Alan Stein Takes 7th Denker Tournament

Alan Stein, of Mountain View, California, took clear first in the 1991 Arnold Denker Tournament of State High School Champions, with a 4 1/2 – 1/2 score. He completed a tournament that was marked by surprises from the first move to the last.

Stein was ranked No. 6 going into the event, with a 2117 rating. He drew in the third round with Brad Skaggs of Kentucky, then reeled off two more wins to claim the title. Right  behind him were Corey Russell of Tacoma, Washington and Lewis Eisen of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Josh Manion, of Wisconsin, had been tied at 3 1/2 with Stein after four rounds, but fell to Eisen in the second-to-last game to finish, thus winding up tied for 4th place in the event.

Stein, formerly a master, is no stranger to tough competition. He is a contributor to the California Chess Journal.

He earned a $400 scholarship for his first place finish. Russell will be entering his junior year in high school, and hopes someday to major in computer science in college. His hobbies, aside from chess, include politics, current events, music, and volleyball. Eisen, going into his senior year, is uncertain about his future plans, but would like to major in either pre-med or somewhere in the chemistry/bio-chemistry fields. Eisen also enjoys sports, especially tennis and bowling. Eisen also enjoys sports, especially tennis and bowling. Eisen and Russell will each receive a $250 scholarship.

Top-seeded Matt Morgan of Virginia was one of the many upset victims in this event. He was upended in the second round by Eisen, and then in the third round by Curtis Cooper of New Mexico. Morgan did come back with two victories in the final rounds to have a plus score at 3-2, good enough for 10th place. Second-seeded Nate Graham of Minnesota suffered a similar fate, losing in the second round to Josh Manion of Wisconsin and in the third round to Jason Phillips of Alabama. Thus, after three rounds, the top two seeds each had only one win and no draws. Graham wound up with 2 1/2 points and 15th place.

Finishing in 4th-7th places, in tie-broken order with 3 1/2 points, were Alon Bochman of New York, Manion, Ilya Figelman of Massachusetts, and Adam Caveney of Georgia. Each will receive a $25 scholarship.

A total of 30 players participated in this, the 7th Denker Tournament. (Fourteen of the participants also played in the U.S. Open.) Funding for the players’ expenses ($5500) was provided by the American Chess Foundation and by Arnold Denker. Additional contributions came from the U.S. Chess Trust, the Southern California Chess Federation, Dewain Barber, Paul Shannon, Arthur Dake, and Marjorie Metzger. Seven of the players were winners in a special drawing and given complimentary tickets to the luncheon with world champion Garry Kasparov.

The chief tournament director was Ira Lee Riddle, assisted by Alan Benjamin and Dewain Barber.