Coming Soon: Harrisburg Open

“I have proud memories of the Fischer boom tourneys in the 70′s and the great series of tourneys at B’nai Brith in the 90′s. For those too young to remember, the mid 70′s Harrisburg tourneys used to draw almost 100 players. They were held downtown in what is now the Hilton hotel. The B’nai Brith tourneys of the early 90′s were so top heavy at times that an article in Chess Life once proclaimed them “pound for pound, the strongest small tourney in America” (or words to that effect. Forgive me for being too lazy to look up the precise quote!). I feel strongly that what we once were we can be again.” – Chris Pumarejo.

Chris Pumarejo, who has been a dominating force in the central PA chess scene for many years, has come up with a plan to put Harrisburg back on the chess map.

His plan was officially announced at the Dillsburg Open this past Saturday (Sept. 18, 2010) by director Sam Lamonto. The plan is to create a new tournament, one that will attract a large number of players, and possibly a few masters or grandmasters. The key idea behind this plan is securing a large, guaranteed prize fund of at least $2,000.

A small group of chess enthusiasts have made donations of $100 toward a prize fund, and Lamonto has generously agreed to match the total raised. Assuming the tournament breaks even, the investors will each receive their donations back, and of course there is a potential for profit. Several members of the group have suggested reinvesting their profits for a 2nd annual event. A committee has been formed for planning the event, and remains open to anyone interested in making the $100 donation required to have a vote in the decision process.

The committee is still in the early stages of planning, and has reached decisions on the basic format of the event. It will be a two day tournament, organized as a 5 round swiss system. It will be held sometime in mid-March to mid April, although the exact venue and date have yet to be determined.

Lamonto has agreed to direct the event, and it is expected to be his largest tournament to date. I suspect this will be one for the history books, so everybody, please be prepared to mark your calendars. Details will be announced soon. Anybody interested in joining the committee, please contact Sam Lamonto at slam.dk@verizon.net.

Author: Ryan Cook, September 19th, 2010