Dobbs wins chess Grand Prix

Space City Chess Club Manager Don Maddox, at left, prepares for the third Sunny Street Cafe Chess Grand Prix with Josh McClellan. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – Campbell Dobbs, a student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, won the third installment of the Sunny Street Cafe Chess Grand Prix.

Dobbs compiled a perfect 3-0 score at the Nov. 7 meet, Don Maddox said. Maddox is club manager of Space City Chess Club.

A four-way tie for second place resulted among Luis Morenilla, Steve Oshea, Paul Mulqueen and Joel Friedman. Morenilla upset Expert Josh McClellan in the last round to set up the four-way tie.

Nitin Badhe and Tom Lotito tied for the Under-1200 prize. Campbell, Badhe and Lotito won cash prizes.

Currently, Sunny Street Cafe Grand Prix leaders take two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the Premier Section, Morenilla had 16 points, while McClellan had 12 points.

Badhe, Mulqueen and Friedman tied at 10 points. In the Reserve Section, Bahde and V. Lundy racked up nine points, while P. Chopade had eight points.

In the Grand Prix, players receive two points for a win and one for a draw. At year-end, the top two players in each section will be awarded chess sets from the House of Staunton.

In September, the club launched a series of weekly tournaments, MadVille Quads, with four players per section assigned in descending order of rating. “This setup allows players to compete against opponents of comparable strength,” Maddox said.

Joel Friedman leads Josh McClellan by one point to top the MadVille Leader Board.

Scholastic quads on Wednesdays start at 5:30 p.m. and “let kids start and finish earlier than the adults,” Maddox said.

The club’s next tournament will be scheduled for early January at Hitachi Consulting offices, 1500 Perimeter Parkway in Huntsville. Players must call 256-783-5042 for admission.

Space City Chess Club meets on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at Sunny Street Cafe, 7143-B U.S. 72 W.

For more information, call Maddox at 256-783-5042 or email to ddmaddox@hotmail.com.