The December issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine is out! Read it now

Register now for the Frank K. Berry FIDE Open! December 13-15 in OKC

Great results at Grade Nationals!

Two players representing Oklahoma finished near the top of their respective sections at the National K–12 Grade Championships, held December 6–8 in National Harbor, Maryland. In the 327-player Grade 5 division, Kiara Pavithran scored an outstanding 5.0 out of 7. And out of a field of 321 third graders, Arya Roy Choudhury tied for second with six wins. Congratulations to these outstanding young players!

The Holiday Open will be held in Tulsa on Saturday, December 28. more info

FM Ryan Amburgy vs. GM Fabiano Caruana

at the 2024 US Masters in Charlotte, North Carolina

Read Ryan's annotations of this great game in the December issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine.

CLASS A ARYA!

Eight-year-old Oklahoman breaks 1800

November 18, 2024 With a tremendous performance in the Championship section of last week's Texas Winter FIDE, eight-year-old Arya Roy Choudhury passed the 1800 mark—making him the youngest Oklahoman ever to reach Class A.

🎉 Congratulations, Arya!🎉

Charles M. Unruh vs. Francois Simard

Oklahoma's Charles M. Unruh represented the United States at this year's NATO chess championships in Rhodes, Greece. Here's his game against Canadian player Francois Simard. What do you think of this game? Read Charles's annotations, plus another game from the tournament, in the next issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine.

Unruh takes top Air Force Prize

PHOTO (from left) Chuck Unruh and Charles Unruh at the 65th Armed Forces Open

October 21, 2024 Charles Unruh won the Top Air Force Prize in the 65th Armed Forces Open, held October 12–14 in Annapolis, Maryland. He tied for third overall in the Open section with 4.0 out of 5 points. He also tied for third (6.0 out of 7) in the blitz side event, along with his father, NM Chuck Unruh. Chuck played in the USFAO Veterans Open section in the main event.

The Unruhs weren't the only Oklahomans at the tournament. Paul Covington and Mike Covington played in the Armed Forces and Veterans open sections, respectively.

Before his career in the Air Force took him to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, Charles was a well known tournament director in Oklahoma. He also served OCA and OSCO as a board member, tournament director, and tireless volunteer. But his greatest legacy (so far) is through the many scholastic players and teams he has coached in both Oklahoma and South Dakota. He currently teaches chess to more than 30 students from a homeschool group in the town of Keystone.

This week, Charles is playing in the 34th North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Chess Championship held in Rhodes, Greece. This is his third time participating in the NATO event.

Can you spot the Oklahoma players in this photo? Charles Unruh, NM Chuck Unruh, Paul Covington, and Mike Covington participated in the 65th Armed Forces Open in Annapolis, Maryland October 12–14.

AMBURGY WINS FIFTH BLITZ TITLE

For the fifth year running, FM Ryan Amburgy is Oklahoma's blitz champion.

The 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championship was held October 12 in Chandler. Thirty-five players competed in three sections.

Amburgy scored 12 points out of 14 in the seven-round, G/3;+2 event. His only loss was one of his two games against Josh Alexander (9.0/14), who finished in second. David Luscomb finished third (8.0/14).

Our 2024 Reserve (U1700) champion is Jake Williams (11.0/14). Viraj Singh (10.0) came in second, and Roshan Valentine (9.0) was third.

Theodore Crandall and Andrew Alexander tied for first in a particularly tough Novice (U1000) section—that section was combined for pairings with the U1700. But Crandall and Alexander played up to the occasion, managing to score higher than several Reserve players and ending the day with 8.0 points each. Crandall won the tiebreak round and was named Novice champion for 2024.

The event was directed by Rebecca Rutledge and hosted by Michael Bay at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites. Our thanks to Mr. Bay for providing this "out of this world" venue, and for giving us the opportunity to spend the day in in the charming Route 66 city of Chandler.

