WCC News 2019 ♔

Wachusett CC's Michael David wins prize in 28th Eastern Class Championships
Michael David, a Wachusett Chess Club member from Groton, tied for 3rd-5th place, sharing the 3rd-4th place prizes in the Class C section of the 28th annual Eastern Class Championships, held April 5-7 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge. David, who is the director of the Billiards Cafe Chess Club that meets Sunday nights at the Billiards Cafe at 39 Main St. in Ayer, Mass., finished with a score of 3.5-1.5 (3 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw), which included a draw with section co-winner Terrence Mooney of Connecticut.
The seven-section tournament drew a total of 225 players, not counting a blitz tournament, including four WCC members. Here are the rating updates:

Hey guys,
I played Ken Gurge on Wednesday. Here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wQIUUi_i2A
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

Three of the Wachusett Chess Club's most active players are among the more than 200 contestants set to compete this weekend, April 5-7, in the 28th annual Eastern Class Championships at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge. Taking part in the 3-day tournament, sponsored by the Continental Chess Association, are Wachusett CC members Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH and Jim Donahue of Stow, playing in the Class B section, as well as Michael David of Groton, playing in the Class C section. David was the winner of the "B" Division Championship at the Wachusett Chess Club in 2018, while Commisso was one of the runners-up in that event.
-George M

Wachusett Chess Club's Andrew Jeselson wins U2100 section in Modern Chess Conceptions Classic
Andrew Jeselson, a Wachusett Chess Club member from Leominster and a student at Fitchburg State University, scored 3.5-0.5 to capture first place in the 13-player Under 2100 section of the Modern Chess Conceptions Classic, held Sunday, March 31, at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford. The Class A player, who hails from Rome, New York and started playing rated chess in late August 2015, gained 86 rating points and boosted his rating to 1922. Winning the 11-player Championship section with a score of 4-0 was 62-year-old GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, a 14-time Massachusetts state champion.
The four-section tournament drew a total of 51 players including seven WCC members. Here are the rating updates:

Grandmaster Hikaru Nakmura, the 1th-ranked player in the world, won the 2019 U.S. Championship on Sunday, March 31, at the St. Louis Chess Club. The 31-year-old GM won his 5th national title by defeating GM Jeffery Xiong in the 11th and final round, finishing with a score of 8-3. Nakamura's previous U.S. Championship victories came in 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2016. Tying for 2nd-3rd with 7.5 points each were GM Fabiano Caruana, the No. 2 player in the world and 2016 U.S. champion, and GM Leinier Dominguez, a 5-time Cuban national champion who was making his debut in a U.S. Championship. Caruana drew with 2018 U.S. champion Sam Shankland, while Dominguez was held to a draw by GM Timur Gareyev. Tying for 4th-5th place with 6 points apiece were 2017 U.S. champion Wesley So and Massachusetts' GM Sam Sevian. Shankland ended in clear 6th place with 5.5 points. Xiong and GM Awonder Liang, who beat So, tied for 7th-8th place with 5 points each. Deadlocked in 10-12th place with 4 points apiece were GM Aleksandr Lenderman, who drew Sevian, GM Varuzhan Akobian, who defeated GM Ray Robson, and GM Gareyev. Robson finished 12th and last with 3.5 points.

Jennifer Yu clinched this year's U.S. Women's Championship in Round 10 on Saturday. She ended the tournament with a win against Massachusetts' Carissa Yip in Round 11 and finished with a phenomenal score of 10-1. Tied for 2nd-3rd place with 7.5 points each were 3-time U.S. women's champion Anna Zatonskih and Tatev Abrahamyan. In 4th place with 7 points was Annie Wang. Tied for 5th-7th place with 5 points apiece were 7-time U.S.women's champion Irina Krush, Anna Sharevich and Ashritha Eswaran. Ending up in 8th place with 4.5 points was Carissa Yip. Deadlocked in 9th-11th place with 4 points each were Maggie Feng, Sabina Foisor and Akshita Gorti. Taking 12th and last place was Emily Nguyen. Results of Round 11 games were as follows: Foisor 1-0 Zatonskih, Gorti 1/2-1/2 Abrahamyan, Wang 1/2-1/2 Sharevich, Krush 1-0 Feng, and Nguyen 0-1 Eswaran.

