As it was, Joe Barker finished first, though not without some difficulty. He survived a long game with Tom LaBue in round two where Tom had some good drawing chances. Joe outplayed him in the closing and wrapped up the win. Round three saw a struggle with the improving Nathan Gundlach that ended in a draw. Nathan had a fantastic weekend, beating Tom, Ben Good and Robert Canary. Nathan rarely plays in rated tourneys, so his 1350 rating was no indication of his estimating playing strength around A-class level. Nathan finished in second place overall. Joe had one last difficult position in round 4, where he dropped a pawn to Ben Good and eventually offered a draw. Ben refused, and tried to press for the win. He let Joe's rook become very active, which became the difference in the game. Joe then finished off Robert Canary to take clear first, which included the $200 first place prize that Eastern Electric sponsored.

I should also note that Glenn Haynes had a good tourney finishing at 3-2, tied for third overall with Tom. He defeated newcomer Damon Medeiros and David Hundley over the weekend.

Pat has already set the date for next year's Eastern Electric Open. We have contacted John Homer (WV Schoalstic), Tom Martinak (Pittsburgh) and Grant Perks (Columbus) to try and avoid a scheduling conflict in 2002. It will be at the Blennerhassett in downtown Parkersburg, WV on the weekend of April 27-28. Pat was able to pay out the advertised prizes without lowering them because of the low turnout. With a large turnout next year, the prize fund will surely be much larger.