WCC News 2016 ♔

Miscellaneous News & Other Chess Events of Interest:

♗ MACA Event Calendar of Tournaments throughout Massachusetts

♘ NHCA Event Calendar of Tournaments throughout New Hampshire

♖ Relyea Event Calendar of Open & Invitational Tournaments

♜ Continental Chess Association Tournament Schedule for All States

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

♘ Keene, NH Chess Club events calendar

♞ Waltham Chess Club events calendar

♖ Boylston Chess Club events calendar

♜ Greater Worcester Chess Club events calendar

♗ New Britain CT Chess Club events calendar

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

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

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

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

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

ECO code to enjoy = C50 Giuoco Piano, four knights variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 Nf6

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ Four Random Mating Patterns ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚
Blind Swine Mate	One Piece Queen Mate	Damiano's Mate	Stan Talcott's Mate W

December 31st, 2016

Carissa ties for 3rd place in 43rd Eastern Open

Carissa Yip tied for 3rd place (with 6 other players) in the 43rd annual Eastern Open, held in Bethesda, Maryland. She scored 4.5-2.5. Her prize: $142.86. Winning the tournament was GM Aleksandr Lenderman, 6.5-0.5. He won $2000. Second was GM Alexander Shabalov, 6-1, winning $1000.
On her way to her equal 3rd place finish, the 13-year-old Woman FIDE Master (& 2014 WCC Champ) scored a stunning upset in round 3, defeating GM Sergey Erenburg (2647), & completed the event with a nearly undefeated performance, losing only to the eventual runner-up & four-time US Champ, GM Alexander Shabalov.
Some games from the tournament, including Carissa's win over GM Erenburg, are posted online here.
-George M

December 29th, 2016

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of December 29th, 2016
After 25 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Additional Games Needed	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
1.	Brett Kildahl	2139	19	3	17.5	.921
2.	Ray Paulson	2068	23	0	17.5	.761
3.	Paul Godin	1940	24	0	17.5	.729
4.	Gary Brassard	1838	24	0	17	.708
5.	Alexander Venezia	1761	25	0	16.5	.660
6.	Ken Gurge	1814	24	0	14.5	.604
7.	Dave Thomas	1742	25	0	14.5	.580
8.	Jim Donahue	1738	22	0	13	.591
9.	Ed Harris	1734	22	0	13	.591
10.	Dave Couture	1778	21	1	12.5	.595
11.	Mike Commisso	1619	24	0	11.5	.479
12.	Jim Hankard	1626	24	0	11.5	.479
13.	Roger Cappallo	1938	17	5	11	.647
14.	George Mirijanian	1937	14	8	11	.786
15.	Ralph McNeilage	1732	15	7	11	.733
16.	john Bastarache	1496	25	0	11	.440
17.	Larry Gladding	1820	15	7	10.5	.700
18.	Diego Ubiera	1920	11	11	9.5	.864

December 28th, 2016

2016 George Sturgis Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Ray Paulson Wins Year Ender at WCC

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 28th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	1/2-1/2	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	0-1	Rob King
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Vlad Gaciu
George Mirijanian	1-0	Gary Brassard
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Dave Thomas
Jim Hankard	0-1	Ken Gurge
Alan Condon	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Mike Commisso	0-1	John Bastarache
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Brian Biglow	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
♕ Emily Gawboy	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Nicholas Anderson	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Don Briggs	1-0	Andy Kiser
Total of 13 boards, 1 major upset (♕).

♖ Not playing round 5 were Ralph McNeilage, Diego Ubiera, Geoff LePoer, Dave Couture, Larry Gladding, Jim Donahue,
Ed Harris, Mike Meehan, George Miller, Gail Lingner, Francois Gauthier, Jackson Parker and Stan Talcott.
♞ Seeth Ganesan, Tom Whistler and Eric Jakobowicz had already withdrawn from the tournament.

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 28th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS After 5 Rounds
Points	Players
4.5	Paulson
4.0	King, Kildahl, Godin
3.5	Mirijanian, Venezia
3.0	Cappallo, Gaciu, Gurge, Brassard, Barlas, McNeilage, Bastarache
2.5	Ubiera, LePoer, Thomas, Couture, Fratturelli
2.0	Gladding, Donahue, Harris, Condon, Hankard, Meehan, Miller, Lingner, Biglow, Anderson, Gawboy
1.5	Commisso, Gauthier, Steadman, R. McLaughlin, Briggs
1.0	Ganesan, Parker, H. McLaughlin, Talcott, O'Rourke, Whistler
0.5	Jakobowicz
0.0	Kiser

♔ 2016 George Sturgis Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Ray Paulson of Lowell
2nd-4th:	Rob King of Framingham, Brett Kildahl of Worcester, Paul Godin of Bedford
Top U1800:	Alexander Venezia of Lunenburg
Top U1650:	Tom Fratturelli of Leominster
Top U1500:	John Bastarache of Fitchburg
Top U1350:	Nicholas Anderson of Ashby, Emily Gawboy of Leominster

Pictures from this year's George Sturgis Memorial tournament.

A total of 2 players
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Emily Gawboy	+ 88
George Miller	+ 58

A total of 5 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Robert King	2178
Alexander Venezia	1761
Jim Donahue	1738
Francois Gauthier	1682
Emily Gawboy	1109

♔ ♜ ♘ Congratulations to all! ♚ ♖ ♞

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Reggie Boone Memorial, begins Wednesday, January 4, 2017.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.
♘ ♕ ♔ ♜ ♔ ♕ ♗
♔ ♘ ☕ ☺ ☮ ♡ ☆ HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL WCC PLAYERS! ☆ ♡ ☮ ☺ ⛄ ♝ ♕
♘ ♕ ♔ ♜ ♔ ♕ ♗

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December 27th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #24 by Roger Cappallo
Wednesday's game against Ralph McNeilage

Hello All,
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and got all of the chess books or other toys that you wanted. As a late stocking stuffer, I've posted episode #24 of MWATC on youtube, with the following link:
https://youtu.be/9Wcz47eXPZo
My 4th round game as Black against Ralph McNeilage, which developed along the lines of a Benko Gambit declined.
In it, I played the Black pieces against Ralph McNeilage in a sort of Benko Gambit declined. Hope you enjoy it.
-Roger

December 27th, 2016

Diego Ubiera runner-up in North Carolina blitz tournament

Diego Ubiera, assistant professor of English at Fitchburg State University and winner of the Wachusett Chess Club's "Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial Tournament" in October, showed his speed chess skills by tying for 2nd place in Section 1 of the Triangle Chess Blitz Tournament (G/5 d2) on Wednesday, December 21, in Morrisville, North Carolina.
The FSU professor scored 6-4 in a double-round Swiss and boosted his blitz rating to 1915 based on 20 games. He is expected to return to the Wachusett CC on January 4.
-George M

December 21st, 2016

2016 George Sturgis Memorial
Round 4 of 5

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 21st, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Brett Kildahl
Ralph McNeilage	1/2-1/2	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Dave Couture
Rob King	1-0	Jim Donahue
Alan Condon	0-1	Vlad Gaciu
Gary Brassard	1-0	Ed Harris
Dave Thomas	1-0	George Miller
Geoff LePoer	1-0	Mike Commisso
Arthur Barlas	1/2-1/2	Jim Hankard
Alex Venezia	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Ken Gurge	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Mike Meehan	1-0	Brian Biglow
Gail Lingner	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
John Bastarache	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Don Briggs
Andy Kiser	0-1	Emily Gawboy
Total of 16 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Diego Ubiera, George Mirijanian, Larry Gladding, Francois Gauthier,
Stan Talcott and Nicholas Anderson.
♖ Not playing round 4 was Jackson Parker.
♙ Withdrawing from the tournament were Seeth Ganesan and Tom Whistler.
♟ Eric Jakobowicz had already withdrawn from the event after round 2.

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 21st, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds
Points	Players
4.0	Paulson
3.5	Godin
3.0	King, Kildahl, Cappallo, Gaciu, Brassard. McNeilage
2.5	Ubiera, Mirijanian, LePoer, Thomas, Couture, Venezia
2.0	Gurge, Gladding, Barlas, Donahue, Harris, Condon, Hankard, Meehan, Miller, Lingner, Bastarache
1.5	Commisso, Fratturelli, Gauthier, Steadman, R. McLaughlin
1.0	(Ganesan), Parker, Biglow, H. McLaughlin, Talcott, O'Rourke, Anderson, Gawboy, (Whistler)
0.5	(Jakobowicz), Briggs
0.0	Kiser

Projected Round 5 Pairings for December 28th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Paulson
Board 2: Gaciu vs. King
Board 3: Kildahl vs. McNeilage
Board 4: Cappallo vs. Brassard
Board 5: Thomas vs. Mirijanian
Board 6: Couture vs. LePoer
Board 7: Venezia vs. Gurge
Board 8: Hankard vs. Gladding
Board 9: Lingner vs. Barlas
Board 10: Harris vs. Meehan
Board 11: Condon vs. Bastarache
Board 12: Commisso vs. Steadman
Board 13: Gauthier vs. Fratturelli
Board 14: Parker vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 15: O'Rourke vs. Biglow
Board 16: Anderson vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 17: Talcott vs. Kiser
Board 18: Gawboy vs. Briggs

♖ Not playing round 5 are: Ubiera, Donahue and Miller.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on December 28th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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December 15th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #23 by Roger Cappallo
Wednesday's game against Alex Venezia

Hello All,
This past Wednesday I played the white side of a King's Indian Defense against Alex Venezia. Hopefully you'll find something of use or interest within it.
https://youtu.be/pQt7_9bn72Y
A fairly short game I played this week as White against Alex Venezia (1744), in the King's Indian Defense.
-Roger

December 14th, 2016

2016 George Sturgis Memorial
Round 3 of 5

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 14th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Gary Brassard
Jim Donahue	0-1	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Alex Venezia
Mike Commisso	0-1	Paul Godin
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Robert King
Diego Ubiera	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
George Mirijanian	1-0	Jackson Parker
Ken Gurge	0-1	♔ Alan Condon
Jim Hankard	1/2-1/2	Dave Thomas
Ed Harris	1-0	Francois Gauthier
George Miller	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Geoff LePoer	1-0	Stan Talcott
Mike Meehan	1/2-1/2	Larry O'Rourke
John Bastarache	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Brian Biglow	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Total of 17 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♔ 2011 WCC Champ, Rob King, stopped by to join the tournamnet thereby receiving half point byes for each of the first two rounds. ♝ Receiving half-point byes for round 3 were Dave Couture, Vlad Gaciu, Larry Gladding, Tom Whistler and Don Briggs.
♖ Not playing round 3 were Arthur Barlas and Gail Lingner.
♙ Eric Jakobowicz withdrew from the tournament.
♟ Being withdrawn from the tournament are Lenny Arsenault, Bill Burke, Bob Mathieu and Andrew Su.

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 14th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 3 Rounds
Points	Players
3.0	Kildahl, Paulson
2.5	Cappallo, Godin, McNeilage, Couture
2.0	King, Ubiera, Mirijanian, Gaciu, Brassard, Donahue, Harris, Condon, Miller
1.5	LePoer, Gladding, Thomas, Barlas, Venezia, Commisso, Hankard, Steadman, R. McLaughlin
1.0	Gurge, Ganesan, Parker, Meehan, Gauthier, Lingner, Bastarache, Biglow, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Whistler
0.5	(Jakobowicz), Fratturelli, Talcott, Briggs, Anderson
0.0	Gawboy, Kiser

Projected Round 4 Pairings for December 21st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Paulson vs. Kildahl
Board 2: McNeilage vs. Cappallo
Board 3: Godin vs. Couture
Board 4: King vs. Donahue
Board 5: Mirijanian vs. Harris
Board 6: Gaciu vs. Miller
Board 7: Condon vs. Brassard
Board 8: Venezia vs. LePoer
Board 9: Gladding vs. Commisso
Board 10: Thomas vs. Steadman
Board 11: Barlas vs. Hankard
Board 12: Ganesan vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 13: Biglow vs. Gurge
Board 14: Bastarache vs. Parker
Board 15: H. McLaughlin vs. Meehan
Board 16: Gauthier vs. O'Rourke
Board 17: Whistler vs. Lingner
Board 18: Anderson vs. Fratturelli
Board 19: Talcott vs. Briggs
Board 20: Kiser vs. Gawboy

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

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on December 21st.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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December 13th, 2016

Pictures from MIT Winter Open

Hi all, Here is the link to today's MIT Winter Open held at the MIT Media Lab - a visual treat for a chess site. Thanks to Alex Katz and others. https://goo.gl/photos/DqkNUhjvCeUb49pC9
Enjoy!

-Tony Cortizas Jr.

Pictures from MIT Winter Open by Tony Cortizas Jr.

Dave Martin & Jack Martin analyze

Sherif Khater faces Chris Chase
in Rouind 2

December 12th, 2016

Chess Chat now seen 7 times weekly on Fitchburg Access TV

Chess Chat, a monthly program produced by the Wachusett CC and seen since October 2006 on Fitchburg Access Television (Comcast Channel 8, Verizon Channel 35), is now seen 7 times a week on FATV. Shows can been seen as follows:

Mondays at 7 p.m.
Wednesdays at 11 a.m.
Thursdays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 7:30 p.m.

In addition to the multiple-times-per-week viewings, programs can be seen on FATV's website (www.fatv.org) by clicking on Video on Demand and then Playlists.

