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2006 Denker Tournament Report
by Oliver Chase
Recently, I had the privilege of representing Vermont in the “ 2006 Denker Tournament of High School Champions”. During this week long tournament, I learned much, played chess, and had a lot of fun.
This year the tournament was held at a Hilton hotel located in Oak Brook, Illinois. (About 20 miles outside of Chicago.) In my opinion it was a real great place to have a tournament because there was superb food, and tons of stuff to do - if I ever needed a break from chess. Break from chess? I know, crazy, huh? The time controls for the games allowed three hours for each side. Take it from me; a six-hour game can be very draining.
The travel experience alone was exciting! If it wasn’t for chess, I probably never would have visited a landmark such as the Sears Tower. I would also like to thank the Vermont chess association for providing me with the opportunity partial sponsorship to the tournament.
Out of the six rounds I played I scored two wins, two draws, and two losses. Sorry, I didn’t win first place folks, but the competition is really tough out there! For any who are interested, here’s my favorite game from the tournament. I’m white against a 1996 rated Robert Lau from Hawaii
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1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Bd6
6. Nf3 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Bg5 Nge7 10. Qe2 f6
11. Be3 Qd7 12. Nbd2 O-O-O 13. O-O-O Rde8 14. Nh4 f5 15. Nxg6 hxg6
16. Nb3 Ng8 17. Qc2 Rf8 18. g5 Rh4 19. f3 Nge7 20. Bf2 Rh5
21. h4 Rfh8 22. Rhe1 Nd8 23. Nc5 Bf4+ 24. Kb1 Qd6 25. Qb3 Nec6
26. Re2 b6 27. Ba6+ Kb8 28. Rde1 Rxh4 29. Bxh4 Rxh4 30. Re8 Bxg5
31. Nb7 Qg3 32. Qxd5 Rh8 33. Nxd8 Bxd8 34. Qxc6 Black resigns.
This year Nelson Lopez II from North Carolina won the Denker with a score of 5.5 out of six. Near the end of the tournament I was rooting for him because I had played him last year at the Denker and I scored a draw.
Overall, I consider this year’s Denker tournament a smashing success; I made a lot of new friends, saw Chicago, gained a few rating points - and five pounds . OK, I could have done without the five pounds! Anyway, I hope to see you all once again this year at the Vermont State Scholastics.