WCC News 2018 ♔

Miscellaneous News & Other Chess Events of Interest:

♔ Westford June Open Saturday-Sunday, 23-24 June 2018
Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center, 219 Littleton Road, Westford, MA 01886
4SS, 40/90, SD/30 + 30 Sec. Increment.
EF: $70 (postmarked by 16 June). $80 after 16 June and at site.
PRIZE FUND ($4,000 GTD)
- Championship: 1st $600, 2nd $300, 3rd $250, U2400 $250, U2200 $250
- U2000: 1st $400, 2nd $200, 3rd $150
- U1800: 1st $400, 2nd $200, 3rd $150
- U1600: 1st $300, 2nd $150, 3rd $100, U1400 $150, U1200 $150
Reg: 8:30-9:30 AM on Saturday. Rds: 10-4, 10-4. One 1/2 point bye rounds 1-3, limit 1.
ENT: Alex Relyea, 49 Technology Dr. #89, Bedford, NH 03110.
INFO: Email Alex Relyea relyea@operamail.com. Web Site www.relyeachess.com.
Register online: https://squareup.com/store/relyea-chess/item/westford-june-open
Tournament flyer: http://relyeachess.com/flyers/Westford%20June2018.pdf

♗ MACA Event Calendar of Tournaments throughout Massachusetts

♘ NHCA Event Calendar of Tournaments throughout New Hampshire

♖ Relyea Event Calendar of Open & Invitational Tournaments

♜ Continental Chess Association Tournament Schedule for All States

♙ SENECA Southeast New England Chess Association Tournament Schedule

♘ Connecticut Chess Magazine by Rob Roy blog.

♔ US Chess upcoming Tournament Schedule: ♔ Massachusetts, ♛ New Hampshire, ♖ Rhode Island, ♝ Connecticut, ♘ Maine ♟ Vermont

♝ Billerica Chess Club weekly results are now available on this site as part of the Other Organizations section.

♘ Keene, NH Chess Club events calendar

♞ Waltham Chess Club events calendar

♖ Boylston Chess Club events calendar

♜ Greater Worcester Chess Club events calendar

♗ New Britain CT Chess Club events calendar

♝ MetroWest Chess Club events calendar

♔ Second Tuesday of every month: GM Larry Christiansen Simul at South Station 25 boards, noon to 2:00 PM. Open seating until 1:15pm. No fee.

♔ ♞ Print or download a .PDF version of the Wachusett Chess Club Flyer ♘ ♚

♚ ♛ An Archive of these & earlier News Links is now available in the "Chess Online" section ♛ ♚

YOU CAN NOW EASILY CONVERT YOUR GAMES TO PGN FORMAT & EMAIL THEM! ♗ ♞ ♖

An unofficial but nice to have Glossary of Chess terms ♜ ♘ ♝

ECO code to enjoy = D06 Queen's Gambit: 1.d4 d5 2.c4

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ Four Random Mating Patterns ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚
Boden's Mate	Damiano's Mate	Epaulette Mate	Damiano's Bishop Mate

June 16th, 2018

USCF Ratings of Wachusett CC Players 10 & 25 Years Ago

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

June 13th, 2018

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 5 of 7

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 13th, 2018**
Round 5 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Dave Couture	0-1	Gary Brassard
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Larry Gladding	0-1	George Mirijanian
Paul Godin	1/2-1/2	Ken Gurge
Total of 4 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 13th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 5 Rounds
Points	Players
3.5	Brassard, Cappallo, Mirijanian
3.0	Godin
2.5	Gurge
2.0	Couture
1.5	-----
1.0	Gladding
0.5	-----
0.0	Barlas

Projected Round 6 Pairings for June 20th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Brassard vs. Cappallo
Board 2: Mirijanian vs. Couture
Board 3: Barlas vs. Godin
Board X: Gurge vs. Gladding, (postponed)

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 6 on June 20th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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June 13th, 2018

2018 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 5 of 7

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 13th, 2018**
Round 5 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Mariano Rivera	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Ray Paulson	1-0	Mike Commisso
Mike Meehan	1-0	Jim Hankard
Don Briggs	0-1	Michael David
Jim Donahue	1-0	Brian Biglow
Mark Wheeler	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Larry Legros	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
John Bastarache	0-1	Ed Harris
Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Tom Whistler
Total of 10 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Roland Booker, Ritvik Pulya, Bob Mathieu, Francis Scanlon and Raaga Pulya.
♖ Not playing round 5 were Gary Brassard (filler), Bill Burke (withdrawal), Don Ostrowski, Kyle Cullen, Melissa Long,
James Petullo, Teagan Long and Charlotte Long.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 13th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 5 Rounds
Points	Players
4.5	McNeilage
4.0	Paulson
3.5	Meehan, David
3.0	Donahue, Commisso, Wheeler, Booker, Rivera, Fratturelli
2.5	Harris, Hankard, Ri. Pulya, Briggs
2.0	Mathieu, Biglow, R. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, H. McLaughlin, Legros
1.5	(Brassard), Bastarache, Scanlon, Ra. Pulya
1.0	(Burke), Ostrowski, Gawboy, Cullen, M. Long
0.5	Whistler
0.0	Petullo, T. Long, C. Long

Projected Round 6 Pairings for June 20th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 4: Meehan vs, Paulson
Board 5: David vs. Donahue
Board 6: Fratturelli vs. Commisso
Board 7: Booker vs. Wheeler
Board 8: Harris vs. Rivera
Board 9: Ri. Pulya vs. Briggs
Board 10: Hankard vs. Mathieu
Board 11: Biglow vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 12: O'Rourke vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 13: Scanlon vs. Legros
Board 14: Ra. Pulya vs. Bastarache
Board 15: Ostrowski vs. Gawboy
Board 16: Cullen vs. M. Long
Board 17: Whistler vs. T. Long

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 6 is McNeilage.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 6 on June 20th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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June 11th, 2018

Carissa Yip scores first IM norm at GM/IM Norm Invitational event

Carissa Yip scored her first IM norm in the Charlotte Chess Center's GM/IM Norm Invitational Tournament, held June 6-10 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 14-year-old former Wachusett Chess Club champion tallied an undefeated 7-2 (5 wins,4 draws) to finish first in one of two IM Norm sections and gained 31 rating points, raising her USCF rating to 2408. Carissa also gained a WGM norm as well as her final WIM norm and is slated to receive the Women's International Master title from the World Chess Federation (FIDE) at one of its next sessions.
-George M

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Below is a list of all players from the state of MA competing in the
CCCSA Summer 2018 GM/IM Norm Invit., Event #201806096562:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rank, State, USCF ID, Player, Old rating, New rating, Title Norm, Opponents

Section 1 - GM A
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List

Section 2 - GM B
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
4:	MA 13433622 DENYS SHMELOV R: 2542   -> 2548          Opponents
8:	MA 13052087 MIKA BRATTAIN R: 2514   -> 2506          Opponents

Section 3 - IM C
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List

Section 4 - IM D
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
1:	MA 14514636 CARISSA SHIWEN YIP R: 2377   -> 2408          Opponents

June 11th, 2018

Wachusett CC's Dave Couture wins prize in 2018 Rhode Island State Championship

Dave Couture of Westminster, who is currently a contestant in the 2018 Wachusett Chess Club "A" Division Championship, came away a winner on Saturday, June 9, when he tied for first place in the Under 1900 section of the Rhode Island State Championship in Warwick. After taking a half-point bye in round 1, Couture won games in rounds 2 and 3 before drawing fellow Massachusetts player Brandon Ni in the fourth and final round. Ni and fellow Bay State player Matthew Garcia joined Couture for top honors in the 10-player section with scores of 3-1. A total of 32 players competed in the four-section event.
-George M

Here's the position with black (me) to move:

I missed a win in the endgame in the final round. I counted 9 moves for me to queen and 8 moves for him, so I just thought "he queens first and wins". What I SHOULD have realized was that he queens and then I queen immediately after AND I'm 2 pawns up! So it was another learning experience. -Dave C.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Below is a list of all players from the state of MA
competing in the 2018 RI State Championship, Event #201806096562:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rank, State, USCF ID, Player, Old rating, New rating, Title Norm, Opponents

Section 1 - OPEN
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
3:	MA 15072460 DUSTIN LIANG R: 2145   -> 2150          Opponents

Section 2 - U1900
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
1:	MA 12413721 DAVE COUTURE R: 1783   -> 1796          Opponents
2:	MA 15801498 BRANDON NI R: 1574   -> 1633          Opponents
3:	MA 16295852 MATTHEW GARCIA R: 1552   -> 1628          Opponents
8:	MA 10014832 ERIC LEVIN R: 1595   -> 1577          Opponents
10:	MA 12534279 JOE GARCIA R: 1352   -> 1321          Opponents

Section 3 - U1500
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
2:	MA 16442640 PRACHI DAYAL R: 1437   -> 1434          Opponents
7:	MA 16614244 TOMMY THACH R: 1030   -> 1035          Opponents
9:	MA 16282415 SIDDHARTH AJAY KURUP R:  917   ->  892          Opponents

Section 4 - U1200
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
1:	MA 16614223 NGLAN GLA R:  549P11->  776P14       Opponents
3:	MA 16260353 JOSHUA LEE R:  905   ->  833          Opponents
5:	MA 16699951 TAMANNA GURUNG R: Unrated->  511P4        Opponents
6:	MA 16680618 ALINA TAMANG R:  170P3 ->  212P6        Opponents
7:	MA 16724082 KAMALA SUBBA R:  227P3 ->  102P6        Opponents

June 6th, 2018

Longtime Wachusett CC member Wayne L. Steadman dies at 75

Wayne Steadman at
Ernest Fandreyer Memorial tournament, October 18, 2017

Arthur Barlas (L) with the black pieces vs. Wayne Steadman (R) with white.
John Bastarache, Roger Cappallo, & George Mirijanian are seen in the background.

Wayne L. Steadman of Lunenburg, whose membership in the Wachusett Chess Club went back more than 35 years, passed away on Monday, June 4th, in the Life Care Center of Leominster. He was 75. He was a longtime member of the U.S. Chess Federation and a former longtime member of the Massachusetts Chess Association. From November 1991 until his last game at the club, round 4 of the Ernest Fandreyer Memorial on Nov. 8, 2017, Wayne had played in 215 events and over a hundred more prior to 1991,for which the USCF has no online data. Wayne was your "quintessential" club player. The overwhelming majority of his tournaments were played at the Wachusett CC.
His funeral will be held Friday, June 8th, at 10 a.m. at the Silas F. Richardson & Son Funeral Home, 106 West St., Leominster, followed by burial in Bellevue Cemetery in Harvard, Mass.
Calling hours at the funeral home are Thursday, June 7th, from 5 to 7 p.m. The Wachusett Chess Club extends its deepest condolences to the Steadman family. Complete obit is available at www.richardsonfuneralhome.net
-George M

June 6th, 2018

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 4 of 7

4 share lead after 4 in 'A' Division

It was a bad night to have the white pieces for those competing tonight in the 'A' Division because all three games were won by the players with black. This creates a situation where Gary Brassard, Roger Cappallo, George Mirijanian & Paul Godin each stand at 2.5. However Brassard's round 4 game was postponed, so Gary could take sole possession of the lead if he wins or draws that game. With only three rounds remaining, there is still significant uncertainty in the final outcome of the 2018 WCC Championship.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 6th, 2018**
Round 4 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Ken Gurge	0-1	George Mirjanian
Arthur Barlas	0-1	Dave Couture
Gary Brassard	(postponed)	Larry Gladding
Total of 3 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 6th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds
Points	Players
2.5	Brassard, Cappallo, Miirjanian, Godin
2.0	Gurge, Couture
1.5	-----
1.0	Gladding
0.5	-----
0.0	Barlas

Roll your cursor onto the boxes below for more information.

♔ 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	0			1/2	2.5
George Mirijanian 1959			1/2			0	1	1	2.5
Paul Godin 1949	0	1/2		1	1				2.5

Larry Gladding 1795	0		0			(postponed)	1	(postponed)	1
Dave Couture 1778	1		0				1	0	2
Gary Brassard 1757		1		(postponed)			1	1/2	2.5
Arthur Barlas 1750		0		0	0	0			0
Ken Gurge 1741	1/2	0		(postponed)	1	1/2			2

Current 2018 Championship Standings

	W	L	D	TOTAL	PCT.	GB
GARY BRASSARD	2	0	1	2.5	0.833	0.0
ROGER CAPPALLO	2	1	1	2.5	0.625	0.5
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	2	1	1	2.5	0.625	0.5
PAUL GODIN	2	1	1	2.5	0.625	0.5
DAVE COUTURE	2	2	0	2.0	0.500	1.0
KEN GURGE	1	1	2	2.0	0.500	1.0
LARRY GLADDING	1	2	0	1.0	0.333	1.5
ARTHUR BARLAS	0	4	0	0.0	0.000	3.0

Projected Round 5 Pairings for June 13th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Couture vs. Brassard
Board 2: Cappallo vs. Barlas
Board 3: Gladding vs. Mirijanian
Board 4: Godin vs. Gurge

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June 6th, 2018

2018 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 4 of 7

McNeilage tops 'B' Division after 4

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 6th, 2018**
Round 4 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Ralph McNeilage	1-0	Jim Hankard
Mike Commisso	1-0	Roland Booker
Mariano Rivera	1-0	Ritvik Pulya
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Mike Meehan
Michael David	1-0	John Bastarache
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Don Briggs
Ed Harris	1/2-1/2	Gary Brassard
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Jim Donahue
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Mark Wheeler
Brian Biglow	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Tom Whistler	0-1	Larry Legros
Emily Gawboy	1/2-1/2	Raaga Pulya
Total of 12 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ray Paulson and Larry O'Rourke.
♖ Not playing round 4 were Don Ostrowski, Kyle Cullen, Melissa Long, James Petullo, Teagan Long and Charlotte Long.
♙ Bill Burke had already withdrawn from the tournament.
♟ Gary Brassard and Ed Harris played as "fillers" for the round.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 6th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds
Points	Players
3.5	McNeilage
3.0	Paulson, Commisso, Rivera
2.5	Booker, Hankard, Meehan, David, Briggs
2.0	Donahue, Wheeler, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Biglow, O'Rourke, Legros
1.5	(Brassard), (Harris), Mathieu, Bastarache
1.0	(Burke), Ostrowski, Ra. McLaughlin, H. McLaughlin, Gawboy, Scanlon, Cullen, Ra. Pulya, M. Long
0.5	Whistler
0.0	Petullo, T. Long, C. Long

Projected Round 5 Pairings for June 13th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 5: Paulson vs. McNeilage
Board 6: Hankard vs. Commisso
Board 7: Booker vs. Rivera
Board 8: Meehan vs. David
Board 9: Donahue vs. Briggs
Board 10: Wheeler vs. O'Rourke
Board 11: Ri. Pulya vs. Fratturelli
Board 12: Legros vs. Biglow
Board 13: Mathieu vs. Harris
Board 14: Bastarache vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 15: H. McLaughlin vs. Gawboy
Board 16: Cullen vs. Scanlon
Board 17: M. Long vs. Ra. Pulya
Board 18: T. Long vs. Whistler
Board 19: C. Long vs. Petullo

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on June 13th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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June 5th, 2018

Updated Projected Round 4 pairings for Wachusett CC Championship "B" Division

Updated (SwissSys) Projected Round 4 Pairings for WCC Ch "B" Div. June 6th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
5   Ralph McNeilage (2.5)  Jim Hankard (2.5)
6     Michael Commisso (2.0)   Roland Booker (2.5)
7     Mariano Rivera (2.0)   Ritvik Pulya (2.0)
8     Tom Fratturelli (2.0)  Mike Meehan (1.5)
9     Michael David (1.5)  John Bastarache (1.5)
10    Bob Mathieu (1.5)     Don Briggs (1.5)
11    Larry O'Rourke (1.5) Jim Donahue (1.0)
12    Francis Scanlon II (1.0)   Mark Wheeler (1.0)
13    Brian Biglow (1.0)      Hugh McLaughlin (1.0)
14    Randy McLaughlin (1.0)  Melissa Long (1.0)
15    Emily Gawboy (0.5)   Larry Legros (1.0)
16    Tom Whistler (0.5)    Raaga Pulya (0.5)
17    Teagan Long (0.0)     James Petullo (0.0)

June 3rd, 2018

Former WCC member Percy Yip top vote-getter in MACA election

Percy Yip, aka Puichiu Yip, of Andover, formerly of Chelmsford, Mass. was the top vote-getter in the 2018 Massachusetts Chess Association election. Percy, along with his daughter Carissa, 2014 Wachusett CC champion, was a club member from early December 2010 until early January 2015. He received 97 votes out of a total number of 116 ballots received from a total number of 146 registered MACA voters. Percy became one of 8 directors elected to serve on the MACA executive board.

Other directors elected were:
Steven Winer (88 votes),
Steven Frymer (76),
Jiayun Liu (75),
Nicholas Sterling (68),
Jeffrey Caruso (66),
Oleg Poliannikov (63), and
Paul Arond (59),
the last of whom withdrew his nomination after ballots were sent out and whose director's position will be filled by the MACA board at its next meeting. Re-elected as MACA president was Nathan Smolensky, who garnered 89 votes. John Sadoff was re-elected as vice president with 62 votes. Re-elected as treasurer was Bob Messenger with 96 votes. And Andrew Hoy was re-elected as clerk with 94. Interestingly enough, Carissa Yip received 33 write-in votes for director, which was a greater number than was received by two candidates on the MACA ballot!
-George M

May 30th, 2018

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 3 of 7

**WCC 'A' Championship, May 30th, 2018**
Round 3 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
George Mirijanian	0-1	♔ Gary Brassard
Dave Couture	0-1	Paul Godin
Roger Cappallo	1/2-1/2	Ken Gurge
Larry Gladding	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Total of 4 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

Roll your cursor onto the boxes below for more information.

