♖  "To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game." -Savielly Tartakower  ♖

Carissa Draws Final Game to Finish 4th in WYCC U10 Girls Classic

Carissa drew her final round game to tie for 2nd-4th place with 8 1/2 points.  Based on tiebreaks she finished 4th.  Way to go Carissa!  Congratulations!

Carissa Moves Into 2nd Place!

Carissa has won again!  She is now 8-2 with one round remaining.  She's in 2nd place on tiebreaks and is being paired in the final round against an Indian girl who also has 8 points.  The chart below shows the pairings for the final round.  Go get em' Carissa!

Carissa Wins Again!

George Mirijanian writes:

Great news from the World Youth Championships. Carissa won in Round 9 and now stands at 7-2 with round 10 on Friday and round 11 on Saturday. She is a half-point behind the co-leaders, both from India. Also with 7-2 are a Chinese girl, two girls from Iran, and a girl from Israel, whom the Arab organizers disgracefully refuse to identify as an Israeli.

The website says that she will have White against Elizaveta Soloshenkina of Russia, a Women's FIDE master - with a FIDE rating of 1761. Solozhenkina has 6.5 points.

Carissa's pairing is a tough one, since the Russian girl is a strong player. But Carissa is capable of beating strong players. She has demonstrated that at tournaments in our state.

We will keep our fingers crossed for Carissa for the final two rounds of the event.

Carissa's Comeback Continues!

In the 8th round of play, Carissa defeated Diajeng Theresa Singgih of India to move into 7th place at 6-2.  The leader lost her first game in this round, so Carissa is now only 1 point behind.  There are 3 rounds left.  In the 9th round Carissa will be playing 6th seed WCM Ismayil Malak of Azerbaijan.

Carissa Coming Back.  She's Now 5-2!

Carissa is moving back up in the rankings.  She is now in 14th place with 4 rounds to go.

Carissa Now at 3-2

This afternoon Carissa lost her 5th round game, but there are 6 rounds to go...

The games can be followed at:

You have to select U10 games, then Girls U10, and then click on Carissa's game link (thanks to Percy Yip for this info).

Carissa Falls to 3-1

This morning Carissa lost her 4th round game.  She is now in 10th place in the 140 player field.  As of this writing she is less than an hour away from starting her fifth round game.  It is, once again, against a girl from the northeast - Vittal Sanjana of New Jersey.  Good luck Carissa.

The game can be followed at:

You have to select U10 games, then Girls U10, and then click on Carissa's game link (thanks to Percy Yip for this info).

Carissa Now 3-0!

Today Carissa won against the #1 seed to go 3-0.  Based on tiebreaks, she is in 2nd place in a group of 140 girls.  Tomorrow morning, Carissa will play as White against WFM Asadi Motahare from Iran.  Asadi is the #11 seed.  Carissa is #22.

Carissa Wins First 2 Games at 2013 World Youth Championships

Carissa has won both of her first 2 games at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Al Ain, UAE.  Her opponent in the first round was the current  German U10 Girls Champion and her opponent in the second round was the current North American U10 Girls Champion from Albany, New York (see photo below).  In round 3 Carissa will be playing on Board 1 against the #1 seed!

Good luck Carissa!

Schedule and results here: http://worldyouth2013.com/result/standard/5

December 18th, 2013

George Sturgis Memorial

Final Round of 5

Mike Lally Wins George Sturgis Memorial

With a final round victory, Mike Lally of Sunderland took first place in the 2013 George Sturgis Memorial by a full point.  Tying for second place were a group of 5 players:  Carissa Yip of Chelmsford, Steve Nelson of Fitchburg, Ray Paulson of Lowell, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, and Gary Brassard of Leominster.  Congratulations to all!

The following players had rating increases of more than 50 points:

 

Dave Thomas  +105

Bob Mathieu  +99

Brian Biglow  +85

Don Briggs  +75

Vince Premus  +63

 

 
Mike Lally 1-0 Bruce Felton
Paul Connelly 0-1 Steve Nelson
Ray Paulson 1-0 Larry Gladding
Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Paul Godin
Jim Hankard 0-1 Gary Brassard
Roger Cappallo 1-0 Brian Biglow
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Martin Laine
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Dave Couture
Gail Lingner 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Lenny Arsenault 1/2-1/2 Don Briggs
Mike Manisy 1-0 Larry O'Rourke
Wayne Steadman 1-0 John Bastarache

 

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.5 Lally
4.0 ---
3.5 Yip, Nelson, Paulson, Felton, Brassard
3.0 Cappallo, Godin, Thomas
2.5 Mirijanian, LePoer, Couture, Barlas, Gladding, Laine, Connelly, Gurge, Hankard, Biglow
2.0 King, Manisy, Arsenault, Fratturelli, Mathieu, Briggs
1.5 Lingner, Sleet, Premus
1.0 Miller, Talcott, O'Rourke, Parker, Steadman, Bastarache, Scanlon

 

 

2014 Wachusett Chess Club Championship Qualification Leaders
(based on a minimum of 50% games played)
Club Members Current Rating As Of 12/19/13 Total Games This Season Wins Losses Draws Pct.
RAYMOND PAULSON 1989 20 15 1 4 .850
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 1972 14 10 2 2 .786
BRUCE FELTON 1966 24 17 5 2 .750
MICHAEL LALLY 1905 19 13 4 2 .737
STEVE SCOTT NELSON 2011 15 11 4 0 .733
PAUL GODIN 1877 19 12 4 3 .711
DAVE COUTURE 1791 17 10 4 3 .676
ARTHUR BARLAS 1764 17 10 6 1 .618
KEN GURGE 1680 22 11 6 5 .614
MARTIN LAINE 1705 14 7 5 2 .571
LARRY GLADDING 1753 22 11 8 3 .568
GARY BRASSARD 1776 23 12 9 2 .565
TOM FRATTURELLI 1595 21 11 10 0 .524
DAVID THOMAS 1755 23 9 8 6 .522

Players must play a minimum of 20 games in the 2013-2014 season in order to qualify for the top division of the club championship. Top 8 players qualify for a single round robin.

- George M
 

 

Carissa in Dubai, UAE

Carissa Yip, Wachusett CC's top-rated player, to compete in World Youth Championships

Carissa Yip of Chelmsford, currently the highest-rated player at the Wachusett Chess Club - with a USCF expert's rating of 2023 - is set to play in the World Youth Championships for boys and girls in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Carissa will be competing in the Girls Under Age 10 division, which is an 11-round Swiss that begins on Wednesday, Dec. 18 and ends on Dec. 28. The event will be rated by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Accompanying Carissa to the championships is her father Percy, a loyal Wachusett CC member.

- George M

December 11th, 2013

George Sturgis Memorial

Round 4 of 5

 
Brian Biglow 0-1 Carissa Yip
Larry Gladding 0-1 Mike Lally
Gary Brassard 1/2-1/2 Dave Thomas
Paul Connelly 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Steve Nelson 1-0 Arthur Barlas
Dave Couture 0-1 Ray Paulson
George Mirijanian 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Roger Cappallo
Robert King 1-0 Vince Premus
Martin Laine 1-0 John Bastarache
Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Larry Sleet 1-0 Wayne Steadman

Receiving half-point byes were Bruce Felton, Geoff LePoer, Paul Godin, George Miller, Gail Lingner, Jackson Parker, Bob Mathieu, Don Briggs and Francis Scanlon. Withdrawing from the tournament were Stan Talcott, Matthew Ding and Vinny Spingola, the last two of whom did not play a game.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.5 Yip, Felton, Lally
3.0 ---
2.5 Nelson, Paulson, Mirijanian, LePoer, Godin, Brassard, Gladding, Connelly, Thomas, Hankard, Biglow
2.0 King, Cappallo, Laine, Gurge, Fratturelli, Mathieu
1.5 Couture, Barlas, Arsenault, Lingner, Sleet, Briggs, Premus
1.0 Miller, (Talcott), O'Rourke, Parker, Bastarache, Scanlon
0.5 ---
0.0 Steadman

Carissa Yip, who is tied for the lead in the tournament, will unfortunately not play the final round since she will be competing in the World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates. We wish Carissa the best of luck in this World Chess Federation (FIDE)-rated event.

- George M

December 4th, 2013

George Sturgis Memorial

Round 3 of 5

 
Bruce Felton 1-0 Steve Nelson
Carissa Yip 1-0 Ken Gurge
Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Geoff LePoer
Mike Lally 1-0
 Bob Mathieu
Brian Biglow 1-0 Dave Couture
Arthur Barlas  0-1 Larry Gladding
Roger Cappallo 1/2-1/2 George Mirijanian
Tom Fratturelli  0-1
Gary Brassard
John Bastarache 
0-1 Paul Connelly
Don Briggs 0-1 Jim Hankard
Larry O'Rourke 1/2-1/2 Martin Laine
Vince Premus  1-0 Jackson Parker
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Gail Lingner

Receiving half-point byes were Ray Paulson, Paul Godin, Lenny Arsenault, Stan Talcott, George Miller, Larry Sleet and Francis Scanlon. Not playing the round were Matthew Ding and Vinny Spingola.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Felton
2.5 Yip, Lally, Gladding, Biglow
2.0 LePoer, Godin, Brassard, Connelly, Thomas, Hankard
1.5 Nelson, Paulson, Mirijanian, Cappallo, Couture, Barlas, Arsenault, Gurge, Mathieu, Premus
1.0 Laine, Fratturelli, Talcott, Lingner, O'Rourke, Ding, Briggs, Bastarache, Spingola
0.5 Miller, Parker, Sleet, Scanlon
0.0 Steadman

 

Please read - One woman's personal account of why most young women stop playing in their teens.

Please note that I don't think this applies to anyone at our club.  We have a great group of people that I feel privileged to be associated with.

I fervently hope that Carissa never experiences any of this.

Anand Lodges Official Protest Against Carlsen:

Claims Carlsen Had Access to Unpublished Material!

In what is being called the biggest scandal since the discovery of the 2 dead flies in the overhead lighting fixtures at the 1972 Fischer vs. Spassky match, Magnus Carlsen has been accused of somehow getting a copy of the book, “Don’t Play Like Me!” before it was available on amazon.com (see photographic evidence below).  In a press release, Anand stated, “That little <expletive deleted>!  If I had had access to that book, Carlsen would be back to a career in fashion modeling faster than you can say Viswanathan Anand!!"  Anand added, "I guess that's not saying much since it's apparently not clear to anyone how to pronounce my name."

Reaction throughout the chess world was swift and damning.  One former world champion, who asked that his name not be used, said “I am, of course, shocked.  ‘Wonderboy’ indeed!  I’ve half a mind to return to chess just so I can teach the kid that all the books in the world are useless against a real world champion.  Although, if I had had that book during my match with Deep Blue, I would have kicked its silicon <expletive deleted>!”

Stay tuned for further developments as they happen...

Carissa Honored by Massachusetts State Senate

November 20th, 2013

George Sturgis Memorial

Round 2 of 5

 
Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 Carissa Yip
Bruce Felton
 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Mike Lally
Dave Couture 1/2-1/2 Dave Thomas
Bob Mathieu 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas
Steve Nelson 1-0 Don Briggs
Paul Godin 1-0 Larry O'Rourke
Martin Laine 0-1 Brian Biglow
Ray Paulson 1-0  Vince Premus
Gary Brassard 1-0 Gail Lingner
Paul Connelly 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Jim Hankard 1-0 Larry Sleet
John Bastarache 1-0 George Miller
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Francis Scanlon

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Geoff LePoer, Stan Talcott, Jackson Parker, Matthew Ding and Vinny Spingola.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Felton
1.5 Nelson, Yip, LePoer, Godin, Lally, Couture, Barlas, Gladding, Gurge, Thomas, Biglow, Mathieu
1.0 Paulson, Mirijanian, Brassard, Connelly, Arsenault, Hankard, Fratturelli, Ding, Briggs, Bastarache, Spingola
0.5 Laine, Talcott, O'Rourke, Parker, Premus
0.0
Miller, Lingner, Steadman, Sleet, Scanlon
 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

- George M

November 13th, 2013

George Sturgis Memorial

Round 1 of 5

 

As often happens, there were a number of upsets in the first round.  There were 3 upset wins:

Bob Mathieu 417 points

Dave Thomas 355 points

Don Briggs  341 points

and 1 upset draw:

Brian Biglow 280 points

Congratulations to all!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, in the previous tournament, the Ernest Fandreyer Memorial, the following players achieved new all-time high ratings:

GEOFF LEPOER    1936   

BRUCE FELTON    1959   

ARTHUR BARLAS   1791   

DONALD L BRIGGS 1326   

JOHN BASTARACHE 1290   

VINCE PREMUS    1134P16

And the following player was the only one to have a rating increases of more than 50 points:

FRANCIS W SCANLON +131

Again, congratulations to all!
Dave Thomas 1-0 Ray Paulson
Carissa Yip 1-0 Jim Hankard
George Miller 0-1 Bruce Felton
Geoff LePoer 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Brian Biglow 1/2-1/2 Paul Godin
Mike Lally 1-0 Stan Talcott
Jackson Parker 0-1 Dave Couture
Arthur Barlas 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Bob Mathieu 1-0 Gary Brassard
Larry Gladding 1-0 Larry Sleet
Don Briggs 1-0 Paul Connelly
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 John Bastarache
Francis Scanlon 0-1 Ken Gurge

Receiving half-point byes were Steve Nelson, George Mirijanian, Larry O'Rourke, Matthew Ding, Vince Premus and Vinny Spingola. Gail Lingner - no bye per request.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Yip, Felton, LePoer, Lally, Couture, Barlas, Gladding, Arsenault, Gurge, Thomas, Mathieu, Briggs
0.5 Nelson, Mirijanian, Godin, Biglow, O'Rourke, Ding, Premus, Spingola
0.0 Paulson, Brassard, Connelly, Hankard, Miller, Fratturelli, Talcott, Lingner, Parker, Steadman, Sleet, Bastarache, Scanlon
 

November 10th, 2013

We have reached the half-way mark in the club tournaments that will qualify for the club championship.  The following are the current standings in the qualification race:
 
        2014 Wachusett Chess Club
   Championship Qualification Leaders
   (based on minimum 50% games played)
 
Club Members              Total Wins Losses Draws Pct. Rating
                                   Games
1. Raymond Paulson       16     12       0          4    .875   1998
2. George Mirijanian       12      9        2          1    .792   1968
3. Bruce Felton                20     14       4          2   .750    1958
4. Dave Couture              12       8       2          2    .750    1835
5. Steve Nelson               11       8       3          0    .727    2017
6. Paul Godin                  16      11      4          1    .719    1888
7. Michael Lally               14       9      4          1    .679    1871
8. Anil Marthi                   12       7      3          2    .667    1965
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Arthur Barlas                 12       8       4          0    .667    1791
10. Ken Gurge                   17      10      5          2    .647    1655
11. Martin Laine                 10       6       4         0     .600    1736
12. Larry Gladding              17       9       6         2     .588    1737

Players need to play a minimum of 20 games in the 2013-2014 season in order to qualify for the top division of the club championship. Top 8 players qualify for a single round robin.

