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| Columbia, South Carolina |
| Club Championship |
| The Columbia Chess Club crowns its Champion each spring. 2004 SC State Champion Keith Eubanks won the inaugural club championship in 2008 besting a field of 20 players . In 2009 the Championship grew in both strength and numbers as five expert strength players competed in the field of 30. 2008 SC State Champion Philipp Lamby took home the big trophy in 2009 and successfully defended his title in 2010. Eubanks reclaimed the Title in 2011. The Championship also awards trophies to the Top Jr. Player (D. Dodds '08 & '09, Dunlap '10, Witherell '11), Top U1600 (Fredericks '08, Wilson '09, Buske '10. Blind '11) and the Top Unr (C. LaMarche '09) or Top U1200 (Meekins '10, Lowry '11) |
| 2009 Club Champ - Philipp Lamby The 2009 Championship used an Open format so there was only one section. In the first round Philipp defeated Ben Playfair (1364) in a mismatch you typically get in open sections. The second round he had to take a bye and briefly gave up board 1. Round 3 saw him paired with one of SC's top Jr. Players in Daniel Dodds (1832) and scored his second win. Round 3 he was back on board 1 against leader Paul Farb (1909) and reclaimed the top spot. The final round was a battle of Champions as Keith Eubanks moved to within .5 point of Philipp and had to push for the win to defend his title. Philipp was able to secure the full point and win the club championship by .5 point. Other performances to note were Edsel Pena & James MacDougall tying for second. Matt Wilson winning the Candidates Trophy (Top U16). Charlie LaMarche winning the new Top Unrated trophy and Daniel Dodds winning the Top Jr. trophy for the second straight year. Crosstable |
| 2008 Champion - Keith Eubanks The 2008 Championship was a two section tournament with 20 players competing, Eight in the Championship and twelve in the Candidates. 2004 SC State Champion Keith Eubanks cruised to the club's first Championship scoring 4.5 points. In the first round Keith defeated upcoming Jr Player Daniel Dodds (1553). In round two he was held to a draw by Patrick Cunningham (1625) and found himself in a three way tie for first with Patrick and James MacDougall after two rounds. Round three saw Keith claim sole possession of the top spot as he defeated James (1975) and Patrick lost to Daniel. Round 4 saw Keith defeat Ralph Buske (1274) to hold a .5 point lead over Daniel going into the final round. Keith defeated Russell Thurmond (1600) in round 5 to win the first Columbia Chess Club Championship by an impressive 1.5 points! Gary Fredericks (1331) won the Candidates Section and Daniel Dodds (1553) took the Top Jr. Player honors. Crosstable |
| 2010 Club Champion - Philipp Lamby The Open Format was again used in 2010 but with accelerated pairings and it will be used in 2011. This was our largest Championship to date with 33 players competing. In the first round Philipp defeated Steve Boshears (1620) to begin his title defense. Again he had to take a second round bye and James MacDougall grabbed the lead. In the third round round he defeated Mark Acklie (972) to remain a .5 point behind MacDougall. A fourth round win over Paul Farb (1928) combined with a win by Keith Eubanks over James MacDougall set the stage for the fifth round match up between the '08 Champion and the '09 Champion. Philipp was able to defeat Eubanks in an exciting game and claim his second straight Club Championship. James MacDougall finished in Second Place a .5 point behind. Ralph Buske (1425) won the U1600 Trophy. Mike Meekins (1147) took top U1200 honors and Christian Dunlap (778) was the Top Jr. winner. Crosstable |
| 2011 Club Champion - Keith Eubanks The Club Championship grew again with thirty four players competing in our largest and strongest field yet. The first round saw Keith defeat David Vetterlein (1800) in the accelerated pairings. Round 2 he faced off against Paul King (1922) and posted his second straight win. The accelerated pairings left us with just 3 perfect scores heading into Round 3 and it brought a battle of the club's only two champions, Keith vs. Philipp. Keith was up to the task this year and Philipp suffered his first loss in 10 club championship games. Paul Farb (1900) kept pace and was the only player left equal with Keith at 3 points heading into the Penultimate Round. Keith continued his march through the field defeating Paul and staying perfect at 4-0, guaranteed of a tie for the championship. The Final round saw him paired with Erik Murrah (1701) who was on 3 points and had to win to catch Keith. Unfortunately Erik suffered an opening miscue which brought the game to an early conclusion. The slimmed down and in form Eubanks posted the first perfect score in the club championship while claiming his second big trophy and boosting his rating from 2027 to 2071. Philipp Lamby was the Runner Up with 4 points. Birney Blind (1194) took Top U1600 honors. Paul Lowry (1108) was the Top Player U1200 and Max Witherell (1204) claimed the Top Jr. Trophy. Crosstable |
