Michigantown Madness Recap
March 19, 2022
The Michigantown Madness tournament lived up to its name, with three clear champions and some “Cinderella Stories.” The event was attended by 50 players, hailing mostly from Indiana, but also Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and even Pennsylvania.
The winner of the Open section and overall Michigantown Madness Champion is Aidan Kaczanowski, who finished clear first with 3.5/4. Tied for second place with 3.0 were James Mills, Stuart Toliver, and Brody Bauml.
Perhaps the most astonishing sequence of events came in the U1800 section. Michael Crossman, who had a provisional rating of 1255 (P4), skipped the U1300 section in favor of entering the U1800. As the very appropriate 16th-seeded player, Michael managed to finish clear first with 3.5/4! Taking home 2nd place prizes with 3.0/4 were Chris Savage, Cameron Pulaski, Angel Tochimani, and Zachary Poprik.
Another remarkable feat came in the U1300 section, which was also won by a player in the second half of the wall chart. Domenic Bonta managed to finish without defeat in clear first at 3.5/4. Tied for 2nd place with 3.0/4 were Michael Chapuran, Ekansh Malhotra, Sandeep Malhotra, and Jacob Maynard. Gabriel Hawkins took the U1000 prize with 2/4.
Between rounds, players were treated to complimentary soup and sandwiches. The 98-year-old gym, with wooden backboards and vintage scoreboard, was decorated with many tributes to local small-town sports history. Roger Blaine temporarily added to this with some displays on Indiana chess history.
Photos of the event may be viewed here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iGENdbzLiFH7cXuRA
Crosstable: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202203195922
We would like to thank all the players for gracing the event, and John Roush for helping with setup and cleanup. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Carolyn and Sam Fields and the Michigantown Lions Club for helping with setup and cleanup and making our use of their venue such a pleasure.
John and Bethany Herr