 - George M

November 6th, 2013

Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial

Final Round of 5

Geoff LePoer Catches Ray Paulson at the Finish Line

With a win in the final round, Geoff LePoer of Westford pulled even with Ray Paulson of Lowell who did not play the final round.  Tying for 3rd place were Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, and Larry Gladding and Ken Gurge, both of Leominster.  Congratulations to all.

 

Once the tournament has been rated, we'll report on the players with new all-time high ratings and/or big rating increases.

 

 

Bruce Felton 0-1 Geoff LePoer
Larry Gladding 1-0 Paul Connelly
Ken Gurge 1-0 Brian Biglow
Dave Thomas 0-1 George Mirijanian
Jim Hankard 1-0 Paul Godin
Mike Lally 0-1 Eric Jakobowicz
Gary Brassard 1-0 George Miller
Don Briggs 1-0 Francis Scanlon
Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Wayne Steadman 1-0 Vinny Spingola
Bob Mathieu 0-1 Carissa Yip
Matthew Ding 1-0 Gail Lingner

Not playing the round were Ray Paulson, Steve Nelson, Arthur Barlas, John Bastarache, Vince Premus, Larry Sleet, Jackson Parker, Larry O'Rourke and Stan Talcott. Dave Couture was withdrawn from the tournament.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.0 Paulson, LePoer
3.5 Felton, Gladding, Gurge
3.0 Mirijanian, Brassard, Connelly, Hankard, Fratturelli
2.5 Nelson, Barlas, Biglow, Briggs
2.0 Yip, Godin, Jakobowicz, Lally, Arsenault, Thomas, Miller, Steadman, Bastarache, Premus, Scanlon
1.5 Ding, Sleet
1.0 Parker, O'Rourke, Talcott, Mathieu, Spingola
0.5 Lingner

 

 

 

October 30th, 2013

Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial

Round 4 of 5

 

Ray Paulson 1-0 Steve Nelson
George Mirijanian 0-1 Bruce Felton
Paul Connelly 1-0 Jim Hankard
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Larry Gladding
Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault
Don Briggs 0-1 Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Vince Premus 1-0 Jackson Parker
Francis Scanlon 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Larry O'Rourke 1-0 Matthew Ding
Gail Lingner 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow

Receiving half-point byes were Geoff LePoer, Arthur Barlas, John Bastarache, Larry Sleet, Stan Talcott and Vinny Spingola. Not playing the round were Paul Godin, Mike Lally, George Miller and Dave Couture.  Withdrawing from the tournament were Andrew Paul and Duncan Premus.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.0 Paulson
3.5 Felton
3.0 LePoer, Connelly
2.5 Nelson, Barlas, Gladding, Gurge, Biglow
2.0 Mirijanian, Godin, Lally, Brassard, Arsenault, Thomas, Miller, Hankard, Fratturelli, Bastarache, V. Premus, Scanlon
1.5 Sleet, Briggs
1.0 Couture, Parker, O'Rourke, Talcott, Steadman, Mathieu, Spingola
0.5 Lingner, Ding

 

 

October 23rd, 2013

Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial

Round 3 of 5

 
Arthur Barlas 0-1 Ray Paulson
Bruce Felton 1-0 Gary Brassard
Brian Biglow 1-0 Larry Gladding
Jackson Parker 0-1 Paul Connelly
Bob Mathieu 0-1 Jim Hankard
Francis Scanlon 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Matthew Ding 0-1 Ken Gurge
Vinny Spingola 0-1 Don Briggs
Wayne Steadman 1-0 Gail Lingner
Larry Sleet 1-0 Larry O'Rourke

Receiving half-point byes were Steve Nelson, George Mirijanian, Paul Godin, Geoff LePoer, Mike Lally, Lenny Arsenault, Dave Thomas, George Miller, Stan Talcott, John Bastarache and Vince Premus. Not playing the round were Dave Couture, Andrew Paul and Duncan Premus. Withdrawing from the tournament were Anil Marthi and Martin Laine.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Paulson
2.5 Nelson, Felton, LePoer
2.0 Mirijanian, Godin, Lally, Barlas, Connelly, Miller, Biglow, Hankard, Fratturelli
1.5 Gladding, Arsenault, Gurge, Thomas, Briggs, Bastarache
1.0 Couture, Brassard, Parker, Steadman, Mathieu, Sleet, Paul, V. Premus, Scanlon, D. Premus
0.5 Ding, Talcott, Spingola
0.0 Lingner, O'Rourke

 

 

October 16th, 2013

Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial

Round 2 of 5

 
Steve Nelson 1-0 Gary Brassard
Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton
Ray Paulson 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Geoff LePoer 1-0 Dave Thomas
Arthur Barlas 1-0 John Bastarache
George Mirijanian 1-0 Don Briggs
Paul Connelly 1/2-1/2 Francis Scanlon
Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Brian Biglow
Jim Hankard 1-0 Stan Talcott
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Gail Lingner 0-1 Bob Mathieu
Larry Sleet 0-1 Jackson Parker

Receiving half-point byes were Anil Marthi, Paul Godin, Mike Lally, Dave Couture, Martin Laine, Ken Gurge, George Miller, Matthew Ding, Andrew Paul, Vince Premus, Duncan Premus and Vinny Spingola

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Nelson, Paulson, LePoer, Barlas
1.5 Mirijanian, Felton, Godin, Lally, Gladding, Miller
1.0 Marthi, Couture, Brassard, Laine, Arsenault, Connelly, Thomas, Biglow, Hankard, Fratturelli, Parker, Mathieu, Bastarache, Paul, Scanlon, D. Premus
0.5 Gurge, Ding, Briggs, V. Premus, Spingola
0.0 Lingner, O'Rourke, Talcott, Steadman, Sleet

 

 

October 9th, 2013

Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial

Round 1 of 5

 
Brian Biglow 0-1 Steve Nelson
Bruce Felton 1-0 Jim Hankard
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Ray Paulson
Paul Godin 1-0 Matthew Ding
Jackson Parker 0-1 Geoff LePoer
Mike Lally 1-0 Larry O'Rourke
Stan Talcott 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Gary Brassard 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Bob Mathieu 0-1 Larry Gladding
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Larry Sleet
Don Briggs 1/2-1/2 Paul Connelly
Ken Gurge 0-1 John Bastarache
Vince Premus 0-1 Dave Thomas
George Miller 1-0 Vinny Spingola

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Dave Couture and Francis Scanlon. Not requesting a bye was Gail Lingner.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Nelson, Felton, Paulson, Godin, LePoer, Lally, Barlas, Brassard, Gladding, Arsenault, Thomas, Miller, Bastarache
0.5 Mirijanian, Couture, Connelly, Briggs, Scanlon
0.0 Gurge, Biglow, Hankard, Fratturelli, Lingner, Ding, Parker, O'Rourke, Talcott, Steadman, Mathieu, Sleet, Premus, Spingola

 

 

October 2nd, 2013

IM Jonathan Yedidia Quinquagenarian Open

Final Round of 5

Felton Finishes First

Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, the club blitz champion, took clear 1st place in the IM Jonathan Yedidia Quinquagenarian Open.  Geoff LePoer of Westford took clear 2nd and the following 5 players tied for 3rd: Steve Nelson and George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Ray Paulson of Lowell, Paul Godin of Bedford, and Mike Lally of Leverett.  Congratulations to all!
Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Ray Paulson
Dave Couture 0-1 Geoff LePoer
Gary Brassard 0-1 Steve Nelson
George Mirijanian 1-0 Ken Gurge
George Miller 0-1 Paul Godin
Mike Lally 1-0 Brian Biglow
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Stan Talcott
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Jackson Parker
Matthew Ding 0-1 Jim Hankard
Larry O'Rourke 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Larry Sleet 0-1 Don Briggs
Bob Mathieu 1-0 Francis Scanlon

Not playing the final round were Larry Gladding (chief TD), Anil Marthi, Arthur Barlas, Martin Laine, Dave Thomas, Alan Condon, Gail Lingner, Harry Richardson, John Bastarache, Andrew Paul, Vince Premus, Duncan Premus, and Vinny Spingola.

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.5 Felton
4.0 LePoer
3.5 Nelson, Mirijanian, Paulson, Godin, Lally
3.0 Marthi, Couture, Arsenault, Fratturelli
2.5 Barlas, Brassard, Gurge, Laine, Miller, Hankard, Biglow, O'Rourke
2.0 Thomas, Condon, Talcott, Parker, Richardson, Briggs, V. Premus
1.5 Gladding, Lingner, Ding, Mathieu
1.0 Steadman, Sleet, Bastarache, Paul, Scanlon, D. Premus, Spingola

RATING INCREASES OF 50 POINTS OR MORE
Brian Biglow     +90
Lenny Arsenault  +88
Donald Briggs    +60
Vince Premus     +51

REMINDER: The Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial begins next Wednesday, Oct. 9.  Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1 of the 5-round Swiss tournament.  The time control for this tournament and all subsequent tournaments will be G/100 with a 5-second delay.

September 25th, 2013

IM Jonathan Yedidia Quinquagenarian Open

Round 4 of 5

 

With one round still to go, 2-time club champion Bruce Felton of Fitchburg has clinched at least a share of 1st place.  He is currently 4-0 and the 4 players tied for 2nd place are a full point behind.

 

Mike Lally 0-1 Bruce Felton
Ray Paulson 1-0 Gary Brassard
Dave Thomas 0-1 Geoff LePoer
Alan Condon 0-1 Dave Couture
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 George Miller
Paul Godin 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Steve Nelson 1-0 Jim Hankard
Martin Laine 1-0 Matthew Ding
Brian Biglow 1-0 Larry Gladding
Don Briggs 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Vince Premus 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Duncan Premus 0-1 Jackson Parker
Vinny Spingola 0-1 Larry O'Rourke
John Bastarache 1/2-1/2 Bob Mathieu

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Anil Marthi, Arthur Barlas, Gail Lingner, Stan Talcott, Andrew Paul and Francis Scanlon. Not playing the round were Harry Richardson and Larry Sleet.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.0 Felton
3.5 ......
3.0 Marthi, Paulson, LePoer, Couture
2.5 Nelson, Mirijanian, Godin, Lally, Barlas, Brassard, Gurge, Laine, Miller, Biglow
2.0 Thomas, Condon, Arsenault, Fratturelli, Talcott, Parker, Richardson, V. Premus
1.5 Gladding, Hankard, Lingner, Ding, O'Rourke
1.0 Steadman, Sleet, Bastarache, Briggs, Paul, Scanlon, D. Premus, Spingola
0.5 Mathieu

 

September 18th, 2013

IM Jonathan Yedidia Quinquagenarianian Open

Round 3 of 5

 

Anil Marthi 
1/2-1/2 Mike Lally
Bruce Felton  1-0 Arthur Barlas
Dave Couture 1/2-1/2  Lenny Arsenault
Gary Brassard 1-0 Brian Biglow
George Miller  1/2-1/2 Alan Condon
Geoff LePoer  1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Ken Gurge
Dave Thomas 1-0 Gail Lingner
Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2  Stan Talcott
Steve Nelson  1-0 Larry Sleet
Larry Gladding  1-0 Larry O'Rourke
Matthew Ding  1-0 Francis Scanlon
Bob Mathieu 0-1  Don Briggs
John Bastarache 1/2-1/2 Andrew Paul

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Ray Paulson, Paul Godin, Martin Laine, Jackson Parker, Harry Richardson, Vince Premus, Duncan Premus and Vinny Spingola. Withdrawing from the tournament were Carissa and Percy Yip.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Felton
2.5 Marthi, Lally, Brassard
2.0 Mirijanian, Paulson, LePoer, Couture, Barlas, Gurge, Thomas, Condon, Miller, Arsenault, Richardson
1.5 Nelson, Godin, Gladding, Laine, Hankard, Biglow, Ding, Talcott
1.0 Fratturelli, Lingner, Steadman, Parker, Sleet, Briggs, V. Premus, D. Premus, Spingola
0.5 O'Rourke, Bastarache, Paul, Scanlon
0.0 Mathieu
 

Projected SwissSys Round 4 pairings will be sent to players as soon as they are made available from Larry Gladding, who has taken over as chief TD - with George Mirijanian as his assistant.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the round. Players expected to arrive later than that who wish to be paired must call Ken Gurge (978-764-8221) at the club by 7 p.m.

