Rachels Returns, Wins Sixth Alabama Championship (Video)

Earlier this fall, IM Stuart Rachels won his sixth Alabama state championship on the weekend of August 30 through September 1. The state championship — hosted by the Mobile Chess Club — was held at Spring Hill College in Mobile for the first time in 40 years.

In that 1984 tournament, a then-12-year-old Rachels won his third consecutive state championship.  Rachels won two more state titles but then stopped competing in his home state until, seemingly out of the blue, he emerged this year! This comeback is the subject of a documentary — created by Cynara Inman and Tyler Dickerson — that was shared earlier this week:

This fantastic interview-rich oral history — of both the event and Rachels’ standing in Alabama chess history — is embedded above and can be found on YouTube here. According to Brent Inman, a Life Master who "came up" in Mobile, he told his daughter Cynara that the state championship was returning to her hometown for the first time in four decades, and her boyfriend Tyler asked if they could come down from Raleigh, North Carolina, to take photos. 

Brent then suggested they turn this project into the documentary you see here. In an instance of the stars aligning, this was all before Rachels had decided to make his comeback! Another project, focusing on the intergenerational clashes of players at the championship, is in the works. Below are some highlights of the tournament. 

Rachels got off to a 4/4 start while showcasing his mastery of the fundamentals, such as his use of the bishop pair here:

Then, a fascinating game in the penultimate round against Aaron Decord, the experienced IM was unable to exploit his opponent’s shattered kingside structure in a tense Italian.

Rachels won his final game to finish on 5/6, but Decord controlled his own destiny entering the final game with a 4½/5 score. But a loss to Georgia’s Vishnusankar Jonnalagadda saw the Georgian leapfrog over Decord into a tie for first with Rachels. As the top-finishing Alabama player, the sixth title was Rachels’!

The results from the tournament can be found here. The top board was broadcast online for the last four rounds.

Rachels is also the author of the 2020 autobiography The Best I Saw In Chess. Hand-signed copies are available on US Chess Sales. IM John Watson’s review of the book can be found in the September 2020 issue of Chess Life magazine, available to all via the Chess Life archives.