Brian Lee, a WSU freshman by way of Napavine, won the Inland Empire Open with a perfect 5.0 score. Brad Bodie finished second with a 4.0 score. Brian defeated Brad in their round four matchup of the first day’s only perfect scorers. Brian then topped Spokane veteran Dave Rowles in the final round to clinch outright first place.
Dave Rowles and James Stripes each finished with 3.5 to tie for the class A prize. Jeremy Burnett, 3.0, won the class B/C prize. Unrated newcomer Dakota Wickel, who arrived in Spokane only a month earlier, won the class D/unrated section with a score of 3.0 on his way to earning a provisional rating of 1695. Second place in the section was shared by Owen McDevitt and Arnav Wadikar with scores of 2.5.
Although the field of 18 who turned out for this year’s edition was small, the competition was decidedly strong! Six of the players were rated 1845 or higher, and they are augmented by a pair of underrated 1300s and two strong online players making their OTB debut. In all, it made for a very competitive event.