David Mooney Wins Inaugural Mississippi Senior State Championship

The first Senior Championship in Mississippi was held April 6-7 in Canton at the Nissan Training Center. David Mooney went 3.5-0.5 to win 1st place.

The US Chess Federation has held the John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions is an annual invitational since 2018. Each state affiliate (such as the Mississippi Chess Association) may nominate 1 player to represent its residents 50+ years old as of the first day of the Irwin. Previously the MCA has selected its representative as the highest finishing 50+ player in the state championship, or if necessary the highest rated 50+ player willing to go. In 2024 that changed.

The 2024 Mississippi Senior State Championship - an Inaugural Event

With your author turning 50 this year, I had significant interest in forming an over the board senior state championship in Mississippi. The whole was to have good conditions and generous time controls that would attract senior players, including perhaps some players who have been inactive in recent years.

With the help of MCA President Mark Nicholas, the Nissan Training Center site was secured to hold the event. With the number of players likely expected, it seemed likely that 4 rounds would be sufficient to determine the winner. With only 4 rounds, we used the G/90 time control with a 30 second increment. This is the time control used for rounds 3-5 of the state championship and it was nice to use it for all 4 rounds of this event.

We had 7 players registered in advance, including 4-time state champion Douglas Stewart, and 3-time state champion Greg Turner. 

From left: Jerry Macdonald, David Mooney, Douglas Stewart, Chris Baker, Jimmy Hughes, Greg Turner, Chief TD Mark Nicholas, Billups Allen

David Mooney Makes it Looks Easy

As the 4th highest rated player ~400 points lower than the top 2 players, David Mooney wasn't the pre-tournament favorite. But playing with fast pace and by limiting his mistakes he played great chess. Playing on board 1 in round 1, he beat Douglas Stewart followed by beating Greg Turner in round 2. At the end of day 1 Mooney was clearly in the drivers seat.

Jerry Macdonald nearly brought Mooney back to earth on Sunday in round 3 but Mooney held tight and escaped with a draw in a pawn down endgame. Turner and Stewart drew a game that Turner had the better of much of the way, keeping Mooney in the lead by a full point. In round 4 Mooney played 3rd seed Jimmy Hughes and won convincingly to win the state's first senior title with a final score of 3.5-0.5. Stewart and Turner tied for 2nd with 2.5-1.5.

Mooney not only pocketed first place but also over 125 rating points to move back into 'B' class.

The Nissan Training Center is modern facility that includes classroom space. It was a great location for this event.

Given the limited criteria to play in the tournament, the number of players wasn't surprising. However, we'd love to see more in the future!