Currently, there are 25 Chess Chat videos on Video on Demand - dating back to December 2014. A total of 113 Chess Chat programs have been produced since October 2006. Among those shows is the current program, "Magnus Carlsen Retains World Championship Title," recorded 5 days after the end of the world championship match in New York. Featured is the Rapid Game #4 playoff (Game/25) that clinched the match for Carlsen.
-George M

December 11th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #22 by Roger Cappallo
Wednesday's game against Tom Fratturelli

Hello All,
I've created and uploaded another video from the club for your viewing pleasure. This week I faced Tom Fratturelli, who played the white side of a 2 Knights Defense (by transposition from a Scotch Gambit).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj8bH_ueBbE
Hope you enjoy it,
-Roger

December 10th, 2016

Chess Life Magazine - August 2015 Issue available for $1

**Carissa Yip "Our Youngest Female Master"**
USCF $1 Special	In case you missed it! "The August 2015 issue of Chess Life is here! It's Cover Story is on 'Our Youngest Female Master", focusing on Carissa Yip, the 11 year old [OK, she's 13 now, but she's also rated over 2300.] who recently became the youngest female in history to earn the Master title. Other stories include the 2015 Chicago Open and a discussion about the use of random pairings as opposed to Swiss in club-level events." Lots of other back issues, books, etc. at year-end clearance prices.

December 10th, 2016

Former Wachusett CC champion Rob King wins Waltham CC tourney

Robert King of Framingham, champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in 2011, scored 5.5-0.5 to win the Waltham Not First Friday #11 tournament on December 9th at the Waltham Chess Club. The quick-rated (Game/10 d3) event drew a total of 15 players. Among King's wins was a third-round victory against master Sherif Khater of Tyngsboro, formerly of Nashua, NH, who finished in third place with a 5-1 tally.
-George M

December 9th, 2016

Wachusett CC's Jeremy & Sebastian Tilton to play in 5th annual Boston Chess Congress

The father-son duo of Jeremy and Sebastian Tilton, Wachusett Chess Club members from New Ipswich, NH, are among the players entered in advance for the 5th annual Boston Chess Congress, slated for January 6-8, 2017 at the Hyatt Boston Harbor Hotel. Both will play in the 3-day schedule of the Under 1300 section. This will be the third straight Boston Chess Congress for the Tiltons. Both competed in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Continental Chess Association-sponsored event.
-George M

December 7th, 2016

2016 George Sturgis Memorial
Round 2 of 5

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 7th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Larry Gladding	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Ray Paulson	1-0	Ed Harris
Paul Godin	1/2-1/2	Alex Venezia
♔ Jim Donahue	1-0	Diego Ubiera
Dave Couture	1-0	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	1-0	George Miller
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Vlad Gaciu	1-0	Mike Meehan
♔ Wayne Steadman	1-0	Eric Jakobowicz
Ralph McNeilage	1-0	Stan Talcott
Mike Commisso	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Dave Thomas	1-0	John Bastarache
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Brian Biglow
Don Briggs	0-1	Alan Condon
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Jim Hankard
Francois Gauthier	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Total of 16 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♖ Old time WCC member & USCF class A player, Eric Jakobowicz, stopped by to join the tournament & play some rated chess.
♝ Receiving half-point byes were Arthur Barlas, Randy McLaughlin, George Mirijanian, Jackson Parker,
Lenny Arsenault, Bill Burke, Gail Lingner, Bob Mathieu, Andrew Su, Geoff LePoer, Larry O'Rourke and Tom Whistler.
♗ Declining a half-point bye was Hugh McLaughlin.
♙ Francis Scanlon withdrew from the tournament.

**George Sturgis Memorial, December 7th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 2 Rounds
Points	Players
2.0	Kildahl, Paulson, Brassard, Couture, Donahue
1.5	Cappallo, Godin, Gaciu, Barlas, McNeilage, Venezia, Commisso, Steadman, R. McLaughlin
1.0	Ubiera, Mirijanian, Gurge, Gladding, Thomas, Harris, Ganesan, Parker, Condon, Hankard, Arsenault, Gauthier, Miller, Burke, Lingner, Mathieu, Su
0.5	LePoer, Jakobowicz, Fratturelli, Meehan, Talcott, O'Rourke, Anderson, Whistler
0.0	Bastarache, Biglow, H. McLaughlin, Briggs, Gawboy, Kiser

Projected Round 3 Pairings for December 14th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Kildahl vs. Brassard
Board 2: Couture vs. Paulson
Board 3: Cappallo vs. Donahue
Board 4: Godin vs. Steadman
Board 5: Commisso vs. Gaciu
Board 6: Venezia vs. Barlas
Board 7: R. McLaughlin vs. McNeilage
Board 8: Ubiera vs. Ganesan
Board 9: Condon vs. Mirijanian
Board 10: Gurge vs. Parker
Board 11: Hankard vs. Gladding
Board 12: Miller vs. Thomas
Board 13: Harris vs. Gauthier
Board 14: LePoer vs. Lingner
Board 15: Anderson vs. Fratturelli
Board 16: Meehan vs. O'Rourke
Board 17: Talcott vs. Whistler
Board 18: Bastarache vs. Briggs
Board 19: Biglow vs. Gawboy
Board 20: H. McLaughlin vs. Kiser

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on December 14th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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December 6th, 2016

Magnus Carlsen Retains World Chess Championship Title!
"If anyone thinks it's easy, it's time to get back to earth." -Magnus Carlsen

In case you missed it, here are a few links about Magnus Carlsen's recent World Championship title defence:
MagnusCarlsen.com
New York Times Story
CNN Story
CBS 60 Minutes Story
Magnus Carlsen on ChessGames.com
New Yorker Story
Magnus Carlsen Profile on Chess24.com
Magnus Carlsen's Official Blog
Wall Street Journal, "How a Chess Champion Trains for the Big Game"
Magnus Carlsen To Play Hikaru Nakamura In Chess.com Championship
Magnus Carlsen Story in The Economist
What is Magnus Carlsen's IQ?
Magnus Carlsen Fan Site
Business Insider Story
Washington Times Story
Magnus Carlsen on Wikipedia
Magnus Carlsen on Facebook

December 2nd, 2016

WCC's Ralph McNeilage to play in Pillsbury Memorial

Ralph McNeilage of Worcester, having joined the USCF in June 2016, will be making his MACA tournament debut in the Harry Nelson Pillsbury Memorial slated for Sunday, December 4th, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Ralph is among the advance entrants registered to play in the Under 1910 section.
-George M

November 30th, 2016

2016 George Sturgis Memorial
Round 1 of 5

**George Sturgis Memorial, November 30th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Alan Condon	0-1	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	1/2-1/2	♖ Mike Commisso
Jim Hankard	0-1	Paul Godin
Diego Ubiera	1-0	Francois Gauthier
♔ George Miller	1-0	Geoff LePoer
Ken Gurge	1-0	John Bastarache
Brian Biglow	0-1	Gary Brassard
Larry Gladding	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
♔ Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Dave Thomas
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Don Briggs
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Dave Couture
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Jim Donahue
Ed Harris	1-0	Tom Whistler
15 boards, 2 major upsets (♔) one upset draw (♖)

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Vlad Gaciu, Ralph McNeilage, Jackson Parker, Tom Fratturelli,
Lenny Arsenault, Mike Meehan, Bill Burke, Gail Lingner, Wayne Steadman, Bob Mathieu, Stan Talcott, Andrew Su,
Nicholas Anderson and Francis Scanlon.

**George Sturgis Memorial, November 30th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 1 Round
Points	Players
1.0	Kildahl, Paulson, Godin, Ubiera, Gurge, Brassard, Gladding, Barlas, Couture, Venezia, Donahue, Harris, Miller, R. McLaughlin
0.5	Cappallo, Mirijanian, Gaciu, McNeilage, Parker, Commisso, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Meehan, Burke, Lingner, Steadman, Mathieu, Talcott, Su, Anderson, Scanlon
0.0	LePoer, Thomas, Ganesan, Condon, Hankard, Gauthier, Bastarache, Biglow, H. McLaughlin, Briggs, O'Rourke, Gawboy, Kiser, Whistler

Projected Round 2 Pairings for December 7th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Gladding vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Paulson vs. Barlas
Board 3: Godin vs. Venezia
Board 4: Couture vs. Ubiera
Board 5: Donahue vs. Gurge
Board 6: Brassard vs. Harris
Board 7: Mirijanian vs. Miller
Board 8: Meehan vs. Cappallo
Board 9: Burke vs. McNeilage
Board 10: Parker vs. Steadman
Board 11: Commisso vs. Talcott
Board 12: Fratturelli vs. Anderson
Board 13: Scanlon vs. Arsenault
Board 14: Thomas vs. Biglow
Board 15: Ganesan vs. O'Rourke
Board 16: Briggs vs. Condon
Board 17: Gawboy vs. Hankard
Board 18: Gauthier vs. Kiser
Board 19: Bastarache vs. Whistler

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 2 are R. McLaughlin, Gaciu, Lingner, Mathieu, Su and LePoer.
♝ Requesting a 0-point bye is H. McLaughlin.

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

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November 30th, 2016

Ratings in effect for the George Sturgis Memorial 2016

The following ratings are in effect for the George Sturgis Memorial 2016,
which starts Wednesday, November 30, at the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg.

Players listed in boldface are most likely to play.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ List of current ratings:
1	Chris Chase	2399
2	Robert King	2161
3	Brett Kildahl	2140
4	Tony Cesolini	2110
5	Ray Paulson	2006
6	Roger Cappallo	1951
7	Paul Godin	1943
8	Walter Niemi	1935
9	Diego Ubiera	1930
10	George Mirijanian	1920
11	Geoff LePoer	1875
12	Vincent Bradley	1849
13	Vlad Gaciu	1848
14	Ken Gurge	1839
15	Eric Strickland	1835
16	Gary Brassard	1833
17	Larry Gladding	1822
18	Dave Thomas	1777
19	Arthur Barlas	1774
20	Ralph McNeilage	1773
21	Dave Couture	1750
22	Alexander Venezia	1744
23	Jim Donahue	1722
24	Ed Harris	1717
25	Joe Bennett	1706
26	Seeth Ganesan	1706
27	Jackson Parker	1702
28	Alan Condon	1673
29	Ananth Rangan	1662
30	Mike Commisso	1636
31	Jim Hankard	1631
32	Tom Fratturelli	1627
33	Lenny Arsenault	1625
34	Mike Meehan	1609
35	Ed Rogers	1591
36	David Svolba	1553
37	George Miller	1539
38	Noah Rogers	1517
39	Bill Burke	1504
40	Gail Lingner	1500
41	John Bastarache	1496
42	Wayne Steadman	1483
43	Tom Giampietro	1472
44	Bob Mathieu	1449
45	Brian Biglow	1447
46	Hugh McLaughlin	1429
47	Stan Talcott	1425
48	Andrew Su	1421
49	Jack Appelmans	1420
50	Steve Koroskenyi	1395
51	Richard Bennett	1383
52	Roland Sorel	1372
53	Randy McLaughlin	1338
54	Don Briggs	1335
55	Larry O'Rourke	1319
56	Nicholas Anderson	1290
57	Francis Scanlon	1088
58	Sebastian Tilton	1078
59	Emily Gawboy	1021
60	Jeremy Tilton	1017
61	Andrew Kiser	1014
62	Tom Whistler	945
63	Finn Rogers	827

November 30th, 2016

How chess has changed over the past 150 years

Article online about how chess has changed over the past century & a half:
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/11/how-chess-has-changed-over-the-last-150-years/

"The history of chess dates back 1500 years, but it wasn't until the introduction of competitive chess in 1834 that the rules were solidified. Since that time, players of all calibers have diligently worked to find new and better ways of winning."

