by Craig Moore
A diverse group of 33 players participated in the 2025 edition of the Eastern Washington Open held September 27-28 at West Central Abbey. For instance, geographically, players came from as far Idaho’s Silver Valley, Pendleton, Oregon and Washington’s Tri-Cities. The age distribution ranged from 6 to older than 70 (about as senior as I am willing to identify), with nearly a third under 18. Various chess ratings were also well-represented:
Expert 2
Class A 9
Class B 5
Class C 5
Class D 6
=<E/Unr. 6
Each round had exciting games and unexpected results. There were 16 upsets! The largest was in the first round when Ben Shedlock (1419) overpowered Pat Herbers (1900). Perhaps it mysteriously influenced the high portion of upsets relative to all games played – 22%! Only one player – Jose Jair Gomez Rodriguez – was unrated. Although he had an established regular rating on chess.com under 700, he played significantly better, achieving a score of 2.5 and an estimated 1500 rating based on 5 games.
The results:
Prize Score Winnners
Overall 1st-2nd (tie): 4.5 Eric Billaux & Drew Bunch
Class A 1st-2nd (tie): 4.0 Brian Lee & James Stripes
Class B 1st: 3.5 David Rowles
2nd (tie): 3.0 Matt Goodale, Walter VHO, Kevin Korsmo
Class C 1st-2nd (tie): 2.5 Ben Legard, Dave Griffin, Ben Shedlock
Class D 1st-2nd (tie): 2.0 Jessie Li, Adam Porth, Eric Spletstoser
Class E/Unrated 1st: 2.5 Jose Jair Gomez Rodriguez
2nd: 2.0 Leo Grace
Finally, this was my first time directing this tournament. It was a pleasure. Thanks to Mike Byrne and Ben Shedlock for their assistance. Thank you to the Abbey for the playing hall. Thank you to all the players for the peaceful atmosphere and no disputes!
The USCF cross table link: US Chess MSA – Cross Table for 2025 EASTERN WA OPEN (Event 202509280872)