I know it is a common practice to have a memorial chess tournament for a past chess player or past chess player’s relative/spouse. I have seen listed a Cindy Berry [chess Master Vince Berry’s deceased wife] memorial tournament recently. I am certain that someone will likely decide to hold a Sevan Muradian memorial tournament and an Emory Tate memorial tournament sometime in the future. I remember TDing for the Eugene Martinowsky memorial tournament held by Chris Baumgartner. However, I am interested in how you go about determining what kind of tournament to hold.
Unfortunately my brother Howard Cohen passed away Saturday morning April 23, 2016 from complications due to type 2 diabetes. Since he loved to play the King’s Gambit, and I definitely will eventually hold a Howard Cohen memorial King’s Gambit tournament. What I am uncertain about is what time control to use for the event. I can’t say that Howard had a favorite time control that he preferred to play at, or a time control he did not like much. Also, it has been a long time since I was involved in an opening specific tournament. Do you start it like a normal chess game and require the opening moves be played that result in the specific opening; or do you start with the specific opening position already on the board??
Help with these issues will be greatly appreciated.
We have a number of memorial tournaments on the chess calendar in the Pittsburgh area. Several are Tuesday Night tournaments, with a round every Tuesday evening at 7 pm for 6 weeks. These tournaments usually have a time control of Game 120, d5. There are also a few weekend events to honor some players that for the most part have been forgotten by the chess community. What deeds they did were long ago. We remember the name but little else about the player. The time control in these one day events varies, but are usually Game 70, d5 to Game 90, d5. In most cases, the prize fund consists of cash prizes of some sort. There is one trophy tournament, the Abel Bomberault Memorial, named for a former librarian of the Pittsburgh Chess Club. The event was at first a Grand Prix event, but over time devolved to a trophy tournament. Which is a little ironic, as Abel himself liked large cash prize tournaments with masters playing. Abel was the head chef at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, a rather exclusive club for the wealthy. He loved the game and especially the games of Alexander Alekhine. For many years he maintained the Pittsburgh Chess Club library, organizing its many old volumes and chess magazines. He also put together binders of combinations, problems, and other chess stuff that interested him.
The only opening theme tournament I ever saw had little index cards made up for the specific opening to be played by both sides. Players started from move 1 rather than a set position or tabaiya. There was demo of the opening and a little history about it before the players began their games. In a tournament that honored Lev Polugaevsky a number of years ago, all of the players had to play some form of the Sicilian Defense, but there was no specific move order required to be played. IIRC, all of the games had to be Open Sicilians, but I am not sure about that. In any event, the games started from move 1 rather than from a set position.
How you wish to honor your brother is up to you. What did he like to play the most often? Did he prefer longer or shorter time controls? Was his preference for Grand Prix events or smaller, local affairs? Are you going to direct the tournament or do you want to play in it? Would the idea of an annual charity event interest you? There are many ways you can go.