November 30th, 2016

New England's Top 25 Active Players

♚ Top 25 Active New England Players ♔ 2016-November-30 ♚
Place	Title	Name	Rating	State
1	GM	SAMUEL SEVIAN	2676	MA
2	GM	LARRY M CHRISTIANSEN	2659	MA
3	GM	EUGENE PERELSHTEYN	2585	MA
4	GM	SERGEY KUDRIN	2579	CT
5	GM	ALEXANDER IVANOV	2537	MA
6	IM	JAN VAN DE MORTEL	2527	CT
7	IM	DENYS K SHMELOV	2513	MA
8		MIKA ANDREW BRATTAIN	2499	MA
9	IM	IGOR FOYGEL	2466	MA
10	IM	DAVID VIGORITO	2450	MA
11	FM	STEVEN WINER	2443	MA
12	FM	JACOB CHUDNOVSKY	2431	MA
13	IM	DANNY EDELMAN	2426	CT
14	FM	CHRISTOPHER GU	2425	RI
15	FM	KAPIL CHANDRAN	2410	CT
16	FM	CHRISTOPHER W CHASE	2396	MA
17	FM	BRADEN BOURNIVAL	2390	NH
18	IM	JAMES A RIZZITANO	2387	MA
19	FM	HANS NIEMANN	2386	CT
20		VADIM MARTIROSOV	2385	MA
21	FM	NELSON CASTANEDA	2373	CT
22	IM	JOSEPH H FANG	2363	NH
23	FM	CHARLES RIORDAN	2362	MA
24		IAN HARRIS	2361	CT
25		AHMET BOLAT	2356	MA

November 29th, 2016

Mark Taimanov (February 7, 1926 - November 28, 2016), Dies at 90

**Mark Taimanov, World-Class Chess and Piano Player, Dies at 90:**
GM Mark Taimanov	"Mark Evgenievich Taimanov was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. He was also a world-class concert pianist. Taimanov became a Grandmaster in 1952, and in 1956 won the USSR Chess Championship. He was a World Championship Candidate twice, in 1953 and 1971. In 1971, however, Taimanov lost his Candidates match by 6-0 to Bobby Fischer. Taimanov excelled in team play representing the USSR. Several chess variations are named after him." -Wikipedia "Mark Taimanov, a virtuoso pianist and former Soviet chess champion whose lopsided loss to Bobby Fischer in 1971 in the quarterfinals of a major chess tournament cost him his government salary, died on Monday in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was 90." Story by: Dylan Loeb McClain, New York Times November 28, 2016

November 28th, 2016

Wachusett CC co-champion Paulson ties for first in Billerica CC tournament

Ray Paulson, co-champion of the Wachusett Chess Club, tallied 3.5-0.5 to tie for first place In the Billerica November Swiss that ended on Friday, Nov. 25, at the Billerica Chess Club. The USCF-rated expert shared top honors with Class A rival Joe Kelly in the 27-player event.
-George M

November 25th, 2016

World's Top Rated Players

Players Rated Above FIDE 2700 as of November 25th, 2016
Rank	Name	Classic	+/-	Rapid	Blitz	Age
1	Carlsen	2842.0	-11.0	2894.0	2873.0	25
2	Caruana	2823.0	0.0	2752.0	2800.0	24
3	Kramnik	2809.4	-0.6	2778.0	2727.0	41
4	Vachier-Lagrave	2804.4	-6.6	2795.0	2823.0	26
5	So	2794.0	0.0	2759.0	2791.0	23
6	Aronian	2785.0	-10.0	2770.0	2830.0	34
7	Karjakin	2783.0	+11.0	2818	2800.0	26
8	Anand	2779.0	0.0	2802.0	2754.0	46
9	Nakamura	2779.0	0.0	2839.0	2842.0	28
10	Giri	2770.7	+3.7	2750.0	2776.0	22
11	Nepomniachtchi	2767.0	0.0	2812.0	2830.0	26
12	Harikrishna	2765.5	-2.5	2706.0	2759.0	30
13	Mamedyarov	2762.5	+0.5	2805.0	2813.0	31
14	Topalov	2760.0	0.0	2715.0	2710.0	41
15	Ding Liren	2756.8	-7.2	2704.0	2875.0	24
16	Eljanov	2755.3	-1.7	2645.0	2659.0	33
17	Ivanchuk	2751.9	+18.9	2771.0	2754.0	47
18	Adams	2751.3	+7.3	2741	2768	45
19	Wojtaszek	2747.9	+3.9	2721.0	2666.0	29
20	Svidler	2747.2	+5.2	2729.0	2797.0	40
21	Grischuk	2742.1	-8.9	2767.0	2761.0	33
22	Dominguez Perez	2738.7	-13.3	2803.0	2783.0	33
23	Andreikin	2736.5	+0.5	2759.0	2720.0	26
24	Navara	2731.2	+6.2	2741.0	2754.0	31
25	Yu Yangyi	2729.2	+8.2	2743.0	2712.0	22
26	Vitiugov	2726.3	+8.3	2648.0	2682.0	29
27	Gelfand	2724.7	+4.7	2743.0	2745.0	48
28	Li Chao	2719.6	-10.4	2648.0	2632.0	27
29	Le Quang Liem	2718.0	0.0	2761.0	2747.0	25
30	Inarkiev	2717.5	+3.5	2707.0	2605.0	30
31	Rapport	2716.7	-13.3	2729.0	2600	20
32	Tomashevsky	2716.0	-6.0	2710.0	2756.0	29
33	Malakhov	2712.9	+14.9	2721.0	2672.0	35
34	Radjabov	2710.3	+14.3	2788	2800	29
35	Wang Yue	2710.3	-12.7	2701.0	2683.0	29
36	Ponomariov	2709.0	0.0	2702.0	2743.0	33
37	Vallejo Pons	2708.7	-7.3	2666.0	2648.0	34
38	Wei Yi	2707.0	+1.0	2609.0	2636.0	17
39	Jakovenko	2706.8	-2.2	2699.0	2623.0	33
40	Bu Xiangzhi	2705.1	+7.1	2663.0	2613.0	30
41	Jobava	2702.0	0.0	2710.0	2752.0	33

November 25th, 2016

Magnus Carlsen Evens the Score in World Chess Championship

"Magnus Carlsen has beaten Sergey Karjakin to level the score in the 2016 World Chess Championship with two games to go. The first half of Game 10 saw both players creaking under the pressure and could have ended abruptly if Sergey had spotted an all but forced draw. Instead, after more adventures, Magnus got the kind of slightly better endgame on which he's built his chess empire. Sergey seemed to have constructed a fortress, but one moment's inattention was all it took to see it all come crashing down. A hugely relieved Magnus Carlsen is now favourite again - but so are tiebreaks!"

November 22nd, 2016

Sergey Karjakin Surges Ahead in World Chess Championship

Challenger, Sergey Karjakin, has taken the lead over reigning World Chess Champ, Magnus Carlsen, with a win in game 8 of the match being played this week in New York, after drawing each of the first seven games. With a FIDE rating of 2772, & four games remaining in the match, Sergey Karjakin of Russia, the world 9th ranked player has pulled ahead of his #1 ranked opponent, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, FIDE rated 2853, in what may prove be an insurmountable lead of a single game.

November 19th, 2016

Sebastian Tilton wins NH scholastic tourney

Sebastian Tilton, a Wachusett Chess Club member from New Ipswich, NH, scored 3.5-0.5 to win the Open section of the Hanover High Scholastic tournament on November 12 in Hanover, NH. Fellow Wachusett CC member and New Ipswich resident Finneas Rogers tied for 4th place with a 2-2 tally.
-George M

November 17th, 2016

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of November 17th, 2016
After 20 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Additional Games Needed	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
1.	Gary Brassard	1833	19	3	14	.737
2.	Brett Kildahl	2140	14	8	13.5	.964
3.	Paul Godin	1952	19	3	13.5	.711
4.	Ray Paulson	2006	18	4	13	.722
5.	Alexander Venezia	1744	20	2	13	.650
6.	Dave Thomas	1777	20	2	12	.600
7.	Ken Gurge	1839	19	3	11.5	.605
8.	Ed Harris	1730	18	4	11	.611
9.	Jim Donahue	1722	18	4	11	.611
10.	Dave Couture	1750	18	4	10.5	.583
11.	Mike Commisso	1637	18	4	10	.526
12.	Larry Gladding	1822	13	9	9.5	.731
13.	Jim Hankard	1608	19	3	9.5	.500
14.	George Mirijanian	1920	12	10	9	.750
15.	Ralph McNeilage	1773	12	10	8.5	.708
16.	wayne Steadman	1483	20	2	8.5	.425
17.	Tony Cesolini	2110	8	14	8	1.000
18.	Roger Cappallo	1951	12	10	8	.667
19.	john Bastarache	1496	20	2	8	.400
20.	Diego Ubiera	1927	8	14	7.5	.938
21.	Brian Biglow	1447	19	3	7.5	.395
22.	Tom Fratturelli	1627	14	8	7	.500
17.	gail Lingner	1500	13	9	7	.538

November 16th, 2016

2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Brett Kildahl Wins Fandreyer Memorial

With a score of 4.5/0.5 which he accomplished by means of four wins & a bye, Brett Kildahl of Worcester, has once again captured an impressive clear first place in the 2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial tournament at the WCC. Brett was victorious over Mike Meehan, Ed Harris, Dave Couture, took a half point bye in round 4, then continued his win streak by defeting Ray Paulson in round 5.

Brett's winning 4.5 performance placed him clear first & left the quintet of competitors, Ray Paulson, Roger Cappallo, Paul Godin, Diego Ubiera, & Ralph McNeilage, deadlocked back at 2nd-6th place with 4 points each. Other notable finishers were: Gary Brassard (3.5) , Top U1850, Ralph McNeilage (4) Top U1700, Brian Biglow (2.5) Top U1550, Wayne Steadman (3) Top U1450, & finally, Emily Gawboy (1), & Tom Whistler (1) Top U1250.

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, November 16th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Dave Thomas
Paul Godin	1-0	Alexander Venezia
Jim Donahue	0-1	Diego Ubiera
♔ Ralph McNeilage	1-0	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	1-0	Dave Couture
Ed Harris	1/2-1/2	D*311 Brian Biglow
John Bastarache	0-1	Mike Commisso
Gail Lingner	0-1	Jim Hankard
♔ Wayne Steadman	1-0	George Miller
Mike Meehan	1/2-1/2	Tom Fratturelli
Don Briggs	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Nicholas Anderson
Larry O'Rourke	1/2-1/2	D*471 Tom Whistler
Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Total of 15 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 5 were Larry Gladding, Andrew Su, David Svolba, George Mirijanian, Arthur Barlas,
Seeth Ganesan, Geoff LePoer, Jackson Parker, Bill Burke and Stan Talcott.

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, November 16th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS After 5 Rounds
Points	Players
4.5	Kildahl
4.0	Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, Ubiera, McNeilage
3.5	Brassard
3.0	Thomas, Venezia, Donahue, Commisso, Hankard, Steadman
2.5	Gurge, Harris, Biglow, H. McLaughlin
2.0	Gladding, Couture, Fratturelli, Meehan, Miller, Bastarache, Lingner, Su, Anderson, Svolba
1.5	Mirijanian, Barlas, Ganesan, R. McLaughlin
1.0	LePoer, Parker, Burke, Talcott, O'Rourke, Briggs, Gawboy, Whistler
0.5	Scanlon

♔ 2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st: ♔	Brett Kildahl of Worcester
2nd-6th:	Ray Paulson of Lowell, Roger Cappallo of Groton, Paul Godin of Bedford, Diego Ubiera of Fitchburg, & Ralph McNeilage of Worcester
Top U1850:	Gary Brassard of Leominster
Top U1700:	Ralph McNeilage of Worcester
Top U1550:	Brian Biglow of Fitchburg
Top U1400:	Wayne Steadman of Lunenburg
Top U1250:	Emily Gawboy of Leominster, Tom Whistler of Worcester

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Rating changes from the 2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial:
2	RALPH MCNEILAGE	+126
3	WAYNE L STEADMAN	+95
4	DIEGO I UBIERA	+32
5	HUGH S MCLAUGHLIN	+31
6	EMILY GAWBOY	+26
7	JAMES E DONAHUE	+20
8	GARY BRASSARD	+19
9	PAUL L GODIN	+18
10	TOM WHISTLER	+16
11	BRETT KILDAHL	+12
12	RAYMOND PAULSON	+8
13	JAMES A HANKARD	+8
14	BRIAN BIGLOW	+7
15	DAVID J THOMAS	+5
16	ALEXANDER VENEZIA	+5
17	LAWRENCE DAVID GLADDING	+3
18	GEORGE MILLER	+1
19	ANDREW SU	+1
21	MICHAEL J MEEHAN	0
22	GAIL S LINGNER	0
24	ROGER J CAPPALLO	-1
25	WILLIAM T BURKE II	-3
26	STANFORD TALCOTT	-4
27	MICHAEL COMMISSO	-6
28	ARTHUR BARLAS	-8
29	FRANCIS W SCANLON II	-8
30	EDWARD ARTHUR HARRIS	-9
31	NICHOLAS EDWARD ANDERSON	-9
32	SEETHARAMAN GANESAN	-14
33	KENNETH W GURGE	-17
34	TOM FRATTURELLI	-18
35	RANDY MCLAUGHLIN	-18
36	DONALD L BRIGGS	-18
37	JACKSON PARKER	-18
38	GEORGE M MIRIJANIAN	-19
39	GEOFFREY LEPOER	-20
40	DAVE J COUTURE	-22
41	JOHN BASTARACHE	-23
42	LAURENCE MATTHEW O'ROURKE	-81

Pictures from this year's Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial tournament.
USCF crosstable from this year's Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial tournament.
Games from this year's Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial tournament.

REMINDER: There is no chess club on Wednesday, November 23rd.
The next tournament, the George Sturgis Memorial, starts November 30th.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. on November 30th in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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November 16th, 2016

Carissa Yip becomes Boylston CC champion

Carissa Yip, winner of the 2014 Wachusett Chess Club Championship, is the new champion of the Boylston Chess Club. The 13-year-old whiz and newly titled Woman FIDE master from Andover tallied 7 wins vs. 2 losses to finish first in the 10-player round robin that ended on Monday, Nov. 14, at the 97-year-old club in Cambridge. Carissa made club history by becoming the first female and youngest player ever to win the prestigious BCC Championship.
-George M

November 10th, 2016

World Chess Championship Match: Magnus Carlsen vs. Sergey Karjakin in New York!

