From Dale R. Wentz, OCF Tournament Coordinator

The Oregon Closed Championship field has been set. The pairing information is below.

I got a lukewarm response to my suggestion for a Second Section (a futurity) to be played at the same time and place as the Oregon Championship. A few people were excited by the idea and eager to play, some questioned the entry fee, or the commitment to two weekends; mostly there was no response. I suspect some were waiting to see if they were invited for the championship.

In answer to questions I've received regarding money: The Oregon Championship is the largest financial drain on the OCF each year. Most of the income from membership goes to supporting Northwest Chess Magazine. Our only other source of income is the small amount made through the OCF-sponsored tournaments. My thought was to provide a chance for some of our higher-rated players to compete for FIDE ratings and therefore OCF would have a certain amount of support for the cost of the Championship.

ROUND ROBIN: To have a FIDE-rated event we need to have at least ten players, or a larger group playing nine rounds. This would be played in the same format as the championship. Time control of 40/120, SD/60, 5 second delay. Rounds at 10:00 a.m. on all five days February 11, 12, 18, 19, and 20 (Monday, Presidents' day), and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays & Sundays. Prizes are $200 for First Place, $100 for Second Place, and $50 for Third Place.

If there are sufficient players who are interested but unable to commit to both weekends, we could have a six-player Round Robin on the Holiday weekend (February 18-20)--that would be USCF-rated only--with prizes of $140 for First and $70 for Second.

Unlike Washington State, the winner of the secondary event is not seeded into the following year's championship so THIS IS OPEN TO PLAYERS FROM OTHER STATES WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE. You just need to be available to play in Portland on the given weekends. USCF ratings as of January 1, 2012 will be used to group if we get enough interest to have multiple sections.

We need to have some advance notice in order to do a FIDE-rated Round Robin event. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested and can commit to playing all games.

The Oregon Closed Championship field has been set. The pairing information is below.

1. Carl Haessler

2. Radu Roua

3. Steven Deeth

4. Steve Breckenridge

5. Mike Montchalin

6. Curtis Brooks

7. Brian Esler

8. Nick Raptis

9. Mike Pendergast

10. Daniel Gay

Using the Round Robin pairing charts in the USCF Official Rules of Chess (Fifth Edition), we get the following pairings, round by round (white first):

1. Montchalin-Gay; Brooks-Breckenridge; Esler-Deeth; Raptis-Roua; Pendergast-Haessler

2. Gay-Pendergast; Haessler-Raptis; Roua-Esler; Deeth-Brooks; Breckenridge-Montchalin

3. Breckenridge-Gay; Montchalin-Deeth; Brooks-Roua; Esler-Haessler; Raptis-Pendergast

4. Gay-Raptis; Pendergast-Esler; Haessler-Brooks; Roua-Montchalin; Deeth-Breckenridge

5. Deeth-Gay; Breckenridge-Roua; Montchalin-Haessler; Brooks-Pendergast; Esler-Raptis

6. Gay-Esler; Raptis-Brooks; Pendergast-Montchalin; Haessler-Breckenridge; Roua-Deeth

7. Roua-Gay; Deeth-Haessler; Breckenridge-Pendergast; Montchalin-Raptis; Brooks-Esler

8. Gay-Brooks; Esler-Montchalin; Raptis-Breckenridge; Pendergast-Deeth; Haessler-Roua

9. Haessler-Gay; Roua-Pendergast; Deeth-Raptis; Breckenridge-Esler; Montchalin-Brooks

PRIOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION DATED JANUARY 15, 2012:

The board has decided to go by the letter of the OCF Bylaws. Therefore, the winner of the Junior Closed to be held next weekend (January 21 - 22) will be seeded into the 2013 Oregon Closed, IF the winner meets the other qualifications.

All participants need to send your $50 deposits in! Your check will be held un-cashed and returned to you at the end of the tournament. Checks will only be cashed if you forfeit.

Please make your checks payable ONLY to OREGON CHESS FEDERATION. Send them to me, Dale R. Wentz, at 981 Sagrada Circle North, Keizer, OR 97303. Checks ONLY are accepted; OCF does not have a Paypal account.

Please contact me, Dale R. Wentz, with any concerns or questions about the 2012 Oregon Closed at dandtwentz@msn.com.

IMPORTANT: Please address your questions about OCF Bylaws or other OCF matters to Dave Yoshinaga, OCF President, at dave@kdtonline.com.