18 RR and Barwick school kids qualify for chess provincials

Ken Johnston
Editor

Marty Johnston, 15, of Rainy River High School, checkmated his way to a perfect score, qualifying for the provincial chess championships last Wednesday in Rainy River.
Johnston, who placed 4th at the Canadian Chess Championships in July, won all his games to score 5 out of 5 points and advance to the provincials.
He was among 24 students from both Rainy River and Barwick schools participating in the qualifying tournament held at Riverview School last week. Anyone scoring 2.5 points or higher qualifies for the provincial (Northern Ontario) tournament to be held in Thunder Bay October 25, 2003. However there is a loophole. The top three in each age category automatically advance.
In the case of Kyle Jewitt, he was alone in the age 16-17 category and hence could not play anyone for points. He automatically qualified for provincials.
The following players qualified in their respective age categories:
Ages 16-17
1st Kyle Jewitt-RRHS
Ages 14-15
1st Marty Johnston
2nd Matt Morrison
Ages 12-13
1st Jordan Jenson-
Riverview
2nd Kalan Ewald-Riv.
2nd Jaden Chorney-Riv.
Also qualifying was Peter Atkinson-Riv., Dan Usiski, Jr.-Riv. and Travis Borger-Sturgeon Creek.
Ages 10-11
1st Brandon Pratt-St. Crk. who also had a perfect score of 5 points.
2nd-Breanna Sheppard-St.
Crk.
Also qualifying was Dallas Jewitt-St. Crk., Ben Miller-St. Crk. and Justin Borger-St. Crk.
Ages 9 and under
1st Cody Mason-St. Crk.
2nd-Derek Lauzon-Riv.
Also qualifying was Caiden Fileccia-Riv., Ericka Tymkin-Riv. and Wendy Smith-St. Crk.
Staying with tournament tradition both Johnston and Pratt received their $10 entry fee back for getting a perfect score.
The Royal Canadian Legion Br. 54 of Rainy River also presented event coordinator John Rutherford with a cheque for $120 to pay for half the entrant’s registration fee. The legion has been sponsoring the chess tournament for several years.
Rutherford told all the 18 competitors that qualified that if they preregister for the provincials the fees will only be $50 this year. At the door registration will be $100. There will be $2,500 in prizes at the provincials and he encouraged them all to come to Thunder Bay and compete.
They can then qualify for the nationals next July which will either be held again in Kapuskasing, Ont. or Vancouver, B.C.