Roosevelt Open History

Martha Adams was the driving force behind both the Roosevelt Chess Club--which served inner city Dayton, Ohio--and the annual Roosevelt Open, which attracted strong players from throughout the country because the tournament had a generous guaranteed prize fund and also offered U.S. Chess Federation Grand Prix points. The U.S. Chess Federation Grand Prix has had various corporate sponsors over the years (including Church's Chicken and Novag, a company that manufactured chess computers). The Grand Prix provides cash prizes to the players who accumulate the most Grand Prix points during a calendar year; bigger prize fund tournaments have more Grand Prix points at stake. Igor Ivanov, who won the Grand Prix nine times, participated in the Roosevelt Open, as did Calvin Blocker, Dennis Gogel, Ron Burnett, and Ben Finegold. Ivanov and Finegold eventually earned the Grandmaster title, while Blocker and Burnett are both International Masters. Indiana native Gogel achieved U.S. Senior Master status and established himself as one of the Midwest's top chess players for several decades.

Adams made every player feel not just welcomed but valued. Anyone who attended the Roosevelt Open will never forget the ceremonies she conducted before the fifth round when she awarded several prizes in categories such as Youngest Player, Furthest Distance Traveled, Biggest Upset, and more. Even when her health waned, she still made her presence felt at the tournament, walking around, chatting up the players, and ensuring that everyone had a great experience.

The Roosevelt Chess Club hosted the Roosevelt Open annually at the Ellison Senior Citizens Center from 1983-2002. During that time, it became one of the biggest and most important chess tournaments not just in Dayton but in Ohio. 

The final two Roosevelt Opens were held in 2001 and 2002, both in memory of Martha Adams, who passed away on April 12, 2001 at the age of 62.

Front and back cover of the memorial program for Martha Adams

Martha Adams concluded her report about the 1988 Roosevelt Open in the January/February 1989 Ohio Chess Bulletin by writing, "When your heart is right, everything lights up, and it certainly did at the Roosevelt Open." That epitomizes how Martha Adams expressed herself, and that is the way she treated people.

ROOSEVELT OPEN CHAMPIONS

1983: ???
1984: ???
1985: Tien Chou/James Mills 4.5/5 (48 players)
1986: Calvin Blocker/Ben Finegold/Ray Stone 4.5/5 (67 players)
1987: Ben Finegold/James Mills/Ray Stone 4.5/5 (64 players)
1988: Ron Burnett/Dennis Gogel 4.5/5 (67 players)
1989: Dana Mackenzie 5/5 (68 players)
1990: Ron Burnett 5/5 (75 players)
1991: Ron Burnett 4.5/5 (52 players)
1992: John Dowling/Gary Terry 4.5/5 (54 players)
1993: John Dowling/Dana Mackenzie 4.5/5 (50 players)
1994: Dennis Gogel/Boris Men 4.5/5 (52 players)
1995: John Dowling/James Mills 4.5/5 (46 players)
1996: Charles Adelman/Sergey Berchenko 4.5/5 (36 players)
1997: Illyr (Sonny) Kamberi 4.5/5 (36 players)
1998: Jeff Dennis 4.5/5 (20 players)
1999: Enrico Sevillano 4.5/5 (43 players)
2000: Chaene Kingrey/Scott Ramer/Jeff Sword 4/5 (23 players)
2001: Alex Lewis 4.5/5 (35 players)
2002: ???

Sources: Various issues of the Ohio Chess Bulletin, U.S. Chess Federation crosstables, and the Dayton Chess Club Review. 

I have not been able to find any information about the 1983 and 1984 Roosevelt Opens. 

It appears that the 2002 Roosevelt Open was not rated by the U.S. Chess Federation; the results are not posted by USCF online, nor do they appear in any issues of the Ohio Chess Bulletin. My personal records show that I scored 3/5 and did not win a prize in the 2002 Roosevelt Open.

Author's Personal Note:

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 1, I summarized my chess career up to January 2023. The 1987 Roosevelt Open was my second two day weekend USCF rated tournament (after the 1987 Gem City Open), and in round four I scored my first ever win in a rated tournament game. I finished with 1.5/5. 

It is an understatement to say that chess tournament demographics have significantly changed since I began my chess career. I received a Walkman radio for being the youngest player at the 1987 Roosevelt Open--and I was less than two weeks short of my 16th birthday at the time! Today, most tournaments have many players who are much younger than 16. 

At the 1987 Roosevelt Open, I met Ben Finegold, a strong teenage Master who later became a Grandmaster (and popular YouTuber). I was astonished to watch him playing pool in the Ellison Senior Citizens Center's recreation room in between moves of his tournament games; chess seemed to be very easy for him. In between rounds, I challenged Finegold to play speed chess. He played me with odds of five minutes to one, and beat me easily every time. I will never forget that experience for starkly demonstrating the differences between club players, Experts, Masters, and strong Masters. Those losses to Finegold did not discourage me; they inspired me to become a better player.

I received a mug for being the youngest player at the 1988 Roosevelt Open when I was almost 17. The top seeded player in the 1988 Roosevelt Open, International Master Igor Ivanov (2598), suffered a stunning second round loss to Class A player (1945) Robert Kirk. I remember that so many players crowded around that game's climactic moments that people were standing on chairs to watch the final moves. Ivanov bounced back to finish 4/5, tying for third-ninth place.

In the 1989 Roosevelt Open I was no longer the youngest participant, but I won a prize on merit at the event for the first time, scoring 3/5 to tie for first-fifth place in Class B. In the next eight Roosevelt Opens, I scored 3/5 six times but did not win a prize in any of those events. My friend/mentor Earle Wikle and I tied for second-third place in the 1998 Roosevelt Open with 4/5. In 1999, I scored 3.5/5 and tied for first-third place among Class A players. In 2000, I scored 3/5 and won the first prize in the Expert class.

Overall, I played in each Roosevelt Open from 1987-2002, and I won four prizes (not including the prizes for being the youngest player in 1987 and 1988).