December 30th, 2009 George Sturgis Memorial Final Round (of 5) Laine and Gladding tie for first in Sturgis Memorial   Congratulations to Martin Laine of Lunenburg and Larry Gladding of Leominster for tying for 1st-2nd place in the George Sturgis Memorial. Marty needed only a draw to clinch first after leading the tournament following Round 3. But he came up against Geoff LePoer of Westford in the final round and had an opening and early middlegame advantage before allowing Geoff enough counterplay in the late middlegame to win the game and end Marty's six-game winning streak. Congratulations to Geoff for finishing third and to Bruce Felton of Fitchburg for ending up in fourth place. Another player who had a noteworthy performance was Ernest Fandreyer of Fitchburg.  Ernest played in his first rated game on February 6th 2002 at the age of 75.  His provisional rating after first tournament was 806 based  on 5 games.  By August, when he received his first non-provisional rating, he was up to 993.  Now at the age of 83(!) Ernest has broken 1500 for the first time in his life - quite an accomplishment indeed! Martin Laine 0-1 Geoff LePoer Larry Gladding 1-0 Paul Giovino Eugene Bedard 0-1 Bruce Felton Lenny Arsenault 1/2-1/2 Tom Fratturelli Brian Biglow 0-1 Ernest Fandreyer Mike Sheridan 0-1 Joe Magdalenski Ken Carabba 0-1 Max Sewell   FINAL STANDINGS POINTS   4.0 Laine, Gladding 3.5 LePoer 3.0 Felton 2.5 Mirijanian, Giovino, Gurge, Arsenault, Bedard, Fandreyer 2.0 Couture, Barlas, Fratturelli, Magdalenski, Chromiak 1.5 Miller, Sewell 1.0 Biglow, Sheridan, Steadman, Leonda, Carabba, Scanlon   December 23rd, 2009 George Sturgis Memorial Round 4 (of 5) Overdue Congratulations & News Of The Week   Before giving this week's results, some congratulations are in order for performances in the previous tournament, the Arthur Bisguier Octogenarian.   First and foremost, congratulations to Ernest Fandreyer for his over-the-top performance in winning huge upsets against former club champions Martin Laine and Bruce Felton.  In addition, Ernest drew 2 games against opponents rated more than 300 points higher.  Ernest's rating increase for the tournament was an amazing 179 points!  This was such a large increase that when I submitted the results to the USCF they returned it with a warning to check that no mistake had been made in entering Ernest's results! Due to this big ratings jump, Ernest achieved a new all-time high rating of 1492.   Congratulations are also in order for Paul Giovino who raised his rating to a new all-time high of 1769 and to Francis Scanlon who increased his rating by 95 points.   We now return you to the news of the week...   Martin Laine won his 6th game in a row to maintain a 1  point lead over Larry Gladding with 1 week to go in the tournament.  Larry has 2nd place all to himself. Before tonight there were 9(!) players tied for 2nd place.   Martin Laine 1-0 Arthur Barlas Larry Gladding 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Geoff LePoer 1-0 Bruce Felton Joe Magdalenski 0-1 Eugene Bedard Max Sewell 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow George Mirijanian, Paul Giovino, Ken Gurge, George Miller, Tom Fratturelli, Ernest Fandreyer, and Constantin Leonda received half-point byes. Dave Couture, Richard Chromiak, Wayne Steadman, Ken Carabba, and Francis Scanlon did not play the round.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   4.0 Laine 3.5 ------ 3.0 Gladding 2.5 Mirijanian, LePoer, Giovino, Gurge, Bedard 2.0 Felton, Couture, Barlas, Arsenault, Chromiak 1.5 Miller, Fratturelli, Fandreyer 1.0 Biglow, Steadman, Leonda, Carabba, Scanlon, Magdalenski 0.5 Sewell   December 16th, 2009 George Sturgis Memorial Round 3 (of 5) Interesting Times   After 3 rounds we have an interesting and possibly unprecedented situation.  Former club champion Martin Laine of Lunenburg has a full point lead.  This is pretty unusual in and of itself after 3 rounds, but even odder is the fact that we have 9(!) players tied for 2nd place.  The next couple of weeks should prove interesting!   I want to thank Max Sewell, who gladly filled in for me for the past couple of months.  I appreciate it very much and want to wish Max the best of luck as he undertakes the editorship of "Chess Horizons". - Dave Couture   Bruce Felton 0-1 Martin Laine Geoff LePoer 0-1 Larry Gladding Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Paul Giovino George Miller 0-1 Ken Gurge Lenny Arsenault 1-0  Ernest Fandreyer Eugene Bedard 1-0 Max Sewell Joe Magdalenski 1-0 Constantin Leonda   George Mirijanian, Dave Couture, Arthur Barlas, Richard Chromiak, Francis Scanlon and Brian Biglow received half-point byes. Wayne Steadman and Ken Carabba did not play the round.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   3.0 Laine 2.5 ------ 2.0 Gladding, Mirijanian, Felton, Couture, Giovino, Barlas, Gurge, Arsenault, Chromiak 1.5 LePoer, Bedard 1.0 Miller, Fratturelli, Fandreyer, Steadman, Carabba, Scanlon, Magdalenski 0.5 Biglow, Leonda 0.0 Sewell     CHESS POSTPONED TONIGHT, DEC. 9, BECAUSE OF WEATHER December 2nd, 2009 George Sturgis Memorial Round 2 (of 5)     Martin Laine 1-0 Larry Gladding Paul Giovino 0-1 Bruce Felton Ken Gurge 0-1 Arthur Barlas Francis Scanlon 0-1 Richard Chromiak George Miller 1-0 Brian Biglow Constantin Leonda 1/2-1/2 Eugene Bedard Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Max Sewell Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Joe Magdalenski   George Mirijanian, Dave Couture, Geoff LePoer, Lenny Arsenault, Wayne Steadman and Ken Carabba received half-point byes.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   2.0 Felton, Laine 1.5 Mirijanian, Couture, LePoer, Barlas, Chromiak 1.0 Gladding, Giovino, Gurge, Arsenault, Miller, Fratturelli, Fandreyer, Steadman, Carabba 0.5 Bedard, Leonda, Scanlon 0.0 Biglow, Sewell, Magdalenski       November 18th, 2009 George Sturgis Memorial Round 1 (of 5)     Bruce Felton 1-0 George Miller Eugene Bedard 0-1 George Mirijanian Larry Gladding 1-0 Tom Fratturelli Brian Biglow 0-1 Martin Laine Dave Couture 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Max Sewell 0-1 Geoff LePoer Paul Giovino 1-0 Constantin Leonda Joe Magdalenski 0-1 Ken Gurge   Arthur Barlas, Lenny Arsenault, Wayne Steadman, Ken Carabba, Francis Scanlon and Richard Chromiak received half-point byes.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   1.0 Felton, Mirijanian, Gladding, Laine, Couture, LePoer, Giovino, Gurge 0.5 Barlas, Arsenault, Steadman, Carabba, Scanlon, Chromiak 0.0 Miller, Bedard, Fratturelli, Biglow, Fandreyer, Sewell, Leonda, Magdalenski       LARRY GLADDING WINS GM ARTHUR B. BISGUIER OCTOGENARIAN TRIBUTE   Club champion Larry Gladding of Leominster chalked up his second tournament victory in a row by winning the Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute. Capturing second place was Paul Giovino of Lunenburg, while George Mirijanian of Fitchburg finished in third place. Congratulations to Larry, Paul and George. The biggest story of the tournament, however, was the performance of Ernest Fandreyer of Fitchburg, who is expected to gain the most number of rating points after upsetting two Class A players and drawing two Class B players. Ernest is expected to net well over 100 USCF rating points.       November 11th, 2009 GM Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute Final round (of 5)     Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 George Mirijanian Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Paul Giovino Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Bruce Felton Martin Laine 1-0 George Miller Ken Gurge 1-0 Tom Fratturelli Constantin Leonda 0-1 Brian Biglow Max Sewell 1-0 Richard Chromiak   Eugene Bedard, Wayne Steadman, Francis Scanlon, Ken Carabba, Dave Couture and Mike Sheridan did not play the round.     FINAL STANDINGS POINTS   4.5 Gladding 4.0 Giovino 3.5 Mirijanian 3.0 Laine, Gurge, Arsenault, Fandreyer 2.0 Felton, Miller, Bedard, Fratturelli, Biglow, Sewell, Leonda 1.5 Steadman, Scanlon 1.0 Couture, Sheridan, Carabba, Chromiak     November 4th, 2009 GM Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute Round 4 (of 5)     Bruce Felton 0-1 Larry Gladding George Mirijanian 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Paul Giovino 1-0 Tom Fratturelli Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Constantin Leonda George Miller 1/2-1/2 Eugene Bedard Francis Scanlon 0-1 Martin Laine Wayne Steadman 1/2-1/2 Max Sewell   Ken Gurge, Brian Biglow, Ken Carabba and Richard Chromiak received half-point byes. Dave Couture and Mike Sheridan did not play the round.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   4.0 Gladding 3.0 Mirijanian, Giovino, Arsenault 2.0 Felton, Laine, Gurge, Miller, Bedard, Fratturelli, Fandreyer, Leonda 1.5 Steadman, Scanlon 1.0 Couture, Biglow, Sheridan, Sewell, Carabba, Chromiak     October 28th, 2009 GM Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute Round 3 (of 5)     Larry Gladding 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Bruce Felton 1-0 Ken Gurge Ernest Fandreyer 1/2-1/2 George Miller Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Martin Laine Richard Chromiak 0-1 Constantin Leonda Max Sewell 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow   George Mirijanian, Paul Giovino, Eugene Bedard, Francis Scanlon, Wayne Steadman and Ken Carabba received half-point byes. Dave Couture and Mike Sheridan did not play the round.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   3.0 Gladding 2.0 Felton, Mirijanian, Giovino, Arsenault, Fratturelli, Fandreyer, Leonda 1.5 Gurge, Miller, Bedard, Scanlon 1.0 Laine, Couture, Sheridan, Steadman 0.5 Biglow, Sewell, Carabba, Chromiak       October 21st, 2009 GM Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute Round 2 (of 5)     George Miller 0-1 Larry Gladding Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Ernest Fandreyer Eugene Bedard 0-1 Lenny Arsenault George Mirijanian 1-0 Wayne Steadman Constantin Leonda 1/2-1/2 Tom Fratturelli Max Sewell 0-1 Bruce Felton Martin Laine 1-0 Ken Carabba Brian Biglow 0-1 Francis Scanlon   Paul Giovino, Dave Couture, Mike Sheridan, and Richard Chromiak received half-point byes. Arthur Barlas withdrew from the tournament.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   2.0 Gladding, Arsenault 1.5 Mirijanian, Giovino, Gurge, Fandreyer 1.0 Felton, Laine, Couture, Miller, Bedard, Fratturelli, Sheridan, Leonda, Scanlon 0.5 Steadman, Chromiak 0.0 Biglow, Sewell, Carabba     October 14th, 2009 GM Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian Tribute Round 1 (of 5)     Bruce Felton 0-1 Eugene Bedard Tom Fratturelli 1/2-1/2 George Mirijanian Larry Gladding 1-0 Brian Biglow Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Martin Laine Paul Giovino 1-0 Max Sewell Ken Carabba 0-1 Ken Gurge Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Francis Scanlon Richard Chromiak 0-1 George Miller   Dave Couture, Arthur Barlas, Mike Sheridan, Wayne Steadman and Constantin Leonda received half-point byes.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   1.0 Gladding, Giovino, Gurge, Arsenault, Miller, Bedard, Fandreyer 0.5 Mirijanian, Couture, Barlas, Fratturelli, Sheridan, Steadman, Leonda 0.0 Felton, Laine, Biglow, Sewell, Carabba, Scanlon, Chromiak     October 7th, 2009 Hervey R. Brisson Memorial Final Round (of 5)   Larry Gladding of Leominster wins Hervey R. Brisson Memorial   Larry Gladding of Leominster, the reigning Wachusett Chess Club champion, chalked up his first tournament victory of the 2009-2010 season and won the Hervey R. Brisson Memorial with a score of 4.5-0.5 in a field of 22 players. Needing only a half point in the final round to clinch first, Gladding succeeded in his goal and drew with two-time club champion Bruce Felton of Fitchburg. Capturing second place was 2008 club champion Martin Laine of Lunenburg. Deadlocked in third place were Felton and 15-time club champion George Mirijanian of Fitchburg. Congratulations to all the top scorers.                                                           - George Mirijanian     Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton Martin Laine 1-0 Paul Giovino George Mirijanian 1-0 Ken Carabba Arthur Barlas 1-0 Tom Fratturelli George Miller 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Brian Biglow 0-1 Ken Gurge Constantin Leonda 1/2-1/2 Max Sewell Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Mark Daley Richard Chromiak 1/2-1/2 Francis Scanlon     FINAL STANDINGS POINTS   4.5 Gladding 4.0 Laine 3.5 Felton, Mirijanian 3.0 Giovino, Barlas, Miller 2.5 Gurge, Bedard, Carabba 2.0 Couture, Arsenault, Fratturelli, Daley, Sewell 1.5 Biglow, Leonda, Chromiak 1.0 Sheridan, Steadman, Fandreyer, Scanlon       September 30th, 2009 Hervey Brisson Memorial Round 4 (of 5)     Martin Laine 0-1 Larry Gladding Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Bruce Felton Paul Giovino 1-0 Dave Couture Ken Gurge 0-1 George Mirijanian Max Sewell 0-1 Ken Carabba Mike Sheridan 0-1 George Miller Wayne Steadman 0-1 Tom Fratturelli Francis Scanlon 0-1 Ernest Fandreyer   Eugene Bedard, Arthur Barlas, Brian Biglow and Richard Chromiak drew half-point byes.   CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   4.0 Gladding 3.5 ----- 3.0 Felton, Laine, Giovino 2.5 Mirijanian, Bedard, Carabba 2.0 Couture, Barlas, Arsenault, Miller, Fratturelli 1.5 Gurge, Biglow, Sewell 1.0 Sheridan, Steadman, Fandreyer, Chromiak 0.5 Scanlon   September 23rd, 2009 Hervey Brisson Memorial Round 3 (of 5)     Bruce Felton  0-1 Martin Laine Larry Gladding  1-0 Ken Gurge Dave Couture 1-0 Arthur Barlas George Miller 0-1 Paul Giovino Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Lenny Arsenault Wayne Steadman 0-1 Eugene Bedard Ken Carabba 1-0 Francis Scanlon Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Brian Biglow   George Mirijanian, Max Sewell and Richard Chromiak received half-point byes. Mike Sheridan did not play the round.  Parker Henry was withdrawn from the tournament.   CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   3.0 Gladding, Laine 2.5 ----- 2.0 Felton, Couture, Giovino, Arsenault, Bedard 1.5 Mirijanian, Gurge, Barlas, Sewell, Carabba 1.0 Miller, Fratturelli, Biglow, Sheridan, Steadman 0.5 Scanlon, Chromiak 0.0 Fandreyer     Congratulations to former club member Mark Norris who had a recent win published in "Chess Life"!  Click here to see the column.   September 16th, 2009 Hervey Brisson Memorial Round 2 (of 5)     Paul Giovino 0-1 Bruce Felton Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Larry Gladding Martin Laine 1-0 George Miller Ken Gurge 1-0 Ken Carabba Wayne Steadman 1/2-1/2 Max Sewell George Mirijanian 1-0 Brian Biglow Eugene Bedard 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Richard Chromiak   Arthur Barlas, Dave Couture, Mike Sheridan, Parker Henry and Francis Scanlon drew half-point byes.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   2.0 Felton, Gladding, Laine 1.5 Gurge, Barlas 1.0 Mirijanian, Couture, Giovino, Arsenault, Bedard, Miller, Fratturelli, Sheridan, Steadman, Sewell, Henry 0.5 Carabba, Scanlon 0.0 Biglow, Fandreyer, Chromiak     September 9th, 2009 Hervey Brisson Memorial Round 1 (of 5)   Bruce Felton  1-0 Eugene Bedard George Miller  1-0 George Mirijanian Larry Gladding  1-0 Tom Fratturelli Brian Biglow  0-1 Martin Laine Paul Giovino  1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Max Sewell  1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge Arthur Barlas  1-0 Francis Scanlon Richard Chromiak  0-1 Lenny Arsenault   Dave Couture, Mike Sheridan, Wayne Steadman, Parker Henry and Ken Carabba received half-point byes.   CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   1.0 Felton, Gladding, Laine, Giovino, Arsenault, Barlas, Miller 0.5 Couture, Gurge, Sheridan, Steadman, Sewell, Henry, Carabba 0.0 Mirijanian, Bedard, Fratturelli, Biglow, Fandreyer, Scanlon, Chromiak       Congratulations to the following players whose ratings increased more than 50 points due to their play in the Tigran Petrosian Memorial:   ERNEST FANDREYER +115 RICHARD CHROMIAK  +84 MARTIN LAINE      +68     September 2nd, 2009 Tigran Petrosian Memorial Final Round (of 5) Bruce Felton (Fitchburg) and Martin Laine (Lunenburg) Share 1st Place In The Tigran Petrosian Memorial   Bruce Felton of Fitchburg performed a miracle in the final round of the Tigran Petrosian Memorial by drawing a theoretically lost game against Dave Couture of Westminster. The game, one of the most fascinating and longest played at the club in decades, saw Dave a rook ahead in a two rook, bishop and pawn vs. rook, bishop and two pawn endgame where he succeeded in eliminating Bruce's dangerous passed pawn on the a-file. Dave traded rooks followed by driving Bruce's king into the corner on the kingside. Still having the win in hand, Dave allowed Bruce to skewer his remaining rook with his bishop and a draw resulted. The draw gave Bruce a tie for first place with Martin Laine of Lunenburg, who had earlier defeated George Mirijanian of Fitchburg in a bizarre variation of the O-Kelly line in the Sicilian Defense. Congratulations to Bruce and Martin for their shared win and to Dave for finishing as runner-up.  - George Mirijanian   Dave Couture 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton George Mirijanian  0-1 Martin Laine Arthur Barlas 1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault Eugene Bedard 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge Wayne Steadman 0-1 Tom Fratturelli Brian Biglow 1-0 Max Sewell Mike Sheridan 1-0 Ken Carabba   Not playing the round were Paul Giovino, George Miller, Ernest Fandreyer, Paul Godin, Parker Henry and Richard Chromiak.   FINAL STANDINGS POINTS   4.0 Felton, Laine 3.5 Couture 3.0 Arsenault 2.5 Mirijanian, Giovino, Barlas, Bedard, Fratturelli, Miller, Biglow 2.0 Gurge, Sheridan, Fandreyer 1.5 Steadman, Sewell, Carabba 1.0 Godin, Henry, Chromiak       August 26th, 2009 Tigran Petrosian Memorial Round 4 (of 5)   Martin Laine 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Dave Couture Lenny Arsenault 1/2-1/2 George Miller Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow Mike Sheridan 0-1 Eugene Bedard Tom Fratturelli 1/2-1/2 Max Sewell Ken Carabba 1-0 Parker Henry Richard Chromiak 0-1 Wayne Steadman   George Mirijanian and Paul Giovino received half-point byes. Arthur Barlas and Paul Godin did not play the round.   CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   3.5 Felton 3.0 Couture, Laine 2.5 Mirijanian, Giovino, Arsenault, Miller 2.0 Barlas, Bedard, Fandreyer 1.5 Gurge, Fratturelli, Biglow, Steadman, Sewell, Carabba 1.0 Godin, Sheridan, Henry, Chromiak       August 19th, 2009 Tigran Petrosian Memorial Round 3 (of 5)   Bruce Felton 1-0 Paul Giovino Paul Godin 0-1 Martin Laine Tom Fratturelli  0-1 Dave Couture George Miller 1-0 Ken Gurge Brian Biglow 0-1 Arthur Barlas Max Sewell 0-1 Lenny Arsenault Eugene Bedard 0-1 Ernest Fandreyer Wayne Steadman 0-1 Mike Sheridan Richard Chromiak 1-0 Ken Carabba George Mirijanian and Parker Henry received half-point byes.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   3.0 Felton 2.5 Laine 2.0 Mirijanian, Couture, Giovino, Barlas, Arsenault, Miller, Fandreyer 1.5 ----- 1.0 Godin, Gurge, Bedard, Fratturelli, Biglow, Sheridan, Sewell, Henry, Chromiak 0.5 Steadman, Carabba     August 12th, 2009 Tigran Petrosian Memorial Round 2 (of 5)   Lenny Arsenault  0-1 Bruce Felton Ken Gurge  0-1 Paul Giovino Martin Laine  1-0 Eugene Bedard Parker Henry  0-1 Brian Biglow Mike Sheridan  0-1 Ernest Fandreyer Ken Carabba  1/2-1/2 Wayne Steadman Max Sewell  1-0 Richard Chromiak George Mirijanian, Dave Couture and George Miller received half-point byes.     CURRENT STANDINGS POINTS   2.0 Felton, Giovino 1.5 Mirijanian, Laine 1.0 Couture, Gurge, Arsenault, Bedard, Miller, Biglow, Sewell, Fandreyer 0.5 Steadman, Henry, Carabba 0.0 Sheridan, Chromiak   The following link takes you to the Massachusetts top 200 players list.  We have 9 club members listed there - getting better all the time! Massachusetts Top 200 Ranking                Rating  125  PAUL GODIN        1928  138  GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 1906  141  BRUCE FELTON      1898  155  GARY BRASSARD     1861  166  DAVE COUTURE      1845  172  LAWRENCE GLADDING 1834  180  GEOFFREY LEPOER   1819  192  ERIC JAKOBOWICZ   1797  199  MARTIN LAINE      1789   Also, our lone New Hampshire player is well up on the Top 200 New Hampshire players list:   80  MAX SEWELL        1285 New England's Top 25 Players As Of August 12th, 2009     STATE   TITLE/NAME RATING PREV 1 MA  GM LARRY M CHRISTIANSEN 2663 1 2 CT  GM ILDAR IBRAGIMOV 2633 2 3 CT  GM SERGEY KUDRIN 2615 3 4 RI     JORGE SAMMOUR HASBUN 2603 4 5 NH  GM JOSHUA EDWARD FRIEDEL 2601 7 6 MA  GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN 2592 5 7 MA  GM ALEXANDER IVANOV 2575 9 8 MA  IM MIKHAIL SHUR 2565 8 9 MA  IM IGOR FOYGEL 2495 10 10 MA     DENYS KONSTANTIN SHMELOV 2492 11 11 MA  IM RICO ZENKLUSEN 2465 13 12 MA  IM DAVID VIGORITO 2464 12 13 CT  IM BOGDAN GABRIEL VIOREANU 2461 14 14 MA     MARC ESSERMAN 2453 16 15 MA  IM JONATHAN YEDIDIA 2448 15 16 CT  IM ROBERT ANDREW HUNGASKI 2427 19 17 MA  IM WILLIAM MARK PASCHALL 2412 18 18 MA  FM CHARLES ROBERT RIORDAN 2397 17 19 MA  FM WILLIAM JOSEPH KELLEHER 2387 20 20 NH  FM BRADEN BOURNIVAL 2377 24 20 NH  IM JOSEPH H FANG 2377 21 22 MA  FM JACOB CHUDNOVSKY 2369 22 23 MA  FM JOHANN C HAKER 2356 25 24 CT  FM ADNAN KOBAS 2353 23 25 CT     EDWARD F MCHUGH 2349  -- Note that on the USCF site, when a listing is done of the top 200 Massachusetts players, Roman Dzindzichashvili is not listed.  When I look at the individual listing for Dzindzichashvili though it shows his state as Massachusetts.  Go figure. August 5th, 2009 Tigran Petrosian Memorial Round 1 (of 5)     Brian Biglow 0-1 George Mirijanian Bruce Felton 1-0 Mike Sheridan Wayne Steadman 0-1 Ken Gurge Paul Giovino 1-0 Max Sewell Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Lenny Arsenault Eugene Bedard 1-0 Ken Carabba   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   1.0  Mirijanian, Felton, Gurge, Giovino, Arsenault, Bedard 0.5  Couture, Laine, Miller 0.0  Biglow, Sheridan, Steadman, Sewell, Fandreyer, Carabba   July 29th, 2009 Harlow B. Daly Memorial Final Round (of 5)   Dave Couture of Westminster wins Harlow B. Daly Memorial Becomes USCF-rated Class A player for first time in career! Dave Couture reached a milestone in winning the Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament. By scoring 4.5-0.5 and gaining 60 USCF rating points, the Westminster player became a nationally rated Class A player for the first time in his long chess-playing career. Congratulations to Dave for his great achievement!  Congratulations also to two-time club champion Bruce Felton of Fitchburg and multi-time club "B' champion Paul Giovino of Lunenburg for tying for 2nd-3rd place with scores of 3.5-1.5.                                                                                                                    -George Mirijanian   Ken Gurge 0-1 Dave Couture Mike Sheridan 0-1 Bruce Felton George Miller 0-1 Paul Giovino Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Eduardo Valadares Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Brian Biglow Max Sewell 1/2-1/2 Wayne Steadman Ken Carabba 1-0 Richard Chromiak Trilok Shahi 1-0 Stephan Chromiak   George Mirijanian, Larry Gladding, Paul Godin, Martin Laine, Tom Fratturelli, Eugene Bedard and Parker Henry did not play the round.   FINAL STANDINGS Points   4.5 Couture 4.0 ----- 3.5 Felton, Giovino 3.0 Mirijanian, Gladding, Gurge, Arsenault 2.5 Godin, Laine, Biglow, Miller, Sheridan, Carabba, Shahi 2.0 Valadares, Fratturelli, Steadman, Sewell, Fandreyer 1.5 Bedard, Henry 1.0 ----- 0.5 ----- 0.0 S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak     July 22nd, 2009 Harlow B. Daly Memorial Round 4 (of 5)   Dave Couture 1-0 Larry Gladding Martin Laine 1/2-1/2 Paul Giovino Ken Gurge 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Paul Godin 1-0 Eduardo Valadares Wayne Steadman 0-1 Bruce Felton Brian Biglow 0-1 Mike Sheridan George Miller 1-0 Trilok Shahi Richard Chromiak 0-1 Ernest Fandreyer Stephan Chromiak 0-1 Ken Carabba   George Mirijanian, Tom Fratturelli, Eugene Bedard, Max Sewell and Parker Henry received half-point byes.   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   3.5 Couture 3.0 Mirijanian, Gladding, Gurge 2.5 Godin, Felton, Laine, Giovino, Miller, Sheridan 2.0 Arsenault, Valadares, Fratturelli, Fandreyer 1.5 Bedard, Biglow, Steadman, Sewell, Carabba, Shahi, Henry 1.0 ----- 0.5 ----- 0.0 S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak   July 15th, 2009 Harlow B. Daly Memorial Round 3 (of 5) Club Champion Gladding Not Resting On His Laurels! Newly crowned club champion, Larry Gladding of Leominster, scored his 3rd win in a row to break a 4-way tie for first and take over sole possession of the lead.  Rather than taking a draw in what looked like a drawn endgame (4 pawns against 4 pawns on the same wing) Larry fought on the win the endgame.   Larry Gladding 1-0 Ken Gurge Paul Giovino 0-1 Dave Couture Lenny Arsenault 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton Martin Laine 1-0 Max Sewell Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Eugene Bedard Wayne Steadman 1-0 Parker Henry Trilok Shahi 1-0 Richard Chromiak Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Stephan Chromiak   George Mirijanian, Paul Godin, Brian Biglow, Tom Fratturelli, George Miller, Mike Sheridan, and Ken Carabba received half-point byes.   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   3.0 Gladding 2.5 Mirijanian, Couture 2.0 Laine, Gurge, Giovino, Arsenault, Valadares 1.5 Godin, Felton, Biglow, Fratturelli, Miller, Sheridan, Steadman, Shahi 1.0 Bedard, Sewell, Fandreyer, Henry 0.5 Carabba 0.0 S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak   July 8th, 2009 Harlow B. Daly Memorial Round 2 (of 5)   Paul Godin 0-1   Paul Giovino George Mirijanian 1-0   Eduardo Valadares Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Larry Gladding Ken Gurge 1-0 George Miller Eugene Bedard 1/2-1/2  Martin Laine Dave Couture 1-0 Wayne Steadman Bruce Felton 1-0 Trilok Shahi Stephan Chromiak 0-1 Brian Biglow Richard Chromiak 0-1 Mike Sheridan Max Sewell 1-0 Ken Carabba Parker Henry 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Lenny Arsenault received a half-point bye. CURRENT STANDINGS Points   2.0 Mirijanian, Gladding, Gurge, Giovino 1.5 Couture, Arsenault 1.0 Godin, Felton, Laine, Valadares, Bedard, Fratturelli, Biglow, Miller, Sheridan, Sewell, Henry 0.5 Steadman, Shahi 0.0 Fandreyer, S. Chromiak, Carabba, R. Chromiak   July 1st, 2009 Harlow B. Daly Memorial Round 1 (of 5) We were blessed by the appearance of two new players who just joined the USCF, and a former club champion whom we haven't seen in nearly eight years. Joining us in our new tournament are Trilok Shahi, who is a senior at St. John's Prep School in Danvers, and Parker Henry, who played some years ago in the Monday night scholastic unrated tournaments held at Crocker Elementary School in Fitchburg. Coming back after an absence is 1967 Wachusett Chess Club champion Paul Godin of Bedford, who is a Fitchburg native as well as a USCF and MACA life member. The last time we saw Paul was in the second round of the Johnny Appleseed Open on September 12, 2001, when the club was meeting at the Unitarian church in Leominster. Welcome all three! - George Mirijanian   Brian Biglow 0-1 Paul Godin Bruce Felton 0-1 George Miller Mike Sheridan 0-1 George Mirijanian Larry Gladding 1-0 Max Sewell Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Ken Gurge Paul Giovino 1-0 Stephan Chromiak Ken Carabba 0-1 Lenny Arsenault Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Richard Chromiak Trilok Shahi 1/2-1/2 Eugene Bedard Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Parker Henry Martin Laine and Dave Couture received half-point byes. CURRENT STANDINGS Points   1.0 Godin, Mirijanian, Gladding, Gurge, Giovino, Arsenault, Valadares, Fratturelli, Miller 0.5 Laine, Couture, Bedard, Shahi 0.0 Felton, Biglow, Sheridan, Sewell, Fandreyer, S. Chromiak, Carabba, R. Chromiak, Henry   June 17th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Makeup Round   Larry Gladding of Leominster is the new club champion!  Congratulations Larry!   Larry Gladding of Leominster became a three-time club champion by defeating rival Gary Brassard of Leominster in the final game of the 2009 Wachusett Chess Club championship. Brassard, who had the white pieces and needed only a draw to clinch his first club championship title, faltered in the middlegame and lost a crucial a-pawn that led to his defeat when Gladding queened his own a-pawn that put him a rook ahead and paved the way to victory. In the only other make-up game from the "A" division, Martin Laine of Lunenburg defeated Dave Couture of Westminster and garnered clear fourth place in the process. Tournament winner Gladding had previously been club co-champion in 1998 and 1992. - George Mirijanian   FINAL "A" DIVISION STANDINGS Player            W   L   D   Pts   Pct Larry Gladding    5   1   1   5.5  .786 Bruce Felton      3   0   4   5.0  .714 Gary Brassard     4   1   2   5.0  .714 Martin Laine      3   1   3   4.5  .643 Dave Couture      3   3   1   3.5  .500  Ken Gurge         2   4   1   2.5  .357 Len Arsenault     2   5   0   2.0  .286 Geoff LePoer      0   7   0   0.0  .000   Congratulations to the following players whose ratings increased more than 50 points:   EDUARDO VALADARES      +120 WAYNE L STEADMAN        +77 LAWRENCE DAVID GLADDING +64 MARK ROBERT NORRIS      +55   June 24th, 2009 Barry Spiegel Quick Chess Memorial Tournament Four-round Swiss, Game/25, USCF-rated   Round-by-round results   Round 1 Bruce Felton 0-1 George Miller Mike Sheridan 0-1 Eugene Bedard Paul Giovino 1/2-1/2 Eduardo Valadares Wayne Steadman 1-0 Brian Biglow Ken Carabba received a full-point bye.   Round 2 Bedard 1-0 Steadman Miller 1-0 Carabba Biglow 0-1 Giovino Valadares 0-1 Felton Sheridan received a full-point bye.   Round 3 Miller 0-1 Bedard Giovino 0-1 Felton Steadman 1-0 Sheridan Carabba 0-1 Valadares Biglow received a full-point bye.   Round 4 Felton 1-0 Bedard Giovino 0-1 Miller Valadares 1-0 Sheridan Carabba 1-0 Biglow Steadman did not play the round.   FINAL STANDINGS POINTS 3.0 - Felton, Bedard, Miller 2.5 - Valadares 2.0 - Steadman, Carabba 1.5 - Giovino 1.0 - Biglow, Sheridan   Congratulations to the following players whose Quick Chess ratings increased more than 50 points:   GEORGE MILLER  +115 WAYNE STEADMAN +103 KEN CARABBA     +81 GENE BEDARD     +52