- George M
 

 

September 11th, 2013

IM Jonathan Yedidia Quinquagenarianian Open

Round 2 of 5

 

Ken Gurge
  0-1
Anil Marthi
Martin Laine  0-1 Bruce Felton
Mike Lally  1-0 Dave Thomas
George Miller 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture
Arthur Barlas  1-0 Jim Hankard
Lenny Arsenault 1/2-1/2 Gary Brassard
George Mirijanian 1-0 Matthew Ding
Larry O'Rourke  0-1
Ray Paulson
Alan Condon 1-0 Vince Premus
Stan Talcott  1-0 Duncan Premus
Paul Godin 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 John Bastarache
Gail Lingner  1-0 Don Briggs
Andrew Paul  0-1 Wayne Steadman

Receiving half-point byes were Steve Nelson, Carissa Yip, Larry Gladding, Percy Yip, Brian Biglow, Jackson Parker, Harry Richardson, Francis Scanlon and Vinny Spingola.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Marthi, Felton, Lally, Barlas
1.5 Mirijanian, Paulson, Couture, Brassard, Condon, Miller, Arsenault, Biglow, Richardson
1.0 Godin, C. Yip, Gurge, Laine, Thomas, Hankard, Fratturelli, P. Yip, Lingner, Steadman, Talcott
0.5 Nelson, Gladding, Ding, O'Rourke, Parker, V. Premus, Scanlon, D. Premus, Spingola
0.0 Mathieu, Bastarache, Briggs, Paul
 

September 4th, 2013

IM Jonathan Yedidia Quinquagenarianian Open

Round 1 of 5

Upsets Aplenty

There were 3 upsets tonight and a couple of close calls.  Len Arsenault of Leominster won a 427 point upset.  Brian Biglow, also of Leominster, pulled off a 358 point upset, and Harry Richardson of Fitchburg prevailed in a 553 point upset.  Congratulations to all 3!

 

Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Steve Nelson
Anil Marthi 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Brian Biglow 1-0 Paul Godin
Bruce Felton 1-0 Gail Lingner
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Mike Lally
Dave Couture 1-0 Stan Talcott
Jackson Parker 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Gary Brassard 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Harry Richardson 1-0 Larry Gladding
Ken Gurge 1-0 John Bastarache
Don Briggs 0-1 Martin Laine
Dave Thomas 1-0 Andrew Paul
Francis Scanlon 0-1 George Miller
Jim Hankard 1-0 Vinny Spingola

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Ray Paulson, Carissa Yip, Alan Condon, Percy Yip, Larry O'Rourke, Vince Premus and Duncan Premus.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Marthi, Felton, Lally, Couture, Barlas, Brassard, Gurge, Laine, Thomas, Miller, Hankard, Arsenault, Biglow, Richardson
0.5 Mirijanian, Paulson, C. Yip, Condon, P. Yip, O'Rourke, V. Premus, D. Premus
0.0 Nelson, Godin, Gladding, Fratturelli, Lingner, Steadman, Talcott, Parker, Mathieu, Bastarache, Briggs, Paul, Scanlon, Spingola

August 28th, 2013
GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open
Final Round of 5

Paulson Prevails

Ray Paulson of Lowell won his final round game against co-leader Steve Nelson of Fitchburg to take clear first in the  GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open.  Dave Couture of Westminster finished second.   Steve Nelson of Fitchburg, Paul Godin of Bedford, and Ken Gurge of Leominster all tied for third.  Congratulations to all!
Ray Paulson 1-0 Steve Nelson
Dave Couture 1-0 Paul Godin
Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault
Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Ken Gurge
Gail Lingner 0-1 Bruce Felton
George Miller 1-0 Gary Brassard
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Dave Thomas 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Matthew Ding 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Harry Richardson 1-0 Jim Hankard
Duncan Premus 0-1 Brian Biglow
Andrew Paul 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Don Briggs 1-0 Vince Premus

Not playing the final round were George Mirijanian, Anil Marthi, Mike Lally, Martin Laine, Stan Talcott, Larry Sleet, Jackson Parker and Vinny Spingola.

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS

 

4.5

Paulson

4.0

Couture

3.5

Nelson, Godin, Gurge

3.0

Mirijanian, Felton, Marthi, Gladding, Barlas, Thomas, Arsenault, Miller

2.5

Lally, Laine, Fratturelli, Richardson, O'Rourke

2.0

Brassard, Biglow, Lingner, Steadman, Mathieu, Parker

1.5

Hankard, Ding, Bastarache, Paul, D. Premus

1.0

Talcott, Sleet, Briggs, Spingola

0.5

V. Premus

Thanks to Club Director George Mirijanian for compiling the following stats.

2014 Wachusett Chess Club
Championship Qualification Leaders
(based on minimum 50% games played)
Club Members Total Games This Season Wins Losses Draws Pct.
ERIC STRICKLAND 5 5 0 0 1.000
DAVE COUTURE 7 6 1 0 .857
RAYMOND PAULSON 9 6 0 3 .833
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 7 5 1 1 .786
PAUL GODIN 10 7 2 1 .750
MICHAEL LALLY 7 5 2 0 .714
BRUCE FELTON 10 7 3 0 .700
KEN GURGE 8 5 2 1 .688
ARTHUR BARLAS 6 4 2 0 .667
ANIL MARTHI 9 5 3 1 .611
LARRY GLADDING 9 5 3 1 .611
MARTIN LAINE 7 4 3 0 .571
DAVID THOMAS 10 5 4 1 .550

 

P. S. Players will need to play a minimum of 20 games in the 2013-2014 season in order to qualify for the 2014 club championship.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations to all the following players who either achieved new all-time high ratings and/or increased their ratings by 50 points or more from the GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open.

NEW ALL-TIME HIGH RATINGS

   Established Ratings

   Dave Couture        1858

   Arthur Barlas         1788

   Harry Richardson   1384

   Jackson Parker      1363

   Andrew Paul           1122

 

   Provisional Ratings

   Larry O'Rourke       1405P14

RATING INCREASES OF 50 POINTS OR MORE

   Established Ratings

   Jackson Parker       +127

   Duncan Premus      +117

   Harry Richardson     +96

   Andrew Paul            +79

   Dave Couture           +64

   Raymond Paulson    +55

 

   Provisional Ratings

   Larry O'Rourke        +240

August 26th, 2013

The following club members are among the top 200 players in Massachusetts>  Congratulations to all!

125 ANIL K MARTHI       1975
131 GEORGE M MIRIJANIAN 1965
138 CARISSA SHIWEN YIP  1951
148 BRUCE FELTON        1930
154 RAYMOND PAULSON     1915
158 PAUL L GODIN        1902
172 MICHAEL LALLY       1881
173 ROSS ELDRIDGE       1876
173 LAWRENCE GLADDING   1876
178 GEOFFREY LEPOER     1873
185 MICHAEL MANISY      1860
200 TREVOR WARD BIERIG  1841

August 21st, 2013

GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open
Round 4 of 5

Paul Godin 
1/2-1/2 Ray Paulson
Steve Nelson 1-0 Bruce Felton
Anil Marthi 1-0 Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas 0-1 Dave Couture
Larry Gladding 1-0 Dave Thomas
Ken Gurge 1-0 Matthew Ding
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Harry Richardson
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Larry O'Rourke
George Miller 1-0 Larry Sleet
Jackson Parker 1-0 Brian Biglow
Gail Lingner 1F-0F John Bastarache
Wayne Steadman 1-0 Andrew Paul
Bob Mathieu 1-0 Vinny Spingola
Don Briggs 0-1 Jim Hankard

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Martin Laine, Stan Talcott and Vince Premus.  Not playing the round was Duncan Premus. Mike Lally withdrew from the tournament.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.5 Nelson, Godin, Paulson
3.0 Mirijanian, Marthi, Couture
2.5 (Lally), Gladding, Laine, Gurge, Arsenault, O'Rourke
2.0 Felton, Brassard, Barlas, Thomas, Miller, Lingner, Steadman, Mathieu, Parker
1.5 Fratturelli, Hankard, Ding, Richardson, D. Premus
1.0 Biglow, Talcott, Sleet, Bastarache, Paul, Spingola
0.5 V. Premus
0.0 Briggs

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m in Room C159 of the McKay Campus School in order to be paired. Late arrivals will not be paired, unless they notify the TD before 7:10 p.m. via Ken Gurge (978-764-8221) that they will be late.

- George M

August 14th, 2013

GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open
Round 3 of 5

Club member Jackson Parker of Fitchburg is currently leading the Chess Magnet School Junior Grand Prix for Massachusetts players. Club Director George Mirijanian says, "I think that one of the things that helps Jackson be high in the standings is that nearly all the Wachusett CC tournaments qualify for the Chess Magnet School Junior Grand Prix."  Congratulations Jackson!

Ray Paulson 
1-0 Anil Marthi
Paul Godin  1-0 Arthur Barlas
Steve Nelson 1-0 Larry Gladding
Ken Gurge  0-1 Mike Lally
Bruce Felton  1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Gary Brassard  1-0 Gail Lingner
Martin Laine  1-0 Wayne Steadman
Dave Thomas 1-0 Jackson Parker
Larry O'Rourke 1/2-1/2  Lenny Arsenault
Matthew Ding  1-0 Andrew Paul
Harry Richardson 1-0 Stan Talcott
Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Brian Biglow  1-0 Don Briggs
Vince Premus 0-1 Bob Mathieu

 

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Dave Couture, Duncan Premus, George Miller, Larry Sleet and Vinny Spingola.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Godin, Paulson
2.5 Nelson, Mirijanian, Lally
2.0 Felton, Marthi, Couture, Brassard, Barlas, Laine, Thomas
1.5 Gladding, Gurge, Arsenault, Fratturelli, Ding, Richardson, O'Rourke, D. Premus
1.0 Miller, Biglow, Lingner, Steadman, Mathieu, Sleet, Parker, Bastarache, Paul, Spingola
0.5 Hankard, Talcott
0.0 Briggs, V. Premus
 

August 7th, 2013

GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open

Round 2 of 5

 

Steve Scott Nelson of Fitchburg, Wachusett Chess Club champion in 1976, returned to the club to play in the current tournament. He has not played rated chess in more than 30 years! The club welcomes his return.

    - George M.

George Mirijanian 1-0 Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas 1-0 Bruce Felton
Anil Marthi 1-0 Dave Thomas
Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Paul Godin
Ray Paulson 1-0 Duncan Premus
Stan Talcott 0-1 Steve Nelson
Dave Couture 1-0 Harry Richardson
Bob Mathieu 0-1 Martin Laine
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Don Briggs
Jackson Parker 1-0 Jim Hankard
Andrew Paul 1-0 Brian Biglow
Wayne Steadman 1-0 Vince Premus

Receiving half-point byes were Mike Lally Larry Gladding, Ken Gurge, Tom Fratturelli, Gail Lingner, George Miller, Matthew Ding, Larry Sleet, John Bastarache and Vinny Spingola.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Mirijanian, Marthi, Godin, Paulson, Barlas
1.5 Nelson, Lally, Gladding, Couture, Gurge, Fratturelli
1.0 Felton, Brassard, Laine, Thomas, Arsenault, Lingner, Steadman, Parker, O'Rourke, Paul, D. Premus
0.5 Miller, Ding, Talcott, Sleet, Richardson, Bastarache, Spingola
0.0 Hankard, Biglow, Mathieu, Briggs, V. Premus
 

 

July 31st, 2013

GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open
Round 1 of 5

 
Jim Hankard 0-1 George Mirijanian
Bruce Felton 1-0 George Miller
Brian Biglow 0-1 Anil Marthi
Paul Godin 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Matthew Ding 0-1 Ray Paulson
Mike Lally 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Don Briggs 0-1 Larry Gladding
Gary Brassard 1-0 Jackson Parker
John Bastarache 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Martin Laine 0-1 Larry O'Rourke
Vince Premus 0-1 Ken Gurge
Dave Thomas 1-0 Andrew Paul
Duncan Premus 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Vinny Spingola

 
Receiving half-point byes were Dave Couture, Gail Lingner, Stan Talcott and Harry Richardson.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Mirijanian, Felton, Marthi, Godin, Paulson, Lally, Gladding, Brassard, Barlas, Gurge, Thomas, Fratturelli, O'Rourke, D. Premus
0.5 Couture, Lingner, Talcott, Richardson
0.0 Laine, Arsenault, Hankard, Miller, Biglow, Steadman, Ding, Mathieu, Briggs, Parker, Bastarache, V. Premus, Paul, Spingola
 
 

July 24th, 2013

Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Final Round of 5

Vermonter Victorious

Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT came to the club a month ago and has made a name for himself in his first tournament.  Eric was a perfect 5-0 in the 2013 Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament.  He finished first in a field of 43 by a full point.  Club Director George Mirijanian notes that 43 players is a club record for a weekly tournament held in the summer.  Tying for second with 4 points were Paul Godin of Bedford, MA and Bruce Felton of Fitchburg.  Congratulations to all.
Eric Strickland
 		 1-0 Mike Lally
Gary Brassard  0-1 Paul Godin
Ken Gurge  0-1 Bruce Felton
George Mirijanian  1-0 Martin Laine
Dave Couture  1-0 Alan Condon
Larry Gladding  1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Brian Biglow 1-0 Paul Connelly
Jim Hankard 1-0 Matthew Ding
Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Anil Marthi
Gail Lingner 0-1 Dave Thomas
Edward Goguen 1/2-1/2
Bob Mathieu
Stan Talcott 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Wayne Steadman 1-0 George Miller
Andrew Paul 1-0 Larry Sleet
Vince Premus 1-0 Jackson Parker
Don Briggs 1-0 Duncan Premus
Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Harry Richardson

Not playing the final round were Carissa Yip, Ray Paulson, Vaughn Allen, Alex Yu, Percy Yip, John Bastarache, Brandon Wu, Tom Giampietro and Vinny Spingola.

