Greensboro's McInnis Dubbed Chess Organizer of the Month!
(Important Questions about the NC Class still need to be answered...but, first things, first)
by NM Leland Fuerstman

It's amazing that exactly one week after NCCA Dictator Rudolph Abate recorded one of the worst failures in NC chess history (the 2013 NC Class - 45 players; lost appx. $2,000), a virtually unknown promoter from Greensboro staged a 3 round Saturday event which attracted 57 players!! According to the math, Scott McInnis's Greensboro Open returned over 80% in cash prizes ($1,200!) and still made a small profit for his club! However, Scott admits that he "didn't do it alone." In fact, below, he thanks a litany of people who assisted in making the event successful. "Successful," in chess terms is most often judged by the number of players who participate. Scott not only listed the details everywhere he could, but he went the extra mile to show up at many preceding tournaments to hand out flyers and personally "advertise" his event! Furthermore, he sent many E-mails and made dozens of phone calls to everyone he could think of who might participate or suggest such to their friends. The result was a very successful "first try" which earned him the honor of North Carolina Chess Organizer of the Month!! Congratulations! Keep up the great work! Scott offers the following insights:

Hello Chess Enthusiasts,
Whheewww!!!  The Greensboro Open is in the record books!!  We had a whopping 57 players attend the event, with 5 sections paying out an incredible $1200.  We had players ranging in USCF rating from 300+ to 2200+ from all parts of the state.
I could not have run this tournament without the help and support of all Greensboro Chess Club members.  More specifically, I want to thank Josh Lawson, Matthew Greene, Andrew Rayle, John Retarides, Yan Lyansky, Tom Hales, and the staff of the USCF. Thank you so much for your assistance and hard work. 
The tournament is now rated and the crosstables are on the USCF website.  http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201312141142.0  If you participated in the event, I strongly urge you to view the crosstable and make sure that your information is indeed correct.  If you notice anything out of order, please bring it immediately to my attention so that I can remedy any mistakes.
Our future events in 2014 will be as follows:  February 15th or 22nd (TBD), April 12th, and June 21st.  The dates for August, October, and December are TBD.  I hope to have these events posted on our website and on the NCCA website within the next few weeks.  Mark your calendars now and I look forward to seeing you there.  Hopefully, we will be able to hold all future events in the "Upper Hall" of the American Legion Post #53 where there are multiple bathrooms, free wi-fi, a full kitchen, room for skittles/analysis, and better lighting & acoustics for the players.  The Greensboro Chess Club is also diligently working toward enabling PayPal and Credit Card registrations on our website www.greensborochess.org for all future events.  Stay tuned for updates.
To all the participants of our inaugural event:  thank you so much for your support, patience, and assistance.  You made this event an incredible success and I sincerely appreciate your time and participation.
If you have any feedback (positive or negative), advice, questions, etc., please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thanks again and enjoy your Holidays!!
Best Regards,
Scott McInnis
President,
Greensboro Chess Club
336-686-7188