WA State Chess Champions

Northwest Chess
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Washington State Chess Champions 1862 to Date

Year(s)	Champion(s)	Tournament Site City (WA) or other location	Number of Players	Winning Score
1862-1875	Clarence B. Bagley
1875-1890	Andrew W. Piper (see notes)
1890-1895	Giffith Davies
1895-1915	Earle Jenner
1915-1925	William Dickey
1926	Otto Case
1927	Arvid Johnson
1928-1929	V. C. Klug
Where available, the link under "Number of Players" is to a PDF file of the event crosstable as compiled by Russell Miller from old issues of WCL, NWC and other sources.
1930-1931	J. Leonard Sheets
1932	J. Leonard Sheets (see notes)	Seattle	6	4 / 5
1933	J. Leonard Sheets	Seattle	10	8 / 9
1934	Olaf Ulvestad	Seattle	10	8.5 / 9
Scan of 1934 tournament booklet with games – thanks to Andy Ansel for permission to use.
1935	James Hurt	Seattle	8	6 / 7
1936	J. Leonard Sheets
1937	James Hurt		9	7 / 8
1938	James Hurt		6	7.5 / 10
1939	Hugh Enochson		6	8 / 10
1940	J. Leonard Sheets
1941	James Hurt
1942	J. Leonard Sheets
1943-1946	(Lapse due to World War II)
1947	J. Leonard Sheets
1948	Charles Joachim	Seattle Chess Club	19	5.5 / 6
1949	Robert C. Stork	Seattle Chess Club	20	5 / 5
1950	(no tournament)
1951	Charles Ballantine	Assembly Hotel, Seattle	12	9.5 / 11
1952	Olaf Ulvestad (see notes)	Assembly Hotel, Seattle	9	7.5 / 9
1953	Elmars Zemgalis	Seattle Chess Club	10	9 / 9
1954	J. Leonard Sheets	Seattle Chess Club	9	7.5 / 8
1955	William Bills	Seattle Chess Club	6	4.5 / 5
1956	Olaf Ulvestad	Seattle Chess Club	6	3.5 / 5
1957	Robert Edberg	Seattle Chess Club	6	4 / 5
1958	Viesturs Seglins	Seattle	4	5.5 / 6
1959	Elmars Zemgalis	Seattle Chess Club	7	6 / 6
1960	James H. McCormick	Seattle Chess Club	6	5 / 5
1961	Viktors Pupols (see notes)	Don Eilmes Home, North Seattle	12	4 / 5
1962	Viesturs Seglins	Max Mage Home, West Seattle	6	3.5 / 5
1963	Gerald Ronning	Max Mage Home, West Seattle	8	6 / 7
1964	Gerald Ronning (see notes)	Seattle Chess Club	4 + 1	2.5 / 4
1965	James H. McCormick	Seattle Chess Club	7	5 / 6
1966	James H. McCormick	Seattle Chess Club	7	6 / 6
1967	James H. McCormick	Seattle	5	3.5 / 4
1968	James H. McCormick (see notes)	Seattle	8	7 / 8
1969	James H. McCormick (see notes)	Seattle	8	7 / 8
1970	Michael J. Franett	Seattle Chess Club	8	5 / 7
1971	John A. Braley	J.K. Gill, Northgate Shopping Center, Seattle	8	7 / 7
1972	Michael J. Franett See Seattle Times article/photo	Seattle	8	6 / 7
1973	Michael J. Franett	Bon Marche, Northgate Mall, Seattle	8	5.5 / 7
1974	Viktors Pupols	Seattle	8	5 / 7
1975	Johnny D. Walker	Seattle	8	5.5 / 7
1976	Yasser Seirawan (see notes)	Seattle	8	5 / 7
1977	Yasser Seirawan	Seattle	8	6 / 7
1978	Viktors Pupols & Eric Tangborn (see notes)	University of Washington, Seattle	8	5 / 7
1979	John Donaldson	Seattle	8	5 / 7
1980	John Donaldson	Mercer Island	8	6.5 / 7
1981	James H. McCormick		8	5.5 / 7
1982	Neil V. Salmon & Bill H. McGeary	Tacoma Chess Club	8	5 / 7
1983	John A. Braley	Bellevue	8	6 / 7
1984	Bobby Ferguson	Bellevue	8	5.5 / 7
1985	Kent Pullen & Jeremy Silman	Bellevue	7	4.5 / 6
1986	Matthew Edwards & John A. Braley		8	4.5 / 7
1987	Bobby Ferguson	Seattle Chess Club	8	5 / 7
1988	Matthew Edwards	West Seattle	8	5 / 7
1989	Viktors Pupols	Olympia	10	7.5 / 9
1990	Neil Salmon	Redmond (Microsoft Campus)	8	5.5 / 7
1991	Neil Salmon	University of Washington, Seattle	8	5.5 / 7
Beginning in 1992, the links under "Number of Players" are to the official USCF crosstables giving all the players' names, ratings and results. Additional sections (such as the Premier section) are also included in these crosstables.
1992	Georgi Orlov	Seattle	10	8 / 9
1993	Georgi Orlov	Seattle	10	8 / 9
1994	Michael Oshiro & Neil Salmon	Seattle	10	6 / 9
1995	Georgi Orlov & Elena Donaldson	Seattle	10	7.5 / 9
1996	Georgi Orlov	Seattle	10	8.5 / 9
1997	Georgi Orlov	Tacoma	10	8.5 / 9
1998	Slava Mikhailuk	Seattle	10	9 / 9
1999	Georgi Orlov	Seattle	10	7.5 / 9
2000	William Schill	Renton	10	6 / 9
2001	William Schill & Harley Greninger	Seattle	10	6.5 / 9
2002	Neil Salmon	Seattle	10	6 / 9
2003	Slava Mikhailuk	Bellevue (Oki Foundation)	10	7 / 9
2004	Slava Mikhailuk	Bellevue (Oki Foundation)	10	7.5 / 9
2005	Slava Mikhailuk	Bellevue (Oki Foundation)	10	7.5 / 9
2006	Slava Mikhailuk	Tacoma (UW Tac. campus)	10	7 / 9
2007	Ignacio Perez	Seattle & Shoreline	10	7 / 9
2008	Gregory Serper	Seattle & Shoreline	10	8 / 9
2009	Costin Cozianu	Redmond & Bellevue	10	7 / 9
2010	Howard Chen	Seattle Chess Club	10	8 / 9

