Dan and Holly Heisman
Nolan defeated Expert Joe Mucerino in the final round to finish with a 4.5-0.5 score, earning a $250 gift certificate to the House of Staunton. Tying for 2nd with 4-1 were NM Adam Weissbarth and NM Peter Minear with Weissbarth taking 2nd on tiebreak. Lucas Knight, the winner of the 2009 World Open U1600 section, was Top Junior with 3.5-1.5.
Three young players dominated the U1500 Section. Tommy Guo won with 4.5-0.5 followed by Michael Hwang and Chirag Ram, both with 4-1. Praneeth Ramesh swept the K-8 U900 section with a perfect 4-0 score.
The sponsors included the USCF, Mongoose Publishing, Silver Knights Chess, House of Staunton, the Internet Chess Club, Chess.com, the host Kaiserman JCC, Chess Café, IM Igor Khmelnitsky, Main Line Speech, Jacquelyn Brown, and others. A special donation of a trip to his studio by Howard Stern is being auctioned off on EBay. Thanks to all the sponsors, there were more prizes than players, so hopefully in future years this bounty will attract more players.
The Tournament Director was Joshua Anderson, assisted by Dan Heisman and Paul Petrillo. The event was organized by Dr. Prashanth Ramachandra. During the past seven years this event has raised over $10,000 for women in need. Donors can make a tax-free contribution year-round online or through regular mail via this link. Also read about a unique way to contribute to this charity : an auction to visit the Howard Stern Show.