The World Chess Championship match between defending champion Magnus Carlsen and his challenger Sergey Karjakin takes place in New York City 11th to 30th November 2016. Organisers: AGON. Match over 12 games plus possible tie-breaks. Dates 11th-30th November.
Round:	Date:	Carlsen:	Karjakin:	Result:
Game 1:	November 11th	0.5	0.5	Draw
Game 2:	November 12th	1	1	Draw
Game 3:	November 14th	1.5	1.5	Draw
Game 4:	November 15th	2	2	Draw
Game 5:	November 17th	2.5	2.5	Draw
Game 6:	November 18th	3	3	Draw
Game 7:	November 20th	3.5	3.5	Draw
Game 8:	November 21st	3.5	4.5	Karjakin
Game 9:	November 23rd	4	5	Draw
Game 10:	November 24th	5	5	Carlsen
Game 11:	November 26th	5.5	5.5	Draw
Game 12:	November 28th	6	6	Draw
Tie Break (if needed):	November 30th

The players have 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1. The first player to reach 6.5 points is the winner, with a 6-6 tie decided by four 25 minute + 10 second/move rapid games. If still tied two 5+3 games are played, then another two 5+3 if needed, then finally an Armageddon game, where White has 5 minutes to Black's 4, but a draw will make the black player World Champion.

Watch the games live on the official website: nyc2016.fide.com

November 9th, 2016

2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial
Round 4 of 5

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, November 9th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Ralph McNeilage
Diego Ubiera	1/2-1/2	Paul Godin
Jim Hankard	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Dave Couture	0-1	Jim Donahue
George Miller	0-1	Dave Thomas
Alex Venezia	1-0	Wayne Steadman
George Mirijanian	0-1	Gary Brassard
Ken Gurge	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Mike Commisso	1-0	Mike Meehan
Hugh McLaughlin	1/2-1/2	Tom Fratturelli
Don Briggs	0-1	John Bastarache
Nicholas Anderson	0-1	Gail Lingner
Brian Biglow	1-0	Emily Gawboy
David Svolba	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
♖ Francis Scanlon	1/2-1/2	Larry O'Rourke
Total of 15 boards, one upset draw.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Brett Kildahl, Ed Harris, Andrew Su and Tom Whistler.
♖ Not playing round 4 were Larry Gladding, Arthur Barlas, Geoff LePoer, Jackson Parker, Bill Burke and Stan Talcott.

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, November 9th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS After 4 Rounds
Points	Players
4.0	Paulson
3.5	Kildahl
3.0	Cappallo, Godin, Ubiera, Thomas, Venezia, Donahue, McNeilage
2.5	Gurge, Brassard
2.0	Gladding, Couture, Harris, Commisso, Hankard, Miller, Bastarache, Lingner, Biglow, Su, Steadman, Svolba
1.5	Mirijanian, Barlas, Ganesan, Fratturelli, Meehan, H. McLaughlin
1.0	LePoer, Parker, Burke, Talcott, Briggs, Anderson, Gawboy
0.5	O'Rourke, R. McLaughlin, Scanlon, Whistler

Projected Round 5 Pairings for November 16th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Paulson vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Cappallo vs. Thomas
Board 3: Godin vs. Venezia
Board 4: Donahue vs. Ubiera
Board 5: McNeilage vs. Gurge
Board 6: Brassard vs. Gladding
Board 7: Bastarache vs. Couture
Board 8: Harris vs. Biglow
Board 9: Lingner vs. Commisso
Board 10: Steadman vs. Hankard
Board 11: Svolba vs. Miller
Board 12: Mirijanian vs. Fratturelli
Board 13: Meehan vs. Barlas
Board 14: Burke vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 15: Talcott vs. Anderson
Board 16: Gawboy vs. Briggs
Board 17: O'Rourke vs. Whistler
Board 18: R. McLaughlin vs. Scanlon

♗ Not playing the final round is Ganesan.
♝ The following players will be paired if they show up for the round: Su, LePoer, Parker.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on November 16th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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November 8th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #18 by Roger Cappallo
Wednesday's game against Ralph McNeilage

**Wednesday's game against Ralph McNeilage, by Roger Cappallo**
Roger Cappallo vs. Ralph McNeilage Ralph about to make his 15th move.	Hello all, I've put up the video analysis of my loss to Ralph McNeilage this past Wednesday. You can find it at: My Week at the Club #18 Hope you enjoy it, Roger

November 6th, 2016

Carissa Yip on verge of becoming 2016 Boylston CC Champion

Carissa Yip, 2014 champion of the Wachusett Chess Club, is close to becoming the 2016 champion of the Boylston Chess Club. The 13-year-old "wunderkind" from Andover is leading the 10-player round-robin field at the BCC going into the 9th and final round on Monday, November 7th. A win will clinch the championship for her, while a draw will guarantee at least a tie for first place with her closest rival if he wins his game. Here are the current standings with current ratings going into the final round:
1. Carissa Yip (2303), 6-2
2. Lawyer Times (2235), 5.5-2.5
3. Sherif Khater (2284), 5-3
4. J. Timothy Sage (2120), 5-3
5. Andrew Hoy (2239), 4.5-3.5
6. Brandon Wu (2176), 4.5-3.5
7. Bryant Vernon (2031), 4-4
8. Gabriel Birzu (1948), 3.5-4.5
9. Soren Pedersen (2000), 2-6
10. Charles Bing (1560), 0-8

The final round will be played Monday, November 7, starting at 7:15 p.m. at the Boylston Chess Club, 40 Norris St., Suite B101, Cambridge, MA. Pairings are as follows:
Board 1: Yip vs. Vernon
Board 2: Times vs. Birzu
Board 3: Sage vs. Khater
Board 4: Hoy vs. Pedersen
Board 5: Wu vs. Bing

-George M

November 2nd, 2016

2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial
Round 3 of 5

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, November 2nd, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Dave Couture
Dave Thomas	0-1	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	0-1	♔ Ralph McNeilage
Paul Godin	1-0	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	0-1	Diego Ubiera
Jim Donahue	1/2-1/2	Ed Harris
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Alex Venezia
George Miller	1-0	Mike Commisso
Jim Hankard	1-0	Brian Biglow
Mike Meehan	1-0	David Svolba
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Don Briggs
Francis Scanlon	0-1	John Bastarache
Tom Whistler	0-1	Gail Lingner
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	♕ Emily Gawboy
Total of 14 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Larry Gladding, George Mirijanian, Arthur Barlas, Seeth Ganesan, Andrew Su,
Hugh McLaughlin, Geoff LePoer, Jackson Parker, Bill Burke, Stan Talcott, Nicholas Anderson and Randy McLaughlin.
♘ Withdrawn from the tournament were Vlad Gaciu, Lenny Arsenault and Roland Sorel.

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, November 2nd, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Kildahl, Paulson, McNeilage
2.5	Godin, Ubiera
2.0	Cappallo, Gladding, Couture, Thomas, Venezia, Donahue, Hankard, Miller, Steadman
1.5	Mirijanian, Gurge, Brassard, Barlas, Harris, Ganesan, Meehan, Su, H. McLaughlin
1.0	LePoer, Parker, Commisso, Fratturelli, Bastarache, Burke, Lingner, Biglow, Talcott, Briggs, Anderson, Gawboy, Svolba
0.5	R. McLaughlin
0.0	O'Rourke, Scanlon, Whistler

Projected Round 4 Pairings for November 9th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1     Raymond Paulson (3.0)     Ralph McNeilage (3.0)
2     Diego Ubiera (2.5)        Paul Godin (2.5)
3     Jim Donahue (2.0)        Roger Cappallo (2.0)
4     Alexander Venezia (2.0)     Lawrence Gladding (2.0)
5     Dave Couture (2.0)        George Miller (2.0)
6     James Hankard (2.0)     David Thomas (2.0)
7     George Mirijanian (1.5)     Wayne Steadman (2.0)
8     Edward Harris (1.5)     Kenneth Gurge (1.5)
9     Seetharaman Ganesan (1.5)     Gary Brassard (1.5)
10     Arthur Barlas (1.5)       Michael Meehan (1.5)
11     Geoff LePoer (1.0)        Andrew Su (1.5)
12     Jackson Parker (1.0)     Stanford Talcott (1.0)
13     Michael Commisso (1.0)     Hugh McLaughlin (1.0)
14     Donald Briggs (1.0)     Tom Fratturelli (1.0)
15     John Bastarache (1.0)     Nicholas Anderson (1.0)
16     Emily Gawboy (1.0)     Gail Lingner (1.0)
17     Brian Biglow (1.0)         David Svolba (1.0)
18     Randy McLaughlin (0.5)     Laurence O'Rourke (0.0)
19     Tom Whistler (0.0)        Francis Scanlon II (0.0)

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 4 is Kildahl.
♖ Not playing Round 4 is Burke.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on November 9th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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October 29th, 2016

Wachusett CC champions to play in Greater Boston Open

Two former Wachusett Chess Club champions are among the advance entrants in the 83rd Greater Boston Open, to be played Sunday, October 30, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Three-time club champion Larry Gladding (1992, 1998, 2009) and 2012 club champion and ex-club member Trevor Bierig are registered to play in the Under 2000 section of this long-running prestigious event. Another Wachusett CC member, Andrew Su, is also an advance entrant, accepting the challenge of playing in the very competitive Open section.
George M

October 28th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #17 by Roger Cappallo
Wednesday's game against Alex Venezia

**Wednesday's game against Alex Venezia by Roger Cappallo**
Alex Venezia studies the position just prior to his 15th move.	Hello all, I've recorded an analysis of my Ruy Lopez game with Alexander Venezia from the night before last, with the following link. My Week at the Club #17 Cheers, Roger

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

October 26th, 2016

2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial
Round 2 of 5

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, October 26th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ed Harris	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Ray Paulson	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Alex Venezia	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Gary Brassard	1/2-1/2	Jim Donahue
Dave Couture	1-0	Jim Hankard
Mike Commisso	0-1	Dave Thomas
♔Ralph McNeilage	1-0	Geoff LePoer
Diego Ubiera	1-0	Jackson Parker
Tom Fratturelli	1/2-1/2	Arthur Barlas
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	George Miller
John Bastarache	0-1	Wayne Steadman
Gail Lingner	0-1	Don Briggs
Brian Biglow	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Andrew Su
David Svolba	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Tom Whistler
Total of 16 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Paul Godin, Ken Gurge, Larry Gladding, George Mirijanian, Vlad Gaciu,
Lenny Arsenault, Roland Sorel, Mike Meehan, Bill Burke, Stan Talcott and Nicholas Anderson.

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, October 26th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Kildahl, Paulson, Cappallo, Couture, Thomas, McNeilage
1.5	Godin, Ubiera, Gurge, Brassard, Gladding, Donahue
1.0	Mirijanian, Gaciu, Barlas, Harris, Ganesan, Venezia, Commisso, Hankard, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Miller, Biglow, Su, H. McLaughlin, Steadman, Sorel, Briggs, Svolba
0.5	LePoer, Parker, Meehan, Burke, Talcott, Anderson
0.0	Bastarache, Lingner, O'Rourke, R. McLaughlin, Scanlon, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 3 Pairings for November 2nd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Kildahl vs. Couture
Board 2: Thomas vs. Paulson
Board 3: Cappallo vs. McNeilage
Board 4: Godin vs. Brassard
Board 5: Gladding vs. Ubiera
Board 6: Donahue vs. Gurge
Board 7: Mirijanian vs. Fratturelli
Board 8: Barlas vs. Biglow
Board 9: Miller vs. Harris
Board 10: Ganesan vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 11: Su vs. Venezia
Board 12: Steadman vs. Commisso
Board 13: Hankard vs. Briggs
Board 14: Parker vs. Svolba
Board 15: Meehan vs. Talcott
Board 16: Anderson vs. Bastarache
Board 17: Scanlon vs. Lingner
Board 18: O'Rourke vs. Gawboy
Board 19: Whistler vs. R. McLaughlin

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 3 are Geoff LePoer and Bill Burke.
If Vlad Gaciu, Lenny Arsenault or Roland Sorel show up to play, they will be paired. All three have missed the first two rounds.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes a new USCF member, David Svolba, who joined the tournament tonight. David is an assistant professor in the Humanities Department at Fitchburg State University. This is his first rated tournament. He received a 0-point bye for round 1 last week.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on November 2nd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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October 23rd, 2016

Carissa Yip leads Boylston Chess Club Championship

Carissa Yip, 2014 champion of the Wachusett Chess Club, leads the 2016 Boylston Chess Club Championship after 5 rounds. The 13-year-old Andover resident, who has the highest USCF rating (2309) in the event, has a perfect score of 4-0, with a postponed round 5 game against master and Boylston CC president Andrew Hoy (2254). In second place with a 4-1 tally is expert J. Timothy Sage (2143). Tied for 3rd place with 3-2 scores are masters Sherif Khater (2244) and Lawyer Times (2222). The 10-player round-robin championship, which is being played Monday nights at the club in North Cambridge, started September 12 and will end November 7. -George M

October 23rd, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #16 by Roger Cappallo
Wednesday's game against John Bastarache

**Wednesday's game against John Bastarache by Roger Cappallo**
John Bastarache with the black pieces faces Roger Cappallo	Hello all, After quite a bit of a break, I've resumed my chess video series, highlighting Wednesday's game against John Bastarache. After recording it, I decided to publish a short addendum as a separate video, touching on a few interesting ideas I had. Hope you enjoy them, Roger MWATC #16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcrEOVD2dy8 Addendum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2P5GBw7sk8

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

October 19th, 2016

2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial
Round 1 of 5

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, October 19th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Mike Meehan
George Miller	0-1	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	1-0	John Bastarache
Bill Burke	0-1	Paul Godin
Ken Gurge	1-0	Brian Biglow
Andrew Su	0-1	Gary Brassard
Larry Gladding	1-0	Stan Talcott
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Dave Couture
Dave Thomas	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Ed Harris
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Don Briggs	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Jim Donahue	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Mike Commisso
Jim Hankard	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Tom Whistler	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Total of 16 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Geoff LePoer, Diego Ubiera, Vlad Gaciu, Arthur Barlas,
Jackson Parker, Tom Fratturelli, Lenny Arsenault and Roland Sorel.
♟ Declining a half-point bye was Gail Lingner.

**Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, October 19th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Kildahl, Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, Gurge, Brassard, Gladding, Couture, Thomas, Harris, Ganesan, Venezia, Donahue, Commisso, Hankard, McNeilage
0.5	Mirijanian, LePoer, Ubiera, Gaciu, Barlas, Parker, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Sorel
0.0	Meehan, Miller, Bastarache, Burke, Lingner, Biglow, Su, Talcott, O'Rourke, H. McLaughlin, Steadman, R. McLaughlin, Briggs, Anderson, Scanlon, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 2 Pairings for October 26th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Harris vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Paulson vs. Thomas
Board 3: Venezia vs. Cappallo
Board 4: Godin vs. Ganesan
Board 5: Brassard vs. Donahue
Board 6: Commisso vs. Gladding
Board 7: Couture vs. Hankard
Board 8: McNeilage vs. Mirijanian
Board 9: Parker vs. LePoer
Board 10: Ubiera vs. Fratturelli
Board 11: Arsenault vs. Barlas
Board 12: Meehan vs. Sorel
Board 13: H. McLaughlin vs. Miller
Board 14: Bastarache vs. Steadman
Board 15: Lingner vs. Briggs
Board 16: Biglow vs. Scanlon
Board 17: R. McLaughlin vs. Su
Board 18: Talcott vs. Whistler
Board 19: Gawboy vs. O'Rourke

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 2 are Gurge, Burke and Anderson.
Not being paired is Gaciu, who, if he shows up, will be paired.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on October 26th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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October 18th, 2016

Ex-Wachusett CC member, Paul Connelly, ties for 1st in Knights CC Championship

Class "B" player Paul Connelly of Vermont, a member of the Wachusett Chess Club from May 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014, has become co-champion of the Knights Chess Club in Keene, NH. The former Marlborough, NH resident chalked up a score of 4-1 in the 10th annual Knights CC Championship that was played Monday nights from September 19 through October 17, 2016 at the Life Journey Church, 570 Parker Ave., in Keene.
In the 5th and final round of play Connelly upset New Hampshire expert Christopher Wood, who had been leading the championship going into the last round. Both Connelly and Wood share top honors in this year's championship, which drew 17 players, including active Wachusett CC competitors Paul Godin, Ed Harris, Jim Hankard and Stan Talcott.
-George M
Click here for the crosstable of the tournament.

October 13th, 2016

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of October 13th, 2016
After 15 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Additional Games Needed	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
1.	Gary Brassard	1841	14	8	10.5	.750
2.	Paul Godin	1957	15	7	10	.667
3.	Alexander Venezia	1719	15	7	10	.667
4.	Brett Kildahl	2128	10	12	9.5	.950
5.	Ken Gurge	1856	15	7	9.5	.633
6.	Ray Paulson	2010	13	9	9	.692
7.	George Mirijanian	1939	11	11	9	.818
8.	Dave Thomas	1772	15	7	9	.600
9.	Ed Harris	1754	14	8	9	.643
10.	Larry Gladding	1819	12	10	8.5	.708
11.	Dave Couture	1790	13	9	8.5	.654
12.	Tony Cesolini	2110	8	14	8	1.000
13.	Jim Donahue	1701	13	9	8	.615

October 12th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Diego Ubiera Tops Pasquale Memorial

After over eleven & a half years without playing any USCF rated chess, WCC newcomer & Fitchburg State University assistant professor, Diego Ubiera, blasted his way to the top of the Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial tournament. Diego joined the tournament at round two & hence he was given a first round bye worth half a point. He then went on a clean sweep of his four opponents, scoring wins over Ed Rogers, of New Ipswich, NH, Mike Commisso, of Brookline, NH, Dave Couture, of Westminster, & finally a 225 rating point upset over Ray Paulson, of Lowell. This undefeated performance was enough to keep Diego half a point ahead of his nearest competitors, Brett Kildahl, George Mirijanian, & Paul Godin.

Brett Kildahl took a fourth round bye while he played in the Millionaire Open in Atlantic City, & then had to settle for a draw against George Mirijanian in round five, which left him at 4. George Mirijanian was also stuck at 4 out of 5 as he had drawn with Mike Commisso in round 2. Paul Godin had lost to George Mirijanian in round 4, but won all four of his remaining games thereby creating a three-way tie for 2nd-4th place.

There was plenty more excitement in other sections of the rating list also as this tournament saw 747 rated Tom Whistler, of Worcester boost his rating to 929 by scoring two gigantic upsets over Brian Biglow, of Fitchburg & John Bastarache, of Fitchburg. Tom's game against Brian is posted in the Games Section.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, October 12th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
George Mirijanian	1/2-1/2	Brett Kildahl
♔ Diego Ubiera	1-0	Ray Paulson
Paul Godin	1-0	Alexander Venezia
Ken Gurge	1/2-1/2	Roger Cappallo
Jackson Parker	0-1	Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas	0-1	Jim Donahue
Andrew Su	0-1	Geoff LePoer
Larry Gladding	1-0	Lenny Arsenault
Jim Hankard	0-1	Dave Thomas
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Ed Harris
Tom Whistler	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Mike Commisso	1/2-1/2	Bill Burke
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
George Miller	1-0	Brian Biglow
Vlad Gaciu	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Stan Talcott
Don Briggs	0-1	John Bastarache
Total of 18 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♖ Not playing round 5 was Seeth Ganesan, Dave Couture, Joe Bennett, Gail Lingner, Roland Sorel, Ananth Rangan,
Ed Rogers, Jack Appelmans, Emily Gawboy and Andrew Kiser.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, October 12th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.5	Ubiera
4.0	Kildahl, Mirijanian, Godin
3.5	Cappallo, Brassard, Gurge, Donahue
3.0	Paulson, LePoer, Gladding, Thomas, Harris, Ganesan, Parker, Venezia
2.5	Barlas, Couture, McNeilage, Fratturelli, Miller
2.0	Gaciu, Hankard, Commisso, Arsenault, Burke, Talcott, Steadman, Su, R. McLaughlin, Whistler
1.5	Bennett, Bastarache, Lingner, Biglow, O'Rourke, Sorel, Anderson
1.0	Rangan, Rogers, H. McLaughlin, Appelmans, Scanlon, Gawboy
0.5	Briggs, Kiser

♔ 2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st: ♔	Diego Ubiera of Fitchburg
2nd-4th:	Brett Kildahl of Worcester, George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Paul Godin of Bedford
Top U1900:	Gary Brassard and Ken Gurge, both of Leominster
Top U1750:	Jim Donahue of Stow
Top U1600:	George Miller of Ashburnham
Top U1450:	Andrew Su of Harvard, Stan Talcott of Keene, NH, Wayne Steadman of Lunenburg, Randy McLaughlin of Groton
Top U1300:	Tom Whistler of Worcester

Pictures from this year's Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial tournament.

A total of 4 players gained
50 or more rating points:

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Tom Whistler	+ 182
Diego Ubiera	+ 79
Nicholas Anderson	+ 72
Jim Donahue	+ 59

A total of 5 players reached or exceeded
their all time highs:

The following players hit or surpassed their all-time high rating:
Diego Ubiera	1895
Ken Gurge	1856
Alexander Venezia	1719
Andrew Su	1460
Nicholas Anderson	1299/P12

♔ ♜ ♘ Congratulations to all! ♚ ♖ ♞

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial, starts Wednesday, October 19th.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on October 19th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL by 7 P.M.

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October 11th, 2016

Brassard wins chess event at Fitchburg Public Library

Gary Brassard, a nationally rated Class A chess player from Leominster, scored 4-1 (three wins, two draws) to win the 1st annual Oppenheimer Chess Tournament on October 8 at the Fitchburg Public Library. The event commemorated National Chess Day, which was proclaimed by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Finishing in second place, also with a score of 4-1, was Mike Commisso of Brookline, N.H., whose only loss was to Brassard in the second round. Taking clear third place with a score of 3.5-1.5 was Dave Thomas of Fitchburg, who held tournament winner Brassard to a draw in round 4.
A total of 14 players competed in the unrated event, which was directed by George Mirijanian of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University.
-George Mirijanian, Wachusett CC

Event: 		1st Annual Oppenheimer Tournament 2016
Location: 	Fitchburg Public Library, Fitchburg, MA 
Event Date(s): 	2016-10-08
Chief  TD: 	George Mirijanian
Non Rated
Time Control: G/20 d5

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Pair  |  Player Name	     Rating   | Round | Round | Round | Round | Round | Total | Place |
  Num   |                             |  1    |  2    |  3    |  4    |  5    |       |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      1.   Gary Brassard       1852   |   W8  |   W2  |  W5   |  D3   |  D4   |  4    | 1st   |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      2.   Mike Commisso       1693   |   W10 |   L1  |  W7   |  W6   |  W5   |  4    | 2nd   |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      3.   Dave Thomas         1782   |   W7  |   L5  |  W4   |  D1   |  W8   |  3.5  | 3rd   |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      4.   Jim Hankard         1705   |   W9  |   W6  |  L3   |  D8   |  D1   |  3    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      5.   Alexander Venezia   1692   |   W13 |   W3  |  L1   |  W11  |  L2   |  3    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      6.   Hugh McLaughlin     1410   |   W14 |   L4  |  W9   |  L2   |  W11  |  3    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      7.   Tom Whistler         747   |   L3  |   W11 |  L2   |  W10  |  W9   |  3    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      8.   Wayne Steadman      1368   |   L1  |   W14 |  W10  |  D4   |  L3   |  2.5  |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      9.   Walter Oppenheimer   Unr.  |   L4  |   W12 |  L6   |  W12  |  L7   |  2    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     10.   Robin Venezia        Unr.  |   L2  |   W13 |  L8   |  L7   |  W12  |  2    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     11.   Daniel Baah          Unr.  |   W12 |   L7  |  W14  |  L5   |  L6   |  2    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     12.   David Baah           Unr.  |   L11 |   L9  |  W13  |  L9   |  L10  |  1    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     13.   Chris Bolduc         Unr.  |   L5  |   L10 |  L12  |   withdrew    |  0    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     14.   Seamus Leger         Unr.  |   L6  |   L8  |  L11  |   withdrew    |  0    |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 7th, 2016

Brett Kildahl Scores 3.5/7 at Millionaire Chess Open

42 Brett Kildahl 12924445 2127 D63 W61 L22 W15 D35 D21 L24 3.5

It looks like this performance was enough for Brett to qualify for a prize! This was undoubtedly a toughly contested event. (Notice the huge 'factor of ten' difference in prize that one more half point would have made.) Congratulations Brett!

October 7th, 2016

Brett Kildahl Undefeated After 2 Rounds of Millionaire Chess Open

Brett Kildahl, one of the Wachusett Chess Club's top players, drew his Round 1 game in the Under 2200 section of the Millionaire Chess Open, being held October 6-10 in Atlantic City, NJ. The Worcester resident split the point with 43-year-old FIDE instructor Dimitrios Kondopoulos of Greece, who has no USCF rating but sports a FIDE rating of 1985. Brett's second-round opponent was Adeyinka Adewole, 43, of Nigeria, who has a provisional USCF rating of 2014 (based on 11 games) and a FIDE rating of 2018. The result is pending.
George M

[As of this (Friday) morning, Brett now stands at 1.5/2, having defeated his round 2 opponent. -PG]

[For round 3, Brett will have the black pieces & face 24-year-old, Mohammed Dilshad of India, who is rated 1949 & ranked #525 among India's active players. -PG]
The WCC wishes Brett continued success at this auspicious event!

