serial chess event.. HEART OF DARKNESS..continues. All are welcome. BYOB. Contact UCCC Missoula for details.