WCC News 2018 ♔

2010 WCC Champion, Tony Cesolini has posted some videos on his YouTube channel. For now there's only a few including post game analysis of his first round win over Carissa Yip at the 2016 Continental Open & blitz games with running commentary. His plan is to include more instructional content in future videos in conjunction with his web site, "Comprehensive Chess".

Some links from Tony Cesolini's YouTube Channel (Comprehensive Chess):
Yip v Cesolini Analysis
Blitz and Website update
Chess and Gender
Crazy Openings #1
Introduction and fun blitz chess

2018 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial
Round 1 of 4

Gail's obituary can be found on the website of the funeral home - http://www.masciarellifamilyfuneralhomes.net/obituary/gail-lingner
The obit will also be published in the Tuesday, Sept. 11, edition of the Sentinel & Enterprise
I would like everyone to know about the funeral arrangements.
I will be at the club on Wednesday - probably not to play - to announce the details for the funeral.
-George M

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Gail Lingner

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Gail's obituary
Gail Sandra Lingner
March 31, 1942 - September 6, 2018

Fitchburg-Gail Sandra (Carlson) Lingner, 76, died peacefully at her home on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018.

She leaves a daughter, Sandra Laurentano and her husband Joe of FL; a son, John Lingner Jr. and his wife Marjorie of TN; 11 grandchildren, Brandy Daigle Budzinski, Ronald Daigle Jr., Brittany Gaudet Hose (Bradley), Kimberly Taschereau, Leslie Lupien (Justin), Vanessa Brown (Kelly), John M. Lingner Sr. (Megan), Tracie Lingner, Jeremy Lingner (Kandie), Jackson Lingner (Erika) and Jacob Lingner; 20 great-grandchildren, Jordan, Hunter, Dylan and Rory Budzinski, Jacoby, Maddox, Orrin and Beckett Hose, Stefan-Jack Taschereau and Jasper-James Parker, Alyssa Farmer, Riley Lupien, Jesse Brown, John Bennett, Brooklynn, McKenzie and Kaylee Stock, Lillian Hyde, Gabriella Lingner, Maci Lingner; her loving companion of 43 years, George Mirijanian; three sisters, Carol Dunn and her husband Allan, Cathy Gallagher and her husband James and Cynthia Lafreniere and her husband Thomas; her beloved sister-in-law, Stella Carlson and many nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her husband, John "Jack" Lingner, who died Oct. 14, 1981 and a brother, Albert "Bud" Carlson Jr. who died May 10, 2014.

Gail was born on March 31, 1942, a daughter of the late Albert R. Sr. and Charlotte E. (Wheeler) Carlson. She was a 1960 graduate of Lunenburg High School. She then graduated from Fitchburg State College with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Later she received her MBA from SNHU. Gail worked at Traffic Systems in Worcester and then many years at Leominster Die Service in Leominster as the office manager.

After her retirement, she was an antique dealer and had several booths in various antique shops, including 20 years at Jeffrey's Antique Co-op Mall in Lunenburg. She was an avid mystery reader and loved writing short stories. She loved animals, especially cats. Her passion was chess. A nationally rated chess player, she was a member of the Wachusett Chess Club since September 1975. She was a longtime member of the U.S. Chess Federation and the Mass. Chess Association, where she served as an officer on its board of directors. Gail competed in many chess tournaments from the late 1970s thru early 2018. She also enjoyed bowling in her youth and was a fabulous cook. Her family looked forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas, when she made her absolutely delicious apple pies.

