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The inaugural winner of the US Chess Federation, America’s Foundation for Chess, and the Internet Chess Club’s US State Champion of Champions online event is IM Ronald Burnett from Tennessee, who took the title on Sunday, September 26, 2004.

Thirty-eight USCF state champions from Eastern and Western states competed in separate Swiss style Blitz qualifying tournaments on Saturday, September 18 and Sunday, September 19, hosted by the ICC.  The finalists from the Eastern conference were Ronald Burnett (Tennessee) and Edward McHugh (Connecticut), with the Western conference finalists being Mark Ginsburg (Arizona) and Oleg Zaikov (Oregon).

The Finals Weekend with a prize fund of $1,000 and an added lure of a spot in the 2005 Chessmaster US Chess Championships was held 25-26 September, though this time with a more fitting time-control of Game 60 with so much at stake.  And for added safety, an independent proctor was allocated to each of the four finalists to ensure fair play for all.

In the semifinals, pre-tournament favorite IM Mark Ginsberg surprisingly lost 2-0 to NM Edward McHugh, while IM Ronald Burnett comfortably beat Oleg Zaikov 1.5-0.5.   In the final, Burnett became the first player to be crowned US State Champion of Champions after beating McHugh 1.5-0.5 to take the title.

This is the first time an online event has been used to qualify for the US Chess Championships, and IM Ronald Burnett goes forward to San Diego as the final competitor in the 64-player field that will do battle for the $25,000 first prize.

This popular new event proved that online chess and over-the-board play can be a perfect mix – even for one of the world’s most famous tournaments.  First the players had to prove themselves o.t.b by winning their relevant state championships to be invited, then had to play online on the ICC (both Blitz Swiss and Game 60) to claim the final spot for the 2005 US Championships, one of the most prestigious events in the world of chess.

The final piece of the jigsaw is now in place for the 2005 Chessmaster US Championships, which will take place 24 November through 5 December at the Hilton Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif.  With a record prize fund of $253,600, this will be the fourth year that AF4C has hosted the US Championships and its first year doing so in conjunction with the NTC Foundation in San Diego.

Full results and game download can be found at the Internet Chess Club.
 

R Burnett – E McHugh
Champion of Champions Final, (1)

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 b3 b6 4 Bb2 Bb7 5 Qe2 Nf6 6 Nc3 d6 7 d4 cxd4 8 Nxd4 a6 9 0-0-0 Nbd7 10 g4 b5 11 Bg2 Nb6 12 Nf5 Qc7 13 Nd5

13...exd5 14 e5 Ne4 15 exd6 Bxd6 16 Nxd6+ Qxd6 17 Qxe4+ dxe4 18 Rxd6 Nc8 19 Rd4 0-0 20 Bxe4 Nd6 21 Bxb7 Nxb7 22 Re1 a5 23 Re5 b4 24 Rg5 h6 25 Rb5 Nd8 26 Rdd5 Nc6 27 Rd6 Ne7 28 f4 Ra7 29 f5 f6 30 Bd4 Rc7 31 Rxa5 Rfc8 32 c4 bxc3 33 Bb6 Rc6 34 Rxc6 Rxc6 35 Bd4 c2 36 h3 h5 37 Bc5 Nd5 38 gxh5 Kh7 39 a4 Kh6 40 Kxc2 Kxh5 41 Kb2 Nf4 42 Be3 Nd3+ 43 Ka3 Rc3 44 Rd5 Ne5 45 Bf4 Nc6 46 a5 Rxh3 47 a6 Rf3 48 Bd6 Rf1 49 Ka4 Na7 50 Ka5 Nc8 51 Bc5 g5 52 fxg6+ Kxg6 53 Rd8 Ra1+ 54 Kb5 1-0
 

Download pgn files of:    Eastern Qualifier     Western Qualifier     Finals

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