Cousins, Russell tie in Sardinia

In his last tournament as a "free man"( he is getting married in Sept.!) Robert Cousins tied for first with Matthew Russell of Bradford Pa. last saturday in the monthly Sardinia tournament.

Cousins (2183) and Russell (1904), who plays sparingly due to his college studies, agreed to a draw with each having less than 2 minutes remaining on their clocks in a very close endgame. Probably the right decision for both.

Ben Havey and Pat Patterson drew their last round game to tie for 3rd while Nathan Palmisano won the U1500 prize. Also competing were Austin Kossow, Ryan Palmisano, and Carl Raymore.

In the Scholastic section Matt Ramey of Kenmore (in his first tournament!) won the trophy in a 5 min. blitz playoff with Luke Grisante. Both finished the regular tournament with 5.5/7. Rob Becker, Mike Pinzel, Hunter Witt, Sam Tillinghast, Nick Brennan, and Brandan LaMont also played.

I plan on playing in the New York State Open over the Labor Day weekend so the Sept tournament will be Sept 11. See you then!