by Solomon Smilack
Jared Nishikawa 3d topped a field of 28 players last weekend, going undefeated to claim the first-ever Colorado State Championship and earning a promotion to 4d.
While snow piled up outside, TD Rich Newman 9k ran a smooth 4-round Swiss tournament with Tenjin, Baduk.Club's free pairing tool. Players came from all over Colorado to compete at Denver's Eloise May Library, ranging in strength from 5d to 16k. Breakfast snacks and lunch were provided, and Pablo's Coffee donated a full coffee service.
A handsome prize pool was provided by the vintage team at Store.Baduk.Club along with books, apparel, and equipment from local clubs. Predictably, the new champion took the engraved Kaya board, while other division leaders took bowls and stones, go t-shirts by Eric Wainwright 1d, and joseki dictionaries. All competitors that finished 4 rounds won a go book, or back issues of Go World donated by Stu Horowitz (in absentia). Solomon Smilack 3d won first place in the Halloween Costume Contest and won a decorative pumpkin.
Open Division
1st: Jared Nishikawa 3d (4-0)
2nd: Yun-Bo Yi 5d (3-1)
3rd: Mark Zhou 3d (2-2)
SDK Division (Handicap)
1st: Henry Lyman 7k (4-0)
2nd: Jack de La Beaujardiere 3k (3-1)
3rd: Laurie Linz 8k (3-1)
DDK Division (Handicap)
1st: Jaden Lazukin 10k (3-1)
2nd: Sergey Matsiukevich 12k (3-1)
3rd: Ilya Stolpovskikh 10k (2-2)