Even though the Ohio Chess Congress is a state championship event, it tends to
draw players from various states. Of the
117 players in the recently completed Congress, 16 were from out of state,
including the top rated player in the tournament Alex Zelner of Florida.
When
the dust settled, Zelner, Carl Boor, and Walker Griggs finished in a three way
tie for first place. Since Zelner is not an Ohio resident Boor and Griggs were
declared Ohio Co-champions. This is the third championship for Boor and the
first for Griggs. Griggs is an amazing story having only played rated chess
since 2009. He is the second youngest Ohio Champion at the age of 15.
Taking
top honors in the under 2000 section was ten year old Maggie Feng. First in the
under 1700 section went to Blair Koman and scoring a perfect 6-0 in the under
1400 section was Ben Tancinco. John Hughes finished first in the Ohio Blitz
Championship.
Vilenchuk wins the 2011 Denker Tournament of High School Champions 17-year-old Michael Vilenchuk of Ohio convincingly won the Denker tournament of high school champions in Orlando with 5.5/6.
In addition to the prestigious title, Michael earned himself a
scholarship to University of Texas at Dallas, an important incentive to
the incoming senior.
Ohioans Kris Meekins and Michael Vilenchuk claim the top honor at the 2010 National HS Championships in Columbus over the April 16th to 19th weekend. Over 1300 scholastic players from around the country competed in the annual event held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus. The US Chess Federation organized the tournament.