October 7th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial Revised Projected Pairings for Round 5 of 5

♗ ♝ Due to some additional byes after round 4, both the standings after 4 rounds & the projected pairings for round 5 have been revised as follows.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, October 7th, 2016**
Revised CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.5	Kildahl, Mirijanian, Ubiera
3.0	Paulson, Godin, Cappallo, Gurge, Ganesan, Parker, Venezia
2.5	Brassard, Barlas, Couture, Donahue
2.0	LePoer, Gladding, Thomas, Harris, Hankard, Arsenault, Su, R. McLaughlin, Whistler
1.5	Commisso, McNeilage, Fratturelli, (Bennett), Miller, Burke, Lingner, Biglow, O'Rourke, Sorel, Anderson
1.0	(Rangan), Rogers, H. McLaughlin, Talcott, Appelmans, Steadman, Scanlon, Gawboy
0.5	Bastarache, Briggs, Kiser

Revised, October 7th, Projected Round 5 Pairings for October 12th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1:  George Mirijanian (3.5) vs. Brett Kidahl (3.5)
Board 2:  Diego Ubiera (3.5) vs. Raymond Paulson (3.0)
Board 3:  Paul Godin (3.0) vs. Alexander Venezia (3.0)
Board 4:  Kenneth Gurge (3.0) vs. Roger Cappallo (3.0)
Board 5:  Jackson Parker (3.0) vs. Gary Brassard (2.5)
Board 6:  Arthur Barlas (2.5) vs. Dave Couture (2.5)
Board 7:  Jim Donahue (2.5) vs. Geoff LePoer (2.0)
Board 8:  Lawrence Gladding (2.0) vs. Lenny Arsenault (2.0)
Board 9:  Tom Whistler (2.0) vs. David Thomas (2.0)
Board 10:  Randy McLaughlin (2.0) vs. Edward Harris (2.0)
Board 11:  James Hankard (2.0) vs. Andrew Su (2.0)
Board 12:  Michael Commisso (1.5) vs. Brian Biglow (1.5)
Board 13:  Gail Lingner (1.5) vs. Ralph McNeilage (1.5)
Board 14:  Tom Fratturelli (1.5) vs. Nicholas Anderson (1.5)
Board 15:  George Miller (1.5) vs. Roland Sorel (1.5)
Board 16:  William Burke (1.5) vs. Laurence O'Rourke (1.5)
Board 17:  Ed Rogers (1.0) vs. Jack Applemans (1.0)
Board 18:  Wayne Steadman (1.0) vs. Hugh McLaughlin (1.0)
Board 19:  Francis Scanlon II (1.0) vs. Stanford Talcott (1.0)
Board 20:  John Bastarache (0.5) vs. Emily Gawboy (1.0)
Board 21:  Donald Briggs (0.5) vs. Andrew Kiser (0.5)

October 6th, 2016

Andrew Su leader in US Chess Junior Grand Prix

In the October 2016 issue of Chess Life for Kids, the U.S. Chess Federation has acknowledged that Wachusett Chess Club member Andrew Su of Harvard, Mass. is the current leader for the state of Massachusetts in the US Chess Junior Grand Prix.

Andrew has amassed 3672 Grand Prix points in 5 tournaments, all played at the Wachusett CC. Joining the club on April 27, 2016, Andrew has competed in the Evert Siiskonen Memorial, the Martin Laine Memorial, the Wachusett CC "B" Championship, the Harlow B. Daly Memorial, and the Harold B. Dondis Memorial. With the Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial that ends on October 12th, Andrew will have completed his 6th US Chess Junior Grand Prix event at the club and will be gaining additional GP points.

Congratulations to Andrew on being our current Massachusetts state leader!
George M

October 6th, 2016

Fitchburg Public Library Chess Club

EVENT: Library Chess Club

Saturday October 8, 2016
10:00 AM until 3:30 PM

This Saturday will be a chess tournament sponsored by former president of the Massachusetts Chess Association, George Mirijanian.

Registration is at 10 am and the tournament will begin at 10:30.
Location: Garden Room Click here to go to the Fitchburg Public Library calendar for Saturday October 8, 2016.

October 5th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Tom Whistler Scores 834 Point Upset in Round 4 of Rocco Pasquale Memorial

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, October 5th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
George Mirijanian	1-0	Paul Godin
Dave Couture	0-1	Diego Ubiera
Ray Paulson	1-0	Jim Hankard
Ed Harris	0-1	Ken Gurge
Jackson Parker	1-0	Larry Gladding
Dave Thomas	0-1	Seeth Ganesan
Alex Venezia	1-0	Mike Commisso
Gary Brassard	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Jim Donahue	1-0	Gail Lingner
Ralph McNeilage	1/2-1/2	D331*Andrew Su
Brian Biglow	1/2-1/2	Tom Fratturelli
Roland Sorel	1/2-1/2	Bill Burke
John Bastarache	0-1	♔Tom Whistler
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Don Briggs
Emily Gawboy	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Total of 15 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Brett Kildahl, Roger Cappallo, Arthur Barlas, Geoff LePoer, Lenny Arsenault,
Randy McLaughlin, Ed Rogers, George Miller, Stan Talcott, Nicholas Anderson, Hugh McLaughlin and Francis Scanlon.
♖ Not playing round 4 was Jack Appelmans.
♞ Withdrawn from the tournament are Ananth Rangan and Joe Bennett.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, October 5th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.5	Kildahl, Mirijanian, Ubiera
3.0	Paulson, Godin, Cappallo, Gurge, Ganesan, Parker, Venezia
2.5	Brassard, Barlas, Couture, Donahue
2.0	LePoer, Gladding, Thomas, Harris, Hankard, Arsenault, Su, R. McLaughlin, Whistler
1.5	Commisso, McNeilage, Fratturelli, (Bennett), Rogers, Miller, Burke, Lingner, Biglow, Talcott, O'Rourke, Sorel, Anderson
1.0	(Rangan), H. McLaughlin, Appelmans, Steadman, Scanlon, Gawboy
0.5	Bastarache, Briggs, Kiser

Projected Round 5 Pairings for October 12th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Mirijanian vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Ubiera vs. Paulson
Board 3: Godin vs. Venezia
Board 4: Gurge vs. Cappallo
Board 5: Parker vs. Brassard
Board 6: Barlas vs. Couture
Board 7: Donahue vs. LePoer
Board 8: Gladding vs. Arsenault
Board 9: Whistler vs. Thomas
Board 10: R. McLaughlin vs. Harris
Board 11: Hankard vs. Su
Board 12: Commisso vs. Biglow
Board 13: Lingner vs. McNeilage
Board 14: Fratturelli vs. Talcott
Board 15: Rogers vs. Anderson
Board 16: Miller vs. Sorel
Board 17: Burke vs. O'Rourke
Board 18: Steadman vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 19: Scanlon vs. Appelmans
Board 20: Bastarache vs. Gawboy
Board 21: Briggs vs. Kiser

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on October 12th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

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October 1st, 2016

Upcoming WCC Events for 2017 Listed

I have sent the New England Clearinghouse (Ken Ballou) the schedule of club tournaments for 2017.
[2017 Event dates are now posted in the Events Section]

All the tournaments, except the Laine Memorial and the club championship, are 5-round Swisses. The Laine Memorial is 4-SS. The club championship ("A" Division) is an 8-player single round robin, while the "B" Division is a 7-SS.

There is no provision for make-up weeks for snow, since I wanted to maximize the number of 5-round Swisses in the winter.

Thus, there will be no Quick Chess or Blitz Championship in 2017. Priority is given to regular Swisses, G/100 d5.
-George M.

September 30th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial Revised Projected Pairings for Round 4

Revised Projected Round 4 Pairings for October 5th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: George Mirijanian (2.5) vs. Paul Godin (3.0)
Board 2: Dave Couture (2.5) vs. Diego Ubiera (2.5)
Board 3: Raymond Paulson (2.0) vs. Seetharaman Ganesan (2.0)
Board 4: Edward Harris (2.0) vs. Kenneth Gurge (2.0)
Board 5: James Hankard (2.0) vs. Lawrence Gladding (2.0)
Board 6: Jackson Parker (2.0) vs. Arthur Barlas (2.0)
Board 7: David Thomas (2.0) vs. Alexander Venezia (2.0)
Board 8: Jim Donahue (1.5) vs. Geoff LePoer (1.5)
Board 9: Andrew Su (1.5) vs. Gary Brassard (1.5)
Board 10: Gail Lingner (1.5) vs. Michael Commisso (1.5)
Board 11: Randy McLaughlin (1.5) vs. Lenny Arsenault (1.5)
Board 12: Joseph Bennett (1.5) vs. Laurence O'Rourke (1.5)
Board 13: Stanford Talcott (1.0) vs. Tom Fratturelli (1.0)
Board 14: Ed Rogers (1.0) vs. Roland Sorel (1.0)
Board 15: Tom Whistler (1.0) vs. William Burke (1.0)
Board 16: Brian Biglow (1.0) vs. Nicholas Anderson (1.0)
Board 17: John Bastarache (0.5) vs. Hugh McLaughlin (0.5)
Board 18: Wayne Steadman (0.0) vs. Donald Briggs (0.5)
Board 19: Emily Gawboy (0.0) vs. Andrew Kiser (0.5)

September 28th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial
Round 3 of 5

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, September 28th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Ken Gurge
Paul Godin	1-0	Ed Harris
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Alex Venezia
Geoff LePoer	0-1	Dave Couture
Joe Bennett	0-1	George Mirijanian
Mike Commisso	0-1	Diego Ubiera
Arthur Barlas	1/2-1/2	Jim Hankard
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Ray Paulson
Gary Brassard	1/2-1/2	Jim Donahue
Stan Talcott	0-1	Larry Gladding
Nicholas Anderson	0-1	Dave Thomas
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Tom Whistler
Lenny Arsenault	1-0	Don Briggs
♔Andrew Su	1-0	John Bastarache
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Andrew Kiser	0-1	George Miller
Bill Burke	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Brian Biglow	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Total of 18 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Jackson Parker, Gail Lingner, Randy McLaughlin, Ed Rogers, Jack Appelmans and Roland Sorel.
♘ Declining a half-point bye was Hugh McLaughlin.
♟ Withdrawn from the tournament were Tony Cesolini, Vlad Gaciu, Alan Condon, Bob Mathieu,
♟ Sebastian Tilton, Jeromy Tilton and Ananth Rangan, the last of whom had already withdrawn after round 2.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, September 28th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Kildahl, Godin
2.5	Cappallo, Mirijanian, Ubiera, Couture
2.0	Paulson, Gurge, Gladding, Barlas, Thomas, Harris, Hankard, Ganesan, Parker, Venezia
1.5	LePoer, Brassard, Commisso, Arsenault, Bennett, Donahue, Lingner, O'Rourke, Su, R. McLaughlin
1.0	(Rangan), Fratturelli, Rogers, Miller, Burke, Biglow, Talcott, Appelmans, Sorel, Anderson, Whistler
0.5	Bastarache, H. McLaughlin, Briggs, Scanlon, Kiser
0.0	Steadman, Gawboy

Projected Round 4 Pairings for October 5th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Mirijanian vs. Godin
Board 2: Couture vs. Ubiera
Board 3: Paulson vs. Hankard
Board 4: Gurge vs. Ganesan
Board 5: Harris vs. Gladding
Board 6: Parker vs. Barlas
Board 7: Thomas vs. Venezia
Board 8: Donahue vs. LePoer
Board 9: O'Rourke vs. Brassard
Board 10: Lingner vs. Commisso
Board 11: Su vs. Arsenault
Board 12: R. McLaughlin vs. Bennett
Board 13: Talcott vs. Fratturelli
Board 14: Rogers vs. Appelmans
Board 15: Miller vs. Sorel
Board 16: Whistler vs. Burke
Board 17: Anderson vs. Biglow
Board 18: Bastarache vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 19: Steadman vs. Briggs
Board 20: Gawboy vs. Kiser

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 4 are Kildahl, Cappallo and Scanlon.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on October 5th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

September 27th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, Revised Projected Pairings for Round 3

Projected Round 3 Pairings for September 28th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1  Brett Kidahl (2.0)  Kenneth Gurge (2.0)
Board 2  Paul Godin (2.0)  Edward Harris (2.0)
Board 3  Roger Cappallo (1.5)  Alexander Venezia (2.0)
Board 4  Geoff LePoer (1.5)  Dave Couture (1.5)
Board 5  Jackson Parker (1.5)  George Mirijanian (1.5)
Board 6  Michael Commisso (1.5)  Diego Ubiera (1.5)
Board 7  Arthur Barlas (1.5)  James Hankard (1.5)
Board 8  Joseph Bennett (1.5)  Raymond Paulson (1.0)
Board 9  Tony Cesolini (1.0)  Tom Whistler (1.0)
Board 10  Gary Brassard (1.0)  Stanford Talcott (1.0)
Board 11  Robert Mathieu (1.0)  Lawrence Gladding (1.0)
Board 12  Randy McLaughlin (1.0)  David Thomas (1.0)
Board 13  Seetharaman Ganesan (1.0)  Gail Lingner (1.0)
Board 14  Alan Condon (1.0)   Nicholas Anderson (1.0)
Board 15  Sebastian Tilton (1.0)  Tom Fratturelli (1.0)
Board 16  Jeromy Tilton (1.0)  Jim Donahue (1.0)
Board 17  Lenny Arsenault (0.5)  Jack Applemans (0.5)
Board 18  Ed Rogers (0.5)  Donald Briggs (0.5)
Board 19  John Bastarache (0.5)  Roland Sorel (0.5)
Board 20  Andrew Su (0.5)  Hugh McLaughlin (0.5)
Board 21  Laurence O'Rourke (0.5)  Francis Scanlon II (0.5)
Board 22  Andrew Kiser (0.5)  George Miller (0.0)
Board 23  William Burke (0.0)  Wayne Steadman (0.0)
Board 24  Brian Biglow (0.0)   Emily Gawboy (0.0)

September 26th, 2016

Mark Dvoretsky passes away at 68

**Tal Memorial opens with a tribute to Mark Dvoretsky**
The first round of the Tal Memorial was overshadowed by the announcement of the passing of legendary trainer Mark Dvoretsky and started with a minute of silence. -Mark Crowther (Mon Sep 26 21:28:00 2016)
Mark Dvoretsky	"Mark Dvoretsky, the world's best-known chess trainer, has died today at the tragically early age of 68. His death was reported by the Russian Chess Federation, with a minute's silence held at the start of the Tal Memorial. Mark was a talented player who switched to coaching at an early age and became a mentor for generations of top players. He shared his knowledge with the chess world at large in highly-regarded books, and was always open to new ideas, as we saw at first hand when he came to Hamburg earlier this year to film chess videos. It seemed at the time that was just the beginning." -Chess24.com

September 26th, 2016

Joe Bennett ties for 3rd in U2010 at 7th Hartford Open

Chris Chase and Joe Bennett competed this past weekend in the 7th Hartford Open at Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, CT. Chase lost 5 rating points in the Open section, scoring 2 points out of 4 games played and brought his rating to 2397. Bennett gained 118 rating points in the U2010 section and raised his rating to 1755. He scored 3.5-1.5 and tied for 3rd place in the section and also shared the 1st-2nd U1810 prize.

