2021 Big Sky Country Open

The 2021 Big Sky Country Open took place at the Comfort Inn in Butte, MT over the weekend of September 25-26, 2021 and attracted 23 players. A whopping 8 of them were unrated – over a fourth of the field!  Some  of the unrated players had superb showings:

2021 Big Sky Country Open Final Table

  1. Liev Huber had a 1675 performance, good for 10th place.
  2. Alex Karns had a 1854 performance, good for 6th place.
  3. Christopher Snider had a 1908 performance, good for a tie for 1st place. And by the way, that 1902 performance was tops in this tournament.

Looks like trouble for the old guard is coming over the horizon from these talented new comers.

With the required 20 adult entries we were able to fully pay out prizes and then some.  The prize distribution was: 1st & 2nd ($125.00 + $75) = $200

This was split 4 ways by players with 4 points

  • Richard Hobbs
  • Dan Mattson
  • Christopher Snider
  • Scott Caldwell
  1. Class B $50.00           Darren Stacey, Josh Brown and Daltri Frietas
  2. Class C $45.00           John Findlay
  3. Biggest upset $40.00 John Findlay

Another notable accomplishment, as you can see above, was achieved by John Findlay who hit the prize fund twice!

Many thanks to those who played.  We can’t do it without you!

Scott Caldwell

Secretary/Treasurer

Montana Chess Association