On Oct. 14, local coffee shop and lounge The Landing in Portsmouth hosted one of many chess tournaments planned for the location. While the turnout was smaller than expected, 10 competitors engaged each other in the tournament, with an active audience of six to 10 people as the night went on. The tournament started approximately 20 minutes past the advertised starting time of 6 p.m. due to a drink rush from the competitors, audience members and regular customers who were present in the building to watch the tournament or simply to engage in their own activities since the business wasn’t closed for the event.
The barista of The Landing and creator of the tournament Darian Lisath stuck true to the advertised 10-minute rapid format of moves for each player to speed the tournament along and get in as many games as possible but added in a double-elimination feature. Apart from these guidelines, Lisath stated that he decided to “keep the rules kind of loose, just to give players some ability to feel comfortable.” However, the tournament did have players hold themselves accountable to tracking their wins and losses. The double-elimination format allowed players to have two losses before being eliminated from a chance to take home ultimate victory.
At the end of the night, just before the 8 p.m. cut-off for the tournament, a winner was declared. Pablo Salinas, a professor at SSU, claimed victory and earned the champion title for this month as well as a free coffee of his choice. When asked how he felt after the tournament, Salinas stated that “it feels great to win.” Salinas is expected to return next month to defend his title among Portsmouth’s chess community.
As this tournament will be held monthly, chess players of all levels are encouraged and welcome to join in on the fun. Anyone from the Portsmouth area and beyond is welcome to come for good competition and a chance to take home the monthly title and earn a free drink of their choice at any time during regular business hours.
