The inaugural Pitt Area Chess Open was hosted on Saturday, February 23 by Sheppard Memorial Library in Greenville. Twenty-six players came from Greenville, Wilson, Washington, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, and Jacksonville to compete for more than three rounds. The tournament was a rated United States Chess Federation event.

The winners of this event were as follows:

Section 1
First Place - $115 - Todd Mendenhall
Second Place - $60 - TIE - Ronnie Smith, Michael Tedder
Class (Under 1650) - $30 - TIE - Henry Hopson, John Wehrenberg,
John Wooten, Lee Bradbury

Section 2
First Place - $110 - Sam Ebert
Second Place - $60 - Michael Laughlin
Class (Under 1000) - $30 - TIE - Jeremy Ehert, Phillip Schutt, Joel Pague

The Pitt Area Chess Open will be a regular tournament held six times a year. The next event is scheduled for Saturday, April 6, at Sheppard Memorial Library in Greenville.