Silence spread over the room. Chess players from Philadelphia-area middle schools, high schools, universities and residential communities sat deep in concentration on Saturday morning, for the first-ever University of Pennsylvania Open Chess Tournament. Held in the Houston Hall's Hall of Flags, the tournament was structured with four rounds and 60-minute time controls for the 32 players who competed. College freshman Alex Graeffe and College junior Vincenzo La Ruffa conceived the idea for the tournament. La Ruffa, president of Penn's chess club, said he wanted to "start a tournament for local schools and colleges because the game crosses all lines," meaning that the sport caters to all ages and backgrounds. Graeffe agreed, adding that the tournament would "establish the club and promote interest." As the Chess Club's vice president of finance, Graeffe contributed greatly to the tournament, bringing his own chess-playing talents to the Open. He tied for first in the Liberty Bell Open, last month. Christos Antonoglou, a visiting scholar at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, won the tournament, remaining undefeated and taking home the prize of $100. Wharton freshman Jeff Brunelle said that the tournament "shows that there is certainly a great interest for [chess] on campus and around it." National Master Dan Heisman, who served as the tournament's director, said he enjoyed the tournament simply because it was "good for chess." Heisman, 50, now teaches chess full-time. He is also the scholastic coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation. Co-sponsored by the Main Line Chess Club, the tournament attracted players from various schools, including Drexel University and Masterman Middle School. Chris Little, 13, from Masterman, heard about the Open from his mom and Heisman. "[I want to] do as well as I can," Little said. He won one out of the three rounds. Overall, La Ruffa was pleased with the tournament. "It was a huge success in terms of the number of people who participated and the quality of the players," La Ruffa said. "[The tournament] was good for recruiting purposes and held a lot of appeal for people even outside the Penn community. We hope it will be a kickoff of the renaissance of chess in Philadelphia and the Penn community."
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