2007 CCC Accomplishments - by NM Leland Fuerstman
The 67 member Charlotte Chess Club is an organization comprised of people of almost every age, race, color, creed and national origin in the world! For 33 years, the CCC has provided a venue for weekly rated tournament competition as well as Saturday events. Over the past few years, the 100+ player roster has dwindled somewhat, probably due a venue that we should have abandoned long ago. Therefore, it became necessary for a change, and change has come! We have relocated the club to Quaker Steak & Lube (in the Park Road Shopping Center). The private upstairs room is "quiet" and perfect for our purposes!
The year 2007 was particularly successful for a number of up and coming CCC members. First to be mentioned were the incredible accomplishments of our Scholastic Players: Kevin Huang, 14 (1922), Samuel Xin, 13 (1894), Dominique Myers, 15 (1828), Peter Giannatos, 15 (1633), Thomas Paradis, 16 (1945), Derek Zhang, 11 (1436), Jordan Wood, 13, (1693) and Ethan Hollandsworth, 10 (1202). The "new guard" are already having a major effect on the results of the Top Section citing recent upsets over a few of our veteran players! (Hum, I wonder who they could have been?!!) Of the hundreds of scholastic players in the Charlotte area, our young Champion's names can routinely be found at the top of the crosstables in every Division of all local & state scholastic events! Of that, I am very proud.
Next, I am compelled to mention the extraordinary accomplishment of NM Chris Mabe (2294). In December of 2006,
Chris' rating was 2114.
Winning
only 1 Title, his paucity
of activity
in CCC
competition was overridden by an intense study program and a
rigorous tournament schedule which sent him to cities all over the
country. He played in some of the strongest events against some
of the strongest players. And with great results, he achieved the
coveted USCF Title of National
Master! NM Chris Mabe currently
reigns
as the CCC's
#1 player with a rating of 2294!
Congratulations, Chris;
keep up the great play! Check out NM Chris Mabe's Website!If you intend to win the Top Section of a CCC 5 round event, you must ultimately face the CCC's #2 player, the pride of Crouse, NC,
30 year old NM Frankie
Newton (2287). In
2007, you could
actually count his losses on one hand! Frankie played 31 games in 9 CCC events
and won 6 Titles with an
over 80% win rate!! (That
means he
scored an average of 4-1
in every tournament that he entered!) Those extraordinary results
coupled with his courteous and friendly demeanor earned him the Title of 2007
CCC Player of the Year. Hey, if you want to play him, you know
where you can find him!By virtue of the fact that I "lost" the fewest rating
points (-16)
of any
other Expert, NM Leland
Fuerstman (2002)
earned the dubious honor of 2007
CCC Expert of the Year!?
In deference to myself, I did play 62
games in 15 CCC events
and
win 4 Titles while
Directing each.Expert Gary Newsom (2033) had a great year! He played
42 games in 11
CCC
events, won 2 Titles and
gained 98 rating points.
Always tough,
his exceptional results earned him the Title of 2007 CCC Class "A" Player of the Year.
Gary recently announced his intention to start a Friday night club.When the student defeats his instructor, mission accomplished! Upon his arrival in the USA, I had the honor of teaching a bright, enthusiastic, diminutive 10
year old who said he
"wanted to learn tactics"!
Upon graduating
from the Fuerstman
School of Chess, he quickly moved up in the ranks. (More recent
specialized instruction by NM Chris
Mabe hasn't hurt his progress
either!) In 2007, 13 year old Samuel
Xin (1895) played 52
games in 12 CCC events
and
gained 160 rating points
to win the Title of 2007 CCC
Class "B" Player of the Year. Samuel has become a mainstay
in the Top Section of CCC competition.
We have a repeat winner! Having
played 25 games in 9 CCC events and gaining 255 rating points, 10 year old Derek Zhang (1448) has for the
second year in a row, won the Title of 2007 Class "D" Player of the Year.
And, last but not least, we have all been honored to witness the conversion of a lump of coal into a sparkling diamond!! In December 2006, this young man's rating was 1006!?? He often approached this Director
requesting that he be "paired
up." Hum; I remember 2 other young CCC
members who badgered me with that same request; NM Daniel Tapia (2350) and SM Matthew Hoekstra (2400). Both
of those champions moved up the rating ladder at a rapid clip. But, no
member of the CCC has
ever risen so high as quickly as 15 year old Dominique Myers! In 2007, he
played 57 games in 13 CCC events and gained 770 points!!! Accordingly, he
has earned the right to compete in the Top Section with a current
official rating of 1830!
His extraordinary results have earned him 2 CCC
Awards! - 2007 CCC Class "E"
Player of the Year and 2007
CCC Most Improved Player of the Year! Kudos to the "Dominator!"Honorable mention goes to Team Davidson's 20 year old Expert James Dickson, 16 year old Peter Giannatos, 14 year old Kevin Huang and Corey Frazier! Each had a great year and gained a bunch of points!
Congratulations to all of these 2007 CCC Champions! I personally thank each member of the CCC for your participation and support. Our relocation to Quaker Steak & Lube coupled with some increased weekend activity should make 2008 a great year for the Charlotte Chess Club. LF