Brandon Wu competed in the Open Section of the tournament which was won by Massachusetts GM Alexander Ivanov.

Here are their updated ratings:

Chris Chase -> 2397
Joe Bennett -> 1755

September 22nd, 2016

Bob Messenger awarded International Arbiter title

Bob Messenger of Nashua, NH, an associate national TD with the USCF and chief TD of the 2011 Wachusett Chess Club Championship ("A" and "B" divisions), has been awarded the International Arbiter title by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The award was approved by the FIDE General Assembly at its Congress, Sept. 11-13, 2016 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Messenger is the longtime treasurer of the Massachusetts Chess Association and longtime chairman of the MACA Tournament Committee. He is currently chairman of the MACA Budget Committee and Bylaws Committee. He is also the association's assistant clerk. Since Jan. 1, 1991, Messenger has been chief TD of 435 tournaments in the USA and has been in charge since then of 2,673 playing sections. The Wachusett Chess Club congratulates Mr. Messenger on this prestigious award from FIDE.
George M

September 21st, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial
Round 2 of 5

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, September 21st, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Larry Gladding	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Ray Paulson	0-1	♔Ed Harris
Dave Thomas	0-1	Paul Godin
Jim Hankard	1/2-1/2	Geoff LePoer
George Mirijanian	1/2-1/2	Mike Commisso
♔Alexander Venezia	1-0	Gary Brassard
Ken Gurge	1-0	Ananth Rangan
Diego Ubiera	1-0	Ed Rogers
Roland Sorel	0-1	Dave Couture
Don Briggs	0-1	Jackson Parker
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Joe Bennett
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Hugh McLaughlin	1/2-1/2	Lenny Arsenault
Jim Donahue	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Larry O'Rourke	1/2-1/2	John Bastarache
George Miller	0-1	Randy McLaughlin
♔Nicholas Anderson	1-0	Bill Burke
Gail Lingner	1-0	Emily Gawboy
♔Tom Whistler	1-0	Brian Biglow
Total of 19 boards, 4 decisive upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Roger Cappallo, Arthur Barlas, Tony Cesolini, Vlad Gaciu, Seeth Ganesan,
Alan Condon, Bob Mathieu, Stan Talcott, Sebastian Tilton, Jeromy Tilton, Jack Appelmans and Andrew Su.
♖ Ananth Rangan has withdrawn from the tournament.
♜ Also withdrawn from the tournament were Mike Meehan, Noah Rogers and Finn Rogers.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, September 21st, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Kildahl, Godin, Gurge, Harris, Venezia
1.5	Cappallo, LePoer, Mirijanian, Ubiera, Barlas, Couture, Hankard, Parker, Commisso, Bennett
1.0	Cesolini, Paulson, Brassard, Gaciu, Gladding, Thomas, Ganesan, Condon, Rangan, Fratturelli, Donahue, Lingner, Mathieu, Talcott, R. McLaughlin, Anderson, S. Tilton, J. Tilton, Whistler
0.5	Arsenault, E. Rogers, Bastarache, H. McLaughlin, Appelmans, O'Rourke, Briggs, Sorel, Su, Scanlon, Kiser
0.0	Miller, Burke, Biglow, Steadman, Gawboy

Projected Round 3 Pairings for September 28th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Kildahl vs. Gurge
Board 2: Godin vs. Harris
Board 3: Cappallo vs. Venezia
Board 4: LePoer vs. Couture
Board 5: Parker vs. Mirijanian
Board 6: Commisso vs. Ubiera
Board 7: Barlas vs. Hankard
Board 8: Bennett vs. Paulson
Board 9: Cesolini vs. Donahue
Board 10: Brassard vs. Whistler
Board 11: Gaciu vs. Lingner
Board 12: Talcott vs. Gladding
Board 13: R. McLaughlin vs. Thomas
Board 14: Ganesan vs. Anderson
Board 15: S. Tilton vs. Condon
Board 16: Rangan vs. J. Tilton
Board 17: Mathieu vs. Fratturelli
Board 18: Arsenault vs. Appelmans
Board 19: Rogers vs. Briggs
Board 20: Bastarache vs. Sorel
Board 21: Su vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 22: O'Rourke vs. Scanlon
Board 23: Kiser vs. Miller
Board 24: Burke vs. Steadman
Board 25: Biglow vs. Gawboy

♘ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Diego Ubiera.
He is assistant professor of Latin American literature at Fitchburg State University.
He is a 2nd Category player currently at his all-time high rating of 1816. Bienvenido, Diego!

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on September 28th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

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September 20th, 2016

New Places to Play Chess

A couple (somewhat) local places are now available to play chess:

The Chess Club at Worcester State University Chess club meeting days/time (Fall, 2016)
The Chess Club at WSU will be meeting in the LRC Cafe on:
Monday, Wednesday 11 am - 12 noon
Fri 12 noon-1 pm.
Email: chesswsu@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chess-club-at-Worcester-State-University-371370659737636/

New Chess Club in Milford NH Called Union Chess Club

Me and Nathan Kelley are starting a casual chess club in Milford NH at the Union Coffee. It will meet Tuesday at 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Last Tuesday was the first night for the club. If you can come that would be great but I would really like help with spreading the word to the chess community.
For more info people can call Nathan Kelley at 603-374-4444 or me at 603-303-0222 or
E-mails are Nathan_Kelley@comcast.com and statelinechess@hotmail.com.
Thanks,
Randi Malcuit

Union Coffee
42 South Street
Milford, N. H. 03055
603-440-5604

September 19th, 2016

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at the Massachusetts Senior Open

Four active & inactive WCC members took part in the Massachusetts Senior Open in Marlboro, held this past weekend. The trio of active WCC Class A rated members tied for 6-9th place in the Open Section in a field topped by GM Alexander Ivanov & NM's David Carter & Tim Sage. John Martin, an inactive member & occasional visitor to the WCC finished in sixth place behind a quintet of others who tied for first through fifth place in the Under 1810 Section.

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Monday September 19, 2016 Member Rating Updates from the Mass Senior Open ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
10011965: ROGER J CAPPALLO	2016-09-18	MASSACHUSETTS SENIOR OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1954 => 1947
12459389: PAUL L GODIN	2016-09-18	MASSACHUSETTS SENIOR OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1965 => 1945
11156665: GARY BRASSARD	2016-09-18	MASSACHUSETTS SENIOR OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1856 => 1852
10008191: JOHN W MARTIN	2016-09-18	MASSACHUSETTS SENIOR OPEN (MA)	2: U1810	1700 => 1711

These & other rating updates nay be found at: ./RatingUpdates.php or in the Statistics Menu under "Recent Activity".

September 19th, 2016

Current Seasson Club Game Scores Submitted for Publication Standings

Games Submitted This Season for Publication
Standings as of September 19th, 2016
After 11 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, a total of 200 rated games, the following are the current standings for number of games sent in for publication.
By comparison to last year, this response is still pretty anemic.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Games Submitted	Games Annotated Including Videos
1.	Roger Cappallo	1947	5	2	2
2.	Tony Cesolini	2110	8	1	1
3.	Everybody Else	1589.879	200	0	0

September 14th, 2016

2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial
Round 1 of 5

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, September 14th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Lenny Arsenault	0-1	Ray Paulson
Paul Godin	1-0	Jim Donahue
John Bastarache	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Geoff LePoer	1-0	George Miller
Bill Burke	0-1	George Mirijanian
Gary Brassard	1-0	Gail Lingner
Brian Biglow	0-1	Ken Gurge
Larry Gladding	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Jack Appelmans	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Dave Couture	1/2-1/2	♖ Don Briggs
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Dave Thomas
Ed Harris	1-0	Andrew Su
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Jim Hankard
Mike Commisso	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Ananth Rangan	1-0	Tom Whistler
Total of 17 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Tony Cesolini, Vlad Gaciu, Seeth Ganesan, Jackson Parker, Alan Condon,
Joe Bennett, Mike Meehan, Ed Rogers, Noah Rogers, Bob Mathieu, Stan Talcott, Roland Sorel, Sebastian Tilton,
Francis Scanlon, Andrew Kiser, Jeromy Tilton and Finn Rogers.

**Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial, September 14th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Kildahl, Paulson, Godin, Cappallo, LePoer, Mirijanian, Brassard, Gurge, Gladding, Barlas, Thomas, Harris, Hankard, Commisso, Venezia, Rangan
0.5	Cesolini, Gaciu, Couture, Ganesan, Parker, Condon, Bennett, Meehan, E. Rogers, N. Rogers, Mathieu, Talcott, Sorel, S. Tilton, Scanlon, Kiser, J. Tilton, F. Rogers
0.0	Fratturelli, Arsenault, Donahue, Bastarache, Miller, Burke, Lingner, Biglow, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Appelmans, Steadman, Su, R. McLaughlin, Anderson, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 2 Pairings for September 21st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Gurge vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Paulson vs. Gladding
Board 3: Thomas vs. Godin
Board 4: Cappallo vs. Harris
Board 5: Hankard vs. LePoer
Board 6: Mirijanian vs. Commisso
Board 7: Venezia vs. Brassard
Board 8: Cesolini vs. Rangan
Board 9: N. Rogers vs. Gaciu
Board 10: Talcott vs. Couture
Board 11: Briggs vs. Parker
Board 12: Condon vs. Sorel
Board 13: S. Tilton vs. Bennett
Board 14: Meehan vs. Scanlon
Board 15: Kiser vs. E. Rogers
Board 16: Mathieu vs. J. Tilton
Board 17: Fratturelli vs. F. Rogers
Board 18: O'Rourke vs. Arsenault
Board 19: Donahue vs. Appelmans
Board 20: Su vs. Bastarache
Board 21: Miller vs. Steadman
Board 22: Anderson vs. Burke
Board 23: Lingner vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 24: Whistler vs. Biglow
Board 25: H. McLaughlin vs. Gawboy

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 2 is Barlas.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on September 21st.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

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September 14th, 2016

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of September 13th, 2016
After 10 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated!
A minimum of 21 games must be completed to qualify.
For comparison to last year, the percentage is calculated in the last column.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Additional Games Needed	Grand Prix Points	Pct.
1.	Tony Cesolini	2110	8	13	8	1.000
2.	Gary Brassard	1856	9	12	7	.778
3.	Alex Venezia	1692	10	11	7	.700
4.	Brett Kildahl	2127	6	15	6	1.000
5.	Ray Paulson	2041	8	13	6	.750
6.	Paul Godin	1965	10	11	6	.600
7.	Ken Gurge	1835	10	11	6	.600
8.	Dave Couture	1791	9	12	6	.667
9.	Dave Thomas	1782	10	11	6	.600
10.	Ed Harris	1737	9	12	6	.667
11.	Larry Gladding	1831	7	14	5.5	.786

September 7th, 2016

2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial
Round 5 of 5

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, September 7th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Alex Venezia	0-1	Larry Gladding
Dave Thomas	1/2-1/2	Jim Hankard
Ken Gurge	0-1	♔ Mike Commisso
Dave Couture	1-0	Alan Condon
Brian Biglow	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Ed Rogers	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Roland Sorel	0-1	Jim Donahue
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Bill Burke
Gail Lingner	1-0	Wayne Steadman
John Bastarache	1/2-1/2	♕ Emily Gawboy
Finn Rogers	0-1	Nicholas Anderson
Tom Whistler	0-1	Andrew Kiser
Total of 13 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 5 were Chris Chase, Tony Cesolini, Ray Paulson, Ed Harris, Gary Brassard, Arthur Barlas, George Mirijanian,
Vlad Gaciu, Lenny Arsenault, Ralph McNeilage, Jackson Parker, Mike Meehan, Noah Rogers, Jack Appelmans, Stan Talcott,
Sebastian Tilton, Vince Bradley, Joe Bennett, Don Briggs, Hugh McLaughlin, Richard Bennett, Andrew Su,
Randy McLaughlin and Jeromy Tilton.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, September 7th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.5	Kildahl
4.0	-----
3.5	Chase, Cesolini, Paulson, Gladding, Commisso
3.0	Godin, Harris, Brassard, Couture, Thomas, Barlas, Hankard, Venezia
2.5	Mirijanian, Gaciu, Arsenault, Fratturelli, E. Rogers, Donahue, Burke, Lingner
2.0	Gurge, McNeilage, Condon, Parker, Meehan, N. Rogers, Biglow, Appelmans, Talcott, S. Tilton
1.5	Bradley, J. Bennett, Bastarache, Sorel, O'Rourke, Steadman, Anderson, Scanlon, Gawboy
1.0	Briggs, H. McLaughlin, R. Bennett, Su, R. McLaughlin, Kiser, J. Tilton
0.5	F. Rogers, Whistler

♔ 2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Brett Kildahl of Worcester
2nd-6th:	Chris Chase of Somerville, Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH, Ray Paulson of Lowell, Larry Gladding of Leominster, Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH
Top U1850:	Larry Gladding, Mike Commisso
Top U1650:	Ed Rogers of New Ipswich, NH, Jim Donahue of Stow, Bill Burke of Leominster, Gail Lingner of Fitchburg
Top U1450:	Jack Appelmans of Acton, Stan Talcott of Keene, NH
Top U1250:	Sebastian Tilton of New Ipswich, NH

Pictures from this year's Harold B. Dondis Memorial tournament.