"Chess Chat," a program produced by the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University for Fitchburg Access Television (FATV) will present on Monday, April 1, at 7 p.m. a LIVE program about the 2019 U.S. Championship, complete with final results in the Open Division and the Women's Division. The program will coincide with the closing ceremony of this year's U.S. Championship, taking place at the St. Louis Chess Club. Hosts George Mirijanian and Dave Couture will present with analysis one of the best games from the championship: GM Sam Sevian's win in Round 7 against GM Ray Robson. The "Chess Chat" program can be seen anywhere in the world at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 1, via LIVE STREAMING at www.fatv.org
-George M

The 11th and final round of the U.S. Championship will be packed with tension on Sunday, March 31, when GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Leinier Dominguez and Fabiano Caruana square off in an attempt to win to become this year's U.S. champion. All three are deadlocked in first place with scores of 7-3. In Round 10, played on Saturday, March 30, Nakamura drew Dominguez, while Caruana defeated Aleksandr Lenderman to become one of the three leaders. A full point behind the leaders is Wesley So, who drew Massachusetts' Sam Sevian. who stands at 5.5-4.5. Results of other Round 10 games were as follows: Awonder Liang 1/2-1/2 Jeffery Xiong, Varuzhan Akobian 1/2-12 Sam Shankland, Timur Gareyev 1-0 Ray Robson. The three critical Round 11 games are as follows: Xiong vs. Nakamura, Dominguez vs. Gareyev, and Shankland vs. Caruana.
Jennifer Yu clinched 1st place in the Women's Championship on Saturday, defeating rival Anna Zatonskih in Round 10. Jennifer stands at a phenomenal 9-1 with one round to play. Despite the loss, Zatonskih remains in 2nd place with 7.5 points. A half point behind Zatonskih is Tatev Abrahamyan, who beat Sabina Foisor. Annie Wang is in 4th place with 6.5 points after beating Massachusetts' Carissa Yip, who is tied for 5th-6th place with Anna Sharevich, both of whom have 4.5 points. Sharevich downed Emily Nguyen. Results of other games were as follows: Maggie Feng 0-1 Akshita Gorti, Ashritha Eswaran 1/2-1/2 Irina Krush.
-George M

U.S. Championship leaders Hikaru Nakamura and Leinier Dominguez are set for a big battle on Saturday, March 30, when they face each other at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Round 10, after scoring wins in Round 9 on Friday to maintain their joint lead in the 12-player round robin with 6.5 points apiece. Nakamura beat Ray Robson, while Dominguez defeated Awonder Liang. Just a half point behind them is Fabiano Caruana, who downed Varuzhan Akobian. Wesley So is in 4th place with 5.5 points following his win against Aleksandr Lenderman. Massachusetts' Sam Sevian holds onto 5th place with a 5-4 score after drawing Jeffery Xiong. In the only other decisive game, defending U.S. champion Sam Shankland beat Timur Gareyev.
The Women's Championship will also see a big game in Round 10 on Saturday, when tournament leader Jennifer Yu, who stands with an 8-1 score, faces Anna Zatonskih, who is in second place with 7.5 points. In Round 9, Yu drew with Tatev Abrahamyan, who is in 3rd place with 6 points, while Zatonskih defeated Annie Wang, who is in 4th place with 5.5 points. Massachusetts' Carissa Yip maintains 5th place in the standings with 4.5 points after defeating Emily Nguyen. Results of other games were as follows: Ashritha Eswaran 0-1 Maggie Feng, Irina Krush 1/2-1/2 Anna Sharevich, Sabina Foisor 1-0 Akshita Gorti.
-George M

After 8 rounds of play in the U.S. Championship at the Saint Louis Chess Club, Leinier Dominquez is now tied for the lead with 4-time U.S. champion Hikaru Nakamura. The 35-year-old, 5-time Cuban national champion, who changed federations in December 2018, defeated Massachusetts' top player, 18-year-old Sam Sevian, on Thursday, March 28. The win gave Dominguez a total of 5.5 points and put him even with Nakamura, who drew defending U.S. champion Sam Shankland. Just a half-point behind Nakamura and Dominguez is 2016 U.S. champion Fabiano Caruana, who drew with 2017 U.S. champion Wesley So. Standing at 5.5. point each are So and Sevian. Results of other games were as follows: Aleksandr Lenderman 1/2-1/2 Jeffery Xiong, Awonder Liang 1/2-1/2 Ray Robson, Timur Gareyev 1/2-1/2 Varuzhan Akobian.
Jennifer Yu continues to hold her lead in the Women's Championship with a terrific score of 7.5-0.5, defeating Akshita Gorti in Round 8. Anna Zatonskih still remains in second place, with 6.5 points, after drawing Emily Nguyen. Tied for 3rd-4th place with 5.5 points apiece are Annie Wang and Tatev Abrahamyan, who drew each other in the round. Massachusetts' Carissa Yip, who lost to 7-time U.S. Women's champion Irina Krush, is tied for 5th-6th place with Ashritha Eswaran, who drew Anna Sharevich. Both have 3.5 points. In the only other decisive game, Maggie Feng beat 2017 U.S. women's champion Sabina Foisor.
-George M

Four-time U.S. champion Hikaru Nakamura has taken over the lead in this year's U.S. Championship, after he defeated fellow GM Timur Gareyev in the 6th round on Monday, March 25, at the St. Louis Chess Club. Nakamura now stands at 4-2 in the 12-player field. Tied for the runner-up spot with 3.5 points are Massachusetts' Sam Sevian, who drew defending U.S. champion Sam Shankland, 2016 champion Fabiano Caruana, who drew former tournament leader Jeffery Xu, 2017 champion Wesley So, who beat Leinier Dominguez, and Dominquez himself, who is making his debut in a U.S. Championship. Results of other games were as follows: Awonder Liang 1-0 Varuzhan Akobian, Aleksandr Lenderman 1/2-1/2 Ray Robson.
Jennifer Yu holds onto the lead in the Women's Championship with a score of 5.5-0.5 after defeating Maggie Feng in Round 6. Four-time Women's champion Anna Zatonskih is in 2nd place with a 5-1 tally following her win against Ashritha Eswaran. Tatev Abrahamyan has taken over 3rd place with a 4.5-1.5 record after she bested 7-time Women's champion Irina Krush. Annie Wang downed Sabina Foisor to move into 4th place with a 4-2 score. And Massachusetts' own Carissa Yip is now in 5th place after she drew Anna Sharevich. In the only other decisive game, Akshita Gorti beat Emily Nguyen.
The players will take a rest on Tuesday, March 26, only to resume play for Round 7 on Wednesday, March 27. The 11th and final round will be played on Sunday, March 31.
-George M

Round 5 on Sunday, March 24, in the U.S. Championship at the St. Louis Chess Club produced two decisive games in the Open division, where 18-year-old Sam Sevian of Holden, Mass. defeated Varuzhan Akobian and Timur Gareyev beat Awonder Liang. Sevian's win now puts him in a 5-way tie for first place at 3-2 with Wesley So, Hikaru Nakamura, Leinier Dominguez and Jeffery Xiong. The games Ray Robson-So, Nakamura-Fabiano Caruana, Dominguexz-Xiong and Sam Shankland-Aleksandr Lenderman ended in draws.
Jennifer Yu, the 17-year-old Woman Grandmaster, still remains in first place in the Women's Championship with a score of 4.5-0.5 after drawing WIM Annie Wang in Round 5. In current possession of 2nd place with a 4-1 record is IM Anna Zatonskih, who drew WGM Anna Sharevich. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan is in 3rd place with 3.5 points after defeating WIM Ashritha Eswaran for her third win in a row. In the only other decisive game, 15-year-old WIM Carissa Yip of Andover, Mass. beat WIM Maggie Feng to move into a tie for 4th place with Wang. Drawn were the games Irina Krush-Akshita Gorti and Emily Nguyen-Sabina Foisor.
-George M

Jennifer Yu, the 17-year-old Woman Grandmaster from Ashburn, Virginia, chalked up her fourth win in a row on Saturday, March 23, defeating WIM Emily Nguyen in the U.S. Women's Championship at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Four other games also ended decisively as follows: Anna Zatonskih 1-0 Carissa Yip, Tatev Abrahamyan 1-0 Anna Sharevich, Sabina Foisor 1-0 Irina Krush and Akshita Gorti 1-0 Ashritha Eswaran. The game Maggie Feng vs. Annie Wang was drawn. Currently in 2nd place with a score of 3.5-0.5 is Zatonskih, while Abrahamyan and Wang are tied for 3rd with tallies of 2.5-1.5.
In the all-Grandmaster main event, Jeffery Xiong lost to Ray Robson to fall into a 4-way for first place with 2.5 points out of 4 with Wesley So, who drew Sam Shankland, Hikaru Nakamura, who drew Awonder Liang, and Leinier Dominguez, who drew Fabiano Caruana. Results of other Round 4 games were as follows: Sam Sevian 1/2-1/2 Timur Gareyev, Aleksandr Lenderman 1/2-1/2 Varuzhan Akobian.
-George M

Round 3 of the U.S. Championships on Friday, March 22, at the St. Louis Chess Club produced new tournament leaders in both divisions of play. Jeffery Xiong scored a major win in the main event by defeating defending U.S. champion Sam Shankland. The win now puts Xiong in the lead with a score of 2.5-0.5. Tied for the runner-up spot are Hikaru Nakamura, who beat Massachusetts' Sam Sevian; Wesley So, who drew Varuzhan Akobian; and Leinier Dominguez, who defeated Ray Robson. So, Nakamura and Dominguez have 2-1 tallies. Other Round 3 results were as follows: Awonder Liang 1/2-1/2 Fabiano Caruana, Timur Gareyev 1/2-1/2 Aleksandr Lenderman. WGM Jennifer Yu took over the lead in the Women's Championship, defeating former U.S. Women's champion GM Irina Krush for her third win in a row. IM Anna Zatonskih is now in 2nd place with a score of 2.5-0.5 after beating WIM Maggie Feng. Tied for 3rd place with 2-1 tallies are WIM Carissa Yip of Massachusetts, who lost to former U.S. Women's champion WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, and WIM Annie Wang, who drew WIM Emily Nguyen. Results of other games were as follows: WIM Ashritha Eswaran 1-0 WGM Sabina Foisor, WGM Anna Sharevich 0-1 WIM Akshita Gorti.
-George M

Hello All,
Here is a link for my video on last night's game against Larry O'Rourke, in which he assayed the Slav Defense. The astronomy segment addresses the question, "Which planet, on average, is closest to the Earth?"
Hope you enjoy it,
https://youtu.be/_6W7ozE--6c
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Hey guys,
Looks like Roger beat me to it this week. Here's a video about my game with John Bastarache:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_500kTSEnTA
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

Yip and Yu tied for lead in U.S. Women's Championship; Sevian shares lead in main championship after Round 2
Carissa Yip, the youngest participant in this year's U.S. Women's Championship, won again in the 12-player round-robin event by defeating 16-year-old WIM Akshita Gorti in Round 2 on Thursday, March 21, at the Saint Louis Chess Club. The win puts the 15-year-old WIM from Andover, Mass. in a tie for the lead with 17-year-old WGM Jennifer Yu, who beat WIM Ashritha Eswaran. Both Carissa and Jennifer have 2 points and currently lead the field. Results of the other Round 2 games in the Women's Championship were as follows: WIM Annie Wang 1/2-1/2 GM Irina Krush, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan 1/2-1/2 IM Anna Zatonskih, WGM Sabina Foisor 1/2-1/2 WGM Anna Sharevich, WIM Maggie Feng 1/2-1/2 WIM Emily Nguyen.
Massachusetts' other participant in the U.S. Championship, 18-year-old GM Sam Sevian of Holden scored a win in the main event's 2nd round over GM Awonder Liang to now share the lead with 1.5 points with GMs Jeffery Xiong and Wesley So. Xiong drew with GM Varuzhan Akobian, while So defeated GM Timur Gareev. Results of the other games were as follows: GM Fabiano Caruana 1/2-1/2 GM Ray Robson, GM Aleksandr Lenderman 1/2-1/2 GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Leinier Dominguez 1/2-1/2 GM Sam Shankland.

Yip wins, Sevian draws in Round 1 of U.S. Championships in St. Louis
The two Massachusetts players competing in this year's U.S. Championships got off to a good start on Wednesday, March 20th, in Round 1 of the round-robin event being played at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Fifteen-year-old WIM Carissa Yip of Andover, 2014 Wachusett CC champion and 2016 Boylston CC champion, defeated WGM Sabina Foisor in the Women's Championship, while 18-year-old GM Sam Sevian of Holden held the top seed and the world's No. 2 player, Fabiano Caruana, to a draw in the main event. All the games in the women's division were decisive, with the following results in addition to Carissa's win with White over Foisor: GM Irina Krush 1-0 Emily Nuguyen, Anna Zatonskih 1-0 Akshita Gorti, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan 0-1 FM Maggie Feng, WIM Ashrita Eswaran 0-1 WIM Annie Wang, WGM Anna Sharevich 0-1 WIM Jennifer Yu. In the all-GM main event, the only decisive game was Jeffrey Xiong's win (with Black) over Timur Gareev. In addition to Sevian's draw with Caruana, results of the others games were as follows: Hikaru Nakamura 1/2-1/2 Wesley So, Sam Shankland (defending U.S. champion) 1/2-1/2 Ray Robson, Awonder Liang 1/2-1/2 Aleksandr Lenderman, Varuzhan Akobian 1/2-1/2 Leinier Dominguez.
-George M
[Follow the games on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmByUlYjiqA Round 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAeKjJlM8Qs Round 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG8f8P4lHAo Round 1
or live at USChess:
https://www.uschesschamps.com/2019-us-championships-live]

Hello chess fans!
I went to the Shamrock Open in Cambridge last Saturday. Here are the games for those of you who are interested:
https://youtu.be/jIhvgv3-bYc - 2019 Shamrock Open (Pt 1)
https://youtu.be/6GOkIGVDET4 - 2019 Shamrock Open (Pt 2)
Thanks!
Brett
[See these & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

This Sunday's Worcester Telegram & Gazette (March 17th 2019) contains a feature story by correspondent, Paula J. Owen, about WCC Program Director, George Mirijanian.
You can read the entire article at the Worcester Telegram web site:
Sunday Sitdown: George M. Mirijanian, chess player at Wachusett Chess Club
https://www.telegram.com/news/20190317/sunday-sitdown-george-m-mirijanian-chess-player-at-wachusett-chess-club

Hello All,
Well, I finally bit the bullet and analyzed my lost to Steve Murray (1651), against whom I adopted a French Defense. As a bonus, I've included a short segment on "The Myth of Infrared". Hope you enjoy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VSXmJbJgM4
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Hey guys,
Check out the video about my game with Dave Thomas: https://youtu.be/r2ZCz5dExrs
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

The Chinese women's team dominated this year's World Team Championship by winning on Thursday, March 14, the 10-team round-robin event in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Chinese won all nine matches, with Russia, scoring 6 match wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, ending up in 2nd place. The U.S. women's team finished in 7th place, with a 2.5-1.5 win over Egypt in the final round. Drawing on board 1 was WGM Katerina Nemcova, losing on board 2 was WIM Carissa Yip, winning on board 3 was WGM Sabina-Fransceca Foisor and on board 4 WCM Rochelle Wu. Carissa's loss was to 21-year-old WGM Shrook Wafa (FIDE-rated 2166), a former Women's African chess champion.
-George M

The U.S. women's team was soundly defeated, 4-0, by India in Round 7 of the World Team Championship, played Tuesday, March 12, in Astana, Kazakhstan. All members of the U.S. team, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan on board 1, WGM Katerina Nemcova on board 2, WIM Carissa Yip on board 3, and WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor on board 4 lost to their Indian opponents. Carissa lost to 17-year-old International Master and Woman Grandmaster Padmini Rout (FIDE rated 2332), four-time Indian women's champion (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Despite the loss, the U.S. team still remains in 7th place in the standings, with two rounds left to play.
-George M

The U.S. women's team lost to Russia on Monday, March 11th, in round 6 of the World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan. Draws were gained by WGM Tatev Abrahamyan on board 1, WGM Katerina Nemcova on board 2, and WCM Rochelle Wu on board 4. Suffering the team's only loss was 15-year-old WIM Carissa Yip on board 3. Carissa, a former Wachusett CC and Boylston CC champion, lost to 20-year-old GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE rated 2504), a two-time Russian women's champion and a two-time World Girls Under-20 champion. The loss now puts the U.S. women's team in 7th place in a field of 10 teams, with three rounds yet to play.
-George M

The following ratings are in effect for the Gail S. Lingner Memorial, which begins Wednesday, March 13, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Registration is from 6:30 to 7 p.m., with Round 1 starting at 7:15 p.m.
Deadline for all subsequent rounds is 7:10 p.m. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.

The U.S. women's team rebounded from its loss to Kazakhstan on Friday to defeat Armenia, 3-1, in Round 5 of the 2019 World Team Championship on Saturday, March 9, in Astana, Kazakhstan. Winning for the USA were WGM Tatev Abrahamyan on board 1, WGM Katerina Nemcova on board 2, and WIM Carissa Yip on board 3. WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor suffered the team's only loss on board 4. Carissa's victory was against 17-year-old Woman FIDE Master Anna M. Sargsyan.
-George M
[Follow the event here: http://chess-results.com/tnr421067.aspx?lan=1&art=46]

My last-round game against Gary Brassard , on the Black side of a London/Indian Defense. The astronomy segment is 'The Color of Stars'
I've published episode 58 of MWATC, my game last night in the 5th round of the George O'Rourke Memorial. I had the black pieces against Gary Brassard (1742) and we ended up in a London / Indian hybrid. The astronomy segment is 'The Color of Stars'. I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

2019 George O'Rourke Memorial Rd 5
Hey,
I made a video about my game with Ritvik [Pulya] for those who are interested:
https://youtu.be/JTGdFMUBmvk
See you next week.
Brett

[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

Carissa Yip remained undefeated in the women's division of the 2019 World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, as she drew the former women's champion of Georgia, 32-year-old WGM Nino Batsiashvili, in round 3 of the nine-round team event on Thursday, March 7. Carissa split the point on board 3 with Batsiashvili, who was Georgian women's champion in 2015 and 2018, while her team mates, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan on board 1, WGM Katerina Nemcova on board 2, and WCM Rochelle Wu on board 4, lost their games, giving Georgia a 3.5-0.5 win over the American team.
-George M

Former Wachusett CC champion Carissa Yip beats ex-Women's World Champion Ushenina.
Carissa Yip, the 2014 champion of the Wachusett Chess Club, got off to an excellent start in Round 1 in the Women's Division of the 2019 World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan by defeating former Women's World Champion GM Anna Ushenina of Ukraine on Tuesday, March 5th. The 15-year-old Women's International Master from Andover, Mass. beat 33-year-old Ushenina with the black pieces on board 2 in the USA vs. Ukraine match, which ended in a 2-2 tie. Carissa scored the only win for the U.S. team, with fellow team mates WGM Tatev Abrahamyan losing on board 1, WGM Sabina Foisor drawing on board 3, and 12-year-old Woman Candidate Master Rochelle Wu splitting the point on board 4.
-George M

[Here's the game:]
[White "Ushenina, Anna"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E73"]
[Opening "King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Geller Defense"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 Nbd7 { E73 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Geller Defense } 7. Qd2 c6 8. Nf3 e5 9. d5 Nc5 10. Qc2 a5 11. O-O Rb8 12. a3 cxd5 13. cxd5 Qc7 14. Nd2 Bd7 15. Nb5 Bxb5 16. Bxb5 Rfc8 17. Rac1 Qd8 18. Qb1 a4 19. Be3 Qa5 20. Be2 b5 21. f3 Nfd7 22. Rc3 Bf6 23. Qc2 Bd8 24. Rb1 Qa6 25. Qd1 Ba5 26. Rc2 Bb6 27. Bf2 Kg7 28. Rbc1 Rc7 29. Qf1 Ba7 30. Rc3 Rcc8 31. Kh1 Qb7 32. R1c2 Rf8 33. b4 axb3 34. Nxb3 Qa6 35. Bh4 Qa4 36. Qb1 b4 37. axb4 Qxb4 38. Qa2 Nxb3 39. Qxa7 Nd4 40. Qxd7 Qxc3 { White resigns. } 0-1

The newest member of the Wachusett Chess Club, Andrew Jeselson, has posted a number of chess videos on YouTube. Andrew reviews some classical games by players such as Mikhail Botvinnik & Alexi Shirov as well as a game of his from the
2017 New York State Open.
Check out Andrew's chess videos at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDR3Yy09EAQgD1SXfpQKuRw
-PG

This week the board 1 pairing consisted once again of NM Brett Kildahl vs. CM Roger Cappallo & both players decided to explain their moves & ideas in respective YouTube videos, so the Wachusett Chess Club is treated with duelling videos for this interesting & important game.

2019 George O'Rourke Memorial Rd 4
Hello,
Here's my game against Roger: https://youtu.be/r5yWFuwGHJE
Thanks!
Brett

[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

My Week at the Club #57
And here's my game against Brett. :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZEg81q5tw
My board 1 encounter this week, as White vs. National Master Brett Kildahl, in a Giuoco Pianissimo opening
Cheers,
Roger

[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Former Wachusett Chess Club champion Carissa Yip of Andover, Mass. will represent the United States on a national women's team competing in the 2019 World Team Championship, which will be played between March 4 (arrival) and March 15 (departure) in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. The 2014 Wachusett CC champion and Woman International Master will join team mates WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, WGM Katerina Nemcova, WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor, and alternate WCM Rochelle Wu in competing with teams from Russia, China, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, India, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Egypt. Team captain is noted chess teacher GM Melikset Khachiyan of Los Angeles, GM Levon Aronian's first chess coach.
-George M

My Week at the Club #55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LpDq_lTAvE

Hello All,
This week I played Ken Gurge (1778) on the Black side of a French Defense. Ken sac'd a pawn and the black king was looking pretty shaky. For the details on how it turned out, as well as a few words on the rotation of Mercury, see:
https://youtu.be/uNZuV9msAS0
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

OTB Chess 02/14/19

Hey guys,
I had a tough game against Mike Commisso in the third round, and just made a video about it:
https://youtu.be/uZzudIufoo8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZzudIufoo8 2019 George O'Rourke Memorial Rd 3
Thanks,
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

MACA elections are right around the corner! Billerica CC members, Jeff Caruso and Robb Stewart, are running for positions on the MACA board. Jeff has represented MACA as a director for a number of years and this year he is running for Vice President. Robb Stewart is running for one of the open director positions and has asked for our support. I've known Robb for a long time through the chess circles and has been an instructor for the club in the past.

For those that don't know him, Robb has been an active chess player for over 30 years, and is very involved with scholastic chess. He volunteers to manage a chess program at his daughter's school, directs scholastic tournaments, and tutors students privately.

Both Jeff and Robb are great candidates for the positions and will help Mass Chess move forward. They would like you and/or your child's vote - yes, your child can vote! Mass Chess bylaws state that junior members are eligible to vote The process to vote is underway currently and is a two-step process that is easy to complete.

The first step is that you have to register with the election committee to vote.
You simply need to send an email to the following address: election@masschess.org

You do need to be a current member of MACA. You can paste this text in your note:
Please send me an online ballot for the upcoming election to [your-email].
This must be completed before February 28th.

The second step is to vote!
An on-line ballot will be emailed to the address you provided at the beginning of May which will allow you to vote.
Online voting needs to be completed by May 22nd.
MACA has posted FAQs on its website about the election process; the link can be found here:
http://masschess.org/resources/faqs/chess_faqs.aspx?faq_type_uid=5
Please vote! And please support Robb Stewart and Jeff Caruso, they are both great choices for the future of Mass Chess.
-Paul G.

My Week at the Club #55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LpDq_lTAvE

Hello All,
This week I played Larry Gladding (1765) in a QGD. The opening line was somewhat similar to our game in episode #52, and Larry got a promising K-side attack out of it.
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

OTB Chess 02/14/19

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.
I made a video about last night's game. Check it out if you feel like it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbtSn9hFNWU 2019 George O'Rourke Memorial Rd 2
Thanks,
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

My Week at the Club #54: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHrBSFO0yHo

Hello All,
After a bit more effort than I care to admit, I got my most recent analysis video posted. In it I play Don Ostrowski in the first round of the George O'Rourke Memorial. He played 1. e4 and I responded with a French Defense.
My weekly game from the Wachusett Chess Club, where I played Black in a French Defense against Don Ostrowski (1571).
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Board 1 in Round 1 of the Grorge E. O'Rourke Memorial, vs. Jim Hankard

Good morning,
I posted a video about my game against Jim Hankard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y80iQChzZ4
There's also a new one about the Budapest Gambit, for those of you who are interested in openings:
Chess Openings: Budapest Gambit: https://youtu.be/m0oBpiVwonQ
See you Wednesday!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

The following ratings are in effect for the George E. O'Rourke Memorial, which begins Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.

At 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, the latest episode of Chess Chat will be presented, showing the game between 18-year-old GM Sam Sevian (the No. 1 player in Massachusetts, who lives in Central Mass. in Holden) and soon-to-be 20-year-old IM Ravi Haria (British player) from the Pro Chess League match between the Montclair Sopranos and the London Lions. WIM Carissa Yip, 2014 Wachusett CC champion, is also a member of the Montclair Sopranos team. The Chess Chat episode can also be seen on video On Demand at http://www.fatv.org.
Players must be present by 7 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1.
Deadline for all subsequent rounds is 7:10 p.m. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.

Scholastic Chess in the WMCA region was on Connecting Point PBS (WGBY) Tues 7pm 22 Jan
The show segment was published on YouTube & may be viewed here:
Western Mass Scholastic Chess League | Connecting Point | Jan. 22, 2019

This week the board 1 pairing consisted of NM Brett Kildahl vs. CM Roger Cappallo & both players decided to explain their moves & ideas in respective YouTube videos, so the Wachusett Chess Club is treated with duelling videos for this interesting & important game.

Brett comments on Roger's YouTube video:
Nice analysis, Roger.
It was interesting to hear that you wanted to avoid the Benko and Benoni. I was hoping for one of those openings, and didn't have much of an idea what I'd do against the Slav, so you had me pegged in that regard.
Your description of my late middlegame blunder as a slight glitch was generous. If you had had even a few minutes more on your clock at that point, I think you would have found that line and won the game.
Thanks for linking to my video. I'll do the same!
-Brett

[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

My Week at the Club #53

The last round fight for 1st place in the Reggie Boone Memorial, where I played Black in a Slav Defense against Brett Kildahl (2132). Brett's video on this game can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYvEPejnBU, and the club's web site is located at http://www.wachusettchess.org.
Brett also has made a video, which I've linked to in my description. As always, thanks for watching.
Cheers,
Roger

[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

OTB Chess 01/30/19

Hi all,
I made a video about my game against Roger Cappallo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYvEPejnBU
See you all next week.
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

Hello All,
I've finished and uploaded the video for Wednesday night's Round 4 game against Larry Gladding. It was a QGD Exchange variation. For convenience I've attached an updated index to my video series. [mwatc_index.xlsx.pdf]
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Hi all,
The video about my game with Ray [Paulson] is up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz70Of3xUac
See you all next Wednesday!
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

Hello All,
After a fair amount of futzing about with the machine, I was able to get a video produced on my game against Geoff LePoer. I was on the Black side of a Torre Attack. Here's the link:
https://youtu.be/qnegT7pIASo My Week at the Club #51
My weekly bout at the Wachusett Chess Club, this week playing Black against Geoff LePoer (1907) in a Torre Attack.
I hope you find something of interest in it.
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Position from H. McLaughlin - Mike Commisso, 2019.01.16

Kxb6??

Your opponent's flag is about to fall in a US Chess sudden death time control. The TD comes over to the contest to observe. They see that your opponent has run out of time-their flag is down, but the TD says nothing and does nothing. You look up at them with a quizzical expression, and still there is no response from the TD. To get the TD to act, you must point out the flag fall and say something-like "Flag" or "Flag Fall" or "Time." You and your opponent are locked in a position where your king gets checked over, and over, and over. The TD is watching this little dance contest; yet, says nothing. Why? There was no claim by a player. Note: the TD can declare a draw without a claim if the same position appears five times in a row. Your opponent touches their queen but moves their knight instead. They do this right in front of the TD; yet, the TD does nothing?! But if you make a claim, what do you think the TD will do?

