Arlis Snyder v Doug Lemons Sicilian June 21, 1973
King-Pawn Tournament Round Four
From the beginning the Springfield Park Board Chess Club has enjoyed attracting members from the nearby Colleges and Universities. Missouri State and Drury College in particular have provided the club with numerous players throughout the years. In this encounter we see SMSU faculty member Arlis Snyder take on Doug Lemons who, as a Drury College student, was somewhat of a crosstown rival. We can watch as Arlis launches a mighty pawn armada while Doug constructs a hedgehog formation, missing a key re-joiner and allowing Arlis to brake on through. Though coming up short in this game, Mr. Lemons would represent his school with honor.
I recall Doug and his compatriot Adrain Vasilu really adding to the mix down at the club. A lineup of local veteran players might look something like this: Henry Wetzler, Dean Graham, Arlis Snyder, Lee Hurlburt, Mark Henigan, Dave Clark, and Bob Daves. Junior players at that time would include Frank Elley, Greg Williamson, Ron Humphry, and Brent Looper. These guys were coming up in the ranks and the competition would soon become furious. I think of this period as a golden age of local chess due to the overall level of strength that composed our club. The Chess Club would repeat this in the 90's under the leadership of Martin Phillips.
What the surrounding schools give us in terms of talent, the working world takes away. So many of our college students move on after completing their studies and raising their USCF ratings. The SPBCC has always enjoyed having these visitors, however parting is such sweet sorrow. Now on to the game and I have left Mr. Snyders annotations in the notefield.
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