♔ 2018 WCC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 3 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	0			1/2	1.5
George Mirijanian 1959			1/2			0	1		1.5
Paul Godin 1949		1/2		1	1				2.5

Larry Gladding 1795	0		0				1		1
Dave Couture 1778	1		0					0	1
Gary Brassard 1757		1					1	1/2	2.5
Arthur Barlas 1750		0		0		0			0
Ken Gurge 1741	1/2				1	1/2			2

**WCC 'A' Championship, May 30th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
2.5	Godin, Brassard
2.0	Gurge
1.5	Cappallo, Mirijanian
1.0	Gladding, Couture
0.5	-----
0.0	Barlas

Projected Round 4 Pairings for June 6th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Cappallo
Board 2: Brassard vs. Gladding
Board 3: Gurge vs. Mirijanian
Board 4: Barlas vs. Couture

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May 30th, 2018

2018 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 3 of 7

**WCC 'B' Championship, May 30th, 2018**
Round 3 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Roland Booker	1/2-1/2	Ralph McNeilage
Ray Paulson	1-0	Mariano Rivera
Jim Hankard	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Mike Commisso	1-0	Michael David
Mark Wheeler	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
John Bastarache	1/2-1/2	Mike Meehan
Ritvik Pulya	1-0	Brian Biglow
Tom Whistler	0-1	Bob Mathieu
Don Briggs	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Raaga Pulya	0-1	Randy McLaughlin
Teagan Long	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Charlotte Long	0-1	Larry Legros
James Petullo	0-1	Melissa Long
Total of 13 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Don Ostrowski, Francis Scanlon and Kyle Cullen.
♖ Not playing round 3 was Jim Donahue.
♙ Withdrawn from the tournament were Dave Thomas, Nik Lavoie and Ed Harris. Bill Burke had already withdrawn from the event.

**WCC 'B' Championship, May 30th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
2.5	Paulson, McNeilage, Booker, Hankard
2.0	Commisso, Rivera, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli
1.5	Meehan, David, Mathieu, Bastarache, Briggs, O'Rourke
1.0	Donahue, Wheeler, (Burke), Ostrowski, Biglow, R.McLaughlin, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, Legros, Cullen, M. Long
0.5	Gawboy, Whistler, Ra. Pulya
0.0	Petullo,T. Long, C.Long

Projected Round 4 Pairings for June 6th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 5: McNeilage vs. Hankard
Board 6: Rivera vs. Booker
Board 7: Ri. Pulya vs. Commisso
Board 8: Fratturelli vs. Meehan
Board 9: David vs. Bastarache
Board 10: Mathieu vs. Briggs
Board 11: O'Rourke vs. Donahue
Board 12: Biglow vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 13: Scanlon vs. Wheeler
Board 14: R.McLaughlin vs. Legros
Board 15: M. Long vs. Gawboy
Board 16: Whistler vs. Ra. Pulya
Board 17: T. Long vs. Petullo

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 4 is Paulson.
♘ Not playing Round 4 are Ostrowski and Cullen.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Melissa Long and her daughters, Teagan Long and Charlotte Long, all of whom are new USCF members and residents of Princeton. Welcome Melissa, Teagan and Charlotte!

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on June 6th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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May 29th, 2018

WCC players compete in 87th Mass Open Championships

Wachusett CC players Gary Brassard, Mariano Rivera, Roland Booker III, Michael David, Ritvik Pulya & Jim Hankard competed this past weekend in the 87th Mass Open Championship tournament. Former WCC Member Andrew Su, also competed, as well as Raaga Pulya, in the Mass Open Scholastics & Paul Godin in the Mass Open Blitz.

Mariano Rivera finished in a tie for second place in the Under 1500 Section, while Paul Godin won the Under 2000 prize in the Mass Open Blitz by finishing in a 3-way tie for 5th place overall.
Rating changes for these players are listed below.

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Tuesday May 29, 2018 87th Mass Open Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post	Class
12459389: PAUL L GODIN	2018-05-27	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	7: BLITZ	1907 => 1946	A
15518741: ANDREW SU	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	1685 => 1740	B
11156665: GARY BRASSARD	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	1757 => 1732	B
12933153: MARIANO RIVERA	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	4: UNDER 1500	1612 => 1628	B
10569176: ROLAND D BOOKER III	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER 1800	1644 => 1625	B
12222200: JAMES A. HANKARD	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER 1800	1621 => 1600	B
15648356: RITVIK PULYA	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER 1800	1587 => 1571	C
16636306: MICHAEL DAVID	2018-05-28	87TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	4: UNDER 1500	1495 P14 => 1461 P20	New
15648362: RAAGA PULYA	2018-05-26	MASSACHUSETTS OPEN SCHOLASTICS (MA)	1: K-12 U1500	865 => 818	F

May 23rd, 2018

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 2 of 7

No perfect scores after 2 rounds of WCC Championship

**WCC 'A' Championship, May 23rd, 2018**
Round 2 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Roger Cappallo	0-1	♔ Dave Couture
Ken Gurge	1/2-1/2	Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas	0-1	George Mirijanian
Paul Godin	1-0	Larry Gladding
Total of 4 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

**WCC 'A' Championship, May 23rd, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds
Points	Players
1.5	Mirijanian, Godin, Brassard, Gurge
1.0	Couture, Cappallo
0.0	Gladding, Barlas

Projected Round 3 Pairings for May 30th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Mirijanian vs, Brassard
Board 2: Couture vs. Godin
Board 3: Cappallo vs. Gurge
Board 4:: Gladding vs. Barlas

May 23rd, 2018

2018 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 2 of 7

**WCC 'B' Championship, May 23rd, 2018**
Round 2 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Mariano Rivera	1-0	Mike Commisso
Ralph McNeilage	1-0	Ritvik Pulya
Roland Booker	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Michael David	1/2-1/2	Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow	0-1	Ray Paulson
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Tom Whistler
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Mark Wheeler
♖ Emily Gawboy	1/2-1/2	Bob Mathieu
Larry Legros	0-1	John Bastarache
Don Briggs	1/2-1/2	♖ Raaga Pulya
Total of 10 boards, no major upsets (♔ ♕) 2 upset draws (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Dave Thomas, Nik Lavoie, Jim Donahue, Ed Harris, Mike Meehan, Don Ostrowski,
Francis Scanlon and Kyle Cullen.
♙ Bill Burke withdrew from the tournament.

**WCC 'B' Championship, May 23rd, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds
Points	Players
2.0	McNeilage, Booker, Rivera
1.5	Paulson, Hankard, David, O'Rourke
1.0	Thomas, Lavoie, Donahue, Harris, Commisso, Wheeler, Meehan, (Burke), Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Biglow, Bastarache
0.5	Ostrowski, Mathieu, Briggs, Gawboy, Scanlon, Whistler, Cullen. Ra. Pulya
0.0	McLaughlin, Legros

Projected Round 3 Pairings for May 30th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 5: Booker vs. McNeilage
Board 6: Paulson vs. Rivera
Board 7: Hankard vs. O'Rourke
Board 8: Thomas vs. David
Board 9: Bastarache vs. Lavoie
Board 10: Ri. Pulya vs. Donahue
Board 11: Fratturelli vs. Harris
Board 12: Commisso vs. Biglow
Board 13: Wheeler vs. Meehan
Board 14: Scanlon vs. Mathieu
Board 15: Whistler vs. Briggs
Board 16: Ra. Pulya vs. Gawboy
Board 17: McLaughlin vs. Legros

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 3 are Ostrowski and Cullen.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on May 30th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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May 23rd, 2018

Wachusett CC players to compete in 87th Massachusetts Open

Wachusett Chess Club players are among the early advance entries registered to compete in the 87th Massachusetts Open, scheduled for May 26-28 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Roland Booker and Mariano Rivera, both of whom are currently on hot streaks based on their most recent tournament performances, will join scores of other players in vying for top prizes during the Memorial Day weekend. Booker is signed up for the 2-day schedule in the Under 1800 section, while Rivera is registered for the 3-day schedule in the Under 1500 section along with fellow WCC player, Michael David. Booker just finished first in the Under 1800 section of the BCF $15 Open on May 19th at the Boylston Chess Club in North Cambridge and tied for the top Under 1650 prize in the Martin Laine Memorial that finished 10 days earlier at the Wachusett CC. Rivera tied for 2nd place in the Martin Laine Memorial and also tied for first place in the Class D section of the 27th Eastern Class Championships that ended on April 29th in Sturbridge.

Joining Booker and Rivera in the upcoming Mass. Open is a former Wachusett CC co-champion, Erik Zoltan, who is signed up to play in the 3-day schedule of the Under 2100 section. Zoltan, who was known years ago as Erik von Rosenvinge, tied for first place with Lee Denis in the 1989 Wachusett CC championship, when the club was meeting at the St. Joseph Club in the Cleghorn section of Fitchburg. Directing the 87th Mass. Open will be Bob Messenger of Nashua,NH, who was chief TD of the 2011 Wachusett Chess Club championship.
-George M

May 21st, 2018

Wachusett CC's Roland Booker sweeps Under 1800 section of BCF $15 Open

Roland Booker, a Wachusett CC member from Fitchburg, finished first in the U1800 section of the BCF $15 Open, held Saturday, May 19, at the Boylston Chess Club in North Cambridge. Booker, who returned to the WCC on April 5, 2017 - after an absence from the club of more than 13 years - chalked up a perfect score of 4-0 to win the 18-player section and take home first-place prize money. A total of 42 players competed in the two-section, one-day tournament.
-George M

May 16th, 2018

2018 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 1 of 7

2018 Wachusett CC Championship tournaments begin

**WCC 'A' Championship, May 16th, 2018**
Round 1 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Larry Gladding	0-1	Roger Cappallo
George Mirijanian	1/2-1/2	Paul Godin
Gary Brassard	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Dave Couture	0-1	Ken Gurge
Total of 4 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, May 16th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds
Points	Players
1.0	Cappallo, Brassard, Gurge
0.5	Mirijanian, Godin
0.0	Gladding, Couture, Barlas

Projected Round 2 Pairings for May 23rd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cappallo vs. Couture
Board 2: Gurge vs. Brassard
Board 3: Barlas vs. Mirijanian
Board 4: Godin vs. Gladding

May 16th, 2018

2018 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 1 of 7

**WCC 'B' Championship, May 16th, 2018**
Round 1 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Mike Commisso	1-0	Don Ostrowski
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Mark Wheeler	0-1	♔ Brian Biglow
John Bstarache	0-1	Roland Booker
Jim Hankard	1-0	Don Briggs
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Mariano Rivera
Bill Burke	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Larry Legros	0-1	Ritvik Pulya
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Kyle Cullen
Raaga Pulya	0-1	Michael David
Total of 10 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Dave Thomas, Nik Lavoie, Jim Donahue, Ed Harris, Mike Meehan,
Larry O'Rourke and Tom Whistler.
♖ Not playing round 1 and declining a half-point bye was Hugh McLaughlin.

**WCC 'B' Championship, May 16th, 2018**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Round
Points	Players
1.0	Commisso, McNeilage, Booker, Hankard, Rivera, Burke, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, David, Biglow
0.5	Thomas, Lavoie, Donahue, Harris, Meehan, O'Rourke, Whistler
0.0	Wheeler, Ostrowski, Mathieu, Bastarache, Briggs, McLaughlin, Gawboy, Scanlon, Legros, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

Projected Round 2 Pairings for May 23rd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 5: Ri. Pulya vs. Commisso
Board 6: McNeilage vs. Burke
Board 7: Booker vs. Fratturelli
Board 8: David vs. Hankard
Board 9: Rivera vs. Biglow
Board 10: Harris vs. Thomas
Board 11: Lavoie vs. Meehan
Board 12: O'Rourke vs. Donahue
Board 13: Whistler vs. Wheeler
Board 14: Gawboy vs. Mathieu
Board 15: Cullen vs. Bastarache
Board 16: Briggs vs. Legros
Board 17: McLaughlin vs. Ra. Pulya

♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes back Mark Wheeler of Leominster, who has been absent from rated play for more than 25 years.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on May 23rd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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May 16th, 2018

Bruce Felton opts out of 2018 WCC "A" Championship Gary Brassard to play

Last minute update to the lineup for the Wachusett CC "A" Championship
due to start Wednesday, May 16.
The following players are now expected to compete for the 2018 "A" Championship club crown:
Roger Cappallo (1982), George Mirijanian* (1959), Paul Godin (1949), Larry Gladding (1795),
Dave Couture (1778), Gary Brassard (1757), Arthur Barlas (1750), and Ken Gurge (1741).

♔ 2018 Wachusett Chess Club "A" Championship Contestants: ♔


Player	Rating	WCC History	Pairing #

Roger Cappallo	1982	Champ: 2016	3
George Mirijanian	1959	Champ: 1977-1984 1990-1991 1997-1998 2005-2007 2013 2015 Quick: 2005 2008	6
Paul Godin	1949	Champ: 1967 Quick: 2015 2016(Current)	2
Larry Gladding	1795	Champ: 1992 1998 2009	5
Dave Couture	1778	Martin Laine Mem: 2018	4
Gary Brassard	1757	Quick: 2015	7
Arthur Barlas	1750	Quick: 2012 Reggie Boone Mem: 2013	1
Ken Gurge	1741	George Sturgis Mem: 2012	8

♔ 2018 Wachusett Chess Club "A" Championship: ♔

Revised Schedule of Rounds

Current WCC Champ

2017 WCC Champ, Ray Paulson

Round 1 - May 16, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 4: (4) Couture vs. (8) Gurge
Board 1: (5) Gladding vs. (3) Cappallo
Board 2: (6) Mirijanian vs. (2) Godin
Board 3: (7) Brassard vs. (1) Barlas

8 Previous WCC Champs

King, Felton, Godin, Cappallo,
Gladding, Mirijanian, Paulson, Hacker

Round 2 - May 23, 2015:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (8) Gurge vs. (7) Brassard
Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (6) Mirijanian
Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (5) Gladding
Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (4) Couture

Round 3 - May 30, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (8) Gurge
Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (2) Godin
Board ?: (5) Gladding vs. (1) Barlas
Board ?: (6) Mirijanian vs. (7) Brassard

Round 4 - June 6, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (8) Gurge vs. (6) Mirijanian
Board ?: (7) Brassard vs. (5) Gladding
Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (4) Couture
Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (3) Cappallo

Round 5 - June 13, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (8) Gurge
Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (1) Barlas
Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (7) Brassard
Board ?: (5) Gladding vs. (6) Mirijanian

Round 6 - June 20, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (8) Gurge vs. (5) Gladding - POSTPONED
Board ?: (6) Mirijanian vs. (4) Couture
Board ?: (7) Brassard vs. (3) Cappallo
Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (2) Godin

Round 7 (final) - June 27, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (8) Gurge
Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (7) Brassard
Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (6) Mirijanian
Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (5) Gladding

May 16th, 2018

Ratings in effect for theWachusett CC Championship ("B" Division)

Round 1 of the Wachusett CC Championship ("B" Division) will be played Wednesday evening, May 16, 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.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Ratings in effect for the
Wachusett CC Championship
("B" Division) tournament:
1 Joe Bennett 1774

2 Dave Thomas 1773

3 Nik Lavoie 1749

4 Mike Commisso 1741

5 Jim Donahue 1718

6 Ed Harris 1700

7 Vince Premus 1676

8 Ralph McNeilage 1649

9 Roland Booker 1645

10 Jim Hankard 1636

11 Jackson Parker 1625

12 Mike Meehan 1619

13 Mariano Rivera 1612

14 Bill Burke 1603

15 Ritvik Pulya 1587

16 Alan Condon 1586

17 Tom Fratturelli 1558

18 Michael David 1514

19 Don Ostrowski 1488

20 Bob Mathieu 1450

21 Harry Richardson 1447

22 Brian Biglow 1411

23 John Bastarache 1400

24 Don Briggs 1386

25 Larry O'Rourke 1311

26 Hugh McLaughlin 1200

27 Andrew Kiser 1088

28 Emily Gawboy 1065

29 Francis Scanlon 1061

30 Larry Legros 1036

31 Tom Whistler 999

32 Kyle Cullen 969

33 Raaga Pulya 865

34 James Petullo 514

May 12th, 2018

Evgeni Vasiukov (March 5, 1933 - May 10, 2018)

Evgeni Vasiukov, Russian Chess Grandmaster, Is Dead at 85

GM Evgeni A. Vasiukov at
USSR Championship in 1974
GM Evgeni A. Vasiukov at Gerhard Hund
World Senior Championship 1995

"Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov was a Russian chess grandmaster, one of the strongest players in the world during his peak.[1] During his career, he won the Moscow Championship on six occasions (1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1972, and 1978) and scored numerous victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin 1962, Reykjavik Open 1968, and Manila 1974. He was rarely at his best in Soviet Championship Finals, which were among the very toughest events in the world, and never made the Soviet team for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship. Vasiukov won the World Senior Chess Championship in 1995. He continued to play Master events, well into his 70s, and was active in February 2007 at the European Seniors event at Dresden."
-Wikipedia
Vasiukov was directly involved in - Bobby Fischer's visit to Moscow in 1958 as a 15-year-old.
"[Bronstein], who had already played a World Championship match, said: sorry, but why should I play a kid? Tigran Vartanovich [Petrosian] and I arrived. We played in the grandmasters' room, and Petrosian won by a small margin, while I literally crushed Fischer. From that point on whenever we met he always treated me with great respect."
-Evgeni Vasiukov

Vasiukov on Korchnoi from Russian Chess News

May 12th, 2018

2018 WCC "A" Championship contestants & pairings announced

Wednesday, May 16 will be the start of the Wachusett CC "A" Championship, an 8-player round robin,
with the following players who qualified* to compete for the 2018 "A" Championship club crown:
Roger Cappallo (1982), George Mirijanian* (1959), Paul Godin (1949), Bruce Felton (1920),
Larry Gladding (1795), Dave Couture (1778), Arthur Barlas (1750), and Ken Gurge (1741).
The "B" Championship will consist of a 7 round open Swiss tournament to be conducted at the same time.

