Local players hold their own at Medicine Hat Open chess tournament

By Medicine Hat Chess Club Special to the News on September 28, 2022.

The Medicine Hat Chess Club held its 25th Annual Medicine Hat Open chess tournament on Sept. 17-18 weekend.

The club welcomed 22 players from various parts of Alberta. Of this number, 11 were new to our event. Five players from Medicine Hat participated, and performed well in our five-round, Swiss-style event.

There was a three-way tie for first place with each player scoring 4/5. Based on the standard Buchholz tiebreaker, first place was awarded to Patrick Angelo Tolentino (a junior), with second to Dale Haessel (a longtime player of this sport) and third to Isaiah Sehn (of Medicine Hat, also a junior). Tied for fourth place with 3.5/5 were Dr. Bill Taylor (MHCC president, tournament director and co-director) and Rafael Arruebarrena (ACA president).

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Finishing tied for fourth with 2/5 were Roland Schech and Glenn Harper, of Medicine Hat.

On a special note, Ford Wong, former president of the ACA, paid tribute to Dr. Taylor for his 25-year commitment to organizing the tournament and his many contributions over the past 35 years to chess in Medicine Hat and southeast Alberta.

Dr. Taylor’s passion for chess is well know throughout Alberta and beyond. He is the driving force responsible for the world’s “Largest Chess Set,” and arguably the World’s Largest Chess Piece (a King) located immediately behind the giant chess set in downtown Medicine Hat.

The symbolic torch, and responsibility for organizing future MHOs was passed from Dr. Taylor to Jordan Schibler, who served as co-director for the event.

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