ASeptember 05 1972
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, Tuesday, September 05, 1972
Charles Powell (left) Successfully Defended Title in a 'Lucky' Win
Lev Blonarouych (right) of Richmond Took Second Place
Champion Retains Chess Title
By Jann Malone
It was all over. Charles Powell stood up and stretched. He had successfully defended his state chess championship.
He had just defeated Lev Blonarovych of Richmond, a chess master like himself, in an intense, five-hour match. Both had been favored to reach the finals in the Virginia State Chess Championship held here over the weekend.
Blonarovych took second in the competition and Ed Kitces of Richmond finished third.
Was that last game a difficult one?
“It was a tremendous struggle,” Powell said. “I was lucky to win.”
“All my games are luckouts, anyway,” he added, smiling.
He looked tired, almost exhausted. In addition tot he five-hour afternoon match, he had played another long one yesterday morning.
Powell, of Williamsburg, has been playing chess for 12 years, and has won the title several times.
He is in graduate school at the College of William and Mary, studying mathematics.
Does he use psychology to break his opponent's concentration?
“Naw,” he said, “not really. Sometimes, though, when I'm in dire need, I'll resort to a little gamesmanship.”
Powell doesn't plan to become a chess professional in the Bobby Fischer sense of the word. He says there's not much distinction between amateurs and professionals in chess anyway.
There isn't enough money in the game, he said. “It's not like golf — you can't make a living at it.” Powell has won “maybe $1000” in tournaments in the past year.
Even without the money, he says, “I'll keep on playing.”