♔ 2018 Wachusett Chess Club "A" Championship Contestants: ♔

Player Rating WCC History Pairing #

Roger Cappallo 1982 Champ: 2016 3

George Mirijanian 1959 Champ: 1977-1984 1990-1991 1997-1998 2005-2007 2013 2015
Quick: 2005 2008 6

Paul Godin 1949 Champ: 1967
Quick: 2015 2016(Current) 2

Bruce Felton 1920 Champ: 2004-2005
Quick: 2012
Blitz: 2013 7

Larry Gladding 1795 Champ: 1992 1998 2009 5

Dave Couture 1778 Martin Laine Mem: 2018 4

Arthur Barlas 1750 Quick: 2012
Reggie Boone Mem: 2013 1

Ken Gurge 1741 George Sturgis Mem: 2012 8

♔ 2018 Wachusett Chess Club "A" Championship: ♔
Schedule of Rounds

Current WCC Champ

2017 WCC Champ, Ray Paulson

Round 1 - May 16, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (8) Gurge Board ?: (5) Gladding vs. (3) Cappallo Board ?: (6) Mirijanian vs. (2) Godin Board ?: (7) Felton vs. (1) Barlas

8 Previous WCC Champs

King, Felton, Godin, Cappallo,
Gladding, Mirijanian, Paulson, Hacker

Round 2 - May 23, 2015:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (8) Gurge vs. (7) Felton Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (6) Mirijanian Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (5) Gladding Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (4) Couture

Round 3 - May 30, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (8) Gurge Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (2) Godin Board ?: (5) Gladding vs. (1) Barlas Board ?: (6) Mirijanian vs. (7) Felton

Round 4 - June 6, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (8) Gurge vs. (6) Mirijanian Board ?: (7) Felton vs. (5) Gladding Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (4) Couture Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (3) Cappallo

Round 5 - June 13, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (8) Gurge Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (1) Barlas Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (7) Felton Board ?: (5) Gladding vs. (6) Mirijanian

Round 6 - June 20, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (8) Gurge vs. (5) Gladding - POSTPONED Board ?: (6) Mirijanian vs. (4) Couture Board ?: (7) Felton vs. (3) Cappallo Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (2) Godin

Round 7 (final) - June 27, 2018:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board ?: (1) Barlas vs. (8) Gurge Board ?: (2) Godin vs. (7) Felton Board ?: (3) Cappallo vs. (6) Mirijanian Board ?: (4) Couture vs. (5) Gladding

In keeping with a long standing tradition of the Wachusett Chess Club, dating back to the Summer of 2014,
duplicate score sheets will be distributed to all players in the Championship Section.
A copy of each player's score sheet must be handed in at the end of each round.
(Note: This is covered in Rule 15G of the USCF Official Rules of Chess.)
Game scores will not be posted (in the Games Section) until all championship games are completed.

May 11th, 2018

2018 WCC Championship qualifiers still undetermined

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 5/9/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1982 2102 Can. Master 39 25 5 9 29.5 .756

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1949 2020 1st Cat. 40 23 6 11 28.5 .713

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1795 1953 1st Cat. 41 25 13 3 26.5 .646

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1778 1858 1st Cat. 38 21 12 5 23.5 .618

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1959 2186 1st Cat. 20 15 2 3 16.5 .825

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1920 1971 1st Cat. 30 19 6 5 21.5 .717

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1750 1833 2nd Cat. 24 14 6 4 16.0 .667

KEN GURGE Leominster 1741 1856 2nd Cat. 37 19 10 8 23.0 .622

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1757 1904 1st Cat. 37 20 12 5 22.5 .608

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1649 1773 3rd Cat. 35 15 12 8 19.0 .543

MIKE COMMISSO Brookline, NH 1741 1753 2nd Cat. 38 17 14 7 20.5 .539

WCC: Biographies

Background color key:

Clinched playoff spot Qualified by Grand Prix Points Qualified by win percentage Eligible but not yet qualified Ineligible but voted in

Championship Grand Prix Archive

May 9th, 2018

2018 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 4 of 4

Couture tops Laine Memorial with perfect score

Martin Laine Memorial, May 9th, 2018
Round 4 of 4 Results
White Result Black

♔ Dave Couture 1-0 Geoff LePoer

Paul Godin 0-1 George Mirijanian

♔ Mariano Rivera 1-0 Arthur Barlas

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Roland Booker

Gary Brassard 1-0 Jim Donahue

Ed Harris 1/2-1/2 ♖ Michael David

Ray Paulson 1-0 Ralph McNeilage

Jim Hankard 0-1 Dave Thomas

Ken Gurge 1-0 Bill Burke

Don Ostrowski 0-1 Mike Commisso

John Bastarache 0-1 Larry Gladding

Francis Scanlon 0-1 Tom Fratturelli

Don Briggs 1-0 Larry Legros

Tom Whistler 0-1 Brian Biglow

Emily Gawboy 1-0 Kyle Cullen

Total of 15 boards, 2 major upsets (♔ ♕)
1 upset draw (♖)

♖ Not playing round 4 were Nik Lavoie, Mike Meehan, Ritvik Pulya, Alan Condon, Jackson Parker,
Larry O'Rourke, Raaga Pulya and Hugh McLaughlin.

Martin Laine Memorial, May 9th, 2018
FINAL STANDINGS After 4 Rounds

Points Players

4.0 Couture

3.5 Mirijanian, Rivera

3.0 Cappallo, LePoer, Brassard

2.5 Godin, Paulson, Thomas, Gurge, Commisso, Lavoie, Harris, David

2.0 Gladding, Barlas, Booker, Donahue, Fratturelli, Briggs

1.5 McNeilage, Hankard, Meehan, Burke, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski, Biglow

1.0 Condon, Bastarache, Gawboy, Scanlon, Legros

0.5 Parker, O'Rourke, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

0.0 McLaughlin

♔ 2018 Martin Laine Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st: ♔ Dave Couture of Westminster

2nd-3rd: George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Mariano Rivera of Leominster

Top U1850: Gary Brassard of Leominster

Top U1650: Roland Booker of Fitchburg, Jim Donahue of Stow,
Tom Fratturelli of Leominster

Top U1450: Michael David of Groton

Top U1250: Emily Gawboy of Leominster, Francis Scanlon of Fitchburg,
Larry Legros of Millbury

A total of 3 players
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following players had
rating increases of
50 or more points:
Mariano Rivera + 229

Michael David + 181

Dave Couture + 88

A total of 4 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved
new all-time high ratings:
Nik Lavoie 1749

Mariano Rivera 1612

Michael David 1514P11

Don Ostrowski 1488P14

Congratulations to all!
Pictures from this year's Martin Laine Memorial tournament.

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 5/2/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1997 2102 Can. Master 38 24 5 9 28.5 .750

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1960 2020 1st Cat. 39 23 5 11 28.5 .731

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1824 1953 1st Cat. 40 24 13 3 25.5 .638

RAYMOND PAULSON Lowell 1939 2085 1st Cat. 32 20 7 5 22.5 .703

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1690 1858 1st Cat. 37 20 12 5 22.5 .608

KEN GURGE Leominster 1754 1856 2nd Cat. 36 18 10 8 22.0 .611

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1920 1971 1st Cat. 30 19 6 5 21.5 .717

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1753 1904 1st Cat. 36 19 12 5 21.5 .597

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1717 1773 3rd Cat. 34 15 11 8 19.0 .559

WILLIAM BURKE Leominster 1611 1665 3rd Cat. 33 14 13 6 17.0 .515

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1783 1833 2nd Cat. 23 14 5 4 16.0 .696

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1937 2186 1st Cat. 19 14 2 3 15.5 .816

GEOFF LEPOER Westford 1924 1964 1st Cat. 19 14 3 2 15.0 .789

DAVID THOMAS Fitchburg 1783 1837 2nd Cat. 19 10 5 4 12.0 .632

ROLAND BOOKER Fitchburg 1618 1958 2nd Cat. 18 9 6 3 10.5 .583

Championship Grand Prix Archive

REMINDER: The next tournaments at the club are the 2018 Wachusett CC Championships, both "A" and "B" Divisions,
which start Wednesday, May 16th.
Players must be present by 7:00 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1.
"A" Division entrants will draw numbers to determine pairings for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 p.m.

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May 5th, 2018

Rob King, 2011 Wachusett CC champion, father of twins - with different birthdays!

Rob King, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2011, has become the proud father of twins. Robert and his wife, Stephanie (Bovaird) King, are now parents of Weston Ryder King, 6 lbs., 12 oz., born on May 4th at 9:55 p.m., and Tatum Collins King, 6 lbs., 6 oz., born on May 5th at 12:22 a.m. Members of the Wachusett Chess Club congratulate Rob and Stephanie on the birth of the two new members of the King family. May the infants take to chess just as fish take to water. They will definitely have a good teacher.
-George M

May 4th, 2018

2018 WCC Championship qualifiers nearly all determined

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 5/2/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1997 2102 Can. Master 38 24 5 9 28.5 .750

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1960 2020 1st Cat. 39 23 5 11 28.5 .731

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1824 1953 1st Cat. 40 24 13 3 25.5 .638

RAYMOND PAULSON Lowell 1939 2085 1st Cat. 32 20 7 5 22.5 .703

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1690 1858 1st Cat. 37 20 12 5 22.5 .608

KEN GURGE Leominster 1754 1856 2nd Cat. 36 18 10 8 22.0 .611

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1920 1971 1st Cat. 30 19 6 5 21.5 .717

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1753 1904 1st Cat. 36 19 12 5 21.5 .597

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1717 1773 3rd Cat. 34 15 11 8 19.0 .559

WILLIAM BURKE Leominster 1611 1665 3rd Cat. 33 14 13 6 17.0 .515

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1783 1833 2nd Cat. 23 14 5 4 16.0 .696

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1937 2186 1st Cat. 19 14 2 3 15.5 .816

GEOFF LEPOER Westford 1924 1964 1st Cat. 19 14 3 2 15.0 .789

DAVID THOMAS Fitchburg 1783 1837 2nd Cat. 19 10 5 4 12.0 .632

ROLAND BOOKER Fitchburg 1618 1958 2nd Cat. 18 9 6 3 10.5 .583

WCC: Biographies

Background color key:

Clinched playoff spot Qualified by Grand Prix Points Qualified by win percentage Eligible but not yet qualified Ineligible but voted in

Championship Grand Prix Archive

May 2nd, 2018

2018 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 3 of 4

Martin Laine Memorial, May 2nd, 2018
Round 3 of 4 Results
White Result Black

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Ed Harris

Dave Couture 1-0 Michael David

705D*Mariano Rivera 1/2-1/2 Roger Cappallo

Dave Thomas 0-1 Paul Godin

♔ Nik Lavoie 1-0 Ray Paulson

George Mirijanian 1-0 Jim Hankard

Larry Gladding 0-1 ♔ Jim Donahue

Arthur Barlas 1-0 John Bastarache

Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Gary Brassard

Francis Scanlon 0-1 Roland Booker

Brian Biglow 0-1 Mike Commisso

Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Mike Meehan

Ritvik Pulya 1-0 Tom Whistler

Kyle Cullen 0-1 Don Ostrowski

Raaga Pulya 0-1 Don Briggs

Larry Legros 1-0 Emily Gawboy

Total of 16 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ken Gurge, Ralph McNeilage, Bill Burke and Alan Condon.
♖ Not playing round 3 was Jackson Parker.
♙ Withdrawn from the tournament were Bruce Felton, Vince Premus and Andrew Kiser.
Hugh McLaughlin had previously withdrawn from the event.

Martin Laine Memorial, May 2nd, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds

Points Players

3.0 LePoer, Couture

2.5 Godin, Mirijanian, Lavoie, Rivera

2.0 Cappallo, Barlas, Brassard, Harris, Booker, Donahue, David

1.5 Paulson, Thomas, Gurge, Commisso, McNeilage, Hankard, Meehan, Burke, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski

1.0 Gladding, Condon, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Briggs, Scanlon, Legros

0.5 Parker, Biglow, O'Rourke, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

0.0 Gawboy

Projected Round 4 Pairings for May 9th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Couture vs. LePoer Board 2: Godin vs. Lavoie Board 3: Rivera vs. Mirijanian Board 4: Cappallo vs. Harris Board 5: Booker vs. Barlas Board 6: Brassard vs. Donahue Board 7: David vs. Paulson Board 8: Hankard vs. Thomas Board 9: Meehan vs. Gurge Board 10: Commisso vs. Burke Board 11: McNeilage vs. Ri. Pulya Board 12: Ostrowski vs. Gladding Board 13: Condon vs. Briggs Board 14: Legros vs. Fratturelli Board 15: Bastarache vs. Scanlon Board 16: Parker vs. Biglow Board 17: Whistler vs. Cullen Board 18: Gawboy vs. Ra. Pulya

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on May 9th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

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April 30th, 2018

Six clinch spots in 2018 WCC Championship tournament

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members

Hometown

Current Rating As Of 4/25/18

All-Time High

TITLE

Total Games

W

L

D

Grand Prix Points

Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO

Groton

1997

2102

Can. Master

37

24

5

8

28.0

.757

RAYMOND PAULSON

Lowell

1939

2085

1st Cat.

31

20

6

5

22.5

.726

PAUL GODIN

Bedford

1960

2020

1st Cat.

38

22

5

11

27.5

.724

BRUCE FELTON

Fitchburg

1920

1971

1st Cat.

30

19

6

5

21.5

.717

ARTHUR BARLAS

Chelmsford

1783

1833

2nd Cat.

22

13

5

4

15.0

.682

LARRY GLADDING

Leominster

1824

1953

1st Cat.

39

24

12

3

25.5

.654

KEN GURGE

Leominster

1754

1856

2nd Cat.

36

18

10

8

22.0

.611

DAVE COUTURE

Westminster

1690

1858

1st Cat.

36

19

12

5

21.5

.597

GARY BRASSARD

Leominster

1753

1904

1st Cat.

35

18

12

5

20.5

.586

WCC: Biographies

Background color key:

Clinched playoff spot Qualified by Grand Prix Points Qualified by win percentage Eligible but not yet qualified Ineligible but voted in

Championship Grand Prix Archive

April 30th, 2018

Shankland & Paikidze 2018 US Champs

Final Results:
2081 US Championship
Sam Shankland winner: Crosstable
Ken Ballou of Metrowest CC directed the event.

2081 US Women's Championship
Nazi Paikidze winner: Crosstable
Ken Ballou of Metrowest CC directed the event assisted by Alex Relyea of RelyeaChess.

April 29th, 2018

Commisso, Rivera win prizes in Eastern Class Championships

Wachusett CC players Mike Commisso and Mariano Rivera finished as prize winners in the 27th annual Eastern Class Championships that ended Sunday evening, April 29th, at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge. Commisso scored 4-1 to tie for 2nd-6th and share the 2nd-thru-4th-place prizes with four other players in the Class C section. His only loss was in the penultimate round, when he was defeated by the eventual section winner, Sai Sneha Yerra of New Hampshire, [a frequent player at the Billerica CC] who ended up with a score of 4.5-0.5. Rivera did very well in the Class D section, tallying 4-1 to tie for 1st-5th and sharing the 1st-thru-4th-place prizes with four other players..
-George M [GM Sam Sevian won clear first place in the Open Section with a 4.5/5 score. Eight active WCC players competed for various section prizes.]

♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Monday May 1, 2018 Rating Updates from the Eastern Class Championship ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟
USCFID#: WCC Member Name End Date Most Recent Rated Tournament Section: Name Pre => Post

12525099: MICHAEL COMMISSO 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 5: CLASS C 1753 => 1759 B

12465223: EDWARD A HARRIS 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 4: CLASS B 1712 => 1719 B

12840591: NIKOLAS LAVOIE 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 4: CLASS B 1724 => 1718 B

13250463: JOSEPH BENNETT 2018-04-29 EASTERN CLASS BLITZ (MA) 1: BLITZ 1701 => 1704 B

12633241: JAMES E DONAHUE 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 4: CLASS B 1685 => 1700 B

10569176: ROLAND D BOOKER III 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 4: CLASS B 1608 => 1618 B

12222200: JAMES A HANKARD 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 4: CLASS B 1634 => 1616 B

12933153: MARIANO RIVERA 2018-04-29 27TH ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS (MA) 6: CLASS D 1292 (P) => 1383 (P) New

April 29th, 2018

Commisso, Rivera among sectional leaders in 27th annual Eastern Class Championships

Wachusett CC players Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH and Mariano Rivera of Leominster are currently among the sectional leaders in the 27th annual Eastern Class Championships, being held April 27-29 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge. Commisso, playing in the 38-player Class C section, is tied for the lead with fellow Granite Stater Sai Sneha Yerra and Ybelka Grangee of Connectcut. All three have perfect scores of 3-0. Rivera, competing in the 26-player Class D section, is tied for the lead at 3-0 with Adam Credit of Connecticut. The 4th and 5th rounds will be played on Sunday, with fellow Wachusett CC players rooting for Commisso and Rivera to finish as winners.
-George M

April 27th, 2018

Wachusett CC players to compete in Eastern Class Championships

One of the biggest and strongest tournaments held in Massachusetts each year will see the participation of at least 9 Wachusett CC players in the 27th annual Eastern Class Championships, scheduled for the weekend of April 27-29 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge. Among the advance entries in the Continental Chess Association-sponsored event are some of the club's most active players. Six club players will take part in the Class B section, which has Joe Bennett (1791), Ed Harris (1731), Jim Donahue (1658), Jim Hankard (1615), Roland Booker (1600) and Nik Lavoie (1493) vying for prize money. Bennett is currently the highest-rated advance entrant in that section. Taking part in the Class C section is Mike Commisso (1578), while Mariano Rivera (1109) and Larry Legros (1014) are participating in the Class D section. Most of the Wachusett CC entrants are playing the 3-day schedule. The tournament will see the appearance of the highest-rated player in Worcester County and currently the highest-rated player in the Master section, 17-year-old GM Sam Sevian of Holden, rated 2619.
-George M

April 25th, 2018

2018 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 2 of 4

Martin Laine Memorial, April 25th, 2018
Round 2 of 4 Results
White Result Black

Roland Booker 0-1 Geoff LePoer

Larry Gladding 0-1 Dave Couture

♔ Michael David 1-0 Ken Gurge

Gary Brassard 0-1 ♔ Mariano Rivera

Ed Harris 1-0 Francis Scanlon

Don Ostrowski 0-1 Roger Cappallo

Paul Godin 1-0 Ritvik Pulya

Tom Whistler 0-1 Dave Thomas

Jim Hankard 1-0 Brian Biglow

Raaga Pulya 0-1 Ralph McNeilage

Don Briggs 0-1 Bill Burke

Alan Condon 1/2-1/2 Larry O'Rourke

Emily Gawboy 0-1 Tom Fratturelli

John Bastarache 1-0 Larry Legros

Total of 14 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ray Paulson, George Mirijanian, Nik Lavoie, Arthur Barlas,
Jim Donahue, Mike Commisso and Jackson Parker.
♖ Not playing round 2 were Bruce Felton, Vince Premus, Mike Meehan, Kyle Cullen and Andrew Kiser.
♙ Withdrawn from the tournament were Diego Ubiera and Hugh McLaughlin.

