Delaware chess, Delaware Valley chess, and the world at large suffered a substantial loss on July 6 with the death of Dr. Ira Lee Riddle. He suffered a fatal heart attack at age 62 while on a European cruise with his beloved wife Polly.
Though a Pennsylvania resident, Ira made great contributions to chess in the First State. One of fewer than 30 Americans to hold the International Arbiter title, he directed our state championship tournament several times, most recently in 2007. He also edited our state’s chess newsletter for many years. Until now, I was unaware of an earlier Delaware connection in his life, but I just learned that he was a graduate of Christiana High School (class of 1964).
I first met Ira in the mid-to-late 1970s, as he helped to direct some tournaments I played in. He had become involved in organized chess while teaching high school math in Glassboro, NJ. One of his students, Ken Potts, was a promising junior chessplayer, and Ira agreed to supervise a chess club at the school. This support was one factor that helped Ken (a close friend of mine in the ’70s and ’80s) tie for first at the National High School Championship in 1975.
Directing chess tournaments was much more than a part-time job for Ira; he involved himself deeply in giving chess players opportunities to play and improve. I once played in an internationally rated invitational tournament that he held in the basement of his Bucks County home.
As he grew older, Ira gained considerable weight, and his health suffered. However, in the middle part of this decade he shed many of those pounds and was looking more vibrant again the last couple of times I saw him. A good-natured and erudite man, he was always a pleasure to chat with when he wasn’t engrossed in pairings or other tournament duties.
The chess world, and society in general, would be better off with more people like Ira Lee Riddle. It’s a shame that there is now one less. Thanks for all that you did and all that you were, Ira.
-Dave Gertler
With over 20 players particpating, and eight players rated 1800 or better, it was anyone’s tournament at the 2009 Delaware Capital Open. In the end, Darrin Berkley and Andrew Rea tied with 4 points each in the open section. They finished 1/2 point ahead of Becky Huang and Chris O’Connell. Congratulations to Darrin and Andrew!
In the under 1600 section, David Power won by a full point over Joseph Mele. David defeated Joseph in the final round to ensure his victory. The full results are shown below…
Open Section
| Name | ID Number | Rating | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Score |
| Rea, Andrew | 11052452 | 2134 | 1/2 Bye | W15 | W4 | W3 | D2 | 4 |
| O’Connell, Christopher | 10206600 | 2073 | D8 | W5 | 1/2 Bye | W6 | D1 | 3.5 |
| Coffee, Terrance | 10105358 | 1960 | W9 | D6 | W11 | L1 | L4 | 2.5 |
| Berkley, Darrin | 12808315 | 1936 | W10 | W7 | L1 | W13 | W3 | 4 |
| Thomas, Brad | 12564214 | 1840 | D11 | L2 | L8 | D10 | W9 | 2 |
| Huang, Becky | 12932148 | 1808 | W12 | D3 | W7 | L2 | W15 | 3.5 |
| Young, Clinton | 10500770 | 1805 | W14 | L4 | L6 | W11 | W8 | 3 |
| Vaughn, Charles | 12550239 | 1800 | D2 | L11 | W5 | D12 | L7 | 2 |
| Dulany, Larry | 10197112 | 1747 | L3 | D13 | W10 | L15 | L5 | 1.5 |
| Miller, Harold Dean | 12524909 | 1734 | L4 | L14 | L9 | D5 | Bye | 1.5 |
| West, Darryl | 12537405 | 1711 | D5 | W8 | L3 | L7 | D14 | 2 |
| Tegtmeier, Joseph | 12546036 | 1693 | L6 | Bye | D15 | D8 | W13 | 3 |
| Farmer, Chris | 12686129 | 1678 | 1/2 Bye | D9 | W14 | L4 | L12 | 2 |
| Casey, Joseph | 12501348 | 1608 | L7 | W10 | L13 | 1/2 Bye | D11 | 2 |
| Melvin, Mark | 12939291 | 1568 | Bye | L1 | D12 | W9 | L6 | 2.5 |
Under 1600
| Name | ID Number | Rating | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Score |
| Kevin Pytel | 12877531 | 1487 | X | X | X | W2 | X | 1 |
| David Power | 12504168 | 1451 | W4 | D3 | W5 | L1 | W4 | 3.5 |
| Krycka, James | 12729029 | 1343 | W5 | D2 | D4 | L4 | L6 | 2 |
| Mele, Joseph | 12411382 | 1217 | L2 | W5 | D3 | W3 | L2 | 2.5 |
| Balakrishnan, Praveen | 14056673 | 1079 | L3 | L4 | L2 | F | F | 0 |
| John Pytel | 12884006 | 1042 | X | X | X | X | W3 | 1 |
The final event in the Delaware Series Challenge for 2009 is coming up on July 18 at the Bear Library. This event is a Game/15 with special prizes and the awards ceremony for the entire event series following the last round! For full details see this flier.
