The 48th annual Green Bay Open chess tournament broke records this weekend with more than 130 players from across the Midwest competing at the Oneida Casino and Hotel.
Players of all ages and skill levels vied for $3,000 in prize money in what has become one of the oldest running chess tournaments in the country.
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"The main thing that brings chess players together is the competition, and the competition face to face," said Luke Ludwig, who has organized the Green Bay Open since it first started nearly 50 years ago.
The tournament room remains silent as players concentrate intensely on their matches. Each player gets 90 minutes with 30 seconds added for every move, meaning games can last up to four hours.
"Most of the action is inside your head. You see all these games being played out in your head, all these sequences moves. This can happen and this can happen, and most of them don't happen. Your opponent makes a move and it's a whole different game," said Barry Endsley, a competitor who drove four hours from Michigan to participate.
The tournament attracts players from various backgrounds and ages, including some very young competitors.
"I started playing when I was six years old…I learned from my brother," said Andrew Lubinski, 9, who attended with his 13-year-old brother James.
"I was about the same age," James added.
Endsley, who has been playing in this tournament for decades, noted the impressive skill of younger players: "Young people, they get so good so fast, I almost don't want to play them."
The Green Bay Chess Open is the second longest running tournament, second only to the U.S. Open chess tournament, which will be held in Madison at the end of July.