Martin Laine Memorial, April 25th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds

Points Players

2.0 LePoer, Harris, Couture, David, Rivera

1.5 Cappallo, Godin, Paulson, Mirijanian, Thomas, Lavoie, Hankard

1.0 Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Brassard, McNeilage, Booker, Donahue, Burke, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Scanlon

0.5 Felton, Commisso, Premus, Parker, Meehan, Condon, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski, Biglow, O'Rourke, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

0.0 Briggs, (McLaughlin), Kiser, Gawboy, Legros

Projected Round 3 Pairings for May 2nd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: LePoer vs. Harris Board 2: Couture vs. David Board 3: Rivera vs. Cappallo Board 4: Thomas vs. Godin Board 5: Lavoie vs. Paulson Board 6: Mirijanian vs. Hankard Board 7: Burke vs. Gladding Board 8: Barlas vs. Donahue Board 9: Fratturelli vs. Brassard Board 10: McNeilage vs. Bastarache Board 11: Scanlon vs. Booker Board 12: Felton vs. Ostrowski Board 13: Biglow vs. Commisso Board 14: Parker vs. Ra. Pulya Board 15: O'Rourke vs. Meehan Board 16: Cullen vs. Condon Board 17: Ri. Pulya vs. Whistler Board 18: Kiser vs. Briggs Board 19: Legros vs. Gawboy

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 3 is Gurge.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on May 2nd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 P.M.

Return to Top of List

April 19th, 2018

Five clinch spots in 2018 WCC Championship tournament

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 4/18/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1997 2102 Can. Master 36 23 5 8 27.0 .750

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1960 2020 1st Cat. 37 21 5 11 26.5 .716

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1823 1953 1st Cat. 38 24 11 3 25.5 .671

RAYMOND PAULSON Lowell 1939 2085 1st Cat. 31 20 6 5 22.5 .726

KEN GURGE Leominster 1754 1856 2nd Cat. 35 18 9 8 22.0 .629

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1920 1971 1st Cat. 30 19 6 5 21.5 .717

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1753 1904 1st Cat. 34 18 11 5 20.5 .603

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1689 1858 1st Cat. 35 18 12 5 20.5 .586

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1713 1773 3rd Cat. 33 14 11 8 18.0 .545

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1783 1833 2nd Cat. 22 13 5 4 15.0 .682

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1937 2186 1st Cat. 18 13 2 3 14.5 .806

WCC: Biographies

Background color key:

Clinched playoff spot Qualified by Grand Prix Points Qualified by win percentage Eligible but not yet qualified Ineligible but voted in

Championship Grand Prix Archive

April 18th, 2018

2018 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 1 of 4

Martin Laine Memorial, April 18th, 2018
Round 1 of 4 Results
White Result Black

Roger Cappallo 1/2-1/2 ♖ Jim Hankard

♖ Jim Donahue 1/2-1/2 Paul Godin

Ray Paulson 1-0 Jackson Parker

Bill Burke 0-1 George Mirijanian

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Alan Condon

Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Larry Gladding

Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 ♖ Don Ostrowski

♖ Brian Biglow 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas

Ken Gurge 1-0 John Bastarache

Don Briggs 0-1 Gary Brassard

Mike Commisso 0-1 ♔ Michael David

Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Nik Lavoie

Ralph McNeilage 0-1 ♔ Mariano Rivera

Hugh McLaughlin 0-1 Ed Harris

Dave Couture 1-0 Emily Gawboy

Larry Legros 0-1 Roland Booker

Total of 16 boards, 2 major upsets (♔ ♕)
4 upset draws (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Diego Ubiera, Bruce Felton, Vince Premus, Mike Meehan, Ritvik Pulya,
Tom Whistler, Kyle Cullen and Raaga Pulya.
♜ Receiving a full-point bye was Francis Scanlon.
♖ Not playing round 1 was Andrew Kiser.

Martin Laine Memorial, April 18th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds

Points Players

1.0 Paulson, Mirijanian, LePoer, Gladding, Gurge, Brassard, Lavoie, Harris, Couture, Booker, David, Rivera, Scanlon

0.5 Cappallo, Ubiera, Godin, Felton, Thomas, Barlas, Premus, Hankard, Donahue, Meehan, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski,
Biglow, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

0.0 Commisso, McNeilage, Parker, Burke, Condon, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Briggs, O'Rourke, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Legros

Projected Round 2 Pairings for April 25th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Mirijanian vs. Couture Board 2: Harris vs. LePoer Board 3: Gladding vs. Booker Board 4: David vs. Gurge Board 5: Brassard vs. Rivera Board 6: Lavoie vs. Scanlon Board 7: Meehan vs. Cappallo Board 8: Ubiera vs. Donahue Board 9: Godin vs. Ri. Pulya Board 10: Ostrowski vs. Felton Board 11: Whistler vs. Thomas Board 12: Barlas vs. Cullen Board 13: Premus vs. Biglow Board 14: Hankard vs. Ra. Pulya Board 15: Briggs vs. McNeilage Board 16: Parker vs. O'Rourke Board 17: Kiser vs. Burke Board 18: Condon vs. McLaughlin Board 19: Gawboy vs. Fratturelli Board 20: Bastarache vs. Legros

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 2 are Paulson and Commisso.
♙ The Wachusett Chess welcomes new member Larry Legros of Millbury. Welcome, Larry!

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on April 25th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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April 17th, 2018

Ratings in effect for 2018 Martin Laine Memorial (April 18)

Round 1 of the Martin Laine Memorial will be played Wednesday evening, April 18, 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.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Ratings in effect for
the 2018 Martin Laine Memorial tournament:
1 Rob King 2202

2 Brett Kildahl 2129

3 Roger Cappallo 1997

4 Diego Ubiera 1985

5 Paul Godin 1960

6 Ray Paulson 1939

7 George Mirijanian 1937

8 Geoff LePoer 1924

9 Bruce Felton 1920

10 Larry Gladding 1823

11 Joe Bennett 1790

12 Dave Thomas 1783

13 Arthur Barlas 1783

14 Ken Gurge 1754

15 Gary Brassard 1753

16 Mike Commisso 1753

17 Nik Lavoie 1724

18 Ralph McNeilage 1713

19 Ed Harris 1712

20 Paul Lynch 1705

21 Dave Couture 1689

22 Vince Premus 1676

23 Jim Hankard 1634

24 Jim Donahue 1633

25 Roland Booker 1614

26 Mike Meehan 1613

27 Bill Burke 1611

28 Alan Condon 1605

29 Ritvik Pulya 1590

30 Tom Fratturelli 1573

31 Gail Lingner 1500

32 Scott Taylor 1488

33 Don Ostrowski 1479

34 Bob Mathieu 1450

35 Harry Richardson 1447

36 Brian Biglow 1405

37 John Bastarache 1400

38 Don Briggs 1393

39 Michael David 1333

40 Wayne Steadman 1326

41 Larry O'Rourke 1306

42 Mariano Rivera 1292

43 Hugh McLaughlin 1200

44 Andrew Kiser 1088

45 Emily Gawboy 1080

46 Francis Scanlon 1067

47 Tom Whistler 1007

48 Kyle Cullen 992

49 Raaga Pulya 869

50 James Petullo 514

April 16th, 2018

Wachusett CC players win prizes in 28th Mass. G/60 Championship Mass Game/60 Chsmpionship

Players from the Wachusett Chess Club were among the prize winners in the 2018 Mass Game/60 Chsmpionship, held Sunday, April 15, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Ralph McNeilage of Worcester tied for 2nd place in the Under 1800 section, scoring 3-1 (2 wins, 2 draws), while Mariano Rivera of Leominster tied for 2nd place in the Under 1200 section, tallying 3.5-0.5. Former Wachusett CC champion Carissa Yip of Andover finished with a score of 3-1 to tie for the Top U2400 prize in the Open section.
-George M
[FM Nathan Solon won clear first place in the Open Section with a perfect 4.0/4 score. Five active WCC players competed for various section prizes. Mariano Rivra's Round 3 game with comments & analysis, is posted on this site in the "Games" section.]

♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Monday April 16, 2018 Rating Updates from the Mass Game/60 Championship ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟
USCFID#: WCC Member Name End Date Most Recent Rated Tournament Section: Name Pre => Post

16062155: RALPH MCNEILAGE 2018-04-15 28TH MASSACHUSETTS G/60 CHAMPI (MA) 3: U1800 1700 => 1713 B

10569176: ROLAND D BOOKER III 2018-04-15 28TH MASSACHUSETTS G/60 CHAMPI (MA) 3: U1800 1629 => 1614 B

12458787: WILLIAM T BURKE II 2018-04-15 28TH MASSACHUSETTS G/60 CHAMPI (MA) 3: U1800 1589 => 1611 B

12933153: MARIANO RIVERA 2018-04-15 28TH MASSACHUSETTS G/60 CHAMPI (MA) 6: U1200 1289 (P15) => 1292 (P19) D

16122465: KYLE CULLEN 2018-04-15 28TH MASSACHUSETTS G/60 CHAMPI (MA) 6: U1200 1002 (P24) => 992 F

April 11th, 2018

2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Five split first in Siiskonen Memorial at WCC

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 11th, 2018
Round 5 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Roger Cappallo

Ray Paulson 0-1 ♔ Dave Thomas

Paul Godin 1-0 Ken Gurge

Joe Bennett 0-1 ♔ Mike Commisso

Gary Brassard 0-1 Larry Gladding

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Ritvik Pulya

Ed Harris 0-1 Jim Hankard

Roland Booker 0-1 Dave Couture

Don Briggs 1/2-1/2 Jim Donahue

Bill Burke 0-1 Tom Fratturelli

Raaga Pulya 0-1 Ralph McNeilage

Mike Meehan 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache

Kyle Cullen 0-1 Brian Biglow

Arthur Barlas 0-1 ♔ Mariano Rivera

Larry O'Rourke 1/2-1/2 Emily Gawboy

Andrew Kiser 0-1 Michael David

Hugh McLaughlin 1-0 Tom Whistler

Total of 17 boards, 3 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 5 were George Mirijanian, Nik Lavoie, Don Ostrowski and Francis Scanlon.
♙ Gail Lingner withdrew from the tournament.

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 11th, 2018
FINAL STANDINGS After 5 Rounds

Points Players

4.0 Cappallo, Godin, Felton,Thomas, Commisso

3.5 Gladding

3.0 Paulson, LePoer, Bennett, Gurge, Couture, Hankard, Fratturelli

2.5 Mirijanian, Brassard, McNeilage, Donahue, Ri. Pulya, Biglow, Briggs, Rivera

2.0 Harris, Burke, Meehan, Booker, Lavoie, Ostrowski, Bastarache, David, Ra. Pulya

1.5 O'Rourke, Gawboy, Cullen

1.0 Barlas, McLaughlin, Kiser, Whistler

0.5 Scanlon

♔ 2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st-5th: Roger Cappallo of Groton, Paul Godin of Bedford,
Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, Dave Thomas of Fitchburg,
Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH

Top U1900: Dave Thomas

Top U1700: Mike Commisso

Top U1500: Brian Biglow of Fitchburg, Don Briggs of Lunenburg

Top U1300: Mariano Rivera of Leominster

A total of 6 players
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following players had
a rating increase of
50 or more points:
Michael David +259

Mariano Rivera +180

Mike Commisso +175

Raaga Pulya +124

Dave Thomas +83

Kyle Cullen +61

A total of 8 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved
a new all-time high rating:
Mike Commisso 1753

Nik Lavoie 1724

Ritvik Pulya 1590

Don Ostrowski 1479P10

Michael David 1333P7

Mariano Rivera 1289P15

Kyle Cullen 1002P24

Raaga Pulya 859

Congratulations to all!

Pictures from this year's Evert Siiskonen Memorial tournament.

2018 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of April 11th, 2018
After 37 of 41 games completed in the 2017-2018 season,
the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2018 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Four Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The remaining four to qualify will be the four with highest percentage as calculated in the last column.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 21 games must be completed to qualify.
(Only players currently with more than 16.5 GPP are listed.)

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 4/11/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1987 2102 Can. Master 35 23 5 7 26.5 .757

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1960 2020 1st Cat. 36 21 5 10 26.0 .722

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1837 1953 1st Cat. 37 23 11 3 24.5 .662

RAYMOND PAULSON Lowell 1971 2085 1st Cat. 30 19 6 5 21.5 .717

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1913 1971 1st Cat. 30 19 6 5 21.5 .717

KEN GURGE Leominster 1747 1856 2nd Cat. 34 17 9 8 21.0 .618

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1768 1904 1st Cat. 33 17 11 5 19.5 .591

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1665 1858 1st Cat. 34 17 12 5 19.5 .574

MIKE COMMISSO Brookline, NH 1578 1719 3rd Cat. 35 15 13 7 18.5 .529

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1741 1773 3rd Cat. 32 14 10 8 18.0 .563

JAMES HANKARD Antrim, NH 1629 1816 2nd Cat. 37 15 16 6 18.0 .486

WILLIAM BURKE Leominster 1633 1665 3rd Cat. 31 13 12 6 16.0 .516

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1815 1833 2nd Cat. 21 13 5 3 14.5 .690

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1933 2186 1st Cat. 17 12 2 3 13.5 .794

Championship Grand Prix Archive

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Martin Laine Memorial, starts Wednesday, April 18th.
Players must be present by 7 p.m. in Room C159 of the McKay Complex in order to be paired for Round 1 on April 18th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL 978-881-8728 by 7 p.m.

Return to Top of List

April 9th, 2018

Wachusett CC's Nik Lavoie ties for first at Chess Fool's Day Open in Western Mass

Nik Lavoie, a Wachusett Chess Club member from Worcester, tied for 1st place in the Chess Fool's Day Open, held Saturday, April 7, in the Alumni House at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. Lavoie scored 3.5-0.5, as did expert Alan Lasser and Class A entrant Douglas Reed. After drawing a "B" player in round 1, Lavoie then beat 3 "A" players in a row to end up gaining 208 rating points and moving his rating from 1493 to 1701 in the 23-player event. Lavoie, who was away from playing in rated chess for more than 13 years, started playing at the Wachusett CC in early January 2016.
-George M

A quartet of active WCC Class B players took part in the tournament. Nik's outstanding performance earned him 208 rating points, which moves him from mid Class C to mid Class B in the USCF ranks.

♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Monday April 9, 2018 Rating Updates from the Chess Fool's Day Open; ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟
USCFID#: WCC Member Name End Date Most Recent Rated Tournament Section: Name Pre => Post

12465223: EDWARD ARTHUR HARRIS 2018-04-07 CHESS FOOL'S DAY OPEN (MA) 1: OPEN 1731 => 1744 B

12840591: NIKOLAS LAVOIE 2018-04-07 CHESS FOOL'S DAY OPEN (MA) 1: OPEN 1493 => 1701 B

12413721: DAVE J COUTURE 2018-04-07 CHESS FOOL'S DAY OPEN (MA) 1: OPEN 1686 => 1665 B

12222200: JAMES ALOYSIUS HANKARD 2018-04-07 CHESS FOOL'S DAY OPEN (MA) 1: OPEN 1615 => 1629 B

April 4th, 2018

2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 4th, 2018
Round 4 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Joe Bennett

Gary Brassard 0-1 Bruce Felton

Ray Paulson 1-0 Bill Burke

Dave Couture 0-1 Paul Godin

Jim Hankard 0-1 Ken Gurge

♔ Mike Commisso 1-0 Ed Harris

Dave Thomas 1-0 Nik Lavoie

George Mirijanian 1-0 Mike Meehan

Larry Gladding 1-0 Kyle Cullen

Ralph McNeilage 1/2-1/2 Roland Booker

Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Michael David

♖ Mariano Rivera 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow

Emily Gawboy 0-1 Don Briggs

Francis Scanlon 0-1 John Bastarache

Tom Whistler 1/2-1/2 Andrew Kiser

Hugh McLaughlin 0-1 Larry O'Rourle

Total of 16 boards, 1 major upset (♔ ♕)
1 upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ritvik Pulya, Geoff LePoer, Jim Donahue, Don Ostrowski, Raaga Pulya and Gail Lingner.
♖ Not playing round 4 was Arthur Barlas.

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 4th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds

Points Players

3.5 Cappallo, Felton

3.0 Paulson, Godin, Bennett, Gurge, Thomas, Commisso

2.5 Mirijanian, Gladding, Brassard, Ri. Pulya

2.0 LePoer, Harris, Couture, Donahue, Burke, Hankard, Booker, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Ostrowski. Briggs, Ra. Pulya

1.5 McNeilage, Meehan, Biglow, Bastarache, Rivera, Cullen

1.0 Barlas, Lingner, O'Rourke, Kiser, Gawboy, David, Whistler

0.5 Scanlon

0.0 McLaughlin

Projected Round 5 Pairings for April 11th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Felton vs. Cappallo Board 2: Paulson vs. Thomas Board 3: Godin vs. Gurge Board 4: Bennett vs. Commisso Board 5: Brassard vs. Mirijanian Board 6: Gladding vs. Ri. Pulya Board 7: Booker vs. LePoer Board 8: Harris vs. Lavoie Board 9: Ostrowski vs. Couture Board 10: Ra. Pulya vs. Donahue Board 11: Burke vs. Fratturelli Board 12: Briggs vs. Hankard Board 13: Basttarache vs. McNeilage Board 14: Meehan vs. Rivera Board 15: Cullen vs. Biglow Board 16: Kiser vs. Barlas Board 17: David vs. Lingner Board 18: O'Rourke vs. Gawboy Board 19: McLaughlin vs. Whistler

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on April 11th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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April 3rd, 2018

Former Wachusett CC champion Carissa Yip ties for 2nd in 12th annual Philadelphia Open

Carissa Yip, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2014, made another impressive performance by tying for 2nd place in the 12th annual Philadelphia Open, held March 28 through April 1st at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. The 14-year-old FIDE master from Andover, Mass. tallied 5 wins,3 draws and only one loss, for a score of 6.5-2.5, to tie for the runner-up position with three 3 GMs and 2 IMs. She finished ahead of 4 GMs, including GM Sam Sevian and GM Alexander Stripunsky, the latter of whom she defeated in the final round. Two of her three draws were against IMs. Her score also netted her prize money for tying for 1st-2nd U2400.
-George M
Carissa's round 7 win over IM Andrew Tang is posted in the Games Section.