More photos are below, and the results are here: US Chess crosstables, 2024 Oklahoma Blitz

PHOTO: FM Ryan Amburgy with tournament director Rebecca Rutledge

Chess players Andrew Alexander and Theodore Crandall play blitz chess. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Roshan Valentine and Jake Williams play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

FM Ryan Amburgy and Joshua Alexander play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Carlos Pazmino and Viraj Singh play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Wayne Hatcher and Raymond Jiang play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Justin Barton and Hayden Olmstead play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess player Viraj Singh and chess player Joe Veal play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Wayne Hatcher and David Luscomb play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess player David Luscomb and chess player Joshua Alexander play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Jerry Casteel and Raymond Jiang play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess player Wayne Hatcher and chess player Max Barnes, Maxwell Barnes, play chess play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Chess players Liam Bond and Tyler Barton play chess at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Championships. The chess tournament was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Oklahoma chess player Raymond Jiang and Oklahoma chess player Mark Hulsey, NM Mark Hulsey, Dr. Mark Hulsey, at the 2024 Oklahoma Blitz Chess State Championships in Chandler, Oklahoma. The event was held in downtown Chandler on Manvel Avenue at the Chandler Interplanetary Office Suites.

Harold Edwin Brown, Jr.
September 23, 1952 - September 8, 2024

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of OCA board member and Tulsa tournament director Harold Brown, Jr. A tribute to Harold by Tom Braunlich will appear in the upcoming issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine.

Harold Edwin Brown, chess tournament director from Tulsa, Oklahoma

2024 Southwest Open: Worth the drive to Houston?

Oh, yeah. You bet it was! Check it out:

Our state champion, FM Ryan Amburgy, tied for fourth in the GM-studded International section at the Southwest Class In Houston this weekend. Elizabeth Braddy tied for fourth in the U2300. In the U2000, Arya Roy Choudhury tied for third. And Anurag Roy Choudhury ended the weekend with a FIRST-place tie in the U1500.

View the crosstables here:

Oklahoma chess player Anurag Roy Choudhury tied for first place in the U1500 section at the 2024 Southwest Open.

Oklahoma chess player Elizabeth Braddy tied for fourth place in the U2300 section at the 2024 Southwest Open.

Oklahoma chess player Anurag Roy Choudury tied for third place in the U2000 section at the 2024 Southwest Open.

Oklahoma players at the 2024 Universal Open

Congratulations to Oklahoma state champion FM Ryan Amburgy, who won top U2300 at the inaugural Universal Open in Dallas.

Ryan Amburgy (right) at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

William Lin at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

Parker Langston (right) at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

Max Barnes (left) at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

Ryan Samadder at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

Chief TD Louis Reed at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

Jason Wawrzaszek at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

Matthew Huber at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

David Luscomb and Rebecca Rutledge did some between-rounds ice skating at the 2024 Universal Open Chess tournament.

A bong-tastic result for Bufford at the National Open

Despite playing what's been called "the worst opening in chess" and "a bad opening that violates nearly all principles," Oklahoma player Adley Bufford scored a solid 4.5/7 in the U1900 division at last week's National Open in Las Vegas. He played played the "Bong Cloud" (f3 kf2 or f6 kf7) in every game.

"I'm positive he could have won his section if he'd played something normal," said Max Barnes, who also played in the event. Barnes scored 5.5 out of 7 in the U2100.

PHOTO: Wishing he could castle? (Courtesy of Las Vegas International Chess Festival)

The June 2024 issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine is out! Read it here

RYAN AMBURGY IS TWO-TIME STATE CHAMP

FM Ryan Amburgy is Oklahoma's state chess champion for 2024-25. He tied for first with GM Viktor Matviishen, who he drew in round four. This is Amburgy's second time to earn the state champion's title; he also won it in 2022.

Four players finished with 3.5 points in the Championship section: David Phillips, Lafayette Chen, Kelvin Xie, and Arkansas player Havish Kunchanapalli.

The 78th Jerry Spann Memorial Oklahoma State Championship was held June 1 and 2 in Edmond. A record-setting 125 players participated in this year's event. Josie Braddy was organizer and chief TD.

Liam Applegate won the Reserve with a stunning 5 out of 5-game sweep. He had been the 24th seed in the 31-player section. Maxwell Xie, Sean Harvey, and Ben Roberts tied with 4.0 points each.

Anthony Tuttle won the Amateur with a perfect 5.0 score. Konner Rugg took second place with 4.5. David Brown, Paarth Jain, and Frank Chen split the Top U1000 prize, and Tyler Ellis was the top unrated player.

Results of the tournament are here.