Tournament #1
- Tournament #1 : Electric Company Mall, 8/6/88
- Electric Company Mall, Raleigh, NC
- TD: Robert Singletary
- Section: U1400
- Time Control: 40/90, G/30
Unfortunately, I do not have a complete record of these early tournaments...and neither does the US Chess Federation. I have pieced together as best I can who I played, what color I have, and scoresheets where available.
This was my first tournament. I was still not yet old enough to drive, but I was able to catch a ride with the Johnston County Chess Club. Even though I'd been playing for about a year at this point and had made substantial improvements, I was still a rank beginner and participating in this tournament opened up a new world for me. Seeing my club mates, who I regarded as "very good" players, be only good enough to play in the lowest section really put things in perspective. Even if I became the best player at the JCCC (which eventually, I did), I still had a VERY long way to go.
This would be the only Electric Company tournament I would play in and this was one of the last ones of this particular series. If memory serves, there was a small space in the mall that was devoted to chess and that's where this toruanemnt was held. The mall was on Hillsboro Street right across from the NC State campus. I seem to remember there being a connection with that site and the Raleigh Chess Club and I would love to hear from someone who has more knowledge on the history of chess in the area during this time period. This series of tournaments was run by Robert Singletary, who would later become an International Arbitor.
I don't have any scoresheets for this one, but I do remember that, of all the luck, I got paired against one of my club mates in round 1. Although under 1400, Mack was a very solid player and I don't think I had beaten him up to that point. While I don't have the scoresheets for this tournament, I'm ashamed to say that I do remember quite vividly, that my 1st loss occured within 10 moves...
Game #1 Round 1 Mack Hobson (loss)
Again, I do not have the scoresheet from this game, but I have located a JCCC club game between myself and Mack and I'll present it here.
Game #2 Round 2 (loss)
Game #3 Round 3 (loss)
Recap: +0 =0 -3
Rating: UNR -> UNR
