Reverse Angle 68 - a new record!

Author: Grant Oen, CCCSA Assistant Director

The 68th version of CCCSA's Reverse Angle tournament (3 rounds, G/90) was held on Saturday, January 21, 2017.

With 80 players, it was the largest RA in history - the previous record was RA 13 in 2009, which had 75 players.  It also seems to be the largest single day event in Charlotte Chess Center's history.  There was full use of the upstairs facilities, in addition to 6 boards downstairs in the chess center's library!  There was an increased prize fund of over $1,000 in four sections.

A packed house for Reverse Angle 68

TOP

The Top section boasted both quality and quantity, as it was the largest section with 25 players, led by NMs Daniel Cremisi (2322), Elias Oussedik (2249), and Klaus Pohl (2200).  There were many Experts and Class A players, including 2016 World Under-10 Girls Champion, Rochelle Wu (2094), pictured below.  Through the first round, there were no major upsets - the top seeds scored perfectly, except for Patrick McCartney's draw against Pradhyumna Kothapalli.

In the second round we started to see more interesting pairings.  Jay Goss (2094) drew Daniel Cremisi (2322) and Klaus Pohl (2200) won vs. Rochelle Wu (2094), the highest rated girl under 12 years old in the world (FIDE).  After taking a first round bye, Elias Oussedik (2249) defeated Pradhyumna Kothapalli (1876) in the quickest game of the second round.

Klaus Pohl - Rochelle Wu

After Round 2, only Klaus Pohl and Sijing Wu (2104) had 2/2 scores, leading to their third round match on board 1 in the final round.  Sijing Wu won that encounter, to receive the perfect 3/3 score, a new 2131 rating, and $200.  Daniel Cremisi, Elias Oussedik, Jay Goss, and Sulia Mason tied for second place with 2.5/3.


U1800

The U1800 section drew 21 players.  There were a few upsets in Round 1 - Andrew Lord (1399) defeated Jaiden Chuang (1643), Rahul Jakati (1454) defeated RJ Raynoe (1645), and Andrew Jiang (1455) won against Nishanth Singaraju (1700).  There were four perfect scores (2/2) going into the last round - Dwayne Tutt, Carson Cook, Danny Cropper, and Rahul Jakati.  In the end, Tutt and Cook came out on top with 3/3.


U1400

The U1400 section had 15 players.  In the U1400 section's first round, CCCSA regular Aarush Chugh (1189) defeated Walter High (1384) on the top board.  In February, Walter will be organizing the 4th Annual Ron Simpson Memorial Tournament in Burlington!

Allan Miller, Ian Macnair, and Aarush Chugh led the section with 2/2 going into Round 3.  Macnair and Chugh both won, leading to another tie for first.  They both also crossed 1300, with Macnair gaining 143 points, and Chugh gaining 177 points.  Not bad for 3 rounds!

U1100

19 players competed in the U1100 section.  William Merritt (798) drew Richard Trela (1050) in Round 1, when Trela accidentally promoted to a second queen, which immediately led to stalemate.  Joseph Bostic (743) won against Logan Gately (979) in the biggest upset of the first round.

Sampson Piermattei, Sai Pranav Swarna, Joshua Denton, and Jay Sundar were the four players on a perfect 2/2.  After the dust settled in round 3, Sampson Piermattei and Jay Sundar tied for first with 3/3.  Richard Trela, William Farmer, Sai Pranav Swarna, Joshua Denton, Akshay Rajagopal, and Robert Murray-Gramlich tied for third place with 2/3.

FULL USCF RATING RESULTS

This massive tournament would have been even bigger if it weren't for space constraints - players are always encouraged to pre-register for events online, or email/call ahead to guarantee a spot.

The next Reverse Angle (RA 69) is on Saturday, February 18!  There are many other Saturday events planned, including scholastic events and a four-round, G/60 tournament on February 4.  Please see our 2017 Saturday Tournament Calendar.


- Grant