Two Big Events in Central Iowa this Summer

Two big Iowa qualifier tournaments are being held in central Iowa this summer! The 1st Annual Roger Gotschall Memorial Chess Festival will be held on the campus of Iowa State University on June 15th & 16th. The details are in the TLA included in the "upcoming tournament" section on the IASCA website. “Coach” was a well-known chess personality in Iowa, and he left a large footprint! Roger was furiously proud of ISU and Ames. It’s only fitting that a memorial tournament be held in his honor.

If someone would be so kind as to write a biography of Roger for distribution at the event as well as pictures, I would be grateful. I’m not knowledgeable of Roger’s long career to do him justice. Also, any stories you can contribute would be fantastic! This event is to honor Roger. I to refer to him as the “Dean” of Iowa chess.

The second central Iowa qualifier is the Des Moines Open which will be July 13th & 14th at the Airport Holiday Inn. Please see TLA included in the "upcoming tournament" section on the IASCA website. The Des Moines Open once was one of Iowa’s premier tournaments. Continental Chess ran a Des Moines Open at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in the mid-2000s. If I recall correctly, Bill Goichberg himself was here. The event was poorly attended and that was last large-scale Des Moines Open.

Please consider attending these tournaments, at least the 1st Annual Roger Gotschall Memorial Chess Festival. I was unable to have the site and date approved by ISU administration for this 1st Annual event earlier enough to have it advertised in Chess Life. Honestly, Roger would have been able to accomplish this! The name Roger Gotschall would be invaluable for pushing through the red tape at ISU. In addition, the Gottschall would catch the eye of USCF delegates and passed delegates from all over the country. Roger represented Iowa as a delegate to USCF’s annual delegates meeting for over two decades. He served as a member of the Ethics Committee and was well respected. Please consider attending one or both of these events!