ESCC Chess Club Fall Tournament Wrap-up
From Chess Club Advocate Ralph Lopez:
The Melfa Monarchs ESCC Chess Club held the 2025 Fall Tournament on Saturday, October 11, at the ESCC Workforce Development Center from 8:30am-6:00pm.
The tournament had 18 players, ranging from Virginia Beach to Pocomoke. That broke down into 3 quads and a small Swiss of 6 players.
Quad One: Tom Moskios won the quad with a score of 2.5 out of 3, with Ben Contreras finished second with a score of 2.0 and was the only one able to deny Tom a win.
Quad Two: Mark Nuckols swept the field with a score of 3.0. Luke Newman finished second, as Mark got the better of him in their title game.
Quad Three: This was the most competitive quad, as Luke Webb returned to tournament chess after a long absence to win the quad with a score of 2.0. Second was a tie between Sean Thierfeldt and Stephen Gardner, who each had a score of 1.5. Mention should be made of the last member of the quad, Eric Baumgardner, since while he finished out of the money he missed by a half point as his final score was 1.0.
Swiss: The prizes were expanded in this section to include a third place prize of $ 10, but ended being part of the prize money being shared by the two tied for second, Nicholas Blue and Cullen Long. First place went to Zach Webb, brother of Quad Three winner Luke Webb. Special mention should be made of Abby Fluhart, who went from starting chess weeks ago to starting chess to completing her first tournament.
From ESCC Chess Club Sponsor Christina Duffman:
When Sean Thierfeldt, an eager college student, stayed after class one day, I assumed he wanted to ask a question or comment on the day’s lesson—rather (and little did I know at the time that he would be the one teaching me a lifelong lesson), he asked this question:
“Is there a chess club at this college?”
To which I responded in the negative. Not to be discouraged, he asked, “Well, could there be one?”
And the rest is history, as the famous saying goes.
According to Sean, he wanted to create a club where others like him (a homeschooled student who felt out-of-place in a college setting) could find a connection with one another—and what better way to form a place to socialize than over the board, so to speak?
Our ESCC Chess Club unofficially started in the autumnal days during 2013, and it eventually became official before the end of that year. Eventually, the club members all agreed upon a new name for our club—the Melfa Monarchs, alluding to the king and queen, the game’s most valuable pieces.
Over time, our club grew –we welcomed players of all skill levels—and during our games, we would boisterously discuss Marvel versus DC Comics, the Walking Dead series, and other pop culture drama. At times, we would forget that we were engaged in strategic movements across the board (thanks to Dr. Orest Pelech’s astute inculcations) whilst having these conversations—but that is the very essence of playing chess—learning sportsmanship (shaking hands at the beginning and ending of every match) and learning how to anticipate the opponents’ moves by thinking three or four steps ahead. Overall, playing chess with people from all walks of life teaches the art of patience and of listening.
Currently, we now meet in the Neville Student Lounge every Wednesday, from 12pm-1pm and from 4pm-5pm; Dr. Mark Nuckols, our Chess Club Coach, is always on hand to teach notation and strategic movements. Ralph Lopez, our Chess Advocate, comes to our meetings often to ensure we are on track to compete in local tournaments.
In order to participate in these chess tournaments, one must become a USCF (United Stated Chess Foundation) member, and for more information regarding how to become one, please visit this website: https://new.uschess.org/
Of course, all Melfa Monarchs members can become USCF-certified at no extra cost to them.
After holding a successful year of hosting our own USCF-rated tournaments at the college, we will continue this tradition of holding such tournaments in the spring and fall every year hereafter.