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The 2004 Scholarship winner is William Hayes. Bill was selected from all of our nominees because of his dedication to the game, his interest in improvement in chess and in general, and due to his high level of activity in tournament play.
Here's a copy of Bill's scholarship essay: Essay for McHenry
Area Chess Scholarship I’ve been playing chess since I was five when my dad taught me the way the pieces move. I’m 12 now and I’ve been playing tournament chess for a little more than two years. My dad also plays competitive chess, so he has taught me many openings and defenses. In the first six months of playing competitively I was rated under 200. I joined the Cary Kings coached by Peter Spizziri about a year and a half ago. My rating has risen quickly since then to 1100. I’ve made a lot of friends in that club and feel Peter’s coaching has given me a more well-rounded way to play. I also find that when I attend a tournament with the club, I tend to be more relaxed versus when I’m entered individually. I can only hope I’m providing that same effect to my teammates. I enjoy the camaraderie of team tournament play. There is also a chess club at my school, Bernotas Middle, which has helped me in a couple ways. It has helped my morale because it made me realize how far I had come. It also helps keep my brain stay alive, so to speak, regarding my chess game. Most chess games blend into each other, but there are a couple games that come to mind as noteworthy. I remember playing a 1100 rated kid when I was rated 700. I won that time. But later at another tournament when I was rated 900 I played him again and I lost. Go figure. The other game I remember was at a tournament in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was the first round, and my opponent had not arrived when it started. I waited a couple minutes before I questioned the tournament director for what to do. He said I should start the clock. As the minutes ticked by, I hoped the guy wouldn’t show. The clock had ticked down 20 minutes out of the 60 when he walked in. We began, and it was a tough fight, but I held my ground. When time was almost up, I was down by 2 points. But the time pressure got to him, and that’s how I won against a 1700 rated player. If I win this scholarship, I would use part of the money for a new chess clock. I have a standard analog type, but I would like to upgrade to a digital one that has a 5-second delay so I can stretch my time since I’m a pretty fast mover. I would use the remainder to help my parents pay my entry fee at the three-day Mid-American Open tournament in July.
Bill Hayes accepting the McHenry Area Chess 2004 Scholarship award from Bob Cairone, McHenry Area Chess president, and on the left, Jeff Colwell, McHenry Area Chess treasurer.
Bill Hayes with his father, Robert Hayes.
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