The most important part of her life was her family, with whom she enjoyed spending time.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m. at United Parish of Lunenburg, 39 Main St., Lunenburg.
Burial will follow in Forest Hill Cemetery, 115 Mt. Elam Road, Fitchburg.
Calling Hours will be held Friday, Sept. 14, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the
Lunenburg Chapel of the Sawyer-Miller-Masciarelli Funeral Home, 763 Mass Ave., Lunenburg

It is with great sadness and grief that I report that longtime Wachusett Chess Club member Gail Lingner of Fitchburg has died at the age of 76. Gail, who had been a member of the local club since September 1975, passed away early Thursday morning, Sept. 6. She was a very active player during the 1970s, '80s. '90s and 2000s.
Funeral arrangements by the Sawyer-Miller-Masciarelli Funeral Home in Lunenburg are pending.
Details of the funeral will be made known to all.
-George Mirijanian
(Gail's "significant other" of 43 years)

2018 John R. Stopa Memorial
Round 4 of 5

This week's game was against Paul Godin. It ended it a draw, but had a few interesting points along the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIcBeyxR8w4
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

2018 John R. Stopa Memorial
Round 3 of 5

This tournament at the Fitchburg Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 13, will be unrated. The objective is to attract both USCF-rated players and those who have never had ratings, i.e. non-USCF members. Hence, the event will be unrated. Five rounds will be played, with a time control of Game/20, with a 3-second delay for those who know how to set their clocks to that delay, or 5-second delay for those who are unable to set a 3-second delay. Registration will be from 10 a.m. (when the library opens) until 10:30 a.m., with Round 1 starting shortly thereafter.

There is no entry fee! The event should end by 2:30 p.m., if not sooner. I will have the library do up a flyer for this tournament. The youth librarian knows that this event is to commemorate National Chess Day, but she wants to call this event the 1st annual Fitchburg Public Library Chess Tournament. I have no problem with that, as long as everyone understands that the event is being held to celebrate National Chess Day. We are probably the only chess club in New England that will be celebrating that day with an event, albeit at the local public library. We did one last year for National Chess Day at the library.
The tournament has a dual designation:
1st annual Fitchburg Public Library Chess Tournament &
National Chess Day Open at Fitchburg Public Library
-George M

Here's the next video in the series; this time it is a Benko Gambit which I played last night against Larry Gladding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpxWM8hHnAI
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

2018 John R. Stopa Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Hello All,
After a hiatus of about a year, I've resumed creation of my weekly game videos. This time around I'm trying to keep them very short (15 min.) and thus more watchable. Hopefully the baby hasn't been pitched with the bath...
My opponent is Roland Booker and our opening is a Morra Gambit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8mbXRbvKLo
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Revised Projected Round 2 Pairings for 2018 John R. Stopa Memorial

Round 1 of the John R. Stopa Memorial will be played Wednesday evening, August 15th, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players who wish to participate must be present by 7 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Campus in order to paired for Round 1. Players running late who wish to be paired for Round 1 must call 978-881-8728 by 7 p.m.

2018 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014 and the Boylston Chess Club in 2016, tied for 2nd place in the 2018 Denker Tournament of High School Champions, held July 28-31 at the Madison Marriott West Hotel in Middleton, Wisconsin. The 14-year-old Woman International Master from Andover, Mass. scored 5-1 (five wins, one loss) to share runner-up honors with IM Joshua Sheng (rated 2550) of California. Carissa's only loss was to IM Praveen Balakrishnan of Virginia (rated 2522), who scored 5.5-0.5 to win the Denker Tournament for the second year in a row. Carissa earned the Ursula Foster Award for being the top-scoring player under the age of 16. And, as she said after the tournament. "And I'm over 2400 again!" Carissa's USCF rating is now 2407. A total of 48 players competed in the event.
-George M

The August 2018 edition of the Wall Street Journal Magazine has a two page article about Fabiano Caruana, the first American in 46 years to challenge for the title of World Chess Champion. Included is a brief outline of a few of the high points of his rise to chess royalty & 8 pictures of Fabi on his recent visit to the St. Loius Chess Club for the US Championship tournament.
-PG