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
5.0 Strickland
4.5 -----
4.0 Godin, Felton
3.5 Mirijanian, Couture
3.0 C. Yip, Paulson, Lally, Gladding, Brassard, Gurge, Hankard, Biglow
2.5 Marthi, Laine, Thomas, Steadman
2.0 Allen, Barlas, Condon, Connelly, Yu, Fratturelli, P. Yip, Ding, Mathieu, Briggs, Paul, V. Premus
1.5 Arsenault, Lingner, Goguen, Talcott, Richardson, Bastarache
1.0 Wu, Miller, Sleet, Parker, Giampietro, D. Premus
0.5 Spingola
0.0 O'Rourke

 

REMINDER: The next tournament at Thompson Hall is the GM Lubomir Kavalek Septuagenarian Open, which begins July 31. Players must definitely be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the first round. Allow yourself extra time to find a parking spot.

 - George M

Congratulations to all of the following players who either achieved new all-time high ratings and/or increased their ratings by 50 points or more.

NEW ALL-TIME HIGH RATINGS
    Established Ratings

        ERIC STRICKLAND   1950
        ARTHUR BARLAS     1783
        DAVID J THOMAS    1680
        MATTHEW CONG DING 1462
        ANDREW PAUL       1043
        DUNCAN PREMUS      544

    Provisional Ratings

        HARRY E RICHARDSON JR 1288P23
        VINCE PREMUS          1065P8


 RATING INCREASES OF 50 POINTS OR MORE
    Established Ratings

        ERIC STRICKLAND  +132
        WAYNE L STEADMAN +119
        DUNCAN PREMUS    +109
        DAVE J COUTURE   +102
        ANDREW PAUL       +62

    Provisional Ratings

        VINCE PREMUS     +332

The following is from George Mirijanian:

Based on the results of the Harlow B. Daly Memorial, the first of 8 tournaments in the 2013-2014 season, here are the current qualification leaders for the 2014 club championship ("A" Division). Top 8 will qualify.

     2014 Wachusett Chess Club
Championship Qualification Leaders
(based on minimum 50% games played)
Club Members Wins Losses Draws Pct.
ERIC STRICKLAND 5 0 0 1.000
BRUCE FELTON 4 1 0 .800
PAUL GODIN 4 1 0 .800
RAYMOND PAULSON 2 0 2 .750
DAVE COUTURE 3 1 0 .750
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 3 1 1 .700
GARY BRASSARD 2 1 0 .667
MATTHEW DING 2 1 0 .667
KEN GURGE 2 1 1 .625
MICHAEL LALLY 3 2 0 .600
LARRY GLADDING 3 2 0 .600
JAMES HANKARD 3 2 0 .600
BRIAN BIGLOW 3 2 0 .600
 
 

P.S. Players will need to play a minimum of 20 games (equivalent to 4 tournaments) in the 2013-2014 season in order to qualify for the 2014 club championship.

July 17th, 2013

Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 4 of 5

 

Paul Godin
 0-1 Eric Strickland
George Mirijanian 1/2-1/2 Ray Paulson
Bruce Felton 1-0 Jim Hankard
Paul Connelly 0-1 Mike Lally
Brian Biglow  0-1
Gary Brassard
Anil Marthi 0-1
 Dave Couture
Martin Laine 1-0 Dave Thomas
Vaughn Allen 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Larry Sleet  0-1 Larry Gladding
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Don Briggs
Bob Mathieu  1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Matthew Ding  1-0 Vince Premus
Gail Lingner  1-0 Duncan Premus
Harry Richardson 0-1 Stan Talcott
Vinny Spingola  0-1 Andrew Paul
Larry O'Rourke 0-1 Jackson Parker

Receiving half-point byes were Carissa Yip, Ken Gurge, Alan Condon, Percy Yip, Wayne Steadman, George Miller and Tom Giampietro (who has withdrawn).. Not playing the round were Alex Yu (who has withdrawn), Arthur Barlas and Brandon Wu.

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.0 Strickland
3.5 -----
3.0 Godin, C. Yip, Felton, Paulson, Lally, Brassard, Gurge
2.5 Mirijanian, Laine, Couture
2.0 Allen, Gladding, Condon, Connelly, Hankard, (Yu), Fratturelli, Biglow, P. Yip, Ding
1.5 Marthi, Thomas, Arsenault, Lingner, Mathieu, Talcott, Steadman, Bastarache
1.0 Barlas, Wu, Miller, Sleet, Parker, Briggs, (Giampietro), Paul, V. Premus, D. Premus
0.5 Richardson, Spingola
0.0 O'Rourke

 

Video of Carissa Playing Blindfold Chess

Here is a note from Percy Yip:

A reporter from The Sun came to interview Carissa yesterday, and they uploaded a "fun" video of Carissa playing blind chess with the reporter.  They said a story about Carissa will appear in The Sun this coming Thursday. 

It is a fun video.

July 10th, 2013

Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 3 of 5

 

Mike Lally 0-1 Paul Godin
Eric Strickland 1-0 Bruce Felton
Anil Marthi 0-1 Ken Gurge
Ray Paulson 1-0 Dave Couture
Dave Thomas 0-1 George Mirijanian
Larry Sleet 0-1 Gary Brassard
Paul Connelly 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Jim Hankard 1-0 Vince Premus
Don Briggs 0-1 Alex Yu
Duncan Premus 0-1 Brian Biglow
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Gail Lingner
Larry Gladding 1-0 Harry Richardson
Jackson Parker 0-1 Matthew Ding
Andrew Paul 0-1 Bob Mathieu

Receiving half-point byes were Carissa Yip, Martin Laine, Alan Condon, Percy Yip, Brandon Wu, John Bastarache, George Miller, Stan Talcott, Tom Giampietro and Vinny Spingola. Not playing the round was Arthur Barlas.

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Godin, Strickland
2.5 C. Yip, Paulson, Gurge
2.0 Mirijanian, Felton, Lally, Brassard, Connelly, Hankard, Yu, Biglow
1.5 Marthi, Laine, Condon, Couture, Thomas, Arsenault, P. Yip
1.0 Gladding, Barlas, Wu, Ding, Mathieu, Sleet, Steadman, Briggs, Bastarache, V. Premus, D. Premus
0.5 Miller, Lingner, Talcott, Richardson, Giampietro, Spingola
0.0 Parker, Paul

Carissa's Biggest News Yet!

The USCF has confirmed that 9-year-old Carissa Yip is the youngest female ever in the United States to achieve an Expert rating!  Next in Carissa's sights - none other than current (and many time) U. S. Women's Champion IM Irina Krush, who became the youngest Master ever at the age of 12.  Keep on rockin' Carissa!

July 3rd, 2013

Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Here are complete results from Wednesday night. We welcome three new players in the tournament: the father-son team of Vince and Duncan Premus from Pepperell and Brandon Wu of Acton. - George M.

 
Eric Strickland
 1-0 George Mirijanian
Paul Godin 1-0 Martin Laine
Alan Condon  0-1 Carissa Yip
Bruce Felton 1-0 Paul Connelly
Ken Gurge  1/2-1/2 Ray Paulson
Mike Lally  1-0 Jim Hankard
Wayne Steadman  0-1 Anil Marthi
Brandon Wu  0-1 Dave Thomas
Dave Couture  1-0 Larry Gladding
George Miller 0-1 Don Briggs
Harry Richardson  1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault
John Bastarache  1/2-1/2 Gail Lingner
Brian Biglow  1-0 Tom Giampietro
Andrew Paul  0-1 Percy Yip
Bob Mathieu  0-1 Vince Premus
Vinny Spingola  0-1 Larry Sleet
Duncan Premus  1-0 Jackson Parker

Arthur Barlas received a half-point bye, while Stan Talcott requested a zero-point bye. Withdrawn from the tournament were Gary Brassard, Trevor Bierig, Tom Fratturelli, Matthew Ding and Brian Contois.

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Godin, C. Yip, Felton, Lally, Strickland
1.5 Marthi, Paulson, Couture, Gurge, Thomas
1.0 Mirijanian, Barlas, Laine, Condon, Connelly, Hankard, Biglow, P. Yip, Sleet, Steadman, Briggs, V. Premus, D. Premus
0.5 Wu, Arsenault, Lingner, Richardson, Bastarache
0.0 Gladding, Miller, Mathieu, Talcott, Parker, Giampietro, Paul, Spingola
 
 

Carissa Rolls On

Carissa Yip is having so many excellent results that I may have to have to add in a separate "Carissa News" button up top :-)

Carissa recently won the 2nd Online National Invitational Championship in the U10 category.  Here is a quote from the report "The young and talented Carissa managed to "beat out the boys" in the Under 10 Section with an amazing last round victory as black. Her resourcefulness and creativity will surely be trademarks of her chess style for years to come. Carissa finished with a score of 5 points, half a point ahead of the field."

Carissa also had an excellent result in the Boylston Chess Club's Emmanuel Lasker tournament yesterday (Saturday, June 29th).  She competed in the Open section (4 rounds) defeating Experts SIDDHARTH ARUN  and OLIVER TRALDI, and scoring a draw against Candidate Master (and tournament winner) ERIC J GODIN.  With this result Carissa achieved an Expert rating for the first time and passed ANIL K MARTHI to become the highest rated player at the club.  Carissa's father, Percy Yip said, "I was hoping (for) Carissa to reach expert level while she still is 9, and my dream comes true!  Now I have a bigger dream, and hope that dream will come true too."

Congratulations Carissa!  Please remember to cut your fellow club members at least a little slack :-)

June 26th, 2013

Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 1 of 5

 
Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Anil Marthi
George Mirijanian 1-0 George Miller
Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Paul Godin
Carissa Yip 1-0 Brian Biglow
Percy Yip 0-1 Bruce Felton
Ray Paulson 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Stan Talcott 0-1 Mike Lally
Larry Gladding 0-1 Wayne Steadman
Jackson Parker 0-1 Eric Strickland
Martin Laine 1-0 Harry Richardson
Don Briggs 0-1 Alan Condon
Paul Connelly 1-0 John Bastarache
Tom Giampietro 0-1 Ken Gurge
Jim Hankard 1-0 Andrew Paul

Receiving half-point byes were Gary Brassard, Arthur Barlas and Dave Couture. Declining a bye was Gail Lingner. Not playing the round were Trevor Bierig, Tom Fratturelli, Matthew Ding, Larry Sleet, Brian Contois and Vinny Spingola.

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Mirijanian, Godin, C. Yip, Felton, Paulson, Lally, Strickland, Laine, Condon, Connelly, Gurge, Hankard, Steadman
0.5 Marthi, Brassard, Barlas, Couture, Thomas
0.0 Gladding, Miller, Arsenault, Lingner, Biglow, P. Yip, Mathieu, Talcott, Parker, Richardson, Briggs, Bastarache, Giampietro, Paul
  

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the round. Limited parking is available in the lot next to Thompson Hall, where we definitely will be meeting in air-conditioned Room 111 for the round. Parking spaces are available along Highland Avenue on the right and in front of the Anthony and Sanders buildings on the left.

 

June 19th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Blitz Championship

7-round Swiss, Game/9 minutes, no delay

 
 
Round 1
 
Dave Thomas 0-1 Paul Godin
Bruce Felton 1-0 George Miller
Larry Sleet 0-1 Martin Laine
Gary Brassard 0-1 John Bastarache
Jackson Parker 1-0 Larry Gladding
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Kandy Lynch
Andrew Paul 0-1 Jim Hankard
Paul Lynch 1-0 Vinny Spingola
 
Round 2
 
Godin 1-0 P. Lynch
Hankard 1-0 Felton
Laine 1-0 Parker
Bastarache 1-0 Arsenault
K. Lynch 1/2-1/2 Brassard
Gladding 1-0 Sleet
Spingola 0-1 Thomas
Miller 1-0 Paul
 
Round 3
 
Hankard 1-0 Godin
Bastarache 0-1 Laine
Felton 1/2-1/2 P. Lynch
Thomas 0-1 Gladding
Arsenault 1/2-1/2 Miller
Parker 1/2-1/2 Brassard
Sleet 1-0 K. Lynch
Paul 1-0 Spingola
 
Round 4
 
Laine 1-0 Hankard
Bastarache 0-1 Godin
P. Lynch 0-1 Gladding
Arsenault 1-0 Parker
Miller 0-1 Thomas
Brassard 1-0 Sleet
Paul 0-1 Felton
K. Lynch 1-0
 
Round 5
 
Godin 1-0 Laine
Gladding 1-0 Hankard
Felton 1-0 Arsenault
Thomas 1/2-1/2 Brassard
P. Lynch 1-0 Bastarache
Miller 0-1 Parker
K. Lynch 1/2-1/2 Paul
Spingola 0-1 Sleet
 
Round 6
 
Godin 1-0 Gladding
Laine 0-1 Felton
Hankard 1/2-1/2 Brassard
Thomas 1/2-1/2 Arsenault
Parker 1-0 P. Lynch
Sleet 0-1 Bastarache
Spingola 0-1 K. Lynch
Paul 0-1 Miller
 
Round 7
 
Felton 1-0 Godin
Gladding 1-0 Laine
Parker 1-0 Hankard
Brassard 1-0 Arsenault
Bastarache 1-0 Thomas
K. Lynch 0-1 Miller
P. Lynch 1-0 Sleet
Paul 1-0 Spingola
 
 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
5.5 Felton
5.0 Godin, Gladding
4.5 Parker
4.0 Laine, Brassard, Bastarache
3.5 Hankard, P. Lynch, Miller
3.0 Arsenault, Thomas, K. Lynch
2.5 Paul
2.0 Sleet
0.0 Spingola

 

End of Season Stat Leaders

 

NOTE: Final site update for week not complete.

 

June 16th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Makeup Games

George Mirijanian Wins Club Championship for 16th Time

As of last week, 7 of the 8 participants in the club championship still had a chance to win the championship.  Even after Wednesday night's games, it came down to the makeup games. George Mirijanian of Fitchburg needed a draw in his makeup game against Bruce Felton (also of Fitchburg) and was able to secure it in a 57 move game that did end in a draw.  Bruce ended up a half point behind George, tied for 2nd with Larry Gladding of Leominster and 9 year old Carissa Yip of Chelmsford.  Both Larry's and Carissa's championship bids were upended by draws with Ken "The Spoiler" Gurge of Leominster.  Congratulations to everyone for a very hard fought championship!

MAKEUP GAME RESULTS

 
Laine
 1/2-1/2 Gurge (round 1)
Gladding 1-0 Laine (round 2)
Mirijanian 1/2-1/2 Laine (round 5)
Felton 1/2-1/2 Mirijanian (round 6)

 
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
George Mirijanian
 1-0 Arthur Barlas
Carissa Yip 1-0 Martin Laine
Gary Brassard 0-1 Bruce Felton
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Larry Gladding

 

June 12th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club "B" Championship

Final Round of 7

Anil Marthi Wins B-Section By a Mile!

Newcomer Anil Marthi of Shrewsbury won the WCC Championship B-section by a full 2 points.  He went 6-0.  When the tournament started on May 1st, he was rated 1812.  His post-tournament rating was 1987.  Paul Godin of Bedford, Paul Connelly of Marlboro, NH, and Dave Thomas of Leominster all tied for 2nd place.  Congratulations to all!

Paul Godin
 0-1 Anil Marthi
Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2 Dave Thomas
Gail Lingner  0-1 Paul Connelly
Ray Paulson  1-0 Harry Richardson
George Miller 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Lenny Arsenault  1/2-1/2 Larry Sleet
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Matthew Ding
John Bastarache 0-1 Jackson Parker
Andrew Paul 0-1 Tom Giampietro
Don Briggs  0-1 Bob Mathieu

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
6.5 Marthi
6.0 ---
5.5 ---
5.0 ---
4.5 Godin, Connelly, Thomas
4.0 Paulson, Lally, Miller, Couture, Hankard
3.5 Arsenault, Yip, Lingner, Ding, Sleet,  Parker, Richardson
3.0 Bierig, Fratturelli, Biglow, Mathieu, Giampietro
2.5 Steadman, Contois
2.0 Talcott, Bastarache
1.5 Briggs, Paul, Scanlon, Spingola

The following players all increased their ratings by at least 50 points.

THOMAS GIAMPIETRO      +158   

HARRY E RICHARDSON JR   +92    

JACKSON BOGDAN PARKER   +65   

ANIL K MARTHI           +64   

MATTHEW CONG DING       +63   

GAIL  S LINGNER         +60   

JAMES HANKARD           +59   

DAVID J THOMAS          +58   

VINCENT J SPINGOLA JR   +50    

The following players all increased their ratings to new all-time highs.

ANIL K MARTHI                       1987     

MATTHEW CONG DING                   1456     
JACKSON BOGDAN PARKER               1332     
HARRY E RICHARDSON JR             1273(P18)
THOMAS GIAMPIETRO                   1162     
VINCENT J SPINGOLA JR              464(P10)

 

 

June 7th, 2013

Here's a letter I wrote to "Chess Life".  It will be appearing in the July issue.  The title is a reference to a widely circulated letter by John Kipling Lewis titled, "Castling in Chess960: An appeal for simplicity".

Castling in Chess960: Another Appeal for Simplicity

      Chess960 is a noble, but flawed attempt to force players to start thinking from the very first move of the game.  The biggest problem with Chess960 are the bizarre castling rules.  For anyone not familiar with Chess960, consider the following, which is just one bizarre aspect of “castling”.  Depending on the opening setup, when castling, the king can move anywhere from 5 squares to 0 squares to -1 squares (yes, the king can actually move in the opposite direction than it normally would).  It would be difficult to teach this maneuver to anyone not familiar with standard chess.  A variant called Chess480 seeks to simplify these castling rules, but in doing so creates some of its own issues.

      I propose a variant which achieves the goal of eliminating memorization of openings while avoiding the failings of both Chess960 and Chess480.  This variant, which I have dubbed Chess18, has a randomized opening setup just like its “predecessors”.  The difference is that the rooks and the king start on the same squares that they do now so that castling remains exactly the same as it is now – problem solved!

      An additional benefit of Chess18 is that it avoids the situation in Chess960 where with some opening setups white can attack an undefended black pawn with her first move.

     When Bobby Fischer met with former FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to propose the switch to Chess960, Ilyumzhinov advocated "step by step" changes mindful of the heritage of chess.  Well, here is such a step. 

David Couture

======================================================================================

I didn't include a list of the 18 opening positions with my letter to "Chess Life", but as a regular viewer of the site you get this bonus :-)

1 R B B N K N Q R
2 R B B N K Q N R
3 R B B Q K N N R
4 R B N N K Q B R
5 R B N Q K N B R
6 R B Q N K N B R
7 R N B B K N Q R
8 R N B B K Q N R
9 R Q B B K N N R
10 R N B N K B Q R
11 R N B Q K B N R
12 R Q B N K B N R
13 R N N B K Q B R
14 R N Q B K N B R
15 R Q N B K N B R
16 R N N Q K B B R
17 R N Q N K B B R
18 R Q N N K B B R

 

June 5th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Round 6 of 7

"A" Division

Chaos Continued

RESULTS
Larry Gladding 1-0 Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 Carissa Yip
Martin Laine 0-1 Gary Brassard
Bruce Felton Postponed George Mirijanian

With one round remaining (plus 4 makeup games), 7 of the 8 players are still in the running to become club champion!  Carissa Yip and Arthur Barlas lead the standings by points.  George Mirijanian leads the standings by winning percentage, and Larry Gladding has the highest expected final score (based on remaining strength-of-schedule).

Standings (by Points)
Player      W L D Pts. GR Max Xpctd Pct.
C. Yip      2 1 3 3.5 1 4.5 4.33 0.583
Barlas      3 2 1 3.5 1 4.5 3.75 0.583
Mirijanian  3 1 0 3.0 3 6.0 4.50 0.750
Felton      2 1 2 3.0 2 5.0 3.80 0.600
Gladding    3 2 0 3.0 2 5.0 4.75 0.600
Brassard    3 3 0 3.0 1 4.0 3.40 0.500
Laine       0 2 1 0.5 4 4.5 2.50 0.167
Gurge       0 4 1 0.5 2 2.5   0.100

 

GR - Games Remaining

Max - Maximum Possible Score

Xpctd - Expected Final Score (based on remaining Strength-of-Schedule)

Pct. - Winning Percentage

 

Standings (by Winning Percentage)

Player      W L D Pct.
Mirijanian  3 1 0 0.750
Felton      2 1 2 0.600
Gladding    3 2 0 0.600
C. Yip      2 1 3 0.583
Barlas      3 2 1 0.583
Brassard    3 3 0 0.500
Laine       0 2 1 0.167
Gurge       0 4 1 0.100
 

Round 7 pairings for June 12:

 
Mirijanian vs. Barlas
Brassard vs. Felton
Gurge vs. Gladding
Yip vs. Laine

============================================================================

"B" Division

Anil Marthi Clinches Share of 1st Place

RESULTS

Anil Marthi has clinched at least a share of 1st place with one week remaining.  If he draws or wins against Paul Godin next week, he will win the "B" Division.  Meanwhile, with another draw this week, Jim "The Grinder" Hankard has stretched his undefeated streak to 6 games.

Anil Marthi 1-0 Ray Paulson
Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Paul Connelly
Dave Couture 1-0 Trevor Bierig
Gail Lingner 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow 1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault
Jackson Parker 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Larry Sleet 1-0 Tom Giampietro
Bob Mathieu 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Vinny Spingola 0-1 Wayne Steadman
Don Briggs 1/2-1/2 Andrew Paul

Receiving half-point byes were Paul Godin, Mike Lally, Percy Yip, Harry Richardson, George Miller, Matthew Ding, Brian Contois, Stan Talcott, and Francis Scanlon.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
5.5 Marthi
5.0 ---
4.5 Godin
4.0 Lally, Couture, Thomas
3.5 Connelly, Hankard, Yip, Lingner, Richardson
3.0 Paulson, Bierig, Miller, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Biglow, Sleet
2.5 Ding, Steadman, Parker, Contois
2.0 Mathieu, Talcott, Bastarache,Giampietro
1.5 Briggs, Paul, Scanlon, Spingola

May 29th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Round 5 of 7

"A" Division

Chaos Theory

RESULTS
Carissa Yip 0-1 Larry Gladding
Arthur Barlas 1-0 Bruce Felton
Gary Brassard 1-0 Ken Gurge
George Mirijanian Postponed Martin Laine

All is chaos as the competition for the Wachusett Chess Club championship is heating up.  Going into tonight, George Mirijanian, Bruce Felton, and Carissa Yip were tied for 1st place.  George's game was postponed and both Bruce and Carissa went down to defeat to Arthur Barlas and Larry Gladding respectively, allowing the latter two players to close in on the leaders.

Standings (by Points)

Player      W L D Pts GR Max Xpctd Pct.
Barlas      3 1 1 3.5 2 5.5 4.25 0.700
Mirijanian  3 1 0 3.0 3 6.0 4.25 0.750
Felton      2 1 2 3.0 2 5.0 3.89 0.600
C. Yip      2 1 2 3.0 2 5.0 4.83 0.600
Gladding    2 2 0 2.0 3 5.0 3.91 0.500
Brassard    2 3 0 2.0 2 4.0   0.400
Laine       0 1 1 0.5 5 5.5   0.250
Gurge       0 4 0 0.0 3 3.0   0.000

 

GR - Games Remaining

Max - Maximum Possible Score

Xpctd - Expected Final Score (based on remaining Strength-of-Schedule)

Pct. - Winning Percentage

 

Standings (by Winning Percentage)
Player      W L D Pct.
Mirijanian  3 1 0 0.750
Barlas      3 1 1 0.700
Felton      2 1 2 0.600
C. Yip      2 1 2 0.600
Gladding    2 2 0 0.500
Brassard    2 3 0 0.400
Laine       0 1 1 0.250
Gurge       0 4 0 0.000
 

============================================================================

"B" Division

RESULTS

The big story in the "B" Division of course is newcomer Anil Marthi, who is a perfect 4-0 in addition to a 1/2-point bye to retain sole possession of 1st place.  However, another story is developing as Jim "The Grinder" Hankard has quietly built a 5-game undefeated streak.  Is there anyone who can defeat this master of the closed position?  Stay tuned...

Paul Connelly 0-1 Anil Marthi
Mike Lally 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
Trevor Bierig 1/2-1/2 Gail Lingner
George Miller 0-1 Dave Thomas
Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture
Tom Giampietro 0-1 Harry Richardson
Tom Fratturelli 1/2-1/2 Matthew Ding
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Brian Biglow
Jackson Parker 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Stan Talcott 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Francis Scanlon 0-1 Don Briggs

 

Receiving half-point byes were Paul Godin, Ray Paulson, Percy Yip, Larry Sleet, Brian Contois and Vinny Spingola.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.5 Marthi
4.0 Godin
3.5 Lally, Thomas
3.0 Paulson, Bierig, Connelly, Couture, Hankard, Yip, Lingner, Richardson
2.5 Miller, Arsenault, Biglow, Parker
2.0 Fratturelli, Ding, Sleet, Giampietro, Contois
1.5 Mathieu, Talcott, Steadman, Bastarache, Spingola
1.0 Briggs, Scanlon

 

May 22nd, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Round 4 of 7

"A" Division

3 Tied for 1st with 3 Rounds to Go

RESULTS

Larry Gladding 0-1 Bruce Felton
Carissa Yip 1-0 Gary Brassard
Ken Gurge 0-1 George Mirijanian
Martin Laine 0-1 Arthur Barlas

 

Player      W L D Pct.
Felton      2 0 2 0.750
C. Yip      2 0 2 0.750
Mirijanian  3 1 0 0.750
Barlas      2 1 1 0.625
Gladding    1 2 0 0.333
Brassard    1 3 0 0.250
Laine       0 1 1 0.250
Gurge       0 3 0 0.000
Round 5 pairings for May 29:
 
Barlas vs. Felton
Yip vs. Gladding
Mirijanian vs. Laine
Brassard vs. Gurge

For the stat-heads among you...

