National Chess Weekend in Great Falls
Strickland and Cohen Land on Top

Congratulations to Wilton Strickland and Larry Cohen—4-points and tops in the 2017 Chinook Open. Cohen, visiting from Villa Park, Illinois, matched Strickland’s score but Wilton held the edge on tie breaks. 3rd place went to Chris Baumgartner (also from Illinois), Scott Caldwell and Frank Miller.
Miller’s 5th round win brought him the biggest upset (382 points) against none other than Dan McCourt as well as the tie for 3rd and a well-earned 65 point rating gain. Closest to Miller’s upset was Colton Quirk’s 3rd round draw with Darren Stacey – good for 344 points.
While the event was just short of the required 10 MCA participants and will not qualify for a Grand Prix tournament, the games were tense and outcomes were surprising. There was also an atmosphere of small-group friendliness and camaraderie. Thanks and a tip of MCA hat to Brian Kelley who filled in as house player for all five rounds.