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  Merriwether’s Tori Whatley Garners Respect at Polgar Invitational web posted August 9, 2008 Below: Tori Whatley and Susan Polgar  LUBBOCK, TEXAS – The
South Carolina flag
flew for the first time in the five-year history of the prestigious
Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, which was held July 27th
– August 1st at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Hannah
“Tori” Whatley proudly represented the Palmetto State and when asked
how it felt to sit in a room full of state champions, she replied, “I
didn’t really see them as champions, I just saw them as new
friends”. Indeed, before the closing ceremony, she would make
many new friends. The tournament featured only one round per day leaving the girls plenty of time to forge friendships as they enjoyed activities such as rock climbing, swimming, and water volleyball. The girls also played a basketball game at the University’s Recreation Center.  Sunday’s opening
ceremony featured You Tube phenomenon, The Cactus
Cuties performing the National Anthem. Tori, along with Arkansas’
Crystal Qian and Texas’ Rheanna English posed for a photograph with the
musical group (left) just prior to their performance. Shortly
after
four-time Women’s World Champion, Grandmaster Susan Polgar’s welcoming
remarks, it was time for round one.Tori’s first match against Oklahoma’s Michelle Farell, a player rated at over twice her strength, was a hard-fought game that left the Oklahoman exclaiming that Tori was a far better opponent than she had anticipated. Despite ultimately losing the game, Tori earned Michelle’s respect and later in the week, the two teamed up as partners in the extracurricular “bughouse” chess tournament. Monday’s second round concluded with Tennessee’s Autumn Douthitt, asking for a draw. Tying this game with Autumn, who was rated 485 points higher than her, landed Tori on the “Sandbagger” report for cumulative upsets. Later that evening, Tori joined many others in the “Chess Puzzle Solving Championship”, and capped off the night with a lecture from GM Susan Polgar. The third round on Tuesday against Missouri’s Joanna Gossel was, for the most part, a well-played game, however, Joanna took control in the latter portion of the game forcing Tori into a bad position from which, she couldn’t recover. The “Blitz” championship held that evening provided the contestants yet another opportunity to meet and play girls whom they might not face in the main event. Ann Marie Fitch from Delaware would prove to be a formidable foe in round four on Wednesday. Tori controlled most of the game and appeared to have the upper hand, however, late mistakes cost her dearly, and she was checkmated on move 46. Undaunted, Tori and her new friend Michelle, from Oklahoma, placed 9th in the “bughouse” tournament that night. A last-minute addition to the tournament, Faith Munoz of Texas, was asked to stand in to give the tournament an even number of players. Tori faced the unrated Texan on Thursday in round five. Faith was the only player at the tournament that was ranked lower than Tori, so this was a must-win situation for the South Carolinian. After checkmating her opponent, Tori was so impressed by Faith’s attitude that she asked if a “Sportsmanship” award could be created. Host, Grandmaster Susan Polgar, approved the request and Faith received the award at the closing ceremony. The sixth and final round on Friday pitted Virginia’s Susan Brown against Tori. During the middle-game it appeared as though Susan might prevail, however, despite the 300-point difference in their ratings, Tori defeated the stronger Virginia champion in a surprising end game. Tori’s 2.5-point performance moved her from 51st to 38th in the competition, a respectable finish for the Merriwether Middle School pre-teen. Dropping in on Thursday to show support, South Carolina Chess Association President, David Grimaud and his graceful wife, Maureen, were on hand to witness Tori’s final two victorious rounds. “Tori was a perfect representative for us. We look forward to her leadership as a role model to help promote scholastic girl's chess in South Carolina.” After the final round David and Maureen presented Tori with one of the chess sets used in the competition. Acknowledging the Grimaud’s from the podium at the closing ceremony, GM Susan Polgar thanked them for their support. Miss Lubbock USA was also on hand as special invitee. Courtney Jamison of Texas was crowned “Champion of Champions” finishing with 5.5 points. Nisha Deolalikar of California was the highest-finishing player eligible for the scholarship and was awarded the full, four-year academic scholarship at Texas Tech estimated to be worth about $75,000. ©
Copyright 2008
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