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Mayor Street's Opening Address Highlights 2005 Greater Philadelphia Chess Championship

by Dan Heisman

Mayor John Street opened the fifth annual 2005 Greater Philadelphia Chess Championship Friday night with a warm welcome to all the players. The mayor expressed support for the chess community, and his support was understandable since his son Leteef was a participant! A record total of about 100 players competed for approximately $4,000 in prizes. The event, open to anyone, was held in Houston Hall at the University of Pennsylvania over the Apr 15-17 weekend.

Defending champion Grandmaster Aleks Wojtkiewicz of Baltimore was the clear winner of the $1,000 first prize with a 4½-½ score. Grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest, Bryan Smith, Norman Rogers, and Edward Formanek tied for 2nd place with a 4-1 score. Rogers and Smith were declared area co-champions. Alisa Melekhina and Jonathan West were co-junior champions. Shigong Kor of Bucknell won the Expert prize while Larry Pugh, West, Yew San Lim took the Under-2000 prize.

Besides the prestigious Championship section, there were two other sections for players seeking less rigorous competition. In the Under-1800 section, limited to players with US Chess Federation ratings below 1800, Thomas Messineo finished clear first with a 4½-½ score. Leteef Street tied for second with Lamont Rogers and Rodney Bardwell. Young Matthew Slesinski swept the Under-1400 section with a perfect 5-0 score.

The PaigeMasters Chess Club won the prize for the Top Club, edging out Bucknell University; Conestoga High School was third. The sponsoring Main Line Chess Club (MLCC) had the highest score, but was ineligible for the prize, a wood chess set. This fine set was sponsored by Jenkintown Building Services and made available via the House of Staunton chess equipment supplier. The organizers would like to thank both for their continued generosity in supporting this prestigious event.

MLCC was the principal organizer and the University of Pennsylvania Chess Club was the host. MLCC Vice President Dan Heisman was the tournament director; he was assisted by Craig Klein and MLCC President Dr. John F. Bayley.

For more information, contact Dan Heisman, 610-649-0750. Also, photographs of the event are available upon request.