Yermo's Travels: the 63rd Iowa Open

Gareyev runs the table

The 63rd edition of the Iowa Open once again took place at the Mariott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville.

Located in the southeast corner of the state, Coralville gives an impression of a typical American suburbia with its giant shopping mall (largest in the state), hotels and chain restaurants. Yet, there's a distinct feature in the otherwise standard layout, given by a man-made lake, called the Coralville Reservoir. In 1958 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a dam along the Iowa River to alleviate the annual flooding.

Iowa is big on rivers. The three borders, southern (the Des Moines River), eastern (The Mississippi) and western (The Missouri and higher up north, the Big Sioux River) borders are almost entirely made by rivers, and there are nice lakes along the northern border with Minnesota. The abundance of water makes Iowa an ideal farming state. The food grown in Iowa would probably be enough to sustain the entire population of the United States.

Aerial view of the Coralville Reservoir

The Mariott in Coralville, as any building does, has two sides to it. From the front, it looks like, well, nothing special.

But wait until you see the other side...

Over there the visitors find themselves looking at a nice clean pond with walkways around and across it, guarding a well-preserved wetland habitat.

The walkways provide scenice and highly enjoyable strolls

This area provides a much-needed space for a quiet walk between games. The Conference Center is located at the far of the hotel, and I always prefer to take the pond walkway there, rather then negotiate the winding corridor inside the building.

The playing hall provided ample space for 123 participants, 83 of then in the Open Section. The event was ably run by a team of local enthusiasts, Mark Capron, Eric Vigil and Bill Broich. Thank you, guys!

Timur Gareev had a superb tournament with a perfect 5.0/5

As the reader can see the top seed Timur Gareyev (many sources have Timur's last name as “Gareev”, which is phonetically less accurate) fully redeemed himself for a last-round loss at the Twin Ports Open by simply running the table in Coralville. His last round win over Minnesota IM Sean Nagle was a smooth affair. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a hold of the game score, so the reader will have to take my word for granted. Instead I would like to present another Gareyev win, courtesy of his gracious opponent, Dr. Okey Iwu.

Winning against the Classical Slav

The videos on this DVD give White a repertoire with concrete variations against all main lines Black can play and also show the typical strategic and tactical ideas of the Slav and the hidden subtleties of the position.

Accompanying Dr. Iwu on the road trip were the “Dane Brothers”...

Dane Mattson coming in from Wisconsin finished with 3.0/5

Dane Zagar

...who were happy to be relieved of their organizing duties at the Twin Ports Open just a week before. One of them I met early in the tournament.

As usual, my tournament came down to the last game, where a win was needed to get a prize. My opponent, Missouri IM Michael Brooks, was coming off a tough game against Nagle, which was eventually drawn.

IM Sean Nagle facing IM Michael Brooks

The same result in round 4 was registered in a tough battle between Number Two seed, Priyad Kannappan and NM Valeriy Kosokin, who originally hails from Uzbekistan, which makes him Gareyev's compatriot.

Priyad Kannappan and NM Valeriy Kosokin

In the previous editions of the Iowa Open I couldn't get by those guys, losing to Kosokin in 2015 and to Brooks in 2016. I welcomed a chance at redemption, and it turned out to be quite a nervy affair.

The Iowans are recognized by their communal spirit. The state boasts excellent infrastructure, well-maintained highways, and plenty of public parks. One question is, where's the chess? Indeed, out of a population of three million, Iowa doesn't have a single Grandmaster or International Master among its denizens. The situation needs to be rectified. Come on, my fellow Grandmasters, pack your moving vans, leave crowded coastal cities with their high cost of living, and relocate to the heart of the country. Trust me, you won't regret it.

One last look at the water...

There is always something enjoyable about capturing a fine reflection in the water

Links

• Yermo's travelogue: the Twin Ports Open