June 17th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 7 (of 7)   "B" Division   It's Eduardo In A Runaway!   Eduardo Valadares of Marlborough came back from his first loss last week to win this week's final round game and take the "B" division by a full point and a half!  Congratulations also to Mike Sheridan of Petersham and Arthur Barlas of Chelmsford for tying for 2nd place.   George Miller 0-1 Eduardo Valadares Mike Sheridan 1-0 Arthur Barlas Paul Giovino 1-0 Tom Fratturelli Eugene Bedard 1-0 Max Sewell Brian Biglow  1-0 Mark Norris Wayne Steadman 1-0 Stephan Chromiak Richard Chromiak 0-1 Ken Carabba     Ernest Fandreyer received a half-point bye and Jeff Lischer did not play the round.   FINAL "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   6.0 Valadares (winner) 5.5 ----- 5.0 ----- 4.5 Sheridan, Barlas 4.0 Giovino, Bedard, Biglow, Miller, Steadman 3.5 Fratturelli, Carabba 3.0 Lischer, Fandreyer 2.5 Sewell, Norris 2.0 S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak "A" Division Gary Brassard Still In The Driver's Seat In the end, it all comes down to the last game between the 2 friends and leaders - Gary Brassard and Larry Gladding, both of Leominster.  Next week Gary will have white against Larry in a makeup game.  If Gary wins or draws, he will be the club champion for the first time.  If Larry wins, HE will be the club champion.  Larry has shared the club championship title twice in 1992 and 1998, but this would be his first time as the sole club champion.  It promises to be an excellent game.   Len Arsenault  0-1 Gary Brassard Dave Couture 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton Martin Laine 1/2-1/2  Ken Gurge Geoff LePoer 0F-1F  Larry Gladding   CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Winning %) Player W L D PCT GB GR Gary Brassard 4 0 2 .833 - 1 Larry Gladding 4 1 1 .750 ½ 1 Bruce Felton 3 0 4 .714 ½ 0 Dave Couture 3 2 1 .583 1½ 1 Martin Laine 2 1 3 .583 1½ 1 Ken Gurge 2 4 1 .357 3 0 Len Arsenault 2 5 0 .286 3½ 0 Geoff LePoer 0 7 0 .000 5½ 0   Final pairings on June 24: Brassard-Gladding Laine-Couture

June 10th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 6 (of 7)   Brassard Moves Into Driver's Seat Gary Brassard of Leominster defeated Dave Couture of Westminster tonight to move into first place in the club championship (see A Cautionary Tale on the Games page).  Gary has 2 rounds to go and if he wins both he will be the club champion for the first time.   Click here to see all of the remaining scenarios.   Click here to see the current crosstable.   "A" Division   Gary Brassard 1-0 Dave Couture Ken Gurge 0-1 Bruce Felton Larry Gladding 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Martin Laine 1F-0F Geoff LePoer   CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Winning %) Player W L D PCT GB GR Gary Brassard 3 0 2 .800 - 2 Bruce Felton 3 0 3 .750 - 1 Larry Gladding 4 1 1 .750 - 1 Dave Couture 3 2 0 .600 1 2 Martin Laine 2 1 2 .600 1 2 Ken Gurge 2 4 0 .333 2½ 1 Len Arsenault 2 4 0 .333 2½ 1 Geoff LePoer 0 7 0 .000 5 0   GB - Games Behind GR - Games Remaining    CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Point Total) Points   4.5 Felton, Gladding 4.0 Brassard 3.5 ----- 3.0 Couture, Laine 2.5 ----- 2.0 Gurge, Arsenault 1.5 ----- 1.0 ----- 0.5 ----- 0.0 LePoer (withdrawn)   "B" Division Eduardo Stopped - But Still In The Lead!   Eduardo Valadares 0-1 Arthur Barlas George Miller 1-0 Brian Biglow Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Wayne Steadman Paul Giovino 1/2-1/2 Eugene Bedard Mark Norris 0-1 Mike Sheridan Max Sewell 1-0 Ken Carabba Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Stephan Chromiak   Jeff Lischer received a half-point bye and Richard Chromiak received a full-point bye.     CURRENT "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   5.0 Valadares 4.5 Barlas 4.0 Miller 3.5 Fratturelli, Sheridan 3.0 Giovino, Bedard, Lischer, Biglow, Steadman 2.5 Sewell, Norris, Fandreyer, Carabba 2.0 S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak

June 3rd, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 5 (of 7)   The "A" division is becoming more interesting, now that Larry handed Dave his first loss. As Yogi Berra once said: "It ain't over 'til it's over." - George Mirijanian   With only 2 rounds left (for most of the players), ALL of the active players are still in the running for 1st place.  It's possible, albeit highly unlikely, for there to be a 7-way tie for 1st place!  Only Gary Brassard and Dave Couture, who play each other next week, completely control their own destinies though.  IF either Gary or Dave win all their remaining games, they will be the club champion.   "A" Division   Dave Couture 0-1 Larry Gladding Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Gary Brassard Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Martin Laine Geoff LePoer 0F-1F Ken Gurge   CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Winning %) Player W L D PCT GB GR Dave Couture 3 1 0 .750 - 3 Gary Brassard 2 0 2 .750 - 3 Bruce Felton 2 0 3 .700 - 2 Larry Gladding 3 1 1 .700 - 2 Martin Laine 2 1 2 .600 ½ 2 Ken Gurge 2 3 0 .400 1½ 2 Len Arsenault 2 3 0 .400 1½ 2 Geoff LePoer 0 7 0 .000 4½ 0   GB - Games Behind GR - Games Remaining    CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Point Total) Points   3.5 Felton, Gladding 3.0 Couture, Brassard, Laine 2.5 ----- 2.0 Gurge, Arsenault 1.5 ----- 1.0 ----- 0.5 ----- 0.0 LePoer (withdrawn)     "B" Division Eduardo STILL Unstoppable! Congratulations to Eduardo on his 5th consecutive victory!  Eduardo, with a point and a half lead, needs only a draw next week to clinch to clinch the "B" division championship. Brian Biglow 0-1   Eduardo Valadares Arthur Barlas 1-0   Tom Fratturelli Wayne Steadman 1/2-1/2 Paul Giovino Eugene Bedard 1/2-1/2 Mark Norris Stephan Chromiak 0-1 George Miller Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Jeff Lischer Max Sewell 0-1 Mike Sheridan Ken Carabba 1-0 Richard Chromiak         CURRENT "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   5.0 Valadares 4.5 ----- 4.0 ----- 3.5 Barlas 3.0 Biglow, Miller, Steadman 2.5 Giovino, Bedard, Lischer, Fratturelli, Sheridan, Norris, Carabba 2.0 S. Chromiak 1.5 Sewell, Fandreyer 1.0 R. Chromiak

The following link takes you to the Massachusetts top 200 players list.  We have 6 club members listed there - not bad! http://main.uschess.org/datapage/top-players2.php?state=MA&limit=&players=M&current=C Ranking                     Rating 111  BRUCE FELTON           1949 129  GEORGE M MIRIJANIAN    1913   169  GEOFFREY LEPOER        1828   182  GARY R BRASSARD        1807   189  MARTIN LAINE           1800   199  KENNETH W GURGE        1788

Multi-Time Massachusetts Open Winners                    Total Sole Winner First Win-Last Win                  ----- ----------- ------------------ John Curdo        17       14           1948-1985 Alexander Ivanov   9        6           1988-2009 Igor Foygel        5        3           1992-2005 Weaver Adams       4        4           1937-1945 James Rizzitano    4        3           1981-1987 Gerhard Katz       3        2           1943-1949 John Peters        3        1           1969-1975 Julian Keilson     2        2           1953-1954 Fred Keller        2        2           1944-1947 Harlow Daly        2        2           1940-1942 William Paschall   2        1           1994-2003 Ilya Gurevich      2        1           1988-1991

May 27th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 4 (of 7)     "A" Division   Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton Ken Gurge 0-1 Gary Brassard Geoff LePoer 0-1 Len Arsenault Martin Laine postponed Dave Couture Geoff LePoer has withdrawn from the tournament so his remaining games will be forfeited.  Geoff's remaining games are with Ken Gurge, Martin Laine, and Larry Gladding so these forfeit wins have been credited to those players.  Because of Geoff's withdrawal and a couple of postponed games, the remaining  players have 2, 3, or 4 games left.  The best reflection of the current standings is the table below that lists the players in order of winning %. CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Winning %) Player W L D PCT GB GR Dave Couture 3 0 0 1.000 - 4 Gary Brassard 2 0 1 .833 ½ 4 Bruce Felton 2 0 2 .750 ½ 3 Martin Laine 2 0 2 .750 ½ 3 Larry Gladding 2 1 1 .625 1 3 Ken Gurge 2 3 0 .400 2 2 Len Arsenault 1 3 0 .250 2½ 3 Geoff LePoer 0 7 0 .000 5.0 0   GB - Games Behind GR - Games Remaining    CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Point Total) Points   3.0 Couture, Felton, Laine 2.5 Brassard, Gladding 2.0 Gurge 1.5 ----- 1.0 Arsenault 0.5 ----- 0.0 LePoer     Round 5 pairings on June 3: Couture vs. Gladding Felton vs. Brassard Arsenault vs. Laine LePoer 0F-1F Gurge "B" Division Eduardo Unstoppable! Congratulations to Eduardo on his 4th consecutive victory and congratulations to Stephan Chromiak on his first-ever tournament victory!   Paul Giovino 0-1 Eduardo Valadares Eugene Bedard 0-1 Brian Biglow Mark Norris 0-1 Arthur Barlas Jeff Lischer 0-1 Tom Fratturelli Stephan Chromiak 1-0 Ken Carabba Mike Sheridan 1-0 Richard Chromiak         CURRENT "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   4.0 Valadares 3.5 ----- 3.0 Biglow 2.5 Barlas, Fratturelli, Steadman 2.0 Giovino, Bedard, Miller, Norris, S. Chromiak 1.5 Lischer, Sheridan, Sewell, Fandreyer, Carabba 1.0 R. Chromiak

New England's Top 25 Players As Of May 25, 2009   STATE  TITLE/NAME RATING PREV 1 MA  GM LARRY M CHRISTIANSEN 2681 1 2 CT GM ILDAR IBRAGIMOV 2628 2 3 CT GM SERGEY KUDRIN 2626 5 4 RI    JORGE SAMMOUR HASBUN 2603 9 5 MA GM ROMAN DZINDZICHASHVILI 2598 4 5 MA GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN 2598 3 7 NH GM JOSHUA EDWARD FRIEDEL 2591 7 8 MA IM MIKHAIL SHUR 2565 8 9 MA GM ALEXANDER IVANOV 2560 6 10 MA IM IGOR FOYGEL 2493 10 11 MA    DENYS K SHMELOV 2485 12 12 MA IM DAVID VIGORITO 2484 15 13 MA IM RICO ZENKLUSEN 2465 - 14 CT    BOGDAN GABRIEL VIOREANU 2461 13 15 MA IM JONATHAN YEDIDIA 2448 11 16 MA   MARC R ESSERMAN 2441 - 17 MA FM CHARLES R RIORDAN 2413 17 18 MA IM WILLIAM MARK PASCHALL 2408 21 19 CT IM ROBERT ANDREW HUNGASKI 2385 19 20 MA FM WILLIAM J KELLEHER 2378 16 21 NH IM JOSEPH H FANG 2377 22 22 MA FM JACOB CHUDNOVSKY 2369 18 23 CT FM ADNAN KOBAS 2368 20 24 NH FM BRADEN BOURNIVAL 2364 23 25 MA FM JOHANN C HAKER 2356 14 Notes: - Rico Zenklusen is a 27-year-old IM from Switzerland.  He us currently attending MIT. - Jorge Sammour Hasbun made the biggest jump from the previous list, going from #9 to #4 with a rating increase of 40 points.

May 20th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 3 (of 7)     "A" Division   Dave Couture 1-0 Geoff LePoer Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Martin Laine Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Ken Gurge Gary Brassard postponed Larry Gladding   CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   3.0 Couture 2.5 Felton 2.0 Laine 1.5 Brassard 1.0 Gladding, Gurge 0.5 ----- 0.0 LePoer, Arsenault CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Winning %) Player W L D PCT GB GR Dave Couture 3 0 0 1.000 - 4 Bruce Felton 2 0 1 .833 ½ 4 Gary Brassard 1 0 1 .750 1 5 Martin Laine 1 0 2 .667 1 4 Larry Gladding 1 1 0 .600 1½ 5 Ken Gurge 1 2 0 .333 2 4 Geoff LePoer 0 3 0 .000 3 4 Len Arsenault 0 3 0 .000 3 4   GB - Games Behind GR - Games Remaining    Round 4 pairings on May 27: Laine-Couture, postponed Gladding-Felton Gurge-Brassard LePoer-Arsenault "B" Division   Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Eugene Bedard Arthur Barlas 0-1 Paul Giovino Tom Fratturelli 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow Wayne Steadman 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Mark Norris 1-0 Stephan Chromiak Richard Chromiak 0-1 Jeff Lischer George Miller 1-0 Max Sewell   Mike Sheridan and Ken Carabba received half-point byes.     CURRENT "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   3.0 Valadares 2.5 ----- 2.0 Giovino, Bedard, Biglow, Steadman, Norris 1.5 Barlas, Lischer, Fratturelli, Miller, Carabba 1.0 Fandreyer, S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak 0.5 Sheridan, Sewell 0.0 -----

May 13th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 2 (of 7)     "A" Division   Geoff LePoer 0-1 Bruce Felton Martin Laine 1/2-1/2 Gary Brassard Ken Gurge 0-1 Larry Gladding Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Dave Couture   CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   2.0 Felton, Couture 1.5 Brassard, Laine 1.0 Gladding 0.5 ----- 0.0 LePoer, Gurge, Arsenault Round 3 pairings on May 20: Felton-Laine Couture-LePoer Brassard-Gladding Arsenault-Gurge "B" Division   Brian Biglow 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas Eugene Bedard 1-0 Wayne Steadman Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Mark Norris Ken Carabba 0-1 Tom Fratturelli Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Mike Sheridan     Paul Giovino, Jeff Lischer, George Miller and Max Sewell received half-point byes.   CURRENT "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   2.0 Bedard, Valadares 1.5 Barlas, Biglow 1.0 Giovino, Fratturelli, Steadman, Norris, Fandreyer, Carabba 0.5 Lischer, Miller, Sewell 0.0 Sheridan

May 6th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Round 1 (of 7)     "A" Division   Bruce Felton 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Gary Brassard 1-0 Geoff LePoer Larry Gladding 0-1 Martin Laine Dave Couture 1-0 Ken Gurge   CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   1.0 Felton, Brassard, Couture, Laine 0.0 LePoer, Gladding, Gurge, Arsenault     Arthur Barlas 1-0 George Miller Mike Sheridan 0-1 Eugene Bedard Jeff Lischer 0-1 Wayne Steadman Max Sewell 0-1 Eduardo Valadares Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Mark Norris Ernest Fandreyer  0-1 Brian Biglow     Ken Carabba received a full-point bye and Paul Giovino received a half-point bye.     CURRENT "B" DIVISION STANDINGS Points   1.0  Barlas, Bedard, Valadares, Biglow, Steadman, Norris, Carabba 0.5  Giovino 0.0  Lischer, Fratturelli, Miller, Sheridan, Sewell, Fandreyer

April 29th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Prelims Final Round (of 5)   The Field Is Set! Going into tonight the following players had already qualified for the championship section: Geoff LePoer, Martin Laine, Ken Gurge, Larry Gladding, and Dave Couture.  Tonight Bruce Felton, Gary Brassard, and Len Arsenault qualified to fill out the field.   Congratulations also to Mark Norris of Fitchburg who increased his rating by 205 points.  In the last 6 tournaments Mark has raised his rating by an amazing 866 points!  The sky's the limit for Mark!   Martin Laine 0-1 Larry Gladding Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture George Mirijanian 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton Gary Brassard 1-0 Eugene Bedard Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Paul Giovino Wayne Steadman 0-1 George Miller Jeff Lischer 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Tom Fratturelli Max Sewell 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer   Geoff LePoer, Mark Norris, Michael Sheridan, Francis Scanlon, and Ken Carabba did not play the round.   FINAL STANDINGS Points   4.0  Gladding 3.5  Gurge, Couture 3.0  Felton, LePoer, Brassard, Laine, Arsenault 2.5  Mirijanian, Miller, Norris 2.0  Giovino, Bedard, Valadares, Sewell 1.5  Lischer, Biglow, Steadman 1.0  Fratturelli, Sheridan, Scanlon 0.5  ----- 0.0  Fandreyer, Carabba   Pairings for the "A" finals:   Round 1 - May 6 (5) Felton vs. (3) Arsenault (6) Brassard vs. (2) LePoer (7) Gladding vs. (1) Laine (4) Couture vs. (8) Gurge   Round 2 - May 13 (2) LePoer vs. (5) Felton (1) Laine vs. (6) Brassard (8) Gurge vs. (7) Gladding (3) Arsenault vs. (4) Couture   Round 3 - May 20 (5) Felton vs. (1) Laine (4) Couture vs. (2) LePoer (3) Arsenault vs. (8) Gurge (6) Brassard vs. (7) Gladding   Round 4 - May 27 (7) Gladding vs. (5) Felton (2) LePoer vs. (3) Arsenault (8) Gurge vs. (6) Brassard (1) Laine vs. (4) Couture   Round 5 - June 3 (5) Felton vs. (6) Brassard (2) LePoer vs. (8) Gurge (3) Arsenault vs. (1) Laine (4) Couture vs. (7) Gladding   Round 6 - June 10 (8) Gurge vs. (5) Felton (1) Laine vs. (2) LePoer (6) Brassard vs. (4) Couture (7) Gladding vs. (3) Arsenault   Round 7 (final) - June 17 (4) Couture vs. (5) Felton (2) LePoer vs. (7) Gladding (3) Arsenault vs. (6) Brassard (1) Laine vs. (8) Gurge

April 22nd, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Prelims Round 4 (of 5)   Everyone at the club wishes George Mirijanian a speedy recovery.  George was taken to the emergency room Wednesday night after his pacemaker started acting up.  He is currently down in Worcester for observation and more advanced tests.  He will hopefully be home very soon.   As I wrote two and a half years ago, George is the one who has made this club possible for many, many years.  Best of luck George!  Do whatever you need to do to get healthy.  We all look forward to seeing you healthy again soon.     LePoer 1-0 Felton Gladding 1-0 Brassard Laine 1-0 Arsenault Bedard 0-1 Gurge     Norris 1/2-1/2 Mirijanian Miller 1/2-1/2 Lischer Fratturelli 0-1 Giovino Steadman 1-0 Fandreyer     CURRENT STANDINGS Points   3.0 LePoer, Laine, Gurge, Gladding, Couture 2.5 Felton, Norris 2.0 Mirijanian, Brassard, Giovino, Bedard, Arsenault 1.5 Miller, Steadman 1.0 Lischer, Fratturelli, Valadares, Biglow, Sheridan, Sewell, Scanlon 0.5 ----- 0.0 Fandreyer, Carabba

April 15th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Prelims Round 3 (of 5)     Dave Couture 1-0 Martin Laine Bruce Felton 1-0 Lenny Arsenault Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 George Mirijanian Gary Brassard 1-0 Eduardo Valadares Larry Gladding  1-0 Tom Fratturelli Paul Giovino 0-1 Mark Norris Eugene Bedard 1-0 Max Sewell Jeff Lischer 1/2-1/2 Wayne Steadman Brian Biglow 1-0 Francis Scanlon Ernest Fandreyer  0-1 George Miller   Geoff LePoer, Mike Sheridan, and Ken Carabba did not play the round.   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   3.0 Couture 2.5 Felton 2.0 LePoer, Brassard, Laine, Gurge, Gladding, Bedard, Arsenault, Norris 1.5 Mirijanian 1.0 Giovino, Fratturelli, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Sheridan, Sewell 0.5 Lischer, Steadman 0.0 Fandreyer, Carabba, Scanlon

Gurge wins chess tourney at Fitchburg State College | www.leominsterchamp.com | Leominster

April 8th, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Prelims Round 2 (of 5)       Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge Dave Couture 1-0 George Mirijanian Geoff LePoer 1-0 Paul Giovino Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Gary Brassard Martin Laine 1-0 Eugene Bedard Wayne Steadman 0-1 Tom Fratturelli Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Max Sewell 1-0 Brian Biglow George Miller 0-1 Mark Norris Ken Carabba 0-1 Mike Sheridan   Jeff Lischer and Francis Scanlon did not play the round. Larry Gladding withdrew from the tournament. CURRENT STANDINGS Points   2.0 LePoer, Laine, Couture. Arsenault 1.5 Felton, Gurge 1.0 Mirijanian, Brassard, (Gladding), Giovino, Bedard, Fratturelli, Valadares, Sheridan, Sewell, Norris 0.5 ----- 0.0 Lischer, Biglow, Miller, Steadman, Fandreyer, Carabba. Scanlon

April 1st, 2009 Wachusett CC Championship Prelims Round 1 (of 5)     A warm welcome to Leonard Arsenault of Leominster, who last played at the club on June 26, 2002. He returned to the club to compete in the club championship preliminaries. Welcome back, Lenny! - George Mirijanian     Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Bruce Felton George Mirijanian 1-0 Eduardo Valadares Brian Biglow 0-1 Geoffrey LePoer Gary Brassard 1-0 George Miller Michael Sheridan 0-1 Martin Laine Ken Gurge 1-0 Wayne Steadman Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Larry Gladding Paul Giovino 1-0 Max Sewell Mark Norris 0-1 Dave Couture Eugene Bedard 1-0 Ken Carabba Francis Scanlon 0-1 Leonard Arsenault   Jeff Lischer did not play the round. CURRENT STANDINGS Points   1.0 Felton, Mirijanian, LePoer, Brassard, Laine, Gurge, Gladding, Giovino, Couture, Bedard, Arsenault 0.5  ----- 0.0 Lischer, Fratturelli, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Sheridan, Steadman, Fandreyer, Sewell, Norris, Carabba, Scanlon

March 25th, 2009 Wachusett CC Quick Chess Championship Five-round Swiss, Game/20       Felton wins Quick Chess Championship; defeats Billerica CC champion   Congratulations to Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, who won the 2009 Wachusett CC Quick Chess Championship. Runner-up was Billerica Chess Club champion Andrew Tichenor, a high-rated expert from Brookline, MA, whom Bruce defeated in the third round. Tied for third were George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Geoff LePoer of Westford, and Martin Laine of Lunenburg.   Round-by-round results   Round 1 Brian Biglow 0-1 Andrew Tichenor George Mirijanian 1-0 Eduardo Valadares George Miller 0-1 Geoffrey LePoer Bruce Felton 1-0 Michael Sheridan Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Gary Brassard Martin Laine 1-0 Francis Scanlon Mark Norris 0-1 Paul Giovino Ken Gurge 1-0 Ken Carabba   Round 2 Tichenor 1-0 Laine Brassard 0-1 Mirijanian LePoer 0-1 Gurge Giovino 0-1 Felton Scanlon 0-1 Biglow Valadares 0-1 Fandreyer Carabba 0-1 Miller Sheridan 1-0 Norris   Round 3 Felton 1-0 Tichenor Mirijanian 1-0 Gurge Biglow 0-1 LePoer Miller 0-1 Brassard Laine 1-0 Sheridan Fandreyer 0-1 Giovino Norris 0-1 Valadares Carabba 0-1 Scanlon   Round 4 Felton 1/2-1/2 Mirijanian Tichenor 1-0 Giovino LePoer 1/2-1/2 Laine Gurge 0-1 Brassard Sheridan 1-0 Biglow Valadares 1-0 Scanlon Fandreyer 0-1 Miller Norris 1-0 Carabba   Round 5 Mirijanian 0-1 Tichenor Brassard 0-1 Felton Giovino 0-1 LePoer Laine 1-0 Gurge Miller 1-0 Valadares Sheridan 1-0 Fandreyer Scanlon 1-0 Norris Biglow 1-0 Carabba   FINAL STANDINGS 4.5 - Felton 4.0 - Tichenor 3.5 - Mirijanian, LePoer, Laine 3.0 - Brassard, Miller, Sheridan 2.5 -  ----- 2.0 - Giovino, Gurge, Biglow, Valadares, Scanlon 1.5 -  ----- 1.0 - Fandreyer, Norris 0.5 -  ----- 0.0 - Carabba

March 18th, 2009 George E. O'Rourke Memorial Final Round (of 5)   Ken Again! For the second year in a row, Ken Gurge of Leominster has won the George E. O'Rourke Memorial tournament. And he did it by defeating frontrunner Bruce Felton of Fitchburg in the final round!  Bruce, who was leading the 22-player field with a perfect 4-0 score going into the last round, needed only a draw to clinch first place. But Ken saw that that was not going to happen, for he won a rook early on in the game in which Bruce played the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense and forced the game down to a king and rook vs. king ending that saw Bruce overstep the time limit in a dead-lost position. George Edmund O'Rourke must have been rooting for Ken from above, for Ken was the last person to play a USCF-rated game - a draw - with George on Feb. 21, 2007 before he died on Feb. 26 of that year. - George M. Congratulations also to Geoff LePoer of Westford and Gary Brassard of Leominster who tied for 3rd place and Mark Norris of Fitchburg who increased his rating by 95 points.  In the last 5 tournaments Robert has raised his rating by an incredible 661 points!   Ken Gurge 1-0 Bruce Felton Paul Giovino 0-1 Geoff LePoer Gary Brassard 1-0 Tom Fratturelli Martin Laine 1-0 Eduardo Valadares George Miller 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture Eugene Bedard 1/2-1/2 Mike Sheridan Brian Biglow 1-0 Max Sewell Wayne Steadman 0-1 Jeff Lischer Ernest Fandreyer  1-0 Francis Scanlon Ken Carabba 0-1 Mark Norris   George Mirijanian and Larry Gladding did not play the round.   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   4.5 Gurge 4.0 Felton 3.5 LePoer, Brassard 3.0 Laine 2.5 Mirijanian, Couture, Giovino, Bedard, Fratturelli, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Sheridan 2.0 Lischer, Fandreyer, Norris 1.5 Steadman, Sewell 1.0 Gladding, Scanlon 0.5 Carabba

March 11th, 2009 George E. O'Rourke Memorial Round 4 (of 5)   Felton 1-0 Brassard Miller  0-1 Gurge Laine  0-1 Giovino Biglow  0-1 Fratturelli Sewell  0-1 Bedard Sheridan  1-0 Carabba Norris 0-1 Fandreyer       CURRENT STANDINGS Points   4.0 Felton 3.5 Gurge 3.0 ----- 2.5 Mirijanian, LePoer, Brassard, Giovino, Fratturelli, Valadares 2.0 Laine, Couture, Miller, Sheridan 1.5 Biglow, Steadman, Sewell 1.0 Gladding, Fandreyer, Scanlon, Norris 0.5 Carabba

March 4th, 2009 George E. O'Rourke Memorial Round 3 (of 5)   Geoffrey LePoer 0-1 Bruce Felton Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 George Mirijanian Dave Couture 0-1 Gary Brassard Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Martin Laine Paul Giovino 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow Eugene Bedard 0-1 George Miller Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Mark Norris Francis Scanlon 0-1 Max Sewell Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Michael Sheridan   Larry Gladding, Jeff Lischer, Wayne Steadman, and Ken Carabba drew half-point byes.   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   3.0 Felton 2.5 Brassard, Gurge 2.0 Mirijanian, LePoer, Laine, Valadares, Miller 1.5 Couture, Giovino, Fratturelli, Biglow, Sewell 1.0 Gladding, Bedard, Lischer, Sheridan, Norris, Scanlon 0.5 Steadman, Carabba 0.0 Fandreyer

Westford’s LePoer wins chess tourney By Stephen Vittorioso / Staff Writer (Westford Eagle) Fri Feb 27, 2009, 12:21 PM EST Westford - Geoffrey LePoer sat around a chessboard playing the white figures in the final match against the current club champion. The 43-year-old Westford man offered his competitor Martin Laine a draw – an agreement between the two players to end the game in a time – but he did not accept it. So LePoer later got him and ended the near four-hour duel and five-week tournament as a champion. “Given that I haven’t played in seven years, I didn’t expect to win,” LePoer said. “If you can get hot for three or four weeks, you’re in the game. It’s just like American Idol.” Beating 24 participants, LePoer won the Feb. 11 Reggie Boone Memorial Chess Tournament by earning a score of 4.5 points out of a possible 5. The Wachusett Chess Club, one of the oldest and most active chess clubs in Massachusetts, sponsored the five-week tournament that was held at Fitchburg State College and rated by the U.S. Chess Federation in Crossville, Tenn. “Three of [LePoer’s] wins were against higher-rated players,” said tournament director George Mirijanian in an e-mail to the Eagle. “As a result of his victory, Geoff has moved up in the club’s ranking to No. 3.” LePoer is no stranger to winning competitive chess, which has about a 55 percent chance of winning if participants play the white figures over the black ones, he said. In 1999, he won the Wachusett Chess Club Championship and is currently rated Class A by the U.S. Chess Federation. In early 1980s, the former Ashby native played for the North Middlesex Regional High School chess team in the North Worcester County Scholastic Chess League. “It’s the most extreme of puzzles,” LePoer said of his passion for chess. “Some people like crosswords, but for me that is a static activity. I like playing against someone. I like the analysis. I love tournaments and competitions.” LePoer said both his sixth-grade teacher and his uncle helped spark his chess interest. He now plays the game, which emerged from Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century, as often as he can. Consisting of sixteen pieces, including one king, one queen, two knights and eight pawns, the game is played on a 64-square chessboard and is one of the world’s most popular activities. LePoer is currently playing in the George O’Rourke Memorial Tournament, a five-week contest that ends March 18. He is also hoping to qualify again for the Wachusett Chess Club Tournament, held later this spring. But will he win those matches? “One game at a time,” he said. “I’m hanging in there.” Staff Writer Stephen Vittorioso can be reached at 978-371-5727 or at svittori@cnc.com.

February 25th, 2009 George E. O'Rourke Memorial Round 2 (of 5)   Bruce Felton 1-0   Paul Giovino Geoffrey LePoer  1-0  Eugene Bedard Kenneth Gurge 1-0   Martin Laine Dave Couture 1/2-1/2   Tom Fratturelli Gary Brassard  1-0  Larry Gladding Ernest Fandreyer  0-1  Eduardo Valadares Brian Biglow  1-0  Wayne Steadman Kenneth Carabba 0-1   George Miller Michael Sheridan  0-1  Mark Norris   George Mirijanian, Arthur Barlas, Jeffrey Lischer, Max Sewell and Francis Scanlon received half-point byes. CURRENT STANDINGS Points   2.0 Felton, LePoer, Gurge 1.5 Mirijanian, Brassard, Couture, Fratturelli 1.0 Laine, Giovino, Barlas, Bedard, Lischer, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Norris, Scanlon 0.5 Gladding, Sewell 0.0 Sheridan, Steadman, Fandreyer, Carabba

February 18th, 2009 George E. O'Rourke Memorial Round 1 (of 5)   Bruce Hits 20!   Bruce Felton of Fitchburg has become the first 20-game winner of the 2008-2009 season.  Click here to see some of the other leaders:   Eduardo Valadares 0-1 Bruce Felton George Mirijanian 1-0 Brian Biglow George Miller 0-1 Geoffrey LePoer Martin Laine 1-0 Michael Sheridan Wayne Steadman 0-1 Dave Couture Paul Giovino 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Max Sewell 0-1 Kenneth Gurge Eugene Bedard 1-0 Ken Carabba Mark Norris 0-1 Tom Fratturelli   Gary Brassard, Larry Gladding, Arthur Barlas, Jeff Lischer and Francis Scanlon received half-point byes. CURRENT STANDINGS Points   1.0 Felton, Mirijanian, LePoer, Laine, Couture, Giovino, Gurge, Bedard, Fratturelli 0.5 Brassard, Gladding, Barlas, Lischer, Scanlon 0.0 Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Sheridan, Steadman, Fandreyer, Sewell, Carabba, Norris

New England's Top 25 Players As Of February 15, 2009. 1 MA  GM LARRY M CHRISTIANSEN 2680 2 CT GM ILDAR IBRAGIMOV 2628 3 MA GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN 2601 4 MA GM ROMAN DZINDZICHASHVILI 2598 5 CT GM SERGEY KUDRIN 2593 6 MA GM ALEXANDER IVANOV 2576 7 NH GM JOSHUA EDWARD FRIEDEL 2572 8 MA IM MIKHAIL SHUR 2565 9 RI    JORGE SAMMOUR HASBUN 2563 10 MA IM IGOR FOYGEL 2486 11 MA IM JONATHAN YEDIDIA 2447 12 MA    DENYS K SHMELOV 2435 13 CT    BOGDAN GABRIEL VIOREANU 2423 14 MA FM JOHANN C HAKER 2421 15 MA IM DAVID VIGORITO 2413 16 MA FM WILLIAM J KELLEHER 2396 17 MA FM CHARLES R RIORDAN 2387 18 MA FM JACOB CHUDNOVSKY 2384 19 CT IM ROBERT ANDREW HUNGASKI 2382 20 CT FM ADNAN KOBAS 2376 21 MA IM WILLIAM MARK PASCHALL 2372 22 NH IM JOSEPH H FANG 2369 23 NH FM BRADEN BOURNIVAL 2364 24 MA FM CHRISTOPHER CHASE 2357 25 CT    EDWARD F MCHUGH 2350   Thursday, February 19, 2009 - Worcester Telegram and Gazette Making right moves in game, life Chess champ to speak at FSC By Paula J. Owen CORRESPONDENT     Nationally ranked chess player Bruce O. Felton poses with a chess set in his Fitchburg home. Mr. Felton will speak on race in the chess world at 4 p.m. today at Fitchburg State College. (T&G Staff/CHRISTINE PETERSON)   Even though white moves first, it doesn’t mean black doesn’t win. A person that has the second move has just as much opportunity as the one that moved first. It’s how you look at life. That’s the big thing that chess shows you — that everyone that moves first doesn’t always win. Bruce O. Felton, FITCHBURG CHESS PLAYER FITCHBURG — Nationally ranked chess player Bruce O. Felton said that the message of his talk for Black History Month at Fitchburg State College today will be that the sport has nothing to do with race and everything to do with a person’s character. Mr. Felton, 55, is the highest-rated chess player in Fitchburg and the only African-American in the Wachusett Chess Club, housed at Fitchburg State College. But when he started playing “street chess” in 1972 when he lived in Akron, Ohio, he said all his opponents were African-Americans. It was a time when Robert James “Bobby” Fischer, an American chess grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion, was big on the scene, he said. “When Bobby Fischer, who was an American, won the world championship, there was an explosion of chess on television,” he said. “African-Americans everywhere were playing chess and interested in learning and playing the game.” Mr. Fischer’s success as the first, and so far the only, American to win the official World Chess Championship, defeating defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, inspired Mr. Felton, he said. When a friend encouraged him to start organizing neighborhood teams and matches, he said he loved the idea. “I was mostly in contact with the inner-city community, and it was mostly African-Americans I dealt with then,” Mr. Felton said. “There were not too many Caucasians to integrate with then. It was different in Akron than here in Fitchburg. Here, I feel like I am the only minority in the club.” He said the street chess he was playing and sometimes still plays in Fitchburg is much different than playing in organized tournaments and clubs rated by the U.S. Chess Federation, where a chairman oversees the matches. “In the streets, people usually say what they want and they use verbal tactics — anything goes,” he explained. “When you play in the streets, even in Fitchburg, people talk, smoke, blow smoke in your face, to try to take your mind off the game. You can say anything you want to your opponent, and you see a lot of crazy stuff to try to break concentration.” In the chess club and at tournaments, he said, people play by the rules, and no one is talking. He attributes the lack of African-American players in the club not to race but to an unwillingness for beginners to hang in there. “It is not about race, but about personality,” he said. “You have to hang in there — everyone wants to be the best, but sometimes you have to start out sweeping the floor.” He said he never looks at color when playing in a match. “It is funny when you first learn chess,” he said. “White always moves first and black has the second move. But, guess what? Even though white moves first, it doesn’t mean black doesn’t win. A person that has the second move has just as much opportunity as the one that moved first. It’s how you look at life. That’s the big thing that chess shows you — that everyone that moves first doesn’t always win.” Mr. Felton worked in manufacturing for most of his adult life before injuring his neck in December. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in sociology from Fitchburg State in 1987. He said he plans to start a program at a local community center, teaching youths how to play chess. “Chess can teach important lessons to young people,” he said. “They learn, if you make a move, you can’t take it back. It gets them to realize the importance one move can make and gets them to think, ‘If I make this step and I am here — is this where I want to be?’ ” Mr. Felton is the guest speaker on race in the chess world at 4 p.m. today in the Ellis White Lecture Hall, Hammond Campus Center, Fitchburg State.

February 11th, 2009 Reggie Boone Memorial Final Round (of 5)   The Return of the King (with apologies to J. R. R. Tolkien) Geoff LePoer of Westford (club champion in 1999) completed his successful return to the club with yet another win tonight over club champion Martin Laine of Lunenburg, going 4-0 for the tournament.  Congratulations to Geoff for his 1st place finish.  Congratulations also to Gary Brassard of Leominster, Paul Giovino of Lunenburg, and Dave Couture of Westminster on tying for 2nd place. Also, congratulations to the following players who had rating gains of more than 50 points: MARK NORRIS +128 GEOFFREY LEPOER +74 KENNETH CARABBA +56     Geoffrey LePoer 1-0 Martin Laine Dave Couture 1-0 Larry Gladding Gary Brassard 1-0 Jeff Lischer Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Paul Giovino Kenneth Gurge 1-0 Brian Biglow Bruce Felton 1-0 Mark Norris Eugene Bedard 1-0 George Miller Eduardo Valadares 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Kenneth Carabba 0-1 Peter Short Wayne Steadman 1/2-1/2 Max Sewell   George Mirijanian, Arthur Barlas, Michael Sheridan and Francis Scanlon did not play the round.   FINAL STANDINGS Points   4.5 LePoer 4.0 ----- 3.5 Brassard, Giovino, Couture 3.0 Laine, Gurge 2.5 Felton, Gladding, Bedard, Barlas, Lischer, Fratturelli, Valadares, Biglow, Short 2.0 Mirijanian, Norris 1.5 Miller, Steadman, Sheridan, Fandreyer, Carabba 1.0 Sewell 0.5 Scanlon

February 4th, 2009 Reggie Boone Memorial Round 4 (of 5)   Full House   There were 22 players at the club tonight - a number not seen in many years. Two of the games went right down to the wire, with Tom Fratturelli winning on time and Geoff LePoer winning in a time scramble.  Next week, Geoff will take on Martin Laine to determine the tournament winner.  Geoff is returning to tournament chess after a break of 6 years and has won each of the 3 games he's played since returning!   Paul Giovino 0-1 Geoff LePoer Ken Gurge 0-1 Martin Laine Arthur Barlas 1/2-1/2 Gary Brassard Jeff Lischer 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture Larry Gladding 1-0 Eduardo Valadares Brian Biglow 1-0 Eugene Bedard George Miller 0-1 Tom Fratturelli George Mirijanian 1-0 Ernest Fandreyer Michael Sheridan 1-0 Wayne Steadman Mark Norris 1-0 Max Sewell Francis Scanlon 0-1 Kenneth Carabba   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   3.5 LePoer 3.0 Laine 2.5 Gladding, Brassard, Giovino, Couture, Barlas, Lischer, Fratturelli, Biglow 2.0 Mirijanian, Gurge, Norris 1.5 Bedard, Valadares, Miller, Sheridan, Fandreyer, Carabba 1.0 Steadman 0.5 Sewell, Scanlon

January 28th, 2009 Reggie Boone Memorial Round 3 (of 5) Stormy "Wednesday" They call it stormy Monday But Tuesday's just as bad. They call it stormy Monday But Tuesdays just as bad. Lord, and Wednesday's worse... - T-Bone Walker ("Stormy Monday Blues") Well yet another winter storm has closed Fitchburg State College for the day, so the club was closed tonight and all players received a half-point bye.  Let's hope next Wednesday is storm-free...

January 21st, 2009 Reggie Boone Memorial Round 2 (of 5)   Martin Laine 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture Geoff LePoer 1-0 Larry Gladding Gary Brassard 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Paul Giovino Eugene Bedard 1-0 Michael Sheridan Max Sewell 0-1 Eduardo Valadares Brian Biglow 1-0 Francis Scanlon Ken Carabba 0-1 George Miller Wayne Steadman 1/2-1/2 Mark Norris   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   2.0 Giovino, LePoer 1.5 Laine, Brassard, Couture, Gurge, Barlas, Lischer 1.0 Gladding, Bedard, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Fandreyer 0.5 Mirijanian, Steadman, Norris 0.0 Sheridan, Sewell, Carabba, Scanlon

January 14th, 2009 Reggie Boone Memorial Round 1 (of 5) Upsets and Close Calls We had three new players join the club tonight: Geoffrey LePoer of Westford, formerly of Acton and Ashby, who won the Wachusett CC Championship in 1999 and last played at the club in June 2003 in the Al Horowitz Memorial tournament; Eugene Bedard of Gardner, formerly of Fitchburg, who last played at the club in June 1993 when he took part in the  "B" section of the WCC championship; and newcomer Michael Sheridan of Petersham, formerly of Athol, who was a member many years ago of the Pequoig Chess Club, later Kingsmen Chess Club in Athol. The highlights of the night were a pair of upsets: the ever-dangerous Ernest Fandreyer won a 490-point upset and Jeff Lischer won a 310-point upset.  George Miller, Wayne Steadman, and Mark Norris also all put up good fights against their higher-rated opponents.   George Mirijanian 0-1 Jeff Lischer Eduardo Valadares  0-1 Martin Laine Larry Gladding 1-0 Brian Biglow George Miller 0-1 Gary Brassard Paul Giovino 1-0 Wayne Steadman Michael Sheridan 0-1 Geoffrey LePoer Dave Couture 1-0 Max Sewell Ernest Fandreyer 1-0 Eugene Bedard Kenneth Gurge 1-0 Kenneth Carabba Mark Norris 0-1 Arthur Barlas   CURRENT STANDINGS Points   1.0 Laine, Gladding, Brassard, Giovino, LePoer, Couture, Gurge, Barlas, Lischer, Fandreyer 0.5 ----- 0.0 Mirijanian, Bedard, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Steadman, Sheridan, Sewell, Carabba, Scanlon, Norris