March 28th, 2018

2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 3 of 5

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 28th, 2018
Round 3 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Joe Bennett 1-0 Dave Couture

Nik Lavoie 0-1 Bruce Felton

Paul Godin 1/2-1/2 ♖ Mike Commisso

Jim Donahue 0-1 Gary Brassard

Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Dave Thomas

Mike Meehan 0-1 Ray Paulson

Roland Booker 1/2-1/2 Larry Gladding

♔ Ritvik Pulya 1-0 Ralph McNeilage

Ed Harris 1-0 Tom Fratturelli

Brian Biglow 0-1 Bill Burke

Michael David 0-1 Jim Hankard

Tom Whistler 0-1 Don Ostrowski

John Bastarache 0-1 ♔ Kyle Cullen

Andrew Kiser 0-1 ♔ Raaga Pulya

Don Briggs 1-0 Hugh McLaughlin

♔ Mariano Rivera 1-0 Larry O'Rourke

Total of 16 boards, 4 major upsets (♔ ♕)
1 upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Roger Cappallo, Geoff LePoer and George Mirijanian.
♜ Receiving a full-point bye was Emily Gawboy.
♖ Not playing round 3 was Gail Lingner.
♙ Withdrawn from the tournament were Rob King, Diego Ubiera, Vince Premus, Bob Mathieu and Harry Richardson.

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 28th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds

Points Players

3.0 Bennett

2.5 Cappallo, Felton, Brassard

2.0 Paulson, Godin, Gurge, Harris, Thomas, Couture, Burke, Hankard, Commisso, Ri. Pulya, Lavoie

1.5 LePoer, Mirijanian, Gladding, Donahue, Meehan, Booker, Ostrowski, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

1.0 McNeilage, Fratturelli, Biglow, Briggs, David, Rivera, Gawboy

0.5 Lingner, Bastarache, Kiser, Whistler

0.0 O'Rourke, McLaughlin

Projected Round 4 Pairings for April 4th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cappallo vs. Bennett Board 2: Brassard vs. Felton Board 3: Paulson vs. Burke Board 4: Couture vs. Godin Board 5: Hankard vs. Gurge Board 6: Commisso vs. Harris Board 7: Thomas vs. Ri. Pulya Board 8: Mirijanian vs. Lavoie Board 9: Gladding vs. Meehan Board 10: Cullen vs. Donahue Board 11: Ostrowski vs. Booker Board 12: Ra. Pulya vs. McNeilage Board 13: Fratturelli vs. David Board 14: Rivera vs. Biglow Board 15: Gawboy vs. Briggs Board 16: Lingner vs. Kiser Board 17: Whistler vs. Bastarache Board 18: McLaughlin vs. O'Rourke

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 4 is LePoer.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on April 4th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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March 26th, 2018

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at the 2018 NH Quick Chsmpionship

Five active & inactive WCC members took part in the 2018 New Hampshire Quick Chsmpionship in Portsmouth, NH, held this past weekend. The tournament finished in a three way tie between GM Alexander Ivanov, IM Dave Vigorito & NH resident, John P. Elmore. Reigning WCC Champ, Ray Paulson finished in 11th place with a respectsble score of 5.0/8. Four other WCC players competed.

♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Monday March 26, 2018 Quick Rating Updates from the NH Quick Championship ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟
USCFID#: WCC Member Name End Date Most Recent Rated Tournament Section: Name Pre => Post

12401616: RAYMOND PAULSON 2018-03-24 NEW HAMPSHIRE QUICK CHESS CHAM (NH) 1: CHAMP 1865 => 1854 A

12525099: MICHAEL COMMISSO 2018-03-24 NEW HAMPSHIRE QUICK CHESS CHAM (NH) 1: CHAMP 1500 => 1532 C

12222200: JAMES ALOYSIUS HANKARD 2018-03-24 NEW HAMPSHIRE QUICK CHESS CHAM (NH) 1: CHAMP 1500 => 1510 C

12758321: MICHAEL MEEHAN 2018-03-24 NEW HAMPSHIRE QUICK CHESS CHAM (NH) 1: CHAMP 1525 => 1492 C

15470877: JEREMY TILTON 2018-03-24 NEW HAMPSHIRE QUICK CHESS CHAM (NH) 1: CHAMP 919 => 948 F

March 21st, 2018

2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 21st, 2018
Round 2 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Ed Harris

Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Paul Godin

Larry Gladding 0-1 ♔ Dave Couture

Jim Hankard 0-1 Joe Bennett

Gary Brassard 1/2-1/2 Mike Meehan

Mike Commisso 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge

Ralph McNeilage 0-1 ♔ Nik Lavoie

Bruce Felton 1-0 Michael David

Don Ostrowski 0-1 Jim Donahue

Kyle Cullen 0-1 Ray Paulson

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Don Briggs

Bill Burke 1-0 Hugh McLaughlin

Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Ritvik Pulya

Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Mariano Rivera

Emily Gawboy 0-1 Brian Biglow

John Bastarache 1/2-1/2 ♖ Raaga Pulya

Total of 16 boards, 2 major upsets (♔ ♕)
1 upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Rob King, Diego Ubiera, George Mirijanian, Vince Premus, Bob Mathieu,
Harry Richardson, Gail Lingner, Andrew Kiser and Tom Whistler.
♙ Arthur Barlas withdrew from the tournament.

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 21st, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds

Points Players

2.0 Cappallo, Bennett, Couture, Lavoie

1.5 Godin, Felton, Brassard, Gurge, Thomas, Donahue, Meehan, Commisso

1.0 King, Paulson, Ubiera, LePoer, Mirijanian, Gladding, McNeilage, Harris, Premus, Burke, Hankard, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli,
Mathieu, Richardson, Biglow, David

0.5 Lingner, Ostrowski, Bastarache, Kiser, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya

0.0 Briggs, McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Rivera, Gawboy

Projected Round 3 Pairings for March 28th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1 Joe Bennett (2.0) Dave Couture (2.0) 2 Nik Lavoie (2.0) Paul Godin (1.5) 3 Mike Meehan (1.5) Bruce Felton (1.5) 4 Jim Donahue (1.5) Gary Brassard (1.5) 5 Ken Gurge (1.5) Dave Thomas (1.5) 6 George Mirijanian (1.0) Michael Commisso (1.5) 7 Ray Paulson (1.0) Jim Hankard (1.0) 8 Ritvik Pulya (1.0) Larry Gladding (1.0) 9 Brian Biglow (1.0) Ralph McNeilage (1.0) 10 Ed Harris (1.0) Michael David (1.0) 11 Tom Fratturelli (1.0) William Burke (1.0) 12 Gail Lingner (0.5) Kyle Culllen (0.5) 13 Andrew Kiser (0.5) Don Ostrowski (0.5) 14 Tom Whistler (0.5) John Bastarache (0.5) 15 Raaga Pulya (0.5) Don Briggs (0.0) 16 Mariano Rivera (0.0) Larry O'Rourke (0.0) 17 Hugh McLaughlin (0.0) Emily Gawboy (0.0)

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 3 are Cappallo and LePoer.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on March 28th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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March 20th, 2018

Former Wachusett CC champion Carissa Yip wins 2018 Spiegel Cup

Former Wachusett Chess Club champion Carissa Yip of Andover was the winner in the 20-player High School section of the 2018 Barry S. Spiegel Cup on Sunday, March 18, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The tournament, which is the annual Massachusetts Singles Scholastic Championship in four sections, saw the 14-year-old FIDE master accomplish this by winning a playoff against national master Michael Isakov , after both scored 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round of regular play. The victory qualifies Carissa to represent Massachusetts in the GM Denker Tournament of High School Champions, which will be played July 28-31, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. Carissa won the 2014 Wachusett CC Championship with a perfect score of 7-0 when she was 10 years old. She finished a full 2 points ahead of her closest rival. Since leaving the Wachusett CC in January 2015, Carissa has become a stronger player - evidenced by her participation in the 2016 and 2017 U.S. Women's Championship in Saint Louis.
-George M

March 15th, 2018

Simultaneous Chess exhibition by Marc Esserman -- Saturday, March 24, 2018

Simultaneous Chess exhibition by Marc Esserman (International Master; FIDE rating 2446)

Marc faces Vishy Anand at Gibraltar 2016; result, DRAW!
Sophie Triay photo Marc Esserman on Chessdb.com
Marc Esserman on Wikipedia.org
Marc Esserman on USChessLeague.com
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Quinsigamond Community College, Administration Building cafeteria
Registration opens at 9:00am. Entry fee is $10 per person. The simul begins at 9:30.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own set of chess pieces and board.
All ages are welcome.
Question/Answer Session after the simul.
For more info: contact Jerry Williams, 508-335-0692.
--
The Chess Club at Worcester State University
Email: chesswsu@gmail.com

March 14th, 2018

2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 1 of 5

Siiskonen Memorial opens with a quartet of upsets

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 14th, 2018
Round 1 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Ray Paulson 0-1 ♔Mike Commisso

Ritvik Pulya 0-1 Roger Cappallo

Paul Godin 1-0 Tom Fratturelli

♔ Nik Lavoie 1-0 Geoff LePoer

Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 ♖ Don Ostrowski

Brian Biglow 0-1 Larry Gladding

Joe Bennett 1-0 John Bastarache

Don Briggs 0-1 Gary Brassard

Ken Gurge 1-0 Larry O'Rourke

Hugh McLaughlin 0-1 Ralph McNeilage

Ed Harris 1-0 Andrew Kiser

Mariano Rivera 0-1 Dave Thomas

Dave Couture 1-0 Emily Gawboy

♔ Michael David 1-0 Bill Burke

Mike Meehan 1-0 Tom Whistler

Raaga Pulya 0-1 Jim Hankard

Total of 16 boards, 3 major upsets (♔ ♕)
1 upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Rob King, Diego Ubiera, George Mirijanian, Arthur Barlas, Vince Premus,
Jim Donahue, Bob Mathieu, Harry Richardson and Kyle Cullen.
♖ Not playing round 1 was Gail Lingner.

Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 14th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds

Points Players

1.0 Cappallo, Godin, Gladding, Bennett, Brassard, Gurge, McNeilage, Harris, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Hankard, Commisso,
Lavoie, David

0.5 King, Ubiera, Mirijanian, Felton, Barlas, Premus, Donahue, Ostrowski, Mathieu, Richardson, Cullen

0.0 Paulson, LePoer, Burke, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Lingner, Biglow, Bastarache, Briggs, O'Rourke, McLaughlin, Kiser,
Rivera, Gawboy, Whistler, Ra. Pulya

Projected Round 2 Pairings for March 21st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cappallo vs. Harris Board 2: Thomas vs. Godin Board 3: Gladding vs. Couture Board 4: Hankard vs. Bennett Board 5: Brassard vs. Meehan Board 6: Commisso vs. Gurge Board 7: McNeilage vs. Lavoie Board 8: King vs. David Board 9: Ubiera vs. Donahue Board 10: Ostrowski vs. Mirijanian Board 11: Mathieu vs. Felton Board 12: Barlas vs. Richardson Board 13: Premus vs. Cullen Board 14: O'Rourke vs. Paulson Board 15: LePoer vs. Briggs Board 16: Burke vs. McLaughlin Board 17: Kiser vs. Ri. Pulya Board 18: Fratturelli vs. Rivera Board 19: Gawboy vs. Lingner Board 20: Whistler vs. Biglow Board 21: Bastarache vs. Ra. Pulya

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on March 21st.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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March 14th, 2018

Ratings in effect for 2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial

Round 1 of the Evert Siiskonen Memorial will be played Wednesday evening, March 14, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players who wish to participate should make every attempt to arrive on time - by 7:10 p.m., at the latest, so that the round can get under way by 7:15 p.m.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Ratings in effect for
the 2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial tournament:
1 Rob King 2202

2 Brett Kildahl 2129

3 Ray Paulson 1988

4 Roger Cappallo 1987

5 Diego Ubiera 1985

6 Paul Godin 1960

7 Geoff LePoer 1941

8 George Mirijanian 1933

9 Bruce Felton 1913

10 Larry Gladding 1837

11 Arthur Barlas 1815

12 Gary Brassard 1768

13 Ken Gurge 1747

14 Ralph McNeilage 1741

15 Ed Harris 1731

16 Paul Lynch 1705

17 Dave Thomas 1700

18 Dave Couture 1686

19 Vince Premus 1676

20 Jim Donahue 1658

21 Bill Burke 1633

22 Mike Meehan 1627

23 Jim Hankard 1615

24 Alan Condon 1605

25 Mike Commisso 1578

26 Ritvik Pulya 1566

27 Tom Fratturelli 1551

28 Gail Lingner 1500

29 Nik Lavoie 1493

30 Scott Taylor 1488

31 Don Ostrowski 1458

32 Bob Mathieu 1450

33 Harry Richardson 1447

34 Brian Biglow 1418

35 John Bastarache 1400

36 Don Briggs 1369

37 :Larry O'Rourke 1342

38 Wayne Steadman 1326

39 Hugh McLaughlin 1200

40 Andrew Kiser 1150

41 Mariano Rivera 1109

42 Emily Gawboy 1081

43 Michael David 1074

44 Tom Whistler 1023

45 Kyle Cullen 941

46 Raaga Pulya 745

47 James Petullo 514

March 7th, 2018

2018 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Cappallo & Felton repeat at top

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 7th, 2018
FINAL STANDINGS After 5 Rounds

Points Players

4.0 Cappallo, Felton

3.5 King, LePoer

3.0 Paulson, Ubiera, Godin, Mirijanian, Gladding, McNeilage, Ostrowski

2.5 Gurge, Brassard, Thomas, Meehan, Donahue, Hankard, Commisso, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Mathieu, Rivera

2.0 Burke, Biglow, Bastarache, Briggs, Kiser

1.5 Richardson, Gawboy, Cullen, Ra. Pulya, David

1.0 O'Rourke, Whistler

♔ 2018 George E. O'Rourke Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st-2nd: Roger Cappallo of Groton, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg

Top U1850: Larry Gladding of Leominster, Ralph McNeilage of Worcester

Top U1700: Mike Meehan of Westminster, Jim Donahue of Stow,
Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH, Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH,
Ritvik Pulya of Acton

Top U1550: Tom Fratturelli and Manuel Rivera, both of Leominster,
Nik Lavoie of Worcester, Bob Mathieu of Ashburnham

Top U1400: Don Ostrowski of Fitchburg

A total of 1 player
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following player had
a rating increase of
50 or more points:
Don Ostrowski + 203

A total of 3 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved
a new all-time high rating:
Don Ostrowski 1455P7

Mariano Rivera 1109P10

Michael David 1074P2

Pictures from Dave Couture's visit to the Saint Louis Chess Center.

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 3/7/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1987 2102 Can. Master 31 20 5 6 23.0 .742

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1960 2020 1st Cat. 31 18 5 8 22.0 .710

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1837 1953 1st Cat. 32 20 10 2 21.0 .656

RAYMOND PAULSON Lowell 1988 2085 1st Cat. 25 16 4 5 18.5 .740

KEN GURGE Leominster 1747 1856 2nd Cat. 29 15 8 6 18.0 .621

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1913 1971 1st Cat. 25 16 6 3 17.5 .700

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1768 1904 1st Cat. 28 15 9 4 17.0 .607

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1686 1858 1st Cat. 29 14 10 5 16.5 .569

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1726 1773 3rd Cat. 27 12 8 7 15.5 .574

JAMES HANKARD Antrim, NH 1615 1816 2nd Cat. 32 12 14 6 15.0 .469

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1815 1833 2nd Cat. 20 13 4 3 14.5 .725

MIKE COMMISSO Brookline, NH 1578 1719 3rd Cat. 30 12 13 5 14.5 .483

WILLIAM BURKE Leominster 1633 1665 3rd Cat. 26 11 9 6 14.0 .538

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1933 2186 1st Cat. 16 11 2 3 12.5 .781

BRIAN BIGLOW Fitchburg 1418 1693 3rd Cat. 31 11 17 3 12.5 .403

BRETT KILDAHL Worcester 2129 2214 Natl. Master 15 12 3 0 12.0 .800

DIEGO UBIERA Worcester 1985 2008 1st Cat. 13 11 1 1 11.5 .885

JIM DONAHUE Stow 1658 1738 3rd Cat. 24 8 10 6 11.0 .458

Championship Grand Prix Archive

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on March 14th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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March 6th, 2018

Wachusett CC closed this week!

"This is a Fitchburg State University Alert. Due to inclement weather, the University is closed Wednesday, March 7, 2018,
both day and evening classes are cancelled."
Because Fitchburg State University will be closed Wednesday, here's what we are going to do:
WE WILL NOT MEET WEDNESDAY, MARCH. 7.
Everyone playing in the George E. O'Rourke Memorial tournament will receive a half-point bye for Round 5.
This tournament, the George E. O'Rourke Memorial, will remain a 5-round Swiss, despite our inability to meet for Round 5. -GM

March 5th, 2018

NM Rob King tops Worcester & WCC rating lists

With a USCF rating of 2201, NM Rob King now heads the rating list not only of the Wachusett CC, where he was club champion in 2011, but also the Greater Worcester CC, where he now holds a lead of one rating point over FM John Curdo, currently at his rating floor of 2200.
♔ Wachusett CC Rating List (March 4th 2018)
♚ Worcester CC Rating List (March 4th 2018)

February 28th, 2018

2018 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 4 of 5

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 28th, 2018
Round 4 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Larry Gladding

Bruce Felton 1-0 Paul Godin

Gary Brassard 0-1 Rob King

Ray Paulson 1-0 Nik Lavoie

George Mirijanian 1-0 Brian Biglow

Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge

Ralph McNeilage 1-0 Don Briggs

Jim Donahue 1/2-1/2 Dave Thomas

Tom Fratturelli 1/2-1/2 Mike Meehan

♔ Don Ostrowski 1-0 Bill Burke

Ritvik Pulya 1-0 Emily Gawboy

Kyle Cullen 0-1 Bob Mathieu

Raaga Pulya 0-1 John Bastarache

Larry O'Rourke 0-1 ♔ Andrew Kiser

Michael David 1-0 Tom Whistler

Total of 15 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Geoff LePoer, Diego Ubiera, Mike Commisso, Mariano Rivera and Harry Richardson.
♖ Not playing round 4 was Dave Couture, who BTW had the opportunity of visiting the U.S. Chess Center in Saint Louis on Wednesday morning and by chance met Rex Sinquefield and his wife and chatted with him for a few minutes. Dave took photos, which will be posted on the club website (www.wachusettchess.org) soon.

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 28th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds

Points Players

3.5 Cappallo, Felton

3.0 King, LePoer

2.5 Paulson, Ubiera, Godin, Mirijanian, Gladding, McNeilage, Ostrowski

2.0 Gurge, Brassard, Thomas, Meehan, Donahue, Hankard, Commisso, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Mathieu, Rivera

1.5 Couture, Burke, Biglow, Bastarache, Briggs, Kiser

1.0 Richardson, Gawboy, Cullen, Ra. Pulya, David

0.5 O'Rourke, Whistler

Projected Round 5 Pairings for March 7th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Felton vs. Cappallo Board 2: King vs. LePoer Board 3: Paulson vs. Mirijanian Board 4: Gladding vs. Ubiera Board 5: Godin vs. Ostrowski Board 6: Gurge vs. McNeilage Board 7: Commisso vs. Brassard Board 8: Thomas vs. Fratturelli Board 9: Meehan vs. Ri. Pulya Board 10: Lavoie vs. Donahue Board 11: Mathieu vs. Hankard Board 12: Biglow vs. Rivera Board 13: Briggs vs. Burke Board 14: Kiser vs. Bastarache Board 15: Richardson vs. Cullen Board 16: Gawboy vs. David Board 17: O'Rourke vs. Ra. Pulya

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on March 7th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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February 24th, 2018

Informal chess club meets Sundays, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at The Billiards Cafe, Ayer

Starting June 4th last year (2017), newest WCC member, Mike David
has been running an informal chess club
Sundays, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.,
at The Billiards Cafe, 39 Main St., Ayer, MA
Play Is "quick chess," i.e. Game/15, usually a round robin.
No entry fees, no prizes - just fun.

February 21st, 2018

2018 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 3 of 5

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 21st, 2018
Round 3 of 5 Results
White Result Black

♔ Larry Gladding 1-0 Ray Paulson

Dave Thomas 0-1 Roger Cappallo

Paul Godin 1-0 Ralph McNeilage

Mike Meehan 0-1 Geoff LePoer

Bill Burke 0-1 Bruce Felton

Don Briggs 0-1 Diego Ubiera

Bob Mathieu 0-1 Gary Brassard

Nik Lavoie 1-0 Kyle Cullen

Ken Gurge 1-0 Raaga Pulya

John Bastarache 0-1 Jim Hankard

Mike Commisso 1-0 Larry O'Rourke

Don Ostrowski 1-0 Harry Richardson

Brian Biglow 1-0 Tom Whistler

Mariano Rivera 1-0 Michael David

Total of 14 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Rob King, George Mirijanian, Dave Couture, Jim Donahue, Tom Fratturelli,
Ritvik Pulya and Emily Gawboy.
♖ Not playing round 3 was Andrew Kiser.
♟ Withdrawn from the tournament were Scott Taylor and James Petullo.

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 21st, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds

Points Players

2.5 Cappallo, Godin, LePoer, Felton, Gladding

2.0 King, Ubiera, Brassard, Lavoie

1.5 Paulson, Mirijanian, Gurge, McNeilage, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Burke, Donahue, Hankard, Commisso, Fratturelli, Biglow,
Briggs, Ostrowski, Rivera

1.0 Ri. Pulya, Mathieu, Gawboy, Cullen, Ra, Pulya

0.5 Richardson, Bastarache, O'Rourke, Kiser, Whistler

0.0 David

Projected Round 4 Pairings for February 28th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1 Roger Cappallo (2.5) Larry Gladding (2.5) 2 Bruce Felton (2.5) Paul Godin (2.5) 3 Gary Brassard (2.0) Robert King (2.0) 4 Diego Ubiera (2.0) Nik Lavoie (2.0) 5 Ray Paulson (1.5) Brian Biglow (1.5) 6 Jim Donahue (1.5) George Mirijanian (1.5) 7 Jim Hankard (1.5) Ken Gurge (1.5) 8 Ralph McNeilage (1.5) Michael Commisso (1.5) 9 Tom Fratturelli (1.5) Dave Thomas (1.5) 10 Don Briggs (1.5) Mike Meehan (1.5) 11 Don Ostrowski (1.5) William Burke (1.5) 12 Ritvik Pulya (1.0) Mariano Rivera (1.5) 13 Kyle Culllen (1.0) Bob Mathieu (1.0) 14 Raaga Pulya (1.0) Emily Gawboy (1.0) 15 Harry Richardson (0.5) Andrew Kiser (0.5) 16 Larry O'Rourke (0.5) John Bastarache (0.5) 17 Michael David (0.0) Tom Whistler (0.5)

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 4 is LePoer.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes new player and USCF member Michael David of Groton.
Mike runs an informal chess club Sundays, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at The Billiards Cafe, 39 Main St., Ayer, Mass.
Play Is "quick chess," i.e. Game/15, usually a round robin. No entry fees, no prizes - just fun. Welcome, Mike, to the club!

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on February 28th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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February 14th, 2018

2018 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 2 of 5

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 14th, 2018
Round 2 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Jim Hankard 0-1 Rob King

Ray Paulson 1-0 Mike Commisso

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Ritvik Pulya

Harry Richardson 0-1 Paul Godin

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Brian Biglow

Bruce Felton 1-0 John Bastarache

Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Larry Gladding

Ken Gurge 0-1 ♔ Don Briggs

Ralph McNeilage 1-0 Don Ostrowski

Emily Gawboy 0-1 Dave Thomas

Tom Whistler 0-1 Mike Meehan

Bill Burke 1-0 Mariano Rivera

♖ Raaga Pulya 1/2-1/2 Jim Donahue

Total of 13 boards, 1 major upset (♔ ♕) 1 upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Diego Ubiera, George Mirjanian, Gary Brassard, Dave Couture, Tom Fratturelli,
Nik Lavoie, Scott Taylor, Bob Mathieu, Kyle Cullen and James Petullo.
♖ Not playing round 2 was Andrew Kiser.

George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 14th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds

Points Players

1.5 King, Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, LePoer, Felton, Gladding, McNeilage, Thomas, Burke, Meehan, Briggs

1.0 Ubiera, Mirijanian, Brassard, Couture, Donahue, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Taylor, Mathieu, Cullen, Ra. Pulya, Petullo

0.5 Gurge, Hankard, Commisso, Ri. Pulya, Richardson, Biglow, Bastarache, O'Rourke, Ostrowski,
Kiser, Gawboy, Whistler, Rivera

Projected Round 3 Pairings for February 21st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: King vs. McNeilage Board 2: Gladding vs. Paulson Board 3: Thomas vs. Cappallo Board 4: Godin vs. Burke Board 5: Meehan v. LePoer Board 6: Briggs vs. Felton Board 7: Fratturelli vs. Ubiera Board 8: Lavoie vs. Mirijanian Board 9: Mathieu vs. Brassard Board 10: Couture vs. Cullen Board 11: Donahue vs. Petullo Board 12: Gurge vs. Ra. Pulya Board 13: Ostrowski vs. Hankard Board 14: Commisso vs. O'Rourke Board 15: Ri. Pulya vs. Kiser Board 16: Rivera vs. Richardson Board 17: Biglow vs. Gawboy Board 18: Bastarache vs. Whistler

♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes new member Mariano Rivera of Leominster, formerly of San Antonio, Texas. Welcome, Mariano!

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on February 21st.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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February 14th, 2018

Ratings in effect for George O.Rourke Memorial (Feb. 7, 2018)

Round 2 of the George E. O'Rourke Memorial will be played Wednesday evening, Feb. 14, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players who wish to participate should make every attempt to arrive on time - by 7:10 p.m., at the latest, so that the round can get under way by 7:15 p.m. All participants will receive retroactively a half-point bye for round 1, which was not played because of a snowstorm and Fitchburg State University being closed on Feb. 7.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Ratings in effect for
the 2018 George E. O.Rourke Memorial tournament:
1 Rob King 2203

2 Brett Kildahl 2129

3 Ray Paulson 1995

4 Diego Ubiera 1984

5 Roger Cappallo 1972

6 Paul Godin 1969

7 Geoff LePoer 1935

8 George Mirijanian 1931

9 Bruce Felton 1889

10 Larry Gladding 1821

11 Arthur Barlas 1815

12 Ken Gurge 1783

13 Gary Brassard 1766

14 Ralph McNeilage 1722

15 Dave Thomas 1707

16 Paul Lynch 1705

17 Ed Harris 1700

18 Dave Couture 1686

19 Vince Premus 1676

20 Mike Meehan 1665

21 Bill Burke 1665

22 Jim Donahue 1650

23 Alan Condon 1605

24 Jim Hankard 1604

25 Mike Commisso 1577

26 Ritvik Pulya 1567

27 Tom Fratturelli 1546

28 Gail Lingner 1500

29 Nik Lavoie 1494

30 Scott Taylor 1488

31 Harry Richardson 1472

32 Bob Mathieu 1454

33 Brian Biglow 1418

34 John Bastarache 1405

35 Larry O'Rourke 1391

36 Wayne Steadman 1326

37 Don Briggs 1322

38 Don Ostrowski 1252

39 Hugh McLaughlin 1200

40 Andrew Kiser 1102

41 Emily Gawboy 1086

42 Tom Whistler 1057

43 Raaga Pulya 714

44 James Petullo 514

February 11th, 2018

George E, O'Rourke Memorial gets under way Wednesday, Feb. 14

Despite being snowed out for the first round of the George E. O'Rourke Memorial on Feb. 7th, that tournament finally gets under way this Wednesday, Feb. 14, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University. Those who wish to participate should show up by 7 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 2. Participants will receive retroactively half-point byes for Round 1. The 5-round event honors the memory of Wachusett CC member George Edmund O'Rourke of Concord, who passed away at age 77 on Feb. 26, 2007.

Who will win the 2018 edition of the O'Rourke Memorial?
Here is a historical review of the winners in the past 10 years:
2017 - Brett Kildahl, 4.5-0.5
2016 - Edward Harris, 4.5-0.5
2015 - Walter Niemi, 4.5-0.5
2014 - Carissa Yip, 4.5-0.5
2013 - Ray Paulson, Paul Godin, George Mirijanian, Bruce Felton, 4-1
2012 - Bruce Felton, 4.5-0.5
2011 - Paul Godin, 4.5-0.5
2010 - Paul Giovino, 4.5-0.5
2009 - Ken Gurge, 4.5-0.5
2008 - Ken Gurge, 4-1
[Interestingly, none of the tournament's winners in the past ten years did so with a perfect score.]
-George M

February 7th, 2018

Wachusett CC closed this week!

Because Fitchburg State University will be closed Wednesday, here's what we are going to do:
WE WILL NOT MEET WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7.
Everyone who shows up for Round 2 next Wednesday, Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day),
will receive retroactively a half-point bye for Round 1 tonight.
If you know that you are playing and want a half-point bye for Round 2, please let us know.
This tournament, the George E. O'Rourke Memorial, will remain a 5-round Swiss, despite our inability to meet tonight for Round 1. -GM

January 31st, 2018

2018 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Cappallo & Felton tie for top honors at 2018 opener

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 31st, 2018
Round 5 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Paul Godin 1/2-1/2 Roger Cappallo

Gary Brassard 0-1 Bruce Felton

Ray Paulson 1-0 Jim Hankard

Arthur Barlas 1/2-1/2 Ralph McNeilage

Larry Gladding 1-0 Ritvik Pulya

Mike Meehan 0-1 Ken Gurge

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Jim Donahue

George Mirijanian 1-0 Harry Richardson

Nik Lavoie 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture

Raaga Pulya 0-1 Tom Fratturelli

Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Rob King

Mike Commisso 1-0 Don Ostrowski

Brian Biglow 1-0 Bob Mathieu

John Bastarache 1-0 Hugh McLaughlin

Andrew Kiser 0-1 Emily Gawboy

Total of 15 boards, no major upsets.

♖ Not playing Round 5 were Dave Thomas, Paul Lynch, Bill Burke, Diego Ubiera, Ed Harris, Gail Lingner,
Don Briggs, James Petullo and Scott Taylor.

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 31st, 2018
FINAL STANDINGS After 5 Rounds

Points Players

4.0 Cappallo, Felton

3.5 Paulson, Godin, Gladding, Gurge

3.0 LePoer, Mirijanian, Barlas, Brassard, McNeilage, Fratturelli

2.5 King, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Hankard, Commisso, Donahue, Ri. Pulya, Lavoie, Biglow, Bastarache

2.0 Lynch, Burke, Richardson, Ra. Pulya

1.5 Ubiera, Harris, Mathieu, O'Rourke, Gawboy, Ostrowski

1.0 Lingner, Briggs, Petullo, Taylor

0.5 McLaughlin, Kiser

♔ 2018 Reggie Boone Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st-2nd: Roger Cappallo of Groton, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg

Top U1900: Larry Gladding and Ken Gurge, both of Leominster

Top U1700: Tom Fratturelli of Leominster

Top U1500: Nik Lavoie of Worcester, Brian Biglow and John Bastarache,
both of Fitchburg

Top U1300: Raaga Pulya of Acton

A total of 3 players
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following players had
a rating increase of
50 or more points:
Raaga Pulya + 100

Ritvik Pulya + 62

Jim Donahue + 51

A total of 6 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved
a new all-time high rating:
William Burke 1665

Ritvik Pulya 1567

Nik Lavoie 1494

Scott Taylor 1488/P1

Don Ostrowski 1252/P4

Raaga Pulya 714

Congratulations to all!

Pictures from this year's Reggie Boone Memorial tournament.

Current 2018 Championship Grand Prix Standings

Club Members Hometown Current Rating As Of 1/31/18 All-Time High TITLE Total Games� W L D Grand Prix Points Pct.

PAUL GODIN Bedford 1961 2020 1st Cat. 28 16 4 8 20.0 .714

ROGER CAPPALLO Groton 1956 2102 Can. Master 28 17 5 6 20.0 .714

LARRY GLADDING Leominster 1813 1953 1st Cat. 29 18 9 2 19.0 .655

RAYMOND PAULSON Lowell 1997 2085 1st Cat. 22 14 3 5 16.5 .750

KEN GURGE Leominster 1769 1856 2nd Cat. 26 14 7 5 16.5 .635

DAVE COUTURE Westminster 1703 1858 1st Cat. 29 14 10 5 16.5 .569

GARY BRASSARD Leominster 1769 1904 1st Cat. 26 14 8 4 16.0 .615

ARTHUR BARLAS Chelmsford 1826 1833 2nd Cat. 20 13 4 3 14.5 .725

BRUCE FELTON Fitchburg 1864 1971 1st Cat. 22 13 6 3 14.5 .659

RALPH MCNEILAGE Worcester 1757 1773 3rd Cat. 24 10 7 7 13.5 .563

MIKE COMMISSO Brookline, NH 1582 1719 3rd Cat. 28 11 12 5 13.5 .482

JAMES HANKARD Antrim, NH 1600 1816 2nd Cat. 29 11 13 5 13.5 .466

WILLIAM BURKE Leominster 1663 1663 3rd Cat. 23 10 7 6 13.0 .565

BRETT KILDAHL Worcester 2129 2214 Natl. Master 15 12 3 0 12.0 .800

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN Fitchburg 1929 2186 1st Cat. 15 10 2 3 11.5 .767

DIEGO UBIERA Worcester 2008 2008 1st Cat. 12 10 1 1 10.5 .875

Championship Grand Prix Archive

REMINDER: The next club tournament, the George E. O'Rourke Memorial, will start Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Players must be present in Room C159 of the McKay Complex by 7 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.

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January 31st, 2018

Updated Projected Round 5 pairings for Reggie Boone Memorial

Updated (SwissSys) Projected Round 5 Pairings for January 31st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1 Paul Godin (3.0) Roger Cappallo (3.5) 2 Gary Brassard (3.0) Bruce Felton (3.0) 3 Dave Thomas (2.5) Ray Paulson (2.5) 4 Arthur Barlas (2.5) Jim Hankard (2.5) 5 Larry Gladding (2.5) Jim Donahue (2.5) 6 Mike Meehan (2.5) Ken Gurge (2.5) 7 Ritvik Pulya (2.5) Ralph McNeilage (2.5) 8 Nik Lavoie (2.0) Geoff Lepoer (2.0) 9 George Mirijanian (2.0) Tom Fratturelli (2.0) 10 Raaga Pulya (2.0) Paul Lynch (2.0) 11 Harry Richardson (2.0) Dave Couture (2.0) 12 Larry O'Rourke (1.5) Diego Ubiera (1.5) 13 Brian Biglow (1.5) Ed Harris (1.5) 14 Michael Commisso (1.5) Don Ostrowski (1.5) 15 John Bastarache (1.5) Bob Mathieu (1.5) 16 Scott Taylor (1.0) Gail Lingner (1.0) 17 James Petullo (1.0) Andrew Kiser (0.5) 18 Hugh McLaughlin (0.5) Emily Gawboy (0.5)

January 30th, 2018

Wachusett CC players Paulson & Donahue runners-up in 2018 Billerica January Swiss

Current Wachusett Chess Club champion Ray Paulson of Lowell and fellow Wachusett CC member Jim Donahue of Stow were among the runners-up in the Billerica January Swiss, played Friday nights, Jan. 12-26 at the Billerica Chess Club in the town's senior center. Both shared those honors with the top-rated player, expert Tim Bromley of Billerica. All three tallied 2-1 in a 12-player field. Winning the tournament with a score of 2.5-0.5 was expert Arthur Nugent of Beverly. Nugent is the longtime contact person for the Billerica Chess Club.
-George M

January 24th, 2018

2018 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 24th, 2018
Round 4 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Paul Godin

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Larry Gladding

Ralph McNeilage 1/2-1/2 Ray Paulson

Jim Donahue 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas

Dave Couture 0-1 Gary Brassard

Harry Richardson 0-1 Dave Thomas

Ken Gurge 1-0 Mike Commisso

Bob Mathieu 0-1 Mike Meehan

Jim Hankard 1-0 Larry O'Rourke

Tom Fratturelli 1-0 John Bastarache

Don Briggs 0-1 Nik Lavoie

Andrew Kiser 0-1 Brian Biglow

Don Ostrowski 1-0 Hugh McLaughlin

Emily Gawboy 0-1 Scott Taylor

Total of 14 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ritvik Pulya, Geoff LePoer, George Mirijanian, Paul Lynch, Bill Burke,
Raaga Pulya, Diego Ubiera, Ed Harris, Gail Lingner and James Petullo.
♙ Vince Premus withdrew from the tournament.

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 24th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds

Points Players

3.5 Cappallo

3.0 Godin, Felton, Brassard

2.5 Paulson, Barlas, Gladding, Gurge, McNeilage, Thomas, Meehan, Hankard, Donahue, Ri. Pulya

2.0 LePoer, Mirijanian, Lynch, Couture, Burke, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Richardson, Ra. Paulya

1.5 Ubiera, Harris, Commisso, Mathieu, O'Rourke, Biglow, Bastarache, Ostrowski

1.0 Lingner, Briggs, Petullo, Taylor

0.5 McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy

Projected Round 5 Pairings for January 31st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Cappallo Board 2: Brassard vs. Felton Board 3:Thomas vs. Paulson Board 4: Barlas vs. Meehan Board 5: Gladding vs. Hankard Board 6: Donahue vs. Gurge Board 7: Ri. Pulya vs. McNeilage Board 8: Fratturelli vs. LePoer Board 9: Lavoie vs. Mirijanian Board 10: Ra. Pulya vs. Lynch Board 11: Richardson vs. Couture Board 12: O'Rourke vs. Ubiera Board 13: Biglow vs. Harris Board 14: Commisso vs. Ostrowski Board 15: Bastarache vs. Mathieu Board 16: Lingner vs. Petullo Board 17: Taylor vs. Kiser Board 18: McLaughlin vs. Gawboy

♖ Not paired for Round 5 are: Burke and Briggs.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Scott Taylor of Londonderry, NH. This is his first USCF-rated tournament.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on January 31st.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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January 17th, 2018

2018 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 3 of 5

Players receive half-point byes for round 3 due to snow

♝ Receiving half-point byes were: Paul Godin, Roger Cappallo, Bruce Felton, Larry Gladding, Ray Paulson, Arthur Barlas,
Gary Brassard, Ralph McNeilage, Dave Couture, Jim Donahue, Ritvik Pulya, Harry Richardson, Geoff LePoer, George Mirijanian,
Ken Gurge, Paul Lynch, Dave Thomas, Mike Meehan, Vince Premus, Bill Burke, Jim Hankard, Mike Commisso, Bob Mathieu,
Larry O'Rourke, John Bastarache, Raaga Pulya, Diego Ubiera, Ed Harris, Tom Fratturelli, Nik Lavoie, Don Briggs, Gail Lingner,
Brian Biglow, Hugh McLaughlin, Andrew Kiser, Emily Gawboy, James Petullo, & Don Ostrowski.
♙ Rob King, Alan Condon, Wayne Steadman and Francis Scanlon were withdrawn from the tournament.

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 17th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds

Points Players

2.5 Godin, Cappallo, Felton, Gladding

2.0 Paulson, Barlas, Brassard, McNeilage, Couture, Donahue, Ri. Pulya, Richardson

1.5 LePoer, Mirijanian, Gurge, Lynch, Thomas, Meehan, Premus, Burke, Hankard, Commisso, Mathieu,
O'Rourke, Bastarache, Ra. Pulya

1.0 Ubiera, Harris, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Briggs

0.5 Lingner, Biglow, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Petullo, Ostrowski

Projected Round 4 Pairings for January 24th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1 Bruce Felton (2.5) Paul Godin (2.5) 2 Roger Cappallo (2.5) Larry Gladding (2.5) 3 Ralph McNeilage (2.0) Ray Paulson (2.0) 4 Jim Donahue (2.0) Arthur Barlas (2.0) 5 Dave Couture (2.0) Gary Brassard (2.0) 6 Harry Richardson (2.0) George Mirijanian (1.5) 7 Ken Gurge (1.5) Michael Commisso (1.5) 8 Jim Hankard (1.5) Paul Lynch (1.5) 9 Bob Mathieu (1.5) Dave Thomas (1.5) 10 Larry O'Rourke (1.5) Mike Meehan (1.5) 11 John Bastarache (1.5) Diego Ubiera (1.0) 12 Tom Fratturelli (1.0) Ed Harris (1.0) 13 Don Briggs (1.0) Vince Premus (1.0) 14 Gail Lingner (0.5) Nik Lavoie (1.0) 15 Brian Biglow (0.5) Emily Gawboy (0.5) 16 James Petullo (0.5) Hugh McLaughlin (0.5) 17 Andrew Kiser (0.5) Don Ostrowski (0.5)

♗ Requesting a half-point byes for Round 4 are Geoff Lepoer, William Burke, Ritvik Pulya, & Raaga Pulya.

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on January 24th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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January 16th, 2018

Wachusett CC closed this week!

Because Fitchburg State University will be closed Wednesday, here's what we are going to do:
WE WILL NOT MEET WEDNESDAY, JAN. 17.
But instead of eliminating the round, we will give half-point byes to everyone for Round 3
except the following players (whom I am withdrawing from the tournament):
Rob King, Alan Condon, Wayne Steadman and Francis Scanlon. -GM

January 15th, 2018

Former Wachusett CC member Richard D. Chromiak dies at 22

Former Wachusett CC member Richard D. Chromiak dies at 22

Richard D. Chromiak
Richard "Richie" Dmytro Chromiak of Leominster, a former member of the Wachusett Chess Club and the U.S. Chess Federation, died on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2017. He was only 22. He was the son of Stephan and Marylee Chromiak. His father had also been a member of the Wachusett CC. Richard and his father were members of the Wachusett CC between May 2009 and April 2010. Richard played in nine club tournaments during that time. They included the 2009 Wachusett Chess Club Championship ("B" Division), Harlow Daly Memorial, Tigran Petrosian Memorial, Hervey R. Brisson Memorial, Arthur Bisguier Octogenarian Tournament, George Sturgis Memorial, Reggie Boone Memorial, George O'Rourke Memorial, and the Wachusett Chess Club Championship Prelims. Among current club members he faced were Ken Gurge, Lenny Arsenault, Tom Fratturelli, Wayne Steadman, Brian Biglow and Francis Scanlon. He had a win and a draw against Scanlon, and a win against Biglow.

A memorial service for Richard D. Chromiak will be held Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 at 10 a.m. in Grace Baptist Church, 42 River Road, Pepperell, MA 01463, on Saturday, January 27, 2018, at 10:00 am. Reception immediately following the service.

Richard's obituary is published at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fitchburg/obituary.aspx?n=richard-dmytro-chromiak&pid=187845527
-George M

January 13th, 2018

Instructional video #3 from Rob King

NM Rob King has posted another instructional video on YouTube as part of the
Metrowest Chess Club Video Series:
♖ Fischer - Benko, 1963
Check it out / share if you would like.
Thanks!
Rob

January 10th, 2018

2018 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 10th, 2018
Round 2 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Paul Godin 1-0 Ken Gurge

Paul Lynch 0-1 Roger Cappallo

Dave Thomas 0-1 Bruce Felton

Arthur Barlas 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture

Mike Meehan 0-1 Larry Gladding

Gary Brassard 1/2-1/2 Ritvik Pulya

Diego Ubiera 0-1 ♔ Jim Donahue

Ralph McNeilage 1-0 Tom Fratturelli

Ed Harris 0-1 ♔ Harry Richardson

Geoff LePoer 1-0 Don Briggs

Bill Burke 1-0 Brian Biglow

Hugh McLaughlin 0-1 Jim Hankard

Mike Commisso 1-0 Andrew Kiser

♔ Raaga Pulya 1-0 Gail Lingner

Bob Mathieu 1-0 Emily Gawboy

Larry O'Rourke 1-0 James Petullo

John Bastarache 1-0 Don Ostrowski

Total of 17 boards, 3 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ray Paulson, Rob King, George Mirijanian, Vince Premus, Alan Condon,
Wayne Steadman, Francis Scanlon and Nik Lavoie.
♙ Tom Whistler withdrew from the tournament.

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 10th, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds

Points Players

2.0 Godin, Cappallo, Felton, Gladding

1.5 Paulson, Barlas, Brassard, McNeilage, Couture, Donahue, Ri. Pulya, Richardson

1.0 King, LePoer, Mirijanian, Gurge, Lynch, Thomas, Meehan, Premus, Burke, Condon, Hankard, Commisso, Mathieu, O'Rourke,
Bastarache, Steadman, Scanlon, Ra. Pulya

0.5 Ubiera, Harris, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Briggs

0.0 Lingner, Biglow, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Petullo, Ostrowski

Projected Round 3 Pairings for January 17th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Felton vs. Godin Board 2: Cappallo vs. Gladding Board 3: Couture vs. Paulson Board 4: Donahue vs. Barlas Board 5: Richardson vs. Brassard Board 6: Ri. Pulya vs. McNeilage Board 7: King vs. O'Rourke Board 8: Hankard vs. LePoer Board 9: Mirijanian vs. Commisso Board 10: Gurge vs. Mathieu Board 11: Condon vs. Lynch Board 12: Bastarache vs. Thomas Board 13: Steadman vs. Meehan Board 14: Ra. Pulya vs. Burke Board 15: Fratturelli vs. Ubiera Board 16: Briggs vs. Harris Board 17: Lingner vs. Lavoie Board 18: Biglow vs. Gawboy Board 19: Petullo vs. McLaughlin Board 20: Kiser vs. Ostrowski

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on January 17th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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January 8th, 2018

Former Wachusett CC member Dean E. Turra dies at 62

Former Wachusett CC member Dean E. Turra dies at 62

Dean E. Turra
Dean E. Turra, a USCF life member and a former member of the Wachusett Chess Club, died Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at his home in Fitchburg. He was 62. Born Oct. 22, 1955 in Shirley, Mass., the son of Frank and Josephine (Bartolo) Turra, he graduated from Ayer High School in 1973. Dean served in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1978. During that time, he became chess champion at Fort Meade in Maryland. While serving in the Army, he enrolled in the University of Maryland and continued his education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

After graduating from UMass-Amherst in 1982 with a degree in business, Dean joined the Wachusett Chess Club, which at that time was meeting at the St. Joseph Club in the Cleghorn section of Fitchburg. Dean became one of the most active members of the club during the 1980s and continued playing there right into the early 1990s. His last tournament at the club was the Wachusett CC Fall Swiss, held October-November 1992. His last over-the-board tournament was the Nashoba Chess Club July Swiss, held in Westford, Mass. in 1995. While playing at the Wachusett CC, Dean was a key member of the Wachusett CC team that narrowly lost a 14-board match to the Framingham Chess Club on April 2, 1985 at the American Legion in Framingham. Outrated on 11 of 14 boards, the Wachusett CC team lost 7.5 to 6.5, with Dean scoring a crucial win on board 8.

A funeral Mass for Dean Turra will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, at St. Mary's Church, 31 Shirley St., Ayer. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Dean's family will receive family and friends 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Anderson Funeral Home, 25 Fitchburg Road, Ayer. For more information, visit: http://www.andersonfuneral.com/?s=Turra
or
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fitchburg/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=187766034.
-George M

January 3rd, 2018

2018 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 1 of 5

Ritvik Pulya opens new year with another big upset!

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 3rd, 2018
Round 1 of 5 Results
White Result Black

Ray Paulson 1-0 Bill Burke

Jim Hankard 0-1 Paul Godin

Roger Cappallo 1-0 Mike Commisso

♔ Ritvik Pulya 1-0 Geoff LePoer

Bruce Felton 1-0 Bob Mathieu

Nik Lavoie 0-1 Arthur Barlas

Larry Gladding 1-0 Larry O'Rourke

Brian Biglow 0-1 Gary Brassard

Ken Gurge 1-0 John Bastarache

♖ Don Briggs 1/2-1/2 Ralph McNeilage

Paul Lynch 1-0 Hugh McLaughlin

Emily Gawboy 0-1 Dave Thomas

Dave Couture 1-0 Raaga Pulya

Don Ostrowski 0-1 Mike Meehan

Total of 14 boards,
1 major upset (♔ ♕) 1 upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Rob King, Diego Ubiera, George Mirijanian, Vince Premus,
Alan Condon, Jim Donahue, Tom Fratturelli, Harry Richardson, Wayne Steadman, Francis Scanlon, and Tom Whistler.
♖ Not playing round 1 were Gail Lingner, Andrew Kiser, and James Petullo.

Reggie Boone Memorial, January 3rd, 2018
CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds

Points Players

1.0 Paulson, Godin, Cappallo, Felton, Barlas, Gladding, Brassard, Gurge, Lynch, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Ri. Pulya

0.5 King, Ubiera, Mirijanian, McNeilage, Premus, Condon, Donahue, Fratturelli, Richardson, Steadman, Briggs, Scanlon,
Whistler

0.0 LePoer, Burke, Hankard, Commisso, Lingner, Mathieu, Lavoie, O'Rourke, Biglow, Bastarache, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Ra.
Pulya, Petullo, Ostrowski

Projected Round 2 Pairings for January 10th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Gurge Board 2: Lynch vs. Cappallo Board 3: Thomas vs. Felton Board 4: Barlas vs. Couture Board 5: Meehan vs. Gladding Board 6: Brassard vs. Ri. Pulya Board 7: Fratturelli vs. King Board 8: Ubiera vs. Richardson Board 9: Steadman vs. Mirijanian Board 10: McNeilage vs. Scanlon Board 11: Condon vs. Briggs Board 12: Whistler vs. Donahue Board 13: LePoer vs. Biglow Board 14: Burke vs. Kiser Board 15: Bastarache vs. Hankard Board 16: Commisso vs. Gawboy Board 17: McLaughlin vs. Lingner Board 18: Mathieu vs. Petullo Board 19: Ra. Pulya vs. Lavoie Board 20: O'Rourke vs. Ostrowski

♗ Ray Paulson and Vince Premus are requesting half-point byes for Round 2.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes new player, Don Ostrowski (Ph.D) of Fitchburg, a senior advisor and lecturer in social studies at Harvard University Extension School, where he teaches world history.
Don also serves on the Fitchburg Historical Commission and was a member years ago of the Reading (Pennsylvania) Chess Club. Welcome Don!

REMINDER: Players must be present in Room C159 by by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on January 10th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

Reminder: Your digital electronic chess clock doesn't like the cold either!

"In surface-mount designs, the differential temperature coefficient of expansion between the parts-soldered-to-the-circuit-board and the circuit board can cause large stresses. The stress-strain-temperature relationship often barely works over the specified temperature range. When the equipment is powered up, the hot components can change shape and break the brittle plastic, much like my old ice chest."

"If the equipment is below zero degrees C [32 degrees F] and then you take it into a nice warm, humid office, water will condense on the circuit boards and can cause problems. Presumably a similar thing can happen with frost, depending on the weather. When the frost melts, there can be problems."
For more info, refer to:
Storing electronics at low temperatures
Operating electronics at low temperatures
Most electronic chess clocks are difficult &/or expensive to repair, so don't leave your clock in your car overnight!

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January 1st, 2018

Ratings in effect for Reggie Boone Memorial (Jan. 3, 2018)

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Ratings in effect for
the 2018 Reggie Boone Memorial tournament:
1 Rob King 2220

2 Brett Kildahl 2129

3 Diego Ubiera 2008

4 Ray Paulson 2002

5 Paul Godin 1961

6 Roger Cappallo 1956

7 Geoff LePoer 1955

8 George Mirijanian 1929

9 Bruce Felton 1864

10 Arthur Barlas 1826

11 Larry Gladding 1813

12 Vlad Gaciu 1777

13 Gary Brassard 1769

14 Ken Gurge 1769

15 Ralph McNeilage 1756

16 Paul Lynch 1710

17 Dave Thomas 1708

18 Dave Couture 1703

19 Mike Meehan 1678

20 Vince Premus 1676

21 Bill Burke 1663

22 Lenny Arsenault 1631

23 Alan Condon 1605

24 Roland Booker 1600

25 Jim Hankard 1600

26 Mike Commisso 1582

27 Jim Donahue 1579

28 Tom Fratturelli 1542

29 Gail Lingner 1507

30 Ritvik Pulya 1505

31 Bob Mathieu 1487

32 Harry Richardson 1448

33 Larry O'Rourke 1405

34 Brian Biglow 1400

35 John Bastarache 14000

36 Randy McLaughlin 1371

37 Wayne Steadman 1326

38 Don Briggs 1316

39 Hugh McLaughlin 1208

40 Andrew Kiser 1144

41 Francis Scanlon 1077

42 Emily Gawboy 1070

43 Tom Whistler 1047

44 Raaga Pulya 613

45 James Petullo 515

January 1st, 2018

John Curdo reissues "Chess Caviar" series of 3 books.

Each book contains 100 instructive insightful & entertaining mineature games by FM John Curdo, arguably New England's most successful & prolific practioner of the game.
"Chess Caviar" - 100 games with notes & annotations by John Curdo - $10.
"More Chess Caviar" by John Curdo - 100 more games with notes & annotations by John Curdo - $10.
"Still More Chess Caviar" by John Curdo - yet another 100 games with notes & annotations by John Curdo - $10.

"A necessary & welcome component of any chess library!"
Any or all of these books may be purchased directly from John Curdo at jacurdo@verizon.net.

