WCC News 2019 ♔

The following ratings are in effect for the Harlow B. Daly Memorial, which begins Wednesday, July 3,
in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Registration is from 6:30 to 7 p.m., with Round 1 starting at 7:15 p.m.
Deadline for all subsequent rounds is 7:10 p.m. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, achieved another milestone in her chess career by winning the North American Girls Junior Under 20 Championship. held June 25-30 at the Charlotte Chess Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 15-year-old player from Andover, Mass. finished clear first with a score of 8.5-0.5 in a field of 25 girls. The victory gained Carissa her third Woman Grandmaster norm, which means that she is eligible to receive that title if the World Chess Federation (FIDE) approves the application that will be submitted on her behalf by the U.S. Chess Federation.
-George M

Geoff LePoer of Westford scored 3.5 points out of a possible 4 to win the Summer Festival ("Kesajuhla") Swiss, aka Evert Siiskonen Memorial, on Sunday, June 23, at Saima Park in Fitchburg. The 1999 Wachusett Chess Club champion paved the way to victory in a 16-player unrated Game/15 tournament by defeating Class C-rated Harry Richardson of Leominster in round 1, drawing Class B-rated Alexander Venezia of Lunenburg in round 2, beating 2018 Wachusett CC co-champion Gary Brassard of Leominster in round 3, and then winning against Class A-rated Tom Zuppa of Billerica, who was leading the tournament with three straight wins, in round 4. Zuppa, whose last chess tournament was 16 years ago, tied for 2nd-4th place at 3-1 with Mike Commisso of Brookline, New Hampshire, and Angel Soto of Fitchburg.
-George M

Sunday, June 23, 2019, at Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, off Ashby State Road (Route 31), Fitchburg
Unrated tournament. No entry fee! Prizes for everyone! Game/15 3-second delay, score-keeping not required. BBQ chicken dinner to winner. Books & magazines to others. Registration: 9:30-10 a.m. in Finnish Center function hall. Round times:10 a.m., 10:40 a.m. 11:20 a.m., 12 noon
The tournament, which is part of the Finnish Center at Saima Park's Summer Festival ("Kesajuhla"), honors the memory of two-time Wachusett Chess Club champion Evert Siiskonen (1963 and 1966), a Finnish-born Fitchburg resident who is memorialized with a stone chess table at Saima Park.
For a complete schedule of activities at the Summer Festival, visit https://www.saima-park.org/
-George M

Stephen Murray of Ayer and Don Ostrowski of Fitchburg, two of the Wachusett Chess Club's most active players, tied for 1st place in the Billiards Cafe June Quad, held Sunday, June 9, at the Billiards Cafe in Ayer. The quick-rated (G/25) event saw both players score 2-1, finishing ahead of fellow Wachusett CC players Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH and Michael David of Groton, both of whom ended up with 1-2 tallies. In some individual encounters, Ostrowski beat Murray, while Hankard defeated David and David downed Ostrowski. The quad was directed by Larry Gladding of Leominster.
-George M

The 88th Massachusetts Open (state championship) got under way Saturday morning, May 25, at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center. Among the participants are five players from the Wachusett Chess Club: Brett Kildahl, the highest-rated player at the Wachusett CC, who is competing in the FIDE-rated Championship section; Ray Paulson & Gary Brassard in the Under 2100 section, and Roland Booker and Michael David, who are playing in the Under 1800 section. The tournament continued through Sunday and Monday, with a new state champion, Ridvan Sakir, who scored 5.5/6, being crowned Monday evening. The championship will be the subject of the next edition of "Chess Chat," produced by the Wachusett CC for Fitchburg Access Television (FATV), to be seen on Monday evening, June 3, at 7 p.m., via live streaming at www.fatv.org

Hosts George Mirijanian and Dave Couture will present a game from the championship. The program will be presented on Wednesday, June 5, at 6:40 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University, prior to the start of Round 4 of the 2019 Wachusett Chess Club Championship.
-George M

Other noteworthy Mass Open activities included:
Brett Kildahl beat GM Alexander Ivanov in round 1,
Ray Paulson finished undefeated with a score of 4.0/6
& both Michael David & Rob King competed in the Mass Open Blitz event which was held on Sunday night.
Below are their rating updates for the five WCC members who competed in this year's Mass Open Championship Tournament.

Brett Kildahl won the Billiards Cafe Spring Blitz Tournament on Sunday evening, May 19, at the Billiards Cafe at 39 Main St. in downtown Ayer, Mass. In a 10-player, USCF-rated round-robin Game/5 event, the Worcester player scored 8.5-0.5 to finish first. Finishing as runner-up and winning 2nd-place prize money was Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH, who tallied 6-3. Taking 3rd place with a 5.5-3.5 result was Dave Couture of Westminster, while Ray Paulson of Lowell captured 4th place with a score of 4.5-4.5.

The tournament, which drew only Wachusett Chess Club players, was directed by USCF-certified Senior TD Larry Gladding of Leominster and organized by Michael David of Groton.
-George M

This Sunday, May 19, 2019, at 6:30 pm, the Billiards Cafe at 39 Main St., Ayer, MA will host a USCF blitz rated blitz tournament organized by Michael David & directed by Larry Gladding.
Format: G 5/0 Round-Robin
Entry Fee: $10
Prize Pool: 1st 80%, 2nd 20% (net of USCF fees)
Tournament Director: Larry Gladding
Tournament Organizer: Michael David
Registered Players:
1. Dave Couture
2. Stephen Murray
3. Roger Cappallo
4. Michael David
5. Mike Commisso
6. Don Ostrowski
7. Jim Hankard
8. Brett Kildahl
9. Ray Paulson
Potential Late Walk-ins: Don Briggs, Paul Godin, Andrew Jeselson, Mike Meehan, Larry Gladding (as an alternate player)
Dinner Options: Billiards Cafe has pizza and sandwiches with a full bar. Food and drink cannot be brought to the Cafe, but if you want some other pre-tournament choices:
Cottage Restaurant and Subway are across the street. If you go south on Main St to the rotary (approx. 1 mile) you'll find a Wendy's, McDonald's, and Taco Bell. If you are coming from points West and South you'll pass through the rotary coming off Rte 2 on your way to the Billiards Cafe.
Larry and I will be at the Billiards Cafe roughly an hour ahead of time for set-up and preparation of the tournament.
-MD
Call Mike David at 978-877-2322 if you are running late, but don't run too late or the train will leave the station.

The following ratings are in effect for the Wachusett Chess Club "B" Division Championship.
The championship begins Wednesday, May 15th, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Registration is from 6:30 to 7 p.m., with Round 1 getting under way at 7:15 p.m.

Dave Couture, an entrant in this year's Wachusett Chess Club Championship ("A" Division), tied for first place in the Under 1750 section of the Bennington Spring Open on Saturday, May 11, at the Bennington Free Library in Vermont. The longtime WCC member from Westminster scored 3-1 (two wins, one draw, a half-point bye in round 1) to share top honors in the section with Vermont Class B players Michael Corrigan (whom he drew in the final round) and Michael Burns. Winning the Open section with a perfect 4-0 tally was 63-year-old GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass. The three-section tournament drew 33 players and was organized by Parker Montgomery of Middlebury, Vermont, who played at the Wachusett CC in the years 2006-2008.
-George M