With an exciting endgame finale, Bill Smythe edged Joe Zemgulys to close out the Judd Lauger Memorial Classic with a perfect 3.0/3 score. Smythe earned a crisp $100 bill (or its equivalent) for the Open section championship.
David Yong and Alex Zhao split the Under 1800 prize fund, both with 2.0/3 scores.
In a theoretical draw, Josh Kueker managed to make his three clock seconds last long enough to prevail over previously-unbeaten Jonathan Gaenzle, winning the Reserve Section. In a fascinating pawns and bishop vs. pawns and rook endgame, Kueker wound up sacrificing his rook to get the job done.
Kueker repeatedly made moves within the five-second delay to keep the game alive.
The two had entered the round alone in the perfect 3.0/3 score group with winner-takes-all prize money on the line. Rather than settle for the draw which would have meant splitting the prize fund, Gaenzle tried to use his bishop as a shield from Kueker's rook which patrolled the seventh rank with an iron fist.
The bishop shield might have enabled Gaenzle's king to wipe out a critical pawn, allowing his own pawn to advance toward promotion. Alas, the execution of this plan drew the king out of position, and Kueker was able to start start munching his challenger's pawns.
When the dust settled, a single rook pawn -- and a well-positioned king -- lead to the decisive outcome.
Kueker, playing in his first rated event in three-and-a-half years, raised his rating 98 points. (Josh has a four-year old at home who evidently demands some of his fatherly attention).
The 17-player Reserve section featured players from three states, limited to players with pre-event ratings below 1600.
The Judd Lauger Memorial Classic honored the spirit of a true chess enthusiast whose life was tragically cut short by a 2010 car accident. The family generously bolstered the prize fund, and Judd's brother Jordon played the first rated game of his life, emerging with a provisional rating in the high 1800's.
The event featured three rounds of Game/70 in the Open and four rounds of Game/50 in the Reserve.
The Game/50 Senior Booster wound up as a round-robin with several upsets as Gary Sargent and Jim Marchert, Sr. split top honors with 2.0/3 tallies.
A five-round Scholastic saw Layla Rodriguez lose her first match before coming on strong to post the only 4.0/5 score and win the championship.
Sreyansh Mamidi and Pranav Addepalli tied for second place with 3.5 scores, drawing head to head in the third round.
Both fell victim to Layla, Sreyansh in the fourth round, Pranav in the final round.
Winning "Under" trophies were Anshul Shetty (Under 1000), Jacob Plotnick (Under 800), Kyran Siddiqui (Under 600) and George Ivascu (Under 400).
Anshul earned an additional cash prize for top upset, beating a player rated more than 450 points his better. Ratings don't matter once the game begins, right?
More information on the family's remembrance of Judd Lauger can be found here.
US Chess crosstables can be reviewed here.
Four sets of siblings availed themselves of the "family discount" offered by the DeKalb Chess Club. The Lauger's might have qualified as well, but were provided complimentary entries due to their generous sponsorship of the event.
The event was the 55th rated tournament held by the DeKalb club over the past six years. Coincidentally, the club's first USCF-rated tournament was held just a few weeks before Judd Lauger's passing.