John Cole is 2012 Indiana State Chess Champion
The 2012 edition of the Indiana State Chess Championship drew 61 players from around the state and surrounding states. The championship was played October 26, 2012 through October 28, 2012 at the Clarion North Hotel in Indianapolis, IN.
NM John Cole emerged from a two year retirement from tournament chess in 2012 and despite the long sabatical no rust was apparent in his play as he won his first state title. John emerged ahead on tiebreaks over experts Garrett Smith and Drew Hollinberger each with a score of 4-1.
The Championship Section was very strong with three masters and twelve experts participating. The section was so strong that two players who would eventually tie for the top spot met in the first round. In the following game Cole is able to use a slight pull that the gained from an opening to enter a middlegame with knight that is better than Hollinberger’s bishop and convert that into a winning rook and pawn endgame.
The Reserve Section was won by John Roush in impressive style with 4.5/5 points. Roush played both Steve Steppe and Jonathan Zhou who were his closest pursuers. Zhou was the only player able to nick Roush for a draw. Here is Roush’s key win over Steppe from round 4.
The Under 1300 Section was won by Scott G. Paul with a perfect 5/5 score. Here is Paul’s last round win over Croix Gyurek.
Crosstables for the event can be found here: