Joseph Wan and Gokul Thangavel win the May Day Fun Tournament

Great turnout for our Mayday Outdoor Chess Extravaganza! We were able to find 10 extra chairs and add 8 players to make the total 69 (there was an 8 player unrated section not listed on the US Chess crosstable.)

Player were charged with energy as it was the first time in over a year where a large open event was held in Iowa. Former state Champion Joseph Wan and Avid Blitzer Gokul Thangavel led pack from the start and collided in an epic showdown in the final round where a draw ensued. Much more exciting is the new players coming out to play. I heard this story many times, "I played on chess.com over the pandemic and I wanted to try over the board." I was certainly happy to oblidge.

On May 1st, Eric Vigil and Jim Hodina ran a 6 round blitz tournament in Iowa City with 61 players. The tournament was won by Joseph Wan and Gokul Thangavel. Congratulations!

Tournament Crosstables can be found at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202105013792