MISSOULA — This weekend, chess players from across Montana and the west gobbled up games at the 44th annual Turkey Open in Missoula. The tournament and festival, put on by the Missoula Chess Club, drew in 70 players for days of competitive play.
“It’s been a great year. A near-record crowd, including a grandmaster from St. Louis, here playing against our top players from around the area from kids on up to adult,” said Eric Walthall, president of the Missoula Chess Club. “You can see the smiles on the kids’ faces. You can see happy and sad adults as they play and win or lose.”
The Turkey Open kicked off on Friday evening, with a lecture and simultaneous exhibition from grandmaster Varuzan Akobian aimed at local elementary school players. It continued on Saturday and Sunday with two days of competitive play at the Holiday Inn.
According to Walthall, the tournament is part of a gambit to put Missoula and Montana on the map for competitive chess.
“We’re trying to bring the feel of a national level tournament to Missoula, having a grandmaster here, drawing in the top players from the northwest,” he said. “Giving our kids the chance to feel a national level experience without having to travel to Las Vegas or Washington DC is really the goal.”
The games are serious, with some lasting several hours. But, the competition is as much about community as it is about chess.
“Believe it or not, the strange aspect to this is it's a social event. You don't think of social and chess in the same sentence, but it really is,” Walthall said. “Similar to what you saw in the Queen's Gambit on Netflix a couple of years ago, you have the camaraderie, the friendships of these players from across the state and across the region where some of them have been playing each other once or twice a year for 20, 30 years.”
Walthall said this community is what keeps the games going, and lets the next generation continue playing. The Missoula Chess Club works with schools and volunteers to get more kids playing. Schools looking to start a club can reach out and the Missoula Chess Club will set them up with all the necessary gear.
The Turkey Open was a chance for the chess community to celebrate all this work, along with the game and the players.
“It's great to make Missoula a destination for a chess tournament,” Walthall said. “It's kind of success for us.”