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For information & news stories from 2017, please refer to the WCC 2017-News Archive

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♚ WCC News Archives: ♚
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005

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Photo credits unless otherwise noted: Dave Couture
Wachusett Chess Clob Logo design: Joe Bennett
2015 Web Site Design Revision & Maintenance: Paul Godin
Content: George Mirijanian, Paul Godin, Dave Couture, Arthur Barlas & other individual contributors
Tournament Results: Larry Gladding & George Mirijanian
Tournament Reports: Paul Godin
YouTube Videos: Roger Cappallo & Brett Kildahl
Club Member Statistics & Spreadsheets: Dave Couture & Paul Godin
Copyright: © PG Designs, 2015, 2016, 2017 all rights reserved.
♙ ♘ ♗ ♖ ♕ ♔ Wachusett Chess Club ♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙

WCC News 2018 ♔

International News & RSS Feeds:

Nearby Chess Events:

USCF Events by State:

Miscellaneous News & Other Chess Events of Interest:

♔ ♞ Print or download a .PDF version of the Wachusett Chess Club Flyer ♘ ♚

YOU CAN NOW EASILY CONVERT YOUR GAMES TO PGN FORMAT & EMAIL THEM! ♗ ♞ ♖

An unofficial but nice to have Glossary of Chess terms ♜ ♘ ♝

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Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 5/9/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1982	2102	Can. Master	39	25	5	9	29.5	.756
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1949	2020	1st Cat.	40	23	6	11	28.5	.713
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1795	1953	1st Cat.	41	25	13	3	26.5	.646
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1778	1858	1st Cat.	38	21	12	5	23.5	.618

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	Fitchburg	1959	2186	1st Cat.	20	15	2	3	16.5	.825
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1920	1971	1st Cat.	30	19	6	5	21.5	.717
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1750	1833	2nd Cat.	24	14	6	4	16.0	.667
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1741	1856	2nd Cat.	37	19	10	8	23.0	.622

GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1757	1904	1st Cat.	37	20	12	5	22.5	.608
RALPH MCNEILAGE	Worcester	1649	1773	3rd Cat.	35	15	12	8	19.0	.543
MIKE COMMISSO	Brookline, NH	1741	1753	2nd Cat.	38	17	14	7	20.5	.539

Background color key:
Clinched playoff spot	Qualified by Grand Prix Points	Qualified by win percentage	Eligible but not yet qualified	Ineligible but voted in

♔ 2018 Martin Laine Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st: ♔	Dave Couture of Westminster
2nd-3rd:	George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Mariano Rivera of Leominster
Top U1850:	Gary Brassard of Leominster
Top U1650:	Roland Booker of Fitchburg, Jim Donahue of Stow, Tom Fratturelli of Leominster
Top U1450:	Michael David of Groton
Top U1250:	Emily Gawboy of Leominster, Francis Scanlon of Fitchburg, Larry Legros of Millbury

Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 5/2/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1997	2102	Can. Master	38	24	5	9	28.5	.750
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1960	2020	1st Cat.	39	23	5	11	28.5	.731
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1824	1953	1st Cat.	40	24	13	3	25.5	.638
RAYMOND PAULSON	Lowell	1939	2085	1st Cat.	32	20	7	5	22.5	.703
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1690	1858	1st Cat.	37	20	12	5	22.5	.608
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1754	1856	2nd Cat.	36	18	10	8	22.0	.611
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1920	1971	1st Cat.	30	19	6	5	21.5	.717
GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1753	1904	1st Cat.	36	19	12	5	21.5	.597
RALPH MCNEILAGE	Worcester	1717	1773	3rd Cat.	34	15	11	8	19.0	.559
WILLIAM BURKE	Leominster	1611	1665	3rd Cat.	33	14	13	6	17.0	.515
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1783	1833	2nd Cat.	23	14	5	4	16.0	.696
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	Fitchburg	1937	2186	1st Cat.	19	14	2	3	15.5	.816
GEOFF LEPOER	Westford	1924	1964	1st Cat.	19	14	3	2	15.0	.789
DAVID THOMAS	Fitchburg	1783	1837	2nd Cat.	19	10	5	4	12.0	.632
ROLAND BOOKER	Fitchburg	1618	1958	2nd Cat.	18	9	6	3	10.5	.583

CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
3.0	LePoer, Couture
2.5	Godin, Mirijanian, Lavoie, Rivera
2.0	Cappallo, Barlas, Brassard, Harris, Booker, Donahue, David
1.5	Paulson, Thomas, Gurge, Commisso, McNeilage, Hankard, Meehan, Burke, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski
1.0	Gladding, Condon, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Briggs, Scanlon, Legros
0.5	Parker, Biglow, O'Rourke, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya
0.0	Gawboy

Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 4/25/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1997	2102	Can. Master	37	24	5	8	28.0	.757
RAYMOND PAULSON	Lowell	1939	2085	1st Cat.	31	20	6	5	22.5	.726
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1960	2020	1st Cat.	38	22	5	11	27.5	.724
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1920	1971	1st Cat.	30	19	6	5	21.5	.717
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1783	1833	2nd Cat.	22	13	5	4	15.0	.682
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1824	1953	1st Cat.	39	24	12	3	25.5	.654
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1754	1856	2nd Cat.	36	18	10	8	22.0	.611
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1690	1858	1st Cat.	36	19	12	5	21.5	.597
GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1753	1904	1st Cat.	35	18	12	5	20.5	.586

CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds
Points	Players
2.0	LePoer, Harris, Couture, David, Rivera
1.5	Cappallo, Godin, Paulson, Mirijanian, Thomas, Lavoie, Hankard
1.0	Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Brassard, McNeilage, Booker, Donahue, Burke, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Scanlon
0.5	Felton, Commisso, Premus, Parker, Meehan, Condon, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski, Biglow, O'Rourke, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya
0.0	Briggs, (McLaughlin), Kiser, Gawboy, Legros

Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 4/18/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1997	2102	Can. Master	36	23	5	8	27.0	.750
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1960	2020	1st Cat.	37	21	5	11	26.5	.716
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1823	1953	1st Cat.	38	24	11	3	25.5	.671
RAYMOND PAULSON	Lowell	1939	2085	1st Cat.	31	20	6	5	22.5	.726
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1754	1856	2nd Cat.	35	18	9	8	22.0	.629
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1920	1971	1st Cat.	30	19	6	5	21.5	.717
GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1753	1904	1st Cat.	34	18	11	5	20.5	.603
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1689	1858	1st Cat.	35	18	12	5	20.5	.586
RALPH MCNEILAGE	Worcester	1713	1773	3rd Cat.	33	14	11	8	18.0	.545
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1783	1833	2nd Cat.	22	13	5	4	15.0	.682
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	Fitchburg	1937	2186	1st Cat.	18	13	2	3	14.5	.806

CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds
Points	Players
1.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, LePoer, Gladding, Gurge, Brassard, Lavoie, Harris, Couture, Booker, David, Rivera, Scanlon
0.5	Cappallo, Ubiera, Godin, Felton, Thomas, Barlas, Premus, Hankard, Donahue, Meehan, Ri. Pulya, Ostrowski, Biglow, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya
0.0	Commisso, McNeilage, Parker, Burke, Condon, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Briggs, O'Rourke, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Legros

FINAL STANDINGS After 5 Rounds
Points	Players
4.0	Cappallo, Godin, Felton,Thomas, Commisso
3.5	Gladding
3.0	Paulson, LePoer, Bennett, Gurge, Couture, Hankard, Fratturelli
2.5	Mirijanian, Brassard, McNeilage, Donahue, Ri. Pulya, Biglow, Briggs, Rivera
2.0	Harris, Burke, Meehan, Booker, Lavoie, Ostrowski, Bastarache, David, Ra. Pulya
1.5	O'Rourke, Gawboy, Cullen
1.0	Barlas, McLaughlin, Kiser, Whistler
0.5	Scanlon

♔ 2018 Evert Siiskonen Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st-5th:	Roger Cappallo of Groton, Paul Godin of Bedford, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, Dave Thomas of Fitchburg, Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH
Top U1900:	Dave Thomas
Top U1700:	Mike Commisso
Top U1500:	Brian Biglow of Fitchburg, Don Briggs of Lunenburg
Top U1300:	Mariano Rivera of Leominster

Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 4/11/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1987	2102	Can. Master	35	23	5	7	26.5	.757
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1960	2020	1st Cat.	36	21	5	10	26.0	.722
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1837	1953	1st Cat.	37	23	11	3	24.5	.662
RAYMOND PAULSON	Lowell	1971	2085	1st Cat.	30	19	6	5	21.5	.717
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1913	1971	1st Cat.	30	19	6	5	21.5	.717
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1747	1856	2nd Cat.	34	17	9	8	21.0	.618
GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1768	1904	1st Cat.	33	17	11	5	19.5	.591
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1665	1858	1st Cat.	34	17	12	5	19.5	.574
MIKE COMMISSO	Brookline, NH	1578	1719	3rd Cat.	35	15	13	7	18.5	.529
RALPH MCNEILAGE	Worcester	1741	1773	3rd Cat.	32	14	10	8	18.0	.563
JAMES HANKARD	Antrim, NH	1629	1816	2nd Cat.	37	15	16	6	18.0	.486
WILLIAM BURKE	Leominster	1633	1665	3rd Cat.	31	13	12	6	16.0	.516
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1815	1833	2nd Cat.	21	13	5	3	14.5	.690
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	Fitchburg	1933	2186	1st Cat.	17	12	2	3	13.5	.794

CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds
Points	Players
3.5	Cappallo, Felton
3.0	Paulson, Godin, Bennett, Gurge, Thomas, Commisso
2.5	Mirijanian, Gladding, Brassard, Ri. Pulya
2.0	LePoer, Harris, Couture, Donahue, Burke, Hankard, Booker, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Ostrowski. Briggs, Ra. Pulya
1.5	McNeilage, Meehan, Biglow, Bastarache, Rivera, Cullen
1.0	Barlas, Lingner, O'Rourke, Kiser, Gawboy, David, Whistler
0.5	Scanlon
0.0	McLaughlin

CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
3.0	Bennett
2.5	Cappallo, Felton, Brassard
2.0	Paulson, Godin, Gurge, Harris, Thomas, Couture, Burke, Hankard, Commisso, Ri. Pulya, Lavoie
1.5	LePoer, Mirijanian, Gladding, Donahue, Meehan, Booker, Ostrowski, Cullen, Ra. Pulya
1.0	McNeilage, Fratturelli, Biglow, Briggs, David, Rivera, Gawboy
0.5	Lingner, Bastarache, Kiser, Whistler
0.0	O'Rourke, McLaughlin

CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds
Points	Players
2.0	Cappallo, Bennett, Couture, Lavoie
1.5	Godin, Felton, Brassard, Gurge, Thomas, Donahue, Meehan, Commisso
1.0	King, Paulson, Ubiera, LePoer, Mirijanian, Gladding, McNeilage, Harris, Premus, Burke, Hankard, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Mathieu, Richardson, Biglow, David
0.5	Lingner, Ostrowski, Bastarache, Kiser, Whistler, Cullen, Ra. Pulya
0.0	Briggs, McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Rivera, Gawboy

CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds
Points	Players
1.0	Cappallo, Godin, Gladding, Bennett, Brassard, Gurge, McNeilage, Harris, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Hankard, Commisso, Lavoie, David
0.5	King, Ubiera, Mirijanian, Felton, Barlas, Premus, Donahue, Ostrowski, Mathieu, Richardson, Cullen
0.0	Paulson, LePoer, Burke, Ri. Pulya, Fratturelli, Lingner, Biglow, Bastarache, Briggs, O'Rourke, McLaughlin, Kiser, Rivera, Gawboy, Whistler, Ra. Pulya

♔ 2018 George E. O'Rourke Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st-2nd:	Roger Cappallo of Groton, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg
Top U1850:	Larry Gladding of Leominster, Ralph McNeilage of Worcester
Top U1700:	Mike Meehan of Westminster, Jim Donahue of Stow, Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH, Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH, Ritvik Pulya of Acton
Top U1550:	Tom Fratturelli and Manuel Rivera, both of Leominster, Nik Lavoie of Worcester, Bob Mathieu of Ashburnham
Top U1400:	Don Ostrowski of Fitchburg

Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 3/7/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1987	2102	Can. Master	31	20	5	6	23.0	.742
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1960	2020	1st Cat.	31	18	5	8	22.0	.710
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1837	1953	1st Cat.	32	20	10	2	21.0	.656
RAYMOND PAULSON	Lowell	1988	2085	1st Cat.	25	16	4	5	18.5	.740
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1747	1856	2nd Cat.	29	15	8	6	18.0	.621
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1913	1971	1st Cat.	25	16	6	3	17.5	.700
GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1768	1904	1st Cat.	28	15	9	4	17.0	.607
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1686	1858	1st Cat.	29	14	10	5	16.5	.569
RALPH MCNEILAGE	Worcester	1726	1773	3rd Cat.	27	12	8	7	15.5	.574
JAMES HANKARD	Antrim, NH	1615	1816	2nd Cat.	32	12	14	6	15.0	.469
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1815	1833	2nd Cat.	20	13	4	3	14.5	.725
MIKE COMMISSO	Brookline, NH	1578	1719	3rd Cat.	30	12	13	5	14.5	.483
WILLIAM BURKE	Leominster	1633	1665	3rd Cat.	26	11	9	6	14.0	.538
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	Fitchburg	1933	2186	1st Cat.	16	11	2	3	12.5	.781
BRIAN BIGLOW	Fitchburg	1418	1693	3rd Cat.	31	11	17	3	12.5	.403
BRETT KILDAHL	Worcester	2129	2214	Natl. Master	15	12	3	0	12.0	.800
DIEGO UBIERA	Worcester	1985	2008	1st Cat.	13	11	1	1	11.5	.885
JIM DONAHUE	Stow	1658	1738	3rd Cat.	24	8	10	6	11.0	.458

CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
2.5	Cappallo, Godin, LePoer, Felton, Gladding
2.0	King, Ubiera, Brassard, Lavoie
1.5	Paulson, Mirijanian, Gurge, McNeilage, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Burke, Donahue, Hankard, Commisso, Fratturelli, Biglow, Briggs, Ostrowski, Rivera
1.0	Ri. Pulya, Mathieu, Gawboy, Cullen, Ra, Pulya
0.5	Richardson, Bastarache, O'Rourke, Kiser, Whistler
0.0	David

CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds
Points	Players
1.5	King, Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, LePoer, Felton, Gladding, McNeilage, Thomas, Burke, Meehan, Briggs
1.0	Ubiera, Mirijanian, Brassard, Couture, Donahue, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Taylor, Mathieu, Cullen, Ra. Pulya, Petullo
0.5	Gurge, Hankard, Commisso, Ri. Pulya, Richardson, Biglow, Bastarache, O'Rourke, Ostrowski, Kiser, Gawboy, Whistler, Rivera

Club Members	Hometown	Current Rating As Of 1/31/18	All-Time High	TITLE	Total Games�	W	L	D	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
PAUL GODIN	Bedford	1961	2020	1st Cat.	28	16	4	8	20.0	.714
ROGER CAPPALLO	Groton	1956	2102	Can. Master	28	17	5	6	20.0	.714
LARRY GLADDING	Leominster	1813	1953	1st Cat.	29	18	9	2	19.0	.655
RAYMOND PAULSON	Lowell	1997	2085	1st Cat.	22	14	3	5	16.5	.750
KEN GURGE	Leominster	1769	1856	2nd Cat.	26	14	7	5	16.5	.635
DAVE COUTURE	Westminster	1703	1858	1st Cat.	29	14	10	5	16.5	.569
GARY BRASSARD	Leominster	1769	1904	1st Cat.	26	14	8	4	16.0	.615
ARTHUR BARLAS	Chelmsford	1826	1833	2nd Cat.	20	13	4	3	14.5	.725
BRUCE FELTON	Fitchburg	1864	1971	1st Cat.	22	13	6	3	14.5	.659
RALPH MCNEILAGE	Worcester	1757	1773	3rd Cat.	24	10	7	7	13.5	.563
MIKE COMMISSO	Brookline, NH	1582	1719	3rd Cat.	28	11	12	5	13.5	.482
JAMES HANKARD	Antrim, NH	1600	1816	2nd Cat.	29	11	13	5	13.5	.466
WILLIAM BURKE	Leominster	1663	1663	3rd Cat.	23	10	7	6	13.0	.565
BRETT KILDAHL	Worcester	2129	2214	Natl. Master	15	12	3	0	12.0	.800
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN	Fitchburg	1929	2186	1st Cat.	15	10	2	3	11.5	.767
DIEGO UBIERA	Worcester	2008	2008	1st Cat.	12	10	1	1	10.5	.875

CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds
Points	Players
3.5	Cappallo
3.0	Godin, Felton, Brassard
2.5	Paulson, Barlas, Gladding, Gurge, McNeilage, Thomas, Meehan, Hankard, Donahue, Ri. Pulya
2.0	LePoer, Mirijanian, Lynch, Couture, Burke, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Richardson, Ra. Paulya
1.5	Ubiera, Harris, Commisso, Mathieu, O'Rourke, Biglow, Bastarache, Ostrowski
1.0	Lingner, Briggs, Petullo, Taylor
0.5	McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy

CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
2.5	Godin, Cappallo, Felton, Gladding
2.0	Paulson, Barlas, Brassard, McNeilage, Couture, Donahue, Ri. Pulya, Richardson
1.5	LePoer, Mirijanian, Gurge, Lynch, Thomas, Meehan, Premus, Burke, Hankard, Commisso, Mathieu, O'Rourke, Bastarache, Ra. Pulya
1.0	Ubiera, Harris, Fratturelli, Lavoie, Briggs
0.5	Lingner, Biglow, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Petullo, Ostrowski

CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Rounds
Points	Players
1.0	Paulson, Godin, Cappallo, Felton, Barlas, Gladding, Brassard, Gurge, Lynch, Thomas, Couture, Meehan, Ri. Pulya
0.5	King, Ubiera, Mirijanian, McNeilage, Premus, Condon, Donahue, Fratturelli, Richardson, Steadman, Briggs, Scanlon, Whistler
0.0	LePoer, Burke, Hankard, Commisso, Lingner, Mathieu, Lavoie, O'Rourke, Biglow, Bastarache, McLaughlin, Kiser, Gawboy, Ra. Pulya, Petullo, Ostrowski