Here are the Strength-of-Schedule numbers for the 4 players above .500.
Yip Gladding 1 2 0  
  Gurge 0 3 0  
  Laine 0 1 1  
  TOTAL 1 6 1 0.188
           
Felton Barlas 2 1 1  
  Mirijanian 3 1 0  
  Brassard 1 3 0  
   TOTAL 6 5 1 0.542
           
Mirijanian Laine 0 1 1  
  Felton 2 0 2  
  Barlas 2 1 1  
   TOTAL 4 2 4 0.600
           
Barlas Felton 2 0 2  
  Gladding 1 2 0  
  Mirijanian 3 1 0  
   TOTAL 6 3 2 0.636

============================================================================

"B" Division

RESULTS
Paul Connelly 0-1 Paul Godin
Anil Marthi 1-0 Dave Couture
Ray Paulson 1/2-12 Trevor Bierig
Mike Lally 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Harry Richardson 0-1 George Miller
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Gail Lingner
Dave Thomas 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Percy Yip 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Matthew Ding 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow
Stan Talcott 0-1 Tom Giampietro
John Bastarache 1/2-1/2 Brian Contois
Don Briggs 0-1 Jackson Parker

Receiving half-point byes were Lenny Arsenault, Larry Sleet, Francis Scanlon and Vinny Spingola.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.5 Godin, Marthi
3.0 Connelly
2.5 Paulson, Lally, Bierig, Miller, Couture, Arsenault, Hankard, Thomas, Yip, Lingner
2.0 Richardson, Giampietro
1.5 Fratturelli, Biglow, Mathieu, Ding, Sleet, Steadman, Parker, Contois
1.0 Talcott, Bastarache, Scanlon, Spingola
0.0 Briggs
 

May 15th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Round 3 of 7

"A" Division

RESULTS
George Mirijanian 0-1 Carissa Yip
Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Martin Laine
Gary Brassard 0-1 Larry Gladding
Arthur Barlas 1-0 Ken Gurge

CURRENT STANDINGS

Player      W L D Pct.
Felton      1 0 2 0.667
C. Yip      1 0 2 0.667
Mirijanian  2 1 0 0.667
Laine       0 0 1 0.500
Gladding    1 1 0 0.500
Barlas      1 1 1 0.500
Brassard    1 2 0 0.333
Gurge       0 2 0 0.000

 

Round 4 pairings for May 22:

 

Gladding vs. Felton

Yip vs. Brassard

Gurge vs. Mirijanian

Laine vs. Barlas

============================================================================

 

Lenny Arsenault
  0-1 Paul Connelly
Paul Godin 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Trevor Bierig 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Anil Marthi 1-0 Dave Thomas
Dave Couture 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Matthew Ding 0-1 Ray Paulson
Larry Sleet  0-1 Mike Lally
Brian Biglow 0-1 Harry Richardson
Brian Contois 0-1 Percy Yip
Bob Mathieu 1-0 Francis Scanlon
Tom Giampietro 1-0 Don Briggs
Vinny Spingola  1/2-1/2 John Bastarache

Receiving half-point byes were George Miller, Gail Lingner, Stan Talcott and Jackson Parker.

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Connelly
2.5 Godin, Marthi, Couture
2.0 Paulson, Lally, Bierig, Arsenault, Hankard, Richardson
1.5 Miller, Fratturelli, Thomas, Yip, Lingner, Mathieu, Steadman
1.0 Biglow, Talcott, Ding, Sleet, Giampietro, Contois
0.5 Bastarache, Parker, Scanlon, Spingola
0.0 Briggs

 

A very interesting tactic.  White to move (Black has just played fxe4).

Click here for answer.

May 8th, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Round 2 of 7

"A" Division

RESULTS
Gary Brassard 0-1 George Mirijanian
Ken Gurge 0-1 Bruce Felton
Carissa Yip 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas
Larry Gladding Postponed Martin Laine

CURRENT STANDINGS

Player      W L D Pct.
Mirijanian  2 0 0 1.000
Felton      1 0 1 0.750
C. Yip      0 0 2 0.500
Brassard    1 1 0 0.500
Barlas      0 1 1 0.250
Laine       0 0 0 0.000
Gladding    0 1 0 0.000
Gurge       0 1 0 0.000
 

Round 3 pairings for May 15:

 
Mirijanian vs. Yip
Felton vs. Laine
Brassard vs. Gladding
Barlas vs. Gurge

============================================================================

"B" Division

RESULTS
Ray Paulson 0-1 Lenny Arsenault
Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2 Paul Godin
Dave Thomas 1/2-1/2 Trevor Bierig
Paul Connelly 1-0 Brian Contois
Wayne Steadman 1-0 Bob Mathieu
Don Briggs 0-1 Brian Biglow
John Bastarache 0-1 Matthew Ding
Jackson Parker 0-1 Larry Sleet
 

Receiving half-point byes were Anil Marthi, Dave Couture, Tom Fratturelli, Michael Lally, George Miller, Gail Lingner, Percy Yip, Stan Talcott and Francis Scanlon. Harry Richardson received a full-point bye.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Connelly, Arsenault
1.5 Godin, Bierig, Marthi, Couture, Fratturelli, Hankard, Thomas, Steadman
1.0 Paulson, Lally, Miller, Biglow, Lingner, Ding, Sleet, Richardson, Contois
0.5 Yip, Mathieu, Talcott, Scanlon
0.0 Briggs, Bastarache, Parker

 

May 1st, 2013

Wachusett Chess Club Championship

Round 1 of 7

"A" Division

RESULTS

George Mirijanian 1-0 Larry Gladding
Arthur Barlas 0-1 Gary Brassard
Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Carissa Yip
Martin Laine Postponed Ken Gurge

CURRENT STANDINGS

Player        W  L    D     Pct.
Mirijanian    1    0     0    1.000
Brassard      1    0     0    1.000
Felton        0    0     1     .500
C. Yip        0    0     1     .500
Laine         0    0    0     .000
Gurge         0    0     0     .000
Gladding      0    1     0     .000
Barlas        0    1     0     .000

============================================================================

"B" Division

RESULTS
Brian Biglow 0- 1 Ray Paulson
Paul Godin 1-0 Percy Yip
Bob Mathieu 1/2-1/2 Mike Lally
Trevor Bierig 1-0 Stan Talcott
Matthew Ding 0-1 Anil Marthi
Paul Connelly 1-0 Larry Sleet
Wayne Steadman 1/2-1/2 George Miller
Dave Couture 1-0 Don Briggs
John Bastarache 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Jackson Parker
Harry Richardson 0-1 Jim Hankard
Dave Thomas 1-0 Francis Scanlon

 

Brian Contois received a full-point bye, while Gail Lingner received a half-point bye.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Paulson, Godin, Bierig, Marthi, Connelly, Couture, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Hankard, Thomas, Contois
0.5 Lally, Miller, Lingner, Mathieu, Steadman
0.0 Biglow, P. Yip, Talcott, Ding, Sleet, Briggs, Bastarache, Parker, Richardson, Scanlon

 

Projected Round 2 pairings for May 8:
 
Paulson vs. Couture
Fratturelli vs. Godin
Hankard vs. Bierig
Marthi vs. Arsenault
Connelly vs. Thomas
Lally vs. Contois
Miller vs. Mathieu
Biglow vs. Steadman
P. Yip vs. Briggs
Talcott vs. Bastarache
Parker vs. Ding
Richardson vs. Sleet
 
Receiving a half-point bye is Lingner. Expected to receive a full-point bye is Scanlon
 

LOST AND FOUND: A blue Saitek clock was left at the clock as well as two pairs of eyeglasses. Contact George Mirijanian if you need these items before next Wednesday.

 

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 2

 

April 24th, 2013

Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Final Round of 5

Here are the final Grand Prix standings for the year.  The top 8 finishers qualify for the club championship.  However, Lenny Arsenault and Jim Hankard have yielded their qualifying spots to allow George Mirijanian and Marty Laine to play in the championship section.

Club Members Grand Prix Points
GARY BRASSARD 25.0
LEONARD ARSENAULT 22.0
JAMES HANKARD 21.5
LARRY GLADDING 20.5
KEN GURGE 20.5
ARTHUR BARLAS 20.0
BRUCE FELTON 18.5
CARISSA YIP 18.5
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 18.0
MARTIN LAINE 18.0

The championship promises to be hard-fought with 4 former club champions (George Mirijanian, Larry Gladding, Bruce Felton, and Marty Laine) competing as well as 9 year old Carissa Yip who has the highest winning percentage of anyone in the section.

The last 6 years have seen a different club champion each year:

2012 Trevor Bierig

2011 Robert King

2010 Tony Cesolini

2009 Larry Gladding

2008 Martin Laine

2007 George Mirijanian

 

What will happen this year?  Stay tuned...

============================================================================

 

"Travelers" Tie for Tournament Victory

Two of our furthest commuting members have tied for 1st place in the 2013 Evert Siiskonen Memorial.  Mike Lally who drives in all the way from Westfield and Ray Paulson who hails from Lowell, tied for 1st place with final round victories.  Mike is competing again after a 16-year break from competition.  Trevor Bierig of Clinton took 3rd place in the 36 player field.  Congratulations to all!

 

Carissa Yip 0-1 Ray Paulson
Larry Gladding 0-1 Mike Lally
Bruce Felton 0-1 Trevor Bierig
Ken Gurge 0-1 George Miller
Lenny Arsenault 1-0 Jackson Parker
Tom Fratturelli 1/2-1/2 George Mirijanian
Gary Brassard 1-0 Dave Thomas
Arthur Barlas 1-0 Robert Mathieu
Don Briggs 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Harry Richardson 0-1 Brian Biglow
Gail Lingner 1-0 Francis Scanlon
Vinny Spingola 0-1 Wayne Steadman

Not playing the final round were Paul Godin, Geoff LePoer, Michael Manisy, Martin Laine, Alan Condon, Dave Couture, Percy Yip, Max Sewell, Larry Sleet, Stan Talcott, John Bastarache, and Brian Contois.

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.5 Paulson, Lally
4.0 Bierig
3.5 Gladding, C. Yip, Arsenault, Miller
3.0 Godin, Brassard
2.5 Mirijanian, Felton, LePoer, Manisy, Barlas, Gurge, Fratturelli, Biglow, Parker
2.0 Condon, Couture, Hankard, Thomas, Lingner, Steadman, Briggs
1.5 P. Yip, Mathieu, Sewell, Sleet, Richardson
1.0 Laine, Talcott, Scanlon
0.5 Bastarache, Contois
0.0 Spingola

 

REMINDER: The club championship starts Wednesday, May 1. The "A" Division will be an 8-player single round robin. The "B" Division will be a 7-round Swiss. Two players, Lenny Arsenault and Jim Hankard, were gracious enough to yield their qualifying spots in the "A" Division and will compete in the "B" Division. Round 1 pairings in the "A" Division are as follows:

 
Mirijanian vs. Gladding
Felton vs. C. Yip
Barlas vs. Brassard
Laine vs. Gurge
 
"B" Division players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the round.

============================================================================

 

Here is the schedule for all 7 rounds of the club championship ("A" Division):
 
Round 1 - May 1, 2013
(4) Mirijanian vs. (8) Gladding
(6) Felton vs. (2) Yip
(5) Barlas vs. (3) Brassard
(7) Laine vs. (1) Gurge
 
Round 2 - May 8, 2013
(8) Gladding vs. (7) Laine
(1) Gurge vs. (6) Felton
(2) Yip vs. (5) Barlas
(3) Brassard vs. (4) Mirijanian
 
Round 3 - May 15, 2013
(4) Mirijanian vs. (2) Yip
(3) Brassard vs. (8) Gladding
(6) Felton vs. (7) Laine
(5) Barlas vs. (1) Gurge
 
Round 4 - May 22, 2013
(2) Yip vs. (3) Brassard
(8) Gladding vs. (6) Felton
(7) Laine vs. (5) Barlas
(1) Gurge vs. (4) Mirijanian
 
Round 5 - May 29, 2013
(2) Yip vs. (8) Gladding
(5) Barlas vs. (6) Felton
(4) Mirijanian vs. (7) Laine
(3) Brassard vs. (1) Gurge
 
Round 6 - June 5, 2013
(6) Felton vs.(4) Mirijanian
(8) Gladding vs. (5) Barlas
(1) Gurge vs. (2) Yip
(7) Laine vs. (3) Brassard
 
Round 7 (Final) - June 12, 2013
(2) Yip vs. (7) Laine
(3) Brassard vs. (6) Felton
(1) Gurge vs. (8) Gladding
(4) Mirijanian vs. (5) Barlas

 
April 17th, 2013
Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 4 of 5

 

Current Grand Prix Standings (1 game remaining)

The top 8 players qualify for the club championship.  Those in green have already clinched a spot.
Club Members Current Rating As Of 4/17/13 Total Games This Season Wins Losses Draws Pct. Grand Prix Points
GARY BRASSARD 1789 37 22 11 4 .649 24.0
LEONARD ARSENAULT 1652 37 16 11 10 .568 21.0
LARRY GLADDING 1871 31 18 8 5 .661 20.5
KEN GURGE 1717 35 19 13 3 .586 20.5
ARTHUR BARLAS 1776 31 16 9 6 .613 19.0
CARISSA YIP 1826 22 18 3 1 .841 18.5
BRUCE FELTON 1951 24 16 3 5 .771 18.5
MARTIN LAINE 1785 25 17 6 2 .720 18.0
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 1989 23 17 5 1 .761 17.5
 

Results from Wednesday night:
Michael Lally 1/2-1/2 Ray Paulson
Geoff LePoer 0-1 Larry Gladding
George Mirijanian 0-1 Carissa Yip
Paul Godin 1-0 Gary Brassard
Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge
Trevor Bierig 1-0 Dave Couture
George Miller 1/2-1/2 Alan Condon
Harry Richardson 0-1 Lenny Arsenault
Jackson Parker 1-0 Robert Mathieu
Brian Biglow 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas
Percy Yip 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Brian Contois 0-1 Larry Sleet
John Bastarache 0-1 Gail Lingner
Francis Scanlon 1-0 Vinny Spingola

 
Receiving half-point byes were Michael Manisy, Dave Thomas, Max Sewell, Don Briggs and Stan Talcott. Not playing the round was Martin Laine.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.5 Paulson, Gladding, Lally, C. Yip
3.0 Godin, Bierig
2.5 Felton, LePoer, Manisy, Gurge, Arsenault, Miller, Parker
2.0 Mirijanian, Brassard, Condon, Couture, Fratturelli, Thomas
1.5 Barlas, Hankard, Biglow, P. Yip, Mathieu, Sewell, Sleet, Briggs, Richardson
1.0 Laine, Lingner, Talcott, Steadman, Scanlon
0.5 Bastarache, Contois
0.0 Spingola
 

Projected Round 5 (final) pairings for April 24:

 
C. Yip vs. Paulson
Gladding vs. Lally
Godin vs. Bierig
Arsenault vs. Felton
Miller vs. LePoer
Gurge vs. Parker
Couture vs. Mirijanian
Brassard vs. Condon
Thomas vs. Fratturelli
Barlas vs. Mathieu
Briggs vs. Hankard
Sleet vs. Biglow
P. Yip vs. Richardson
Talcott vs. Laine
Lingner vs. Steadman
Bastarache vs. Scanlon
Spingola vs. Contois
 
REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the final round.