So who will the Series Challenge winner be? Who will get the free entry into the Delaware State Championship? After 4 events, Brad Thomas if 2 points ahead of Quentin Guy in the top division but it is still too close to call! Jeremy Penna leads the 1000-1499 division and Ann Marie Fitch comes out of nowhere to take the lead in the Under 1000 division.
You can see the full results on the Series Challenge page here.
The fourth event in the Delaware Series Challenge is being held on Saturday, May 30, at the Bear Library. This event is a 5 round swiss with a time control of G/29. (the games will be 26 minutes with a 3 second delay) Registration starts at 10:00 and the tournament begins at 10:30. For more information see this flier.
Congratulations to Brad Thomas and Dave Power for winning their respective divisions in the Larry Donovan Memorial. They have each won a free entry into the Delaware Capital Open!
The full results for each division were…
Above 1600
Brad Thomas 2.5 Brad won the free entry to the DE Capital Open in June 2009. Congrats Brad.
Darryl West 2.0
Yury Markushin 1.0
Mike Sharp 0.5 Mike Sharp took the upset prize.
Under 1600
Dave Power 2.5 Dave Power took the upset prize beating Paris Mitchell in the last round, and also won a free entry fee to the DE Capital Open in June 2009. Congrats Dave.
Paris Mitchell 2.0
Ralph Lopez 2.0
Art Sargent 1.5
William Hughes 1.0
Victor Rein 0.0
Thanks to all that came to the LD Memorial.
Larry Donovan Memorial Unrated Open Swiss
When: May 09, 2009
Where: Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 SE Front St. Milford, DE 19963
Format: Swiss; (2) Sections: Above 1600 and Under 1600 – those without a USCF rating will be placed in a section determined by TD.
G/90, Reg: 8 am – 8:45 am
Rds: 9:00, 12:45, 4:00
Entry Fee: 20.00
Prizes: Each section 60% of (EF) for that section will be returned. 1st 30% 2nd 20% 3rd 10%
Extra Prizes: 25.00 to each section for biggest upset, and a free (EF) to the Delaware Capital Open coming in June. The winner of the above 1600 section will receive this prize, but must be a current USCF member. If winner is not a current USCF member then prize will go to the player that places the highest in the above 1600 tournament with a current USCF membership. In case of ties that will be decided by 5 min. speed chess between qualified players.
There will be free pizza for lunch, but drinks will not be supplied.
Contact: Dean Miller (c) 302.853.5008 (h) 302.422.4328 (email) themillers10@verizon.net
Yury Markushin has caught Brad Thomas to share the lead with 8.5 points in the Delaware Series Challenge. Quentin Guy has dropped to a full point behind and Phil Saponaro added an important 3 points to his total to move up to 5th place with Dean D’Souza. Event 3 was a 2-day swiss tournament held at the Bear Library. Jeremy Penna continues to lead the 1000-1499 division. The next event will be a 5-round Swiss at the Bear Library on May 30th. The scores are still close so the last two events will be important to determine the overall winner. You can see all the standings on our Delaware Series Tournament page.
The third event in the Delaware Series Challenge will be held in Bear on April 18-19. The event is a 2-day Swiss with a total of 5 rounds. For more information on the location and how to register, see the tournament flier.
Also, the results for each quad from event 2 have now been posted here.
The second leg of the Delaware Series Challenge was held in Newark on March 28th. You can see the tournament results for each quad here. Congratulations to Brad Thomas for overtaking the competition and rising to the top of the series standings with 5 points. Quentin Guy and Yury Markushin are only a half-point behind the leader. Jeremy Penna takes over first place in the 1000-1499 division. The next event will be a 2-day swiss held in Bear on April 18-19. With three events to go, it is still anyone’s championship. All the current standings can be found here: http://www.delawarechess.org/tournaments/grandprix2009.html
Dr. Ira Lee Riddle has reviewed several more books for our Delaware Chess readers. These books include Secrets of Opening Surprises Vol 10, Winning Chess Middlegames, The Black Lion, and Play 1. b3!. So head on over to http://www.delawarechess.org/chessviewer/bookreviews.html and click on “Review 2″ to read Ira’s thoughts on these books. Be sure to check back later for more reviews to come!