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"Weera Family" wins first place at USATE 2002
"Weera Family"
(on left, front to back) - IM Hikaru Nakamura (playing Senior Master William Kelleher in a critical fifth round matchup), FM Sunil Weeramantry,
Asuka Nakamura, and Michael Ellenbogen scored 6-0 to win the
Top Team title at the 2002 U.S. Amateur Team East. All four players are from White Plains, New York. The event drew a record 253 teams
and 1150 players. Asuka was the top scorer on the team with 5.5/6.
Hikaru and Sunil each scored 5/6, while Michael scored 2.5, posting 1.5 points
on the final day, when it counted the most!
Why "Weera Family?" Asuka and Hikaru Nakamura are the
sons of Sunil Weeramantry. Michael Ellenbogen is a family friend
(and former student of Sunil's) who was "adopted" for the weekend.
The tournament seemed to be
heading toward a classic final round confrontation between the two leading
families of American chess. But in the fifth round, "75% Pure Shahade", the team of
IM Greg Shahade, WIM Jennifer Shahade, FM Michael Shahade, and Alisa Melekhina, lost
to "Ham Samisch on Rye". In the final round, "Weera Family" defeated "Ham Samisch on Rye"
with wins on boards 1&2, and draws on boards 3&4.
See the final position from Hikaru's last game in the article Mathematical Precision.
Also see Sunil's sparkling final round win.
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About the USATE. The U.S. Amateur Team East is one of
four regional events, held every President's Day weekend, in which teams of four players whose average
rating is below 2200 compete for non-cash prizes (engraved digital clocks). The "average rating" formula allows
very strong players to compete on the top boards. This year, several teams included Grandmasters on board one,
including former U.S. Champions Joel Benjamin and Lev Alburt.
This is the "fun" event of national chess, with many amusing contests and giveaways to lighten the
atmosphere. The banner competition is for "Best Team Name", which earns a gourmet dinner for four. This year the best team name was
"Enron's 401K - No Perpetual Check."
See the USCF report on the Amateur Team events at the U.S. Chess website.
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