Rohde Wins New York August Open:
Leads Field of 44 Players
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International Grandmaster (GM) Michael Rohde of New York City has won the New York August Open Grand Prix, held August 17-18, 1996 at New York City's historic Marshall Chess Club. Rohde won his first three games before drawing his last-round game with Senior Master Boris Kreiman of Brooklyn on Board One, assuring himself of at least a tie for First, with 3½ out of 4. At least that's the way it looked to be shaping up, because on the next Board, Polish Champion, GM Alex Wojtkiewicz, a half-point behind Rohde, was up the exchange for a pawn against IM Jay Bonin of Queens. But Jay held fast, stirring up enough trouble with his passed pawns to keep Alex's rooks all tied up, and he went on draw the game, which clinched the tournament for Rohde, along with the $307 First Prize. Five players tied for Second at 3-1: Wojtkiewicz, Kreiman, Bonin, and Yefim Treger and Arkady Rabinovich, both of Brooklyn.
Randy Present of Woodmere, New York likewise drew his last-round game to clinch the $230 First Prize in the Under 2000 Section. Dardashtian Parhami of Queens, Patrick Walker of Scranton, PA, Paul Birnbaum of the Bronx and 12-year-old David Wigglesworth of Queens all tied for Second Place with 3-1.
This was certainly a hard-fought tournament: the field of 44 players included no less than seventeen Masters, among them two GM's and one IM. Steve Immitt directed for the Chess Center of New York.
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