FIRECRACKER FIZZLE III

Bradley Denton Makes It Three In A Row!

By Dr. Canon Beissel

In north Mississippi, the “Summer of Brad” continued in full swing as Bradley Denton of Hernando finished in clear first with a 4-0 score in the Firecracker Fizzle III in Winona July 11. He has previously won the Grenada Open in May and Kosciusko’s Southern Open in June. Including all three tournaments, Bradley has scored 12 victories versus no defeats or draws.

The third iteration of the MCA’s traditional July tournament saw twenty-seven participants battling it out at the American Legion Post in Winona in the open section and three scholastic sections.

In the open section, the first round saw the higher rated players holding serve in every game except for Brian Denton yielding a draw to Kevin Stidham (500+ rating point difference). Interestingly, Brian had achieved a winning position but was down to only a single second remaining on his time delay clock. After blitzing multiple moves, his position degenerated to a roughly equal one, and a draw was agreed. Tony Maneclang of Memphis fell to unrated Oliver Fernandez of Jackson, but this was no upset as Oliver does sport a 2075 quick rating and was felt to be the only serious challenger for #1 seed Bradley Denton.

In the second round, the field began to separate. Bradley defeated Tupelo’s highly rated scholastic player Taylor Williams while Doug Stewart dispatched Jeffrey Gossett of Columbus. This was Jeffrey’s first tournament in four years and he did well despite the rust. Stidham continued his improbable run as he defeated Maneclang (rating difference 387 points) to move to 1.5 points. Lorenzo Newell, a rising eighth grader from Sallis and longtime trophy winner in scholastic tournaments, played in his first adult tournament and scored his first victory, defeating Andrew Bussom of Oxford.

Round Three began with a bang but ended with a whimper. The clash of the titans on board one never materialized as Denton and Fernandez played to a cautious even middlegame position before Oliver inexplicably let his time lapse. On board two, Brian Denton stunned Doug Stewart out of the opening. However, Brian’s dominating position quietly dissipated and the two agreed to a draw. Taylor Williams’ sophomore blues (his second tournament) continued as he fell to Kevin Stidham whose performance rating so far was a whopping 770 points above his actual rating. Kevin was not only challenging for the Under-1400/Unrated prize money but also overall first in the tournament with one round to go!

In the final round, first place would be decided on the top two boards, Bradley Denton (3 points) was paired vs Douglas Stewart (2.5), and Stidham (2.5) vs Fernandez (2). Also in the running for the prize money would be the winner of Brian Denton (2) vs Wes Hisaw (2).

Bradley dispatched Stewart with machine-like efficiency to win the $125 first prize, knocking Doug completely out of the prize money. This was the third tournament in a row that Doug has come up short vs Bradley with prize money on the line. As for Stidham, his dreams of glory came to an end vs Oliver but he did manage to lock up the U1400/Unrated prize money of $50. Oliver split the second place money with Wes who defeated Brian Denton.

The scholastic participants were divided into four players into one of three sections: Pre-K through 2^nd grade, 3^rd-4^th, and 5^th-7^th. A double round robin format was used with each participant playing two games, one as white and one as black, versus each of the others in the respective sections.

In the lowest section, Justin Newcomb of Olive Branch, not even in kindergarten yet and playing in his first tournament, scored 4 out of a possible 6 points to win. Needless to say, this was an outstanding result for him, especially considering he has many years of scholastic chess ahead. Everyone watching and within earshot were impressed by his enthusiasm as he delivered check after check! Finishing second was his older sister Evangeline with 3.5 points. In her two games with Justin, she won one and drew the other. She excitedly confided afterwards that this was her first time to beat him. Amber Newell, the youngest of the Newell clan, won the third place trophy; and Joshua Bussom of Oxford took home the fourth place medal.

In the 3^rd and 4^th grade section, Brent Newell swept the field to finish 6-0 and win the first place trophy. Taking second was his sister Daveda while Danielle Newcomb was third. The fourth place medal was won by Amanda Maneclang of Memphis, playing in her first Mississippi scholastic tournament.

In the 5^th-7^th grade section, another Newell triumphed. Melanie Newell scored five wins against only one defeat to take clear first. Aliyma Atkins-El of Jackson scored 4/6 to take clear second. Curtis Taylor, also of Jackson, finished third and claimed the honor of being the only player to defeat the winner. Matthew Maneclang, playing in his first rated tournament ever, took home the fourth place medal.