A total of 4 players
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Emily Gawboy	+ 118
Stan Talcott	+ 84
Sebastian Tilton	+ 75
Nicholas Anderson	+ 60

A total of 5 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Alexander Venezia	1692
Nicholas Anderson	1227
Sebastian Tilton	1142
Jeromy Tilton	1006
Emily Gawboy	972

♔ Congratulations to all!!! ♕

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club is the Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial,
honoring Wachusett CC co-founder Rocco R. Pasquale (1922-2014) of Jaffrey, NH.
The event starts Wednesday, September 14th. Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. sharp in order to be paired for round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7:00 p.m.

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September 6th, 2016

Top Prize Winners at 76th New England Open

Godin Takes Top Tally in U2000 at New England Open

Even though only three Wachusett CC members competed in this year's New England Open, presented by RelyeaChess.com it could still be considered a successful effort, at least for Class A rated Paul Godin, who turned in an undefeated performance & tied with two others for first place in the Under 2000 Section of the tournament.

Top honors in the Open Section went to IM Denys Shmelov, while second place was claimed by many time NE Open Champ, GM Alexander Ivanov. IM David Vigorito, NM Farzad Abdi & NM Sherif Khater shared 3rd through 5th place.

In the Under 2000 Section, WCC member Paul Godin shared first through third place with Alan Sikarov and Derek Zhao, each scoring 5-1.

The (partial) online wall chart for all sections is available here.

♔ ♔ 76th New England Open PRIZE WINNERS ♔ ♔
1st:	♚ IM Denys Shmelov (5.5-0.5)
2nd:	♖ GM Alexander Ivanov (5-1)
3rd-5th:	♜ IM David Vigorito, NM Farzad Abdi & NM Sherif Khater (4-2)
Top U2000:	♗ Alan Sikarov, Paul Godin, & Derek Zhao (5-1)
Top U1800:	♞ Kevork Haddad & Robert Sawdey (5-1)

Congratulations to all!!!

August 31st, 2016

2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial
Round 4 of 5, Stephen Dann visits the WCC

Stephen Dann, an active Massachusetts chess journalist, correspondent & organizer for nearly half a century, stopped by the club tonight to make some announcements & provide some background information about the late Harold Dondis. Due to his close association with both Harold & the Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA) from its incipience, Stephen was able to illuminate in a bit more detail, the origin & progress of MACA including a description of the earliest version of "Chess Horizons" as an 8-page publication. Stephen highlighted the consistent dedication & labor of love involved in maintaining chess columns both in the Boston Globe & the Worcester Telegram, while managing MACA & its own award winning publication.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 31st, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Chris Chase	1-0	Paul Godin
Ken Gurge	0-1	Ray Paulson
Alan Condon	0-1	Ed Harris
Jackson Parker	0-1	Gary Brassard
Dave Couture	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	George Mirijanian
Dave Thomas	1-0	Ed Rogers
Jim Hankard	1-0	Jim Donahue
Noah Rogers	1/2-1/2	Mike Meehan
Mike Commisso	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Lenny Arsenault	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Bill Burke	1/2-1/2	Wayne Steadman
Andrew Su	0-1	Brian Biglow
Don Briggs	0-1	Stan Talcott
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Jack Appelmans
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Roland Sorel
Gail Lingner	1-0	Tom Whistler
Nicholas Anderson	0-1	John Bastarache
Jeromy Tilton	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Total of 19 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Brett Kildahl, Tony Cesolini, Arthur Barlas, Vlad Gaciu, Larry Gladding,
Sebastian Tilton and Finn Rogers.
♖ Not playing round 4 were Joe Bennett, Vince Bradley and Hugh McLaughlin,
the last two of whom had already withdrawn from the tournament.
♜ New withdrawals from the event were Ralph McNeilage, Richard Bennett, Bob Mathieu.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 31st, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.5	Chase, Kildahl, Cesolini, Paulson
3.0	Godin, Harris, Brassard, Barlas, Venezia
2.5	Mirijanian, Gaciu, Gladding, Thomas, Hankard, Commisso, Arsenault
2.0	Gurge, Couture, (McNeilage), Condon, Parker, Meehan, N. Rogers, Biglow, Appelmans, Talcott, S. Tilton
1.5	J. Bennett, Fratturelli, E. Rogers, Donahue, Burke, Lingner, Sorel, O'Rourke, Steadman, Scanlon
1.0	(Bradley), Bastarache, Briggs, (H. McLaughlin), Su, (R. Bennett), R. McLaughlin, J. Tilton, Gawboy
0.5	Anderson, F. Rogers, Whistler
0.0	Kiser

Projected Round 5 Pairings for September 7th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cesolini vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Godin vs. Brassard
Board 3: Harris vs. Barlas
Board 4: Mirijanian vs. Venezia
Board 5: Gaciu vs. Hankard
Board 6: Gladding vs. Commisso
Board 7: Thomas vs. Arsenault
Board 8: Gurge vs. N. Rogers
Board 9: Appelmans vs. Couture
Board 10: Biglow vs. Condon
Board 11: Talcott vs. Parker
Board 12: Meehan vs. S. Tilton
Board 13: Lingner vs. J. Bennett
Board 14: Sorel vs. Fratturelli
Board 15: E. Rogers vs. O'Rourke
Board 16: Steadman vs. Donahue
Board 17: Scanlon vs. Burke
Board 18: Bastarache vs. Su
Board 19: Gawboy vs. Briggs
Board 20: F. Rogers vs. Anderson
Board 21: Whistler vs. Kiser

♖ Not paired for Round 5 are: Chase, Paulson, R. McLaughlin and J. Tilton.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on September 7th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

August 28th, 2016

2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial
Revised Projected pairings for Round 4

(Revised) Projected Round 4 Pairings for August 31st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Tony Cesolini (3.0)  Brett Kildahl (3.0)
Board 2: Christopher Chase (2.5) Paul Godin (3.0)
Board 3: Raymond Paulson (2.5) Edward Harris (2.0)
Board 4: Kenneth Gurge (2.0) Lawrence Gladding (2.0)
Board 5: Alan Condon (2.0) Gary Brassard (2.0)
Board 6: Jackson Parker (2.0) Vlad Gaciu (2.0)
Board 7: Dave Couture (2.0)  Alexander Venezia (2.0)
Board 8: George Mirijanian (1.5) Tom Fratturelli (1.5)
Board 9: David Thomas (1.5) Ed Rogers (1.5)
Board 10: James Hankard (1.5) Jim Donahue (1.5)
Board 11: Noah Rogers (1.5)  Michael Meehan (1.5)
Board 12: Joseph Bennett (1.5) Laurence O'Rourke (1.5)
Board 13: Sebastian Tilton (1.5) Michael Commisso (1.5)
Board 14: Lenny Arsenault (1.5) Francis Scanlon II (1.5)
Board 15: William Burke (1.0) Wayne Steadman (1.0)
Board 16: Andrew Su (1.0)  Brian Biglow (1.0)
Board 17: Donald Briggs (1.0) Stanford Talcott (1.0)
Board 18: Randy McLaughlin (1.0) Jack Applemans (1.0)
Board 19: Emily Gawboy (1.0) Richard Bennett (1.0)
Board 20: Gail Lingner (0.5) Tom Whistler (0.5)
Board 21: Nicholas Anderson (0.5) Roland Sorel (0.5)
Board 22: Jeromy Tilton (0.0) John Bastarache (0.0)
Board 23: Finneas Rogers (0.0) Andrew Kiser (0.0)

August 27th, 2016

Wachusett Chess Club Blog!

The Wachusett Chess Club now has an online blog at: http://wccnotes.blogspot.com/ where you can post comments, reply to messages, post your games & analysis, etc. This will provide a more suitable immediate & open forum than this web site or email alone. Eventually, I'll be adding other features including topical links to other online discussions for commentary or instructional purposes. Due to the nature of the web, this resource has potential that is limited only by your imagination.
Enjoy!

August 24th, 2016

2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial
Round 3 of 5, FM Chris Chase addresses the WCC

Tonight FM Chris Chase spoke to the club about his association with fellow chess journalist & good friend, Harold B. Dondis. In addition to some background about Harold & his long & pivotal relationship with the Boylston Chess Club, Chris also described how Harold had been instrumental in creating & maintaining both the US Chess Trust and the Boylston Chess Foundation.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 24th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	0-1	Tony Cesolini
Paul Godin	1-0	Jackson Parker
Vlad Gaciu	0-1	Chris Chase
Jim Hankard	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Ed Harris	1-0	Lenny Arsenault
Brian Biglow	0-1	Dave Couture
Larry Gladding	1-0	Bill Burke
Larry O'Rourke	1/2-1/2	Dave Thomas
Richard Bennett	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Alan Condon	1-0	Andrew Su
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Stan Talcott
Sebastian Tilton	1/2-1/2	Joe Bennett
Mike Commisso	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Gail Lingner
Ed Rogers	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Tom Whistler	0-1	Noah Rogers
John Bastarache	0-1	♔Randy McLaughlin
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Don Briggs
Jeromy Tilton	0-1	Jack Appelmans
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Finn Rogers
Total of 21 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ray Paulson, George Mirijanian, Mike Meehan, Jim Donahue,
Francis Scanlon and Roland Sorel.
♖ Not playing round 3 were Bob Mathieu, Vince Bradley and Hugh McLaughlin,
the last two of whom had already withdrawn from the tournament.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 24th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Kildahl, Cesolini, Godin
2.5	Chase, Paulson, Barlas
2.0	Gurge, Harris, Brassard, Gaciu, Couture, Gladding, McNeilage, Condon, Parker, Venezia
1.5	Mirijanian, Thomas, Hankard, Meehan, J. Bennett, Commisso, Arsenault, Fratturelli, E. Rogers, Donahue, N. Rogers, O'Rourke, S. Tilton, Scanlon
1.0	(Bradley), Burke, Biglow, Mathieu, Briggs, (H. McLaughlin), Appelmans, Su, R. Bennett, Steadman, Talcott, R. McLaughlin, Gawboy
0.5	Lingner, Sorel, Anderson, Whistler
0.0	Bastarache, Kiser, J. Tilton, F. Rogers

Projected Round 4 Pairings for August 31st:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cesolini vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Chase vs. Godin
Board 3: Barlas vs. Paulson
Board 4: Gurge vs. Gladding
Board 5: Couture vs. Harris
Board 6: Condon vs. Brassard
Board 7: Parker vs. Gaciu
Board 8: Mirijanian vs. Venezia
Board 9: Thomas vs. Fratturelli
Board 10: Hankard vs. E. Rogers
Board 11: Meehan vs. Donahue
Board 12: J. Bennett vs. O'Rourke
Board 13: N. Rogers vs. Commisso
Board 14: Arsenault vs. S. Tilton
Board 15: Burke vs. Scanlon
Board 16: Su vs. Biglow
Board 17: Talcott vs. Mathieu
Board 18: Briggs vs. Steadman
Board 19: R. McLaughlin vs. Appelmans
Board 20: Gawboy vs. R. Bennett
Board 21: Lingner vs. Whistler
Board 22: Anderson vs. Sorel
Board 23: J. Tilton vs. Bastarache
Board 24: F. Rogers vs. Kiser

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on August 31st.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

August 19th, 2016

Chess Table in Downtown Leominster

FYI, they just started installing chess tables on Monument Square in downtown Leominster.
Well, one table anyway, don't know if there are more planned.
Check out the picture.

Kindest Regards,
Mike Meehan

August 17th, 2016

2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial
Round 2 of 5

FM Chris Chase Visits WCC to Compete in Dondis Memorial

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 17th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Dave Couture	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Tony Cesolini	1-0	Larry Gladding
Dave Thomas	0-1	Ray Paulson
Ralph McNeilage	0-1	Paul Godin
Ken Gurge	1-0	Alan Condon
♔ Jackson Parker	1-0	Ed Harris
Gary Brassard	1-0	Alex Venezia
Jim Donahue	0-1	Vlad Gaciu
Chris Chase	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Noah Rogers	0-1	Jim Hankard
Lenny Arsenault	1-0	Tom Whistler
George Mirijanian	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Mike Meehan	1-0	Wayne Steadman
♔ Stan Talcott	1-0	John Bastarache
Nicholas Anderson	1/2-1/2	Gail Lingner
Jack Appelmans	0-1	Brian Biglow
Don Briggs	0-1	♔ Sebastian Tilton
♔ Francis Scanlon	1-0	Roland Sorel
Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Jeromy Tilton
Finn Rogers	0-1	Larry O'Rourke
Total of 21 boards, 4 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Joe Bennett, Bob Mathieu, Richard Bennett, Andrew Su, Mike Commisso and Ed Rogers.
♙ Withdrawing from the tournament was Vince Bradley.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 17th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Kildahl, Cesolini, Paulson, Godin, Gurