Maxx Coleman & Tim Moroney: Junior Champs

Coleman & Moroney Top Junior Open

Max Colemann and Tim Moroney of Michigan topped the U.S. Junior Open held July 25-27 in Lindsborg, Kansas with 5.5/6.0. The two contestants drew each other in the third round before cruising through to victories in the rest of their games in the small field. The question remained was: co-champion would receive the honor of playing in the 2009 U.S. Junior Closed? (The winner of the Open is the first person to secure a slot in the Closed championship the following year.) The answer was to be decided on computer tiebreak--however, the field was small enough that all of the normal tiebreak methods left Moroney and Coleman with the same number of tiebreaker points! Thus, Coleman was awarded the slot on the tiebreak basis of "most Black games"--he played four rounds with the Black pieces, opposed to Moroney's three. A tight race indeed, and congratulations to the winners!

Polgar Excitement and Denker Drama

Top-seeded Courtney Jamison came back from an early draw to take the 2008 Susan Polgar Invitational with 5.5/6.0. The tournament featured some surprise performances--for instance, the leader with 3.0/3.0 after three rounds was Ohioan Brianna Conley, who upset several opponents before finally being defeated by the tournament's best. Check out more information on Susan Polgar's Chess Blog.

Meanwhile, excitement is building for the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. The first round starts tomorrow at 7:00 P.M. Central Time. Check for regular reports on Chess Life Online for updates on the progress in Texas!

KibBlitzing with Colemann and Moroney

The U.S. Junior Open winners graciously agreed to parallel KibBlitzes this week. Do you know which tournament they would travel back in time and re-play if they had the chance? Hint: it's the same one, and it didn't occur last weekend. Check if out!

Also, while you're at it, be sure to check out Tim Moroney's most excellent chess blog. In it, you'll find details on Tim's travels in that wild and wacky world he dubs "Chessteria".

Chess.FM Update: Larry Christiansen!

This week, we bring you we GM Larry Christiansen's famous attacking show.  The title of this episode is "Roger's Positional Spadework leads to Avalanche of Sacrifices", so be sure not to miss the action!