Notes:

1875-1890 – Andrew W. Piper had a store in downtown Seattle. A park area in Seattle that was his homestead now exists. He is listed as Andrew in the WA Death Index, having died in 1904 which matches other information. [Research by Russell Miller.]

1932 – According to "History of Washington Chess" by John Nourse (Aug. 1950), "There was no Washington State Tournament in existence until 1932." (Presumably match play before then.) See the above-referenced 1934 tournament booklet for more information.

1952 – Score of 7.5 out of 9 included a playoff game.

1961 – Vik Pupols won the tourney on a tie-break.

1964 – Vik Pupols won the tourney in 1964, but Gerald Ronning took title in a match.

1968 – Score includes playoff win by James H. McCormick over Robert Holzinger.

1969 – Score includes playoff win by James H. McCormick over Kent Pullen.

1976 – Tournament was held in February. The following players tied: Vik Pupols, Ray Fasano, Yasser Seirawan. The playoffs were to be March 30-April 13 per article in April NWC by the TD Robert Karch. May NWC has short article about the playoff results. Seirawan won the playoff 3-1. Pupols was 2.5-1.5 and Ray 0.5-3.5.

1978 – Pupols-Tangborn playoff match ended in 2-2 score.

1985 – Event started with eight players, however Ken Tomkins did not finish 50% of his games.

Number of Years as Champion
(Tie counts as one-half year.)
(*) In early years, player may not have been required to defend title every year.
(**) Sheets would have 13 years (tied with Bagley) if war years were included.

#Years	Champion(s)
20	Earle Jenner (*)
15	A. W. Piper (*)
13	Clarence B. Bagley (*)
11	William Dickey (*)
9	J. Leonard Sheets (**)
7	James McCormick
5.5	Georgi Orlov
5	Giffith Davies (*)
5	Slava Mikhailuk
4	James Hurt
4	Neil Salmon
3.5	Viktors Pupols
3	Olaf Ulvestad
3	Michael J. Franett
2.5	John A. Braley
2	V. C. Klug
2	Elmars Zemgalis
2	Viesturs Seglins
2	Gerald Ronning
2	Yasser Seirawan
2	John Donaldson
2	Bobby Ferguson
1.5	Matthew Edwards
1.5	William Schill
1	Otto Case
1	Arvid Johnson
1	Hugh Enochson
1	Charles Joachim
1	Robert C. Stork
1	Charles Ballantine
1	William Bills
1	Robert Edberg
1	John D. Walker
1	Ignacio Perez
1	Gregory Serper
1	Costin Cozianu
1	Howard Chen
0.5	Eric Tangborn
0.5	Bill H. McGeary
0.5	Kent Pullen
0.5	Jeremy Silman
0.5	Elena Donaldson
0.5	Michael Oshiro
0.5	Harley Greninger
144	Total
5	Yrs. with no tournament
44	No. of different players

Number of Years as Champion (Tie counts as one-half year.) (*) In early years, player may not have been required to defend title every year. (**) Sheets would have 13 years (tied with Bagley) if war years were included.

Number of Years as Champion
(Tie counts as one-half year.)
(*) In early years, player may not have been required to defend title every year.
(**) Sheets would have 13 years (tied with Bagley) if war years were included.