2018 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 3 of 5

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett CC in 2014 and the Boylston CC in 2016, scored 7-2 (6 wins, 2 draws, one loss) to capture first place in the 2018 U.S. Girls Junior Championship that ended on Saturday, July 21, at the Saint Louis Chess Club. The 14-year-old Woman International Master from Andover, Mass. finished a full point ahead of her closest rivals, 16-year-old Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Jennifer Yu of Ashburn, Virginia, with whom she drew in the final round, and 15-year-old WIM Emily Nguyen of Austin, Texas, with whom she drew in an earlier round. Yu and Nguyen tied for 2nd-3rd place. Carissa had a performance rating of 2481 and raised her USCF rating to 2394.
-George M

Replay &/or download all games from this event:
https://www.uschesschamps.com/2018-us-junior-championships-replay

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, currently leads the field by a full point after 8 rounds in the 2018 US Junior Girls' Championship.
For the 9th & final round Carissa (2364) with 6.5/8 is paired with her closest rival, WGM Jannifer Yu (2358), who stands at 5.5/8. A win or draw with the white pieces will assure Carissa clear first place & the full $3000 prize, while the worst she can do from here is to split the top 2 prizes & end up with the $2500 shared 1st-2nd prize.
Congratulations on a fine performance regardless of the outcome of the round nine game!

2018 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Carissa Yip was among the new American title holders approved by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) at its Presidential Board Meeting recently in Bucharest, Romania. The 14-year-old from Andover, Mass., who was champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, was approved as a Woman International Master (WIM) [The other USA applicant receiving this title was Maggie Feng]. She already held the titles of Woman FIDE Master (WFM) and FIDE Master (FM). Carissa is currently the highest-rated 14-year-old girl in the world and is ranked 9th in the world with a FIDE rating of 2364 for all girls under the age of 21. She is currently playing in the U.S. Girls Junior Championship in Saint Louis, [where she is currently tied for the lead with 2.5/3 with WIM Emily Nguyen].
-George M

After two rounds of play, Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, has scored 2 wins to share the lead with WIM Emily Nguyen in the 2018 US Junior Girls' Championship.
The two will face each other in round three of the 10 player round robin event on Saturday, July 14, 2018 in St. Louis, MO. The field consisting of nine titled players (1 WGM, 3 WIM's, 4 WFM's & 1 WCM) & a single untitled player rated 2155, are competing for this year's prize fund of $10,300.

2018 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 1 of 5

Round 1 of the Harlow B. Daly Memorial will be played Wednesday evening, July 11th, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players who wish to participate must be present by 7 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Campus in order to paired for Round 1. Players running late who wish to be paired for Round 1 must call 978-881-8728 by 7 p.m.
Those arriving at the club by 6:40 p.m. will be able to view the start of the most recent Chess Chat video,
"Wachusett Chess Club mourns passing of longtime member Wayne Steadman", complete with a photo slide show.

Austin Fuller photo

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, scored 5-1 to tie for 1st place in the World Open Women's Championship that ended July 3 at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel in downtown Philadelphia. The 14-year-old FIDE master from Andover, Mass. shared top honors with 23-year-old California expert Badamkhand Norovsambuu, a native of Mongolia, whom she drew in round 4. Going into the sixth and final round, Carissa was leading the tournament with 4.5 points but elected to take a half-point bye in the final round, allowing Norovsambuu, who won, to tie her. The championship had 19 players.
-George M

See games from the event & read article on USChess website here:
https://new.uschess.org/news/world-open-yip-norovsambuu-win-womens-open-kovalyov-action-champion/

Paul Godin scored 12.5-2.5 to finish first in the Billerica Midsummer Blitz (Game 5, no delay), held Friday, June 29, at the Billerica Chess Club in the Billerica Council on Aging Building, aka Billerica Senior Center. The 1967 Wachusett CC champion ended up 1.5 points ahead of his closest rivals in a 16-player single round robin that saw Ray Paulson, the 2017 Wachusett CC champion, lose to Godin in Round 12 and tie for 9th-10th place with a score of 7.5-7.5. Godin's tournament victory gained him 44 blitz rating points and boosted his USCF blitz rating to 1990.
-George M

