Aaron Grabinsky qualified to attend the Oregon Closed State Chess Championships. Only the top 10 players from Oregon were invited. Aaron won the Junior Closed Championship by being the highest rated scholastic player.

Aaron’s first weekend resulted in losses to Daniel Gay, rated 2,210, and Jason Digan, rated 2,087.

This was a big stumble for his first day of the event. His third round match-up against the highest rated player in the competition, Nick Raptis, rated 2,368, resulted in a draw. Neither player could make headway in the match. In round 4, Aaron faced off against Carl Haessler, rated 2,200. That game resulted in another loss.

He then drew the second highest rated player, Corey Russell, rated 2,232. Determined not to play in an overconfident manner, Aaron won every game during the second weekend. He beat Brian Esler, rated 2,146, in round 6 and Lennart Bjorksten, rated 2,170, in round 7. Round 8 was a forfeit win as one player became ill. The match resulted in no points gained or lost.

Aaron’s final round was a win was against Steven Deeth, rated 2,142.