April 10th, 2013

Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 3 of 5

 

Current Grand Prix Standings (2 games remaining)

The top 8 players qualify for the club championship.  Those in green have already clinched a spot.

 

Club Members Total Games This Season Wins Losses Draws Pct. Grand Prix Points
GARY BRASSARD 36 22 10 4 .667 24.0
LEONARD ARSENAULT 36 15 11 10 .556 20.0
KEN GURGE 34 19 13 2 .588 20.0
LARRY GLADDING 30 17 8 5 .650 19.5
ARTHUR BARLAS 30 16 9 5 .617 18.5
MARTIN LAINE 25 17 6 2 .720 18.0
BRUCE FELTON 23 16 3 4 .783 18.0
CARISSA YIP 21 17 3 1 .833 17.5
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 22 17 4 1 .795 17.5
ALAN CONDON 31 13 11 7 .532 16.5
TOM FRATTURELLI 36 13 17 6 .444 16.0

Results from Wednesday night:
Ray Paulson 1-0 Michael Manisy
Michael Lally 1-0 Bruce Felton
Larry Gladding 1-0 Trevor Bierig
Jackson Parker 0-1 George Mirijanian
Jim Hankard 0-1 Paul Godin
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas 0-1 George Miller
Brian Biglow 0-1 Ken Gurge
Alan Condon 1/2-1/2 Dave Thomas
Dave Couture 1-0 Max Sewell
Bob Mathieu 1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault
Harry Richardson 1-0 Gail Lingner
Larry Sleet 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Wayne Steadman 1-0 Francis Scanlon
Vinny Spingola 0-1 Don Briggs

 

Receiving half-point byes were Geoff LePoer, Carissa Yip, Martin Laine, Stan Talcott and Brian Contois. Not playing the round was Percy Yip.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Paulson, Lally
2.5 LePoer, Gladding, C. Yip
2.0 Mirijanian, Godin, Felton, Manisy, Bierig, Brassard, Gurge, Couture, Miller
1.5 Condon, Arsenault, Thomas, Mathieu, Richardson, Parker
1.0 Laine, Barlas, Hankard, Fratturelli, Biglow, P. Yip, Sewell, Steadman, Briggs
0.5 Talcott, Sleet, Bastarache, Contois
0.0 Lingner, Scanlon, Spingola

 

April 3rd, 2013
Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Current Grand Prix Standings (3 games remaining)

Club Members

Total Games This Season

Wins

Losses

Draws

Pct.

Grand Prix Points

GARY BRASSARD

35

21

10

4

.657

23.0

LEONARD ARSENAULT

35

15

11

9

.557

19.5

KEN GURGE

33

18

13

2

.576

19.0

LARRY GLADDING

29

16

8

5

.638

18.5

ARTHUR BARLAS

29

16

8

5

.638

18.5

BRUCE FELTON

22

16

2

4

.818

18.0

MARTIN LAINE

25

17

6

2

.720

18.0

CARISSA YIP

21

17

3

1

.833

17.5

GEORGE MIRIJANIAN

21

16

4

1

.786

16.5

ALAN CONDON

30

13

11

6

.533

16.0

TOM FRATTURELLI

35

13

16

6

.457

16.0

DAVID THOMAS

33

13

16

4

.455

15.0

BRIAN BIGLOW

34

14

18

2

.441

15.0

 

 

Trevor Bierig 1-0 George Mirijanian
Gary Brassard 0-1 Ray Paulson
Bruce Felton 1-0 Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge 0-1 Geoff LePoer
Michael Manisy 1-0 Alan Condon
Lenny Arsenault 0-1 Michael Lally
Carissa Yip 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Martin Laine 0-1 Larry Gladding
Gail Lingner 0-1 Jackson Parker
Paul Godin 1-0 Stan Talcott
Jim Hankard 1-0 Larry Sleet
George Miller 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Don Briggs 0-1 Brian Biglow
Dave Thomas 1-0 John Bastarache
Francis Scanlon 0-1 Robert Mathieu
Max Sewell 1-0 Brian Contois

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Paulson, Felton, LePoer, Manisy, Lally, C. Yip, Bierig
1.5 Gladding, Parker
1.0 Mirijanian, Godin, Brassard, Barlas, Gurge, Condon, Couture, Arsenault, Hankard, Fratturelli, Miller, Biglow, Thomas, P. Yip, Mathieu, Sewell
0.5 Laine, Richardson
0.0 Lingner, Talcott, Sleet, Steadman, Briggs, Bastarache, Scanlon, Contois, Spingola
 
March 27th, 2013
Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 1 of 5

 

George Mirijanian
 1-0
Jim Hankard
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Paul Godin
Ray Paulson 1-0 George Miller
Brian Biglow 0-1 Bruce Felton
Geoff LePoer 1-0 Dave Thomas
Robert Mathieu 0-1 Michael Manisy
Michael Lally 1-0 Max Sewell
Stan Talcott  0-1 Carissa Yip
Trevor Bierig  1-0 Larry Sleet
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas  1-0 Don Briggs
John Bastarache  0-1 Ken Gurge
Alan Condon  1-0 Harry Richardson
Jackson Parker  1/2-1/2 Dave Couture
Lenny Arsenault  1-0 Vinny Spingola

 
Receiving half-point byes were Martin Laine and Percy Yip. Not playing the round were Gail Lingner and Francis Scanlon.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Mirijanian, Paulson, Felton, LePoer, Manisy, Lally, C. Yip, Bierig, Brassard, Barlas, Gurge, Condon, Arsenault, Fratturelli
0.5 Laine, Couture, P. Yip, Parker
0.0 Godin, Hankard, Miller, Biglow, Thomas, Mathieu, Lingner, Sewell, Talcott, Sleet, Steadman, Briggs, Bastarache, Richardson, Scanlon, Spingola
 
 
March 20th, 2013
Wachusett CC Game/25 Quick Quads

 

 

Section 1

  

Round 1

   

Michael Lally

1-0

Paul Godin

Michael Manisy

1/2-1/2

Trevor Bierig

 

   

Round 2

   

Trevor Bierig

0-1

Michael Lally

Paul Godin

0-1

Michael Manisy

 

   

Round 3

   

Michael Lally

1-0

Michael Manisy

Paul Godin

1-0

Trevor Bierig

 

FINAL STANDINGS

SECTION 1  

 

3.0

Lally

1.5

Manisy

1.0

Godin

0.5

Bierig

 

 

Section 2

  

Round 1

   

Alan Condon

0-1

Gary Brassard

Martin Laine

1/2-1/2

Jim Hankard

     

Round 2

   

Gary Brassard

1/2-1/2

Martin Laine

Jim Hankard

1-0

Alan Condon

 

   

Round 3

   

Jim Hankard

0-1

Gary Brassard

Martin Laine

1-0

Alan Condon

 

FINAL STANDINGS

  SECTION 2

 

2.5

Brassard

2.0

Laine

1.5

Hankard

0.0

Condon

 

 

Section 3

  

Round 1

   

Dave Thomas

1-0

George Miller

Brian Biglow

1-0

Larry Sleet

     

Round 2

   

Dave Thomas

1-0

Brian Biglow

George Miller

1-0

Larry Sleet

     

Round 3

   

Larry Sleet

0-1

Dave Thomas

Brian Biglow

1-0

George Miller

 

FINAL STANDINGS

  SECTION 3

 

3.0

Thomas

2.0

Biglow

1.0

Miller

0.0

Sleet

 

 

Section 4

  

Round 1

   

John Bastarache

1/2-1/2

Wayne Steadman

Don Briggs

0-1

Francis Scanlon

 

   

Round 2

   

Francis Scanlon

1-0

John Bastarache

Wayne Steadman

0-1

Don Briggs

     

Round 3

   

Wayne Steadman

1-0

Francis Scanlon

Don Briggs

1-0

John Bastarache

 

FINAL STANDINGS

  SECTION 4

 

2.0

Scanlon, Briggs

1.5

Steadman

0.5

Bastarache

 

March 13th, 2013
George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Final Round of 5

The Ratings Don't Lie!

How well do ratings predict outcomes?  Well, the four highest rated players in the club (the only four players rated 1900+) all tied for 1st place in the George E. O'Rourke Memorial which concluded tonight.  George Mirijanian and Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, Paul Godin of Bedford, and Ray Paulson of Lowell were the players who tied for 1st tonight.  Congratulations to all four players!

George Mirijanian 1/2-1/2 Bruce Felton
Michael Lally 0-1 Paul Godin
Raymond Paulson 1-0 Gary Brassard
Alan Condon 1/2-1/2 Geoff LePoer
George Miller 0-1 Martin Laine
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge 0-1 Dave Thomas
Lenny Arsenault 1/2-1/2 Dave Couture
Jim Hankard 1-0 Harry Richardson
Max Sewell 0-1 Trevor Bierig
Gail Lingner 0-1 Donald Briggs
John Naylor 1-0 Francis Scanlon
Brian Biglow 1-0 Wayne Steadman
John Bastarache 1/2-1/2 Larry Sleet
Brian Contois 1-0 Vincent Spingola

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.0 Mirijanian, Godin, Paulson, Felton
3.5 Lally
3.0 LePoer, Gladding, Brassard, Laine, Barlas, Condon, Hankard, Thomas
2.5 C. Yip, Bierig, Couture, Arsenault, Briggs
2.0 Gurge, Miller, Fratturelli, Naylor, Biglow, Richardson, Contois
1.5 P. Yip, Lingner, Sewell, Sleet, Bastarache, Scanlon
1.0 Talcott, Steadman, Paul
0.5 ---
0.0 Spingola

 

March 6th, 2013
George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 4 of 5
 
Carissa Yip
 0-1 George Mirijanian
Geoff LePoer 0-1 Michael Lally
Dave Couture 0-1 Ray Paulson
Larry Gladding  1-0 Jim Hankard
Dave Thomas  0-1 Gary Brassard
Trevor Bierig 0-1  Alan Condon
Arthur Barlas  1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenal
Max Sewell 0-1 Ken Gurge
George Miller 1-0 Brian Biglow
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Stan Talcott
Don Briggs 1/2-1/2 John Bastarache
Vincent Spingola 0-1 Wayne Steadman

Receiving half-point byes were Bruce Felton, Paul Godin, Martin Laine, Harry Richardson, Percy Yip, Gail Lingner, Francis Scanlon, Andrew Paul and Brian Contois. Larry Sleet did not play the round.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.5 Mirijanian, Felton, Lally
3.0 Godin, Paulson, Gladding, Brassard
2.5 LePoer, C. Yip, Condon
2.0 Laine, Barlas, Gurge, Couture, Arsenault, Miller, Fratturelli, Hankard, Thomas, Richardson
1.5 Bierig, P. Yip, Lingner, Sewell, Briggs, Scanlon
1.0 Biglow, Talcott, Sleet, Steadman, Bastarache, Paul, Contois
0.5 -----
0.0 Spingola
 

February 27th, 2013

George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 3 of 5

Bruce Felton Continues to Roll

 

Ray Paulson 0-1 Bruce Felton
George Mirijanian 1-0 Larry Gladding
Trevor Bierig 0-1 Geoff LePoer
Martin Laine 0-1 Michael Lally
Gary Brassard 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Alan Condon 1/2-1/2 Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge 0-1 Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow 0-1 Dave Couture
Dave Thomas 1-0 George Miller
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Lenny Arsenault
Harry Richardson 1-0 Brian Contois
Vincent Spingola 0-1 Don Briggs

Receiving half-point byes were Paul Godin, Carissa Yip, Max Sewell, Percy Yip, Gail Lingner, Stan Talcott, Larry Sleet, Francis Scanlon, John Bastarache and Andrew Paul.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Felton
2.5 Mirijanian, Godin, LePoer, C. Yip, Lally
2.0 Paulson, Gladding, Brassard, Couture, Hankard, Thomas
1.5 Bierig, Laine, Barlas, Arsenault, Condon, Sewell, Richardson
1.0 Gurge, Miller, Fratturelli, Biglow, P. Yip, Lingner, Talcott, Sleet, Briggs, Scanlon
0.5 Bastarache, Paul, Contois
0.0 Steadman, Spingola
 
February 20th, 2013
George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 2 of 5
 
Paul Godin
 1-0 Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas  0-1 Ray Paulson
Bruce Felton  1-0 Ken Gurge
Larry Gladding  1-0 Tom Fratturelli
George Miller  0-1 Carissa Yip
Lenny Arsenault  0-1 George Mirijanian
Michael Lally  1-0 Stan Talcott
Larry Sleet  0-1 Martin Laine
Dave Couture  1-0 Harry Richardson
Wayne Steadman  0-1 Alan Condon
Jim Hankard  1-0 John Bastarache
Don Briggs  0-1 Brian Biglow
Andrew Paul  0-1 Dave Thomas
Francis Scanlon
 1/2-1/2
 Gail Lingner
Max Sewell 1-0 Vincent Spingola
 

Receiving half-point byes were Geoff LePoer, Trevor Bierig, Percy Yip and Brian Contois.