Wachusett Chess Club's Roland Booker was among the prize winners in the Legends of Chess: Leonid Shamkovich tournament, held Saturday, June 30, at the Boylston Chess Club in North Cambridge. Booker scored 3-1 to tie for first place in the Under 2000 section with Ruohan Yin, Andrew The and Joshua Weiss.
The event honored the memory of Russian-born GM Leonid Shamkovich (1923-2005), who appeared in Leominster in 1976 when he played in the 16th Central New England Open held on June 19-20 at the Holiday Inn. In that event, he tied for 1st place with New England legend John Curdo and 16-year-old Girome Bono. Following that tournament, Shamkovich traveled in August to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he tied for 1st place in the U.S. Open with fellow GM Anatoly Lein (1931-2018). Shamkovich repeated as U.S. Open co-champion at Columbus,Ohio in August 1977, when he shared top honors with GM Andy Soltis and IM Tim Taylor, the latter of whom played in the 11th Central New England Open in 1971 and was defeated by George Mirijanian in the final round. But that was when Taylor was an expert. Shamkovich came back to Leomiinster in November 1977 and played in the Central New England Fall Open. And that was his last appearance in North Central Massachusetts.
-George M

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 7 of 7

2018 WCC Co-champions, Gary Brassard & Roger Cappallo

♔ 2018 WCC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 4 of 7 ♔

Name ▼ & rating	Roger Cappallo	George Mirijanian	Paul Godin	Larry Gladding	Dave Couture	Gary Brassard	Arthur Barlas	Ken Gurge	Score ▼
Roger Cappallo 1982		1	1	1	0	1	1	1/2	5.5
George Mirijanian 1959	0		1/2	1	1	0	1	1	4.5
Paul Godin 1949	0	1/2		1	1	0	0	1/2	3
Larry Gladding 1795	0	0	0		1	0	1	1	3
Dave Couture 1778	1	0	0	0		0	1	0	2
Gary Brassard 1757	0	1	1	1	1		1	1/2	5.5
Arthur Barlas 1750	0	0	1	0	0	0		1	2
Ken Gurge 1741	1/2	0	1/2	0	1	1/2	0		2.5

Rob "The Rooster" King wins "Chicken Prize" at Kesajuhla

National master Rob King of Framingham showed how he "ruled the roost" by sweeping the non-rated quick Swiss tournament at the 2018 Summer Festival, known as "Kesajuhla," at the Finnish Center at Saima Park in Fitchburg on June 24th. The 2011 Wachusett CC champion posted 4-0 to finish first in a field of 16 players in an event played with a time control of G/15 d3. King's prize was a succulent chicken barbecue dinner, compliments of Dana and Lorna Sulin of the Finnish Center at Saima Park. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were last year's winner, 1967 club champion Paul Godin of Bedford, and two-time club champion Bruce Felton of Fitchburg.
-George M

Event: 		Summer Festival (Kesajuhla) SWISS 2018
Location: 	Fitchburg, MA
Event Date: 	2018-06-24
Chief TD: 	George Mirijanian
Non-rated
Time Control: G/15 d3


