Columbia, South Carolina
Club Championship
The Columbia Chess Club crowns its Champion each spring. 2004 SC State Champion
Keith Eubanks won the inaugural club championship in 2008 besting a field of 20
players . In 2009 the Championship grew in both strength and numbers as five expert
strength players competed in the field of 30. 2008 SC State Champion
Philipp Lamby
took home the big trophy this year. The Championship also awards trophies to the Top
Jr. Player (D. Dodds '08 & '09), Top U1600 (Fredericks '08, Wilson '09) and the Top
Unr (C. LaMarche '09)

The 2010 Championship will be from March 4 to April 1.
2009 Club Champ - Philipp Lamby
The 2009 Championship used an Open format so there was only one section. In the first
round Philipp defeated Ben Playfair (1364) in a mismatch you typically get in open
sections. The second round he had to take a bye and briefly gave up board 1. Round 3
saw him paired with one of SC's top Jr. Players in Daniel Dodds (1832) and scored his
second win. Round 3 he was back on board 1 against leader Paul Farb (1909) and
reclaimed the top spot.  The final round was a battle of Champions as Keith Eubanks
moved to within .5 point of Philipp and had to push for the win to defend his title. Philipp
was able to secure the full point and win the club championship by .5 point.

Other performances to note were Edsel Pena & James MacDougall tying for second. Matt
Wilson winning the Candidates Trophy (Top U16). Charlie LaMarche winning the new Top
Unrated trophy and Daniel Dodds winning the Top Jr. trophy for the second straight year.

Crosstable
2008 Champion - Keith Eubanks
The 2008 Championship was a two section tournament with 20 players competing, Eight in
the Championship and twelve in the Candidates. 2004 SC State Champion Keith Eubanks
cruised to the club's first Championship scoring 4.5 points. In the first round Keith defeated
upcoming Jr Player Daniel Dodds (1553). In round two he was held to a draw by Patrick
Cunningham (1625) and found himself in a three way tie for first with Patrick and James
MacDougall after two rounds. Round three saw Keith claim sole possession of the top spot
as he defeated James (1975) and Patrick lost to Daniel. Round 4 saw Keith defeat Ralph
Buske (1274) to hold a .5 point lead over Daniel going into the final round. Keith defeated
Russell Thurmond (1600) in round 5 to win the first Columbia Chess Club Championship by
an impressive 1.5 points!

Gary Fredericks (1331) won the Candidates Section and Daniel Dodds (1553) took the
Top Jr. Player honors.

Crosstable