Rarely will a TD intervene in your game without an invitation by you or your opponent to do so. TDs rarely rule on a claim that you don't make, even if they observe a violation of US Chess rules (FIDE rules are a bit different and there are some rare exceptions in US Chess.) So if you want to claim a flag fall, draw, illegal move, touched piece, etc., then you have to make that request-verbally. One notable time a claim does not need to be verbalized is when 75 moves have been made with no pawn move plus no piece has been captured-then the TD can simply declare the game drawn. If a TD sees an illegal move early in the game-the US Chess rules have some wiggle room here-a TD may, unannounced, step in and correct the miscue (even though US Chess advises against it). They positively cannot do a thing about an illegal move in the last five minutes of a time control unless you or your opponent makes an illegal move claim-aloud.

Coaches, friends, relatives, spectators, teachers, and all others cannot make any claim in the game you are playing. Having someone summon a TD for you is not the same as making a claim. When the TD does show up, you have to state your claim yourself.
-Larry G.

Hi all,
For those of you who are interested, I'm back to making chess videos.
Here's my most recent: https://youtu.be/IcNe4m_V2UE
The rest can be found through my channel (Brett Kildahl).
Thanks!
Brett
[See this & all of Brett Kildahl's other videos at Brett's YouTube channel.]

Hello All,
I've just posted my 50th Week at the Club video on youtube. It's at:
https://youtu.be/qH4ybOwGJo0
In it I play Ken Gurge (1784) on the white side of a Caro-Kann Panov Attack. I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers,
Roger
[See this & all of Roger Cappallo's other videos at Roger's YouTube channel.]

Carissa Yip is on the Montclair Sopranos along with GM's Sam Sevian, Aleksandr Lenderman, Gadir Guseinov & WGM Sabina Foisor.
PRO Chess League season 3 starts Tuesday January 8, 2019.
Greg Shahade, Pro Chess League Commissioner, explains the Pro Chess League objectives & comments about the coming season in a 2017 interview on YouTube.
Here's an example of a Pro Chess League game where Carissa Yip checkmates GM Demchenko:
[Event "PRO League Group Stage"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2019.01.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Yip,Carissa"]
[Black "Demchenko,A"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "FM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2279"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[ECO "C44"]
[Opening "Scotch gambit"]
[Variation "Dubois-Reti defence"]
[WhiteTeam "Montclair Sopranos"]
[BlackTeam "New York Marshalls"]
[WhiteFideId "2090732"]
[BlackFideId "4160258"]
[EventDate "2019.01.08"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 Ne4 6. Qe2 Nc5 7. O-O Ne6 8. Rd1 d5 9. exd6 Bxd6 10. c3 O-O
11. cxd4 Re8 12. Be3 Nf4 13. Qd2 Qf6 14. Ne1 Bg4 15. f3 Bh5 16. Nc3 Bg6 17. Nb5 Ne6 18. Nxd6 cxd6 19. d5 Ne5
20. Bb5 Nf8 21. Bxe8 Rxe8 22. Bd4 Qh4 23. f4 Ned7 24. Nf3 Qd8 25. Re1 Re4 26. Ng5 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 h6 28. Nf3 Nb6
29. Qa5 Qb8 30. Bxb6 axb6 31. Qxb6 Nd7 32. Qe3 Nf6 33. Nd4 Qa8 34. f5 Bh7 35. Qa3 Qd8 36. Qb3 Qc7 37. Kh1 Kh8
38. a4 Qc5 39. Nf3 Bxf5 40. Qxb7 Be4 41. Qxf7 Bxd5 42. Qf8+ Kh7 43. Re7 Qc1+ 44. Ng1 Qg5 45. Re2 Ng4 46. h3 Ne5
47. Qxd6 Nd3 48. Rd2 Nf4 49. Nf3 Bxf3 50. gxf3 Qg3 51. a5 Qxf3+ 52. Kg1 Qg3+ 53. Kf1 Qxh3+ 54. Ke1 Qh1+ 55. Kf2 Qh2+
56. Ke3 Qg3+ 57. Ke4 g5 58. Qe7+ Kg6 59. Qe8+ Kf6 60. Rd6+ Kg7 61. Qe7+ Kg8 62. Rd8# 1-0

Five Wachusett Chess Club players competed in a few events this past weekend. Here are the rating updates from: The 2019 Westford January Blitz & the 7th Boston Chess Congress tournaments.

The following ratings are in effect for the Reggie Boone Memorial, which begins Wednesday, Jan. 2, in Room C159 of the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players must be present by 7 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1.
Deadline for all subsequent rounds is 7:10 p.m. Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 p.m.