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Pair | Player Name		Rating	| Round	| Round	| Round	| Round	| Total	|
 Num  | 				|  1	|  2	|  3	|  4	| 	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1  | Rob King		2202    |  W6   |  W4	|  W2	|  W3	|  4.0	| 🐔
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   2  | Paul Godin		1973    |  W14  |  W12  |  L1   |  W7	|  3.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   3  | Bruce Felton		1920    |  W9   |  W7   |  W5   |  L1	|  3.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   4  | Dave Couture		1796    |  W15  |  L1	|  W14	|  D6	|  2.5	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   5  | Roland Booker		1634    |  W16  |  D10  |  L3	|  W12	|  2.5	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   6  | Jim Hankard		1600    |  L1   |  W15	|  W8   |  D4	|  2.5	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   7  | Arthur Barlas		1750    |  W8   |  L3	|  W9   |  L2	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   8  | Angel Soto		1447    |  L7   |  W13	|  L6	|  W15	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   9  | Don Briggs		1386    |  L3   |  W16	|  L7	|  W10	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  10  | Brian Biglow		1411    |  bye  |  D5	|  W12  |  L9	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  11  | Francis Scanlon		1061    |  L12  |  L14	|  D15  |  W16	|  1.5	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12  | Dave Thomas		1773    |  W11  |  L2	|  L10	|  L5	|  1.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  13  | Gail Lingner		1500    | ----  |  L8   |  W16  | ----  |  1.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  14  | Hamed Zarei		Unr     |  L2   |  W11  |  L4 	| ----  |  1.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  15  | Hugh McLaughlin		1200    |  L4   |  L6	|  D11	|  L8	|  0.5	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  16  | Robert Marshall		Unr     |  L5   |  L9	|  L13	|  L11	|  0.0	|
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Finnish Center at Saima Park to Host Fun Chess Tournament

SUNDAY, JUNE 24

The Finnish Center at Saima Park, 61 Scott Road in Fitchburg, off Ashby State Road (Route 31), will host on Sunday, June 24th, as part of its Summer Festival (Kesajuhla), a fun chess tournament in its function hall. The non-rated event will be a 4-round Swiss in one section. Time control is Game/15, with a 5-second delay (on digital clocks).

The tournament 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. Registration for the tournament is from 9:30 to 10 a.m., with Round 1 starting shortly thereafter. The tourney will end by 12:30 p.m. There is no entry fee. Free admission and parking. Food for sale. Donations welcome.

Top prize will be a succulent chicken barbecue dinner, compliments of Lorna Sulin of the Finnish Center. Other prizes will be awarded to all participants.
For a complete schedule of activities at the Summer Festival, visit www.saima-park.org
-George M

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 6 of 7

USCF Ratings of WCC Players 10 Years Ago (June 2008): 1 Ray Paulson 2000 2 Brett Kildahl 1988 3 Roger Cappallo 1968 4 Paul Godin 1939 5 George Mirijanian 1908 6 Larry Gladding 1823 7 Bruce Felton 1822 8 Diego Ubiera 1816 9 Joe Bennett 1800 10 Gary Brassard 1766 11 Ed Harris 1761 12 Geoff LePoer 1742 13 Ken Gurge 1717 14 Arthur Barlas 1703 15 Dave Couture 1682 16 Jim Hankard 1665 17 Roland Booker 1630 18 Gail Lingner 1616 19 Dave Thomas 1606 20 Tom Fratturelli 1610 21 Mike Commisso 1586 22 Alan Condon 1524 23 Bill Burke 1508 24 Mike Meehan 1501 25 Paul Lynch 1444 26 Brian Biglow 1383 27 Mariano Rivera 1315P2 28 Wayne Steadman 1269 29 Jim Donahue 1251 30 Larry O'Rourke 1249P7 31 Robert King 1030P15 32 Nik Lavoie 980P19 33 Francis Scanlon 950 34 Andrew Kiser 906

USCF Ratings of WCC Players 25 Years Ago (June 1993): 1 Ray Paulson 2069 2 George Mirijanian 2000 3 Paul Godin 1987 4 Roger Cappallo 1949 5 Gary Brassard 1895 6 Larry Gladding 1800 7 Arthur Barlas 1771 8 Jim Hankard 1706 9 Bruce Felton 1681 10 Gail Lingner 1600 11 Paul Lynch 1468 12 Dave Couture 1631 13 Dave Thomas 1579 14 Wayne Steadman 1424 15 Tom Fratturelli 1289P14 16 Francis Scanlon 999

-George M

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 5 of 7