 
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Godin, Paulson, Felton, Gladding, C. Yip
1.5 Mirijanian, LePoer, Lally, Bierig, Laine
1.0 Brassard, Barlas, Gurge, Couture, Miller, Fratturelli, Condon, Hankard, Biglow, Thomas, Sewell
0.5 Arsenault, P. Yip, Lingner, Talcott, Sleet, Richardson, Scanlon, Contois
0.0 Steadman, Bastarache, Briggs, Paul, Spingola
 
 
February 13th, 2013
George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 1 of 5
 
Alan Condon 0-1 Paul Godin
Ray Paulson 1-0 Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow 0-1 Bruce Felton
Geoff LePoer 1-0 Percy Yip
Dave Thomas 0-1 Larry Gladding
Carissa Yip 1-0 Max Sewell
Gail Lingner 0-1 Trevor Bierig
Gary Brassard 1-0 Wayne Steadman
John Bastarache 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge 1-0 Don Briggs
Harry Richardson 1/2-1/2 Lenny Arsenault
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Francis Scanlon
Brian Contois 0-1 George Miller

 
Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian and Martin Laine.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Godin, Paulson, Felton, LePoer, Gladding, C. Yip, Bierig, Brassard, Barlas, Gurge, Miller, Fratturelli
0.5 Mirijanian, Laine, Arsenault, Richardson
0.0 Condon, Hankard, Biglow, P. Yip, Thomas, Lingner, Sewell, Steadman, Bastarache, Briggs, Scanlon, Contois

 

February 6th, 2013

Wachusett CC Quick Chess Championship
5-round Swiss, Game/20, USCF-rated

 

Paul Godin is the 2013 Wachusett Chess Club Quick Chess Champion

Round 1

Alan Condon 
0-1 Paul Godin
Arthur Barlas 1-0 1-0 Larry Sleet
George Miller 0-1 1-0 Martin Laine
Bruce Felton 1-0 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Stan Talcott 1-0 1-0 Gary Brassard
Larry Gladding 1-0 1-0 Don Briggs
Harry Richardson 1/2-1/2 Trevor Bierig
Ken Gurge 1/2-1/2 1/2-1/2 Francis Scanlon
Andrew Paul  0-1 Jim Hankard
1/2-point bye: Dave Thomas

Round 2

Godin 
1-0 Felton
Hankard 1-0 Barlas
Laine 1/2-1/2 Gladding
Bierig 1-0 Talcott
Richardson 0-1 Gurge
Scanlon 0-1 Thomas
Brassard 1-0 Miller
Steadman 0-1 Condon
Sleet 1-0 Briggs
1-point bye: Paul

Round 3

Hankard 
1/2-1/2 Godin
Gurge 0-1 Laine
Gladding 0-1 Bierig
Thomas 1-0 Barlas
Felton 1-0 Sleet
Paul 0-1 Brassard
Condon 1-0 Talcott
Scanlon 0-1 Richardson
Miller 1-0 Steadman
1-point bye: Briggs

Round 4

Godin 
1-0 Bierig
Laine 1-0 Thomas
Felton 1-0 Hankard
Brassard 1-0 Condon
Gurge 0-1 Gladding
Barlas 0-1 Richardson
Talcott 1-0 Sleet
Briggs 0-1 Miller
Scanlon 1/2-1/2 Paul
1-point bye: Steadman

Round 5

Laine
 0-1 Godin
Brassard 0-1 Felton
Thomas 0-1 Gladding
Bierig 0-1 Hankard
Richardson 0-1 Condon
Miller 1-0 Talcott
Paul 0-1 Gurge
Briggs 1-0 Barlas
Sleet 0-1 Steadman
1-point bye: Scanlon

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.5 Godin
4.0 Felton
3.5 Laine, Gladding, Hankard
3.0 Brassard, Condon, Miller
2.5 Bierig, Gurge, Thomas, Richardson
2.0 Steadman, Talcott, Briggs, Scanlon
1.5 Paul
1.0 Barlas, Sleet

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the George E. O'Rourke Memorial, 5-round Swiss, begins Wednesday, February 13. Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the round.
 
Chess Chat Live

The next episode of Chess Chat can be seen LIVE anywhere in the world next Monday, Feb. 4.  Go to http://fatv.org on Monday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., and click on Live-Streaming in the menu.  The title of show is "Grandmaster Li Chao wins Boston Chess Congress".  Martin Laine and George Mirijanian will present Li Chao's win over IM Jonathan Yedidia from the tournament.
January 30th, 2013
Reggie Boone Memorial
Final Round of 5

 

Chelmsford Champs!

 

Our Chelmsford players fared very well tonight (and throughout the tournament).  Arthur Barlas (of Chelmsford) had black and needed a win in the last round to win the tournament and win he did!  Not to be outdone by her "neighbor", Carissa Yip (also of Chelmsford) won her 3rd of 3 games which along with her 2 byes earned her a tie for 2nd.  Martin Laine of Lunenburg rounded out the top 3 by tying for 2nd place.

Congratulations also to the following players who raised their ratings by at least 50 points in this tournament:

ARTHUR BARLAS +89

STAN TALCOTT  +67

Congratulations also to the following player who raised his rating to a new all-time high:

ARTHUR BARLAS 1781

 
Martin Laine 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Tom Fratturelli 0-1 Carissa Yip
Bruce Felton 1/2-1/2 Larry Gladding
Geoff LePoer 1-0 Ken Gurge
Dave Thomas 0-1 George Mirijanian
Alan Condon 1-0 George Miller
Robert Mathieu 0-1 Brian Biglow
Gail Lingner 0-1 Gary Brassard
Max Sewell 0-1 Jim Hankard
Stan Talcott 1-0 Percy Yip
Don Briggs 0-1 Wayne Steadman
Francis Scanlon 0-1 Andrew Paul

 

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.5 Barlas
4.0 C. Yip, Laine
3.5 LePoer
3.0 Mirijanian, Felton, Gladding, Bierig, Fratturelli, Biglow, Condon
2.5 Brassard, Gurge, Hankard, Talcott
2.0 Manisy, P. Lynch, Miller, Thomas, Mathieu, Lingner, Steadman, Paul
1.5 Arsenault, P. Yip, Sewell, Sleet, Bastarache
1.0 Naylor, K. Lynch, Briggs, Scanlon
0.5 Contois
 

Grand Prix Standings

 

1.  Brassard    19       

2.  Hankard     16.5

3.  Laine       16

4.  Gurge       16

5.  Arsenault   16

6.  Gladding    14.5

7.  Barlas      14.5

8.  C. Yip      13.5

9.  Fratturelli 13

10. Felton      12.5

11. Mirijanian  12

12. Biglow      12

13. Condon      12

14. Sewell      12  

Ten games remain to be played before qualifying for the "A" Championship closes.

 

January 23rd, 2013

Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Marty Laine of Lunenburg scored another win tonight to remain undefeated and retain a half point lead going into the final week of the tournament.  Next week he will face Arthur Barlas of Chelmsford, who has only been nicked for 1 draw so far.  Stay tuned.

 

Ken Gurge 0-1 Martin Laine
Arthur Barlas 1-0 George Miller
Trevor Bierig 1-0 Alan Condon
Robert Mathieu 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Gary Brassard 0-1 Bruce Felton
Larry Gladding 1-0 Lenny Arsenault
George Mirijanian 1-0 Max Sewell
Jim Hankard 1/2-1/2 Stan Talcott
Dave Thomas 1-0 Kandy Lynch
Gail Lingner 1-0 Wayne Steadman
Larry Sleet 1-0 Don Briggs

Receiving a full-point bye was Andrew Paul. Receiving half-point byes were Carissa Yip, Geoff LePoer, Brian Biglow, Percy Yip, John Bastarache and Brian Contois. Not playing the round were Michael Manisy, Paul Lynch and John Naylor. Withdrawing from the tournament was Francis Scanlon.

 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
4.0 Laine
3.5 Barlas
3.0 Bierig, C. Yip, Fratturelli
2.5 Felton, LePoer, Gladding, Gurge
2.0 Mirijanian, Manisy, P. Lynch, Miller, Biglow, Thomas, Condon, Mathieu, Lingner
1.5 Brassard, Arsenault, Hankard, P. Yip, Sewell, Sleet, Talcott, Bastarache
1.0 Naylor, Steadman, K. Lynch, Paul, Briggs
0.5 Contois
January 16th, 2013
Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 3 of 5

Night of the Underdog 2

There were a couple of big upsets again this week, with Arthur Barlas (295 point underdog) and Ken Gurge (194 point underdog) beating their higher rated opponents.  Max Sewell, fresh off an upset win last week, managed to draw against an opponent rated 349 points higher!  In the midst of this, Martin Laine won the "Battle of the Undefeateds" to finish the night in clear 1st.

 

Martin Laine 1-0 Tom Fratturelli
Ken Gurge 1-0 Bruce Felton
Carissa Yip 1-0 Larry Gladding
George Mirijanian 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Geoff LePoer 1-0 Gail Lingner
Max Sewell 1/2-1/2 Gary Brassard
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Alan Condon
John Bastarache 0-1 Robert Mathieu
Percy Yip 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow 1-0 Larry Sleet
Andrew Paul 0-1 Dave Thomas
Brian Contois 0-1 Don Briggs

Receiving half-point byes were Michael Manisy, Trevor Bierig, Paul Lynch, George Miller, Lenny Arsenault, John Naylor, Stan Talcott, and Kandy Lynch. Not playing the round was Francis Scanlon.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
3.0 Laine
2.5 C. Yip, Gurge, Barlas
2.0 LePoer, Manisy, Bierig, P. Lynch, Miller, Fratturelli, Condon, Mathieu
1.5 Felton, Gladding, Brassard, Arsenault, Biglow, Sewell
1.0 Mirijanian, Naylor, Hankard, Thomas, P. Yip, Lingner, Talcott, Steadman, Bastarache, K. Lynch, Scanlon, Briggs
0.5 Sleet
0.0 Paul, Contois
 

January 9th, 2013

Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 2 of 5

It was the night of the underdog.  There were 3 upset victories of over 150 rating points and all 3 lower rated players were playing black: Tom Fratturelli (209 points), Wayne Steadman (190 points), and Max Sewell (168 points).  Also, Alan Condon scored a draw against a player rated 340 points higher.

 

Larry Gladding 1/2-1/2 Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard 0-1 Tom Fratturelli
Arthur Barlas 1/2-1/2 Trevor Bierig
John Bastarache 0-1 Martin Laine
Bruce Felton 1-0 John Naylor
Alan Condon 1/2-1/2 Geoff LePoer
Jim Hankard 0-1 Paul Lynch
George Miller 1-0 Larry Sleet
Kandy Lynch 0-1 Lenny Arsenault
Stan Talcott 1/2-1/2 Brian Biglow
Dave Thomas 0-1 Wayne Steadman
Robert Mathieu 1-0 Andrew Paul
Don Briggs 0-1 Max Sewell
 
Receiving half-point byes were Michael Manisy, Carissa Yip, George Mirijanian, Gail Lingner, Francis Scanlon and Percy Yip.
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
2.0 Laine, Fratturelli
1.5 Felton, Gladding, Manisy, Bierig, C. Yip, Gurge, P. Lynch, Barlas, Miller
1.0 Mirijanian, LePoer, Brassard, Arsenault, Condon, Mathieu, Lingner, Sewell, Steadman, Bastarache, Scanlon
0.5 Naylor, Hankard, Biglow, P. Yip, Sleet, Talcott, K. Lynch
0.0 Thomas, Paul, Briggs
 
 
 
January 2nd, 2013
Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 1 of 5

 
Geoff LePoer 1/2-1/2 Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow 0-1 Larry Gladding
Michael Manisy 1-0 Dave Thomas
Percy Yip 0-1 Gary Brassard
Trevor Bierig 1-0 Robert Mathieu
Max Sewell 0-1 Carissa Yip
Martin Laine 1-0 Stan Talcott
Wayne Steadman 0-1 Ken Gurge
Lenny Arsenault 0-1 John Bastarache
Andrew Paul 0-1 Arthur Barlas
Tom Fratturelli 1-0 Don Briggs

 

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian and Francis Scanlon
 

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS  
1.0 Gladding, Manisy, Brassard, Bierig, C. Yip, Laine, Gurge, Barlas, Fratturelli, Bastarache
0.5 Mirijanian, LePoer, Hankard, Scanlon
0.0 Arsenault, Biglow, Thomas, P. Yip, Mathieu, Sewell, Talcott, Steadman, Paul, Briggs

REMINDER: Those who missed round 1 may still enter the tournament and receive a half-point bye (optional) for the first round. Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for round 2.

 

Grand Prix Standings (1/3/13)

 
Club Members Grand Prix Points
GARY BRASSARD 17.5
LEONARD ARSENAULT 15.0
KEN GURGE 14.5
JAMES HANKARD 14.5
MARTIN LAINE 13.0
LARRY GLADDING 12.5
CARISSA YIP 11.5
MARK DALEY 11.5
ARTHUR BARLAS 11.0
TOM FRATTURELLI 11.0
DAVE COUTURE 10.5
MAX SEWELL 10.5
GEORGE MIRIJANIAN 10.0
BRUCE FELTON 10.0
JOHN NAYLOR 10.0

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