Even the half points were hard to earn in the Billerica March Friday Night Swiss. A field of 3 Experts and 5 “A” players produced an unprecedented 6-way tie for first between Experts Art Nugent and Pat Sciacca and “A” players Nate Smith, John Vaughan, Fangru Jiang and Michelle Chen, each with 2.5 – 1.5 scores. John Stuebing, Bob Babcock and Daniel Hamil each finished in a 3-way tie for best under 1750, each posting a 2 - 2 result. Daniel Kilgour and Peter Zito tied for best under 1250, with 1.5 – 2.5 scores. Nate Smith directed this 20 player tournament.

 

The Billerica 6-round April – May Swiss – always considered a warm-up for the 7-round May – June Club Championship – was won by the Club’s 2009 Club Champion, Expert Pat Sciacca. Pat posted a strong 5.5 - .5 score, a full point ahead of Expert Raymond Paulson, who finished 2nd with a 4.5 – 1.5 result. “A” players Tom McCafferty, Jeffrey Caruso and Michelle Chen tied for best under 2000, with solid 3 – 2 performances. John Stuebing and Meyer Billmers - both Club stalwarts for more than 2 decades – tied for best under 1750, with 2.5 – 2.5. Bob Babcock – back to the Club after a somewhat long absence – was best under 1500, also with a 2.5 – 2.5 score. David Gilgour was again best under 1250, with a 1.5 – 4.5 score. Nate Smith directed. 17 players participated in the tournament.

 

Historically, our Club Championship – ’09 being an exception – has been decided so late in the evening of the 7th and final round that even the draws are very hard to get. This was the case again in 2010. Coming into the 7th and final round (in a field of 2 Experts and 7 strong “A” players), Experts Art Nugent and Pat Sciacca (last year’s Champion) and “A” player Fangru Jiang were tied, each with 4.5 points. Only Sciacca could pull out the win, posting a 5.5 – 1.5 score, and repeating as Club Champion. “A” player Max Chia-Hsin Lu finished 2nd with a strong 5 – 2 performance, only _ point off the pace. Nugent and Fangru Jiang tied for 3rd, each with 4.5 – 2.5 scores. Jiang was also best under 2000. Meyer Billmers, Paul Staten and Bob Babcock tied for best under 1750, with 3 – 4, while Charles Windheim was best under 1500, with 2 – 5. Eric Heinecke was best under 1250, also with a 2-5 score. 20 players participated in the tournament and Nate Smith directed.

 

I should note that we meet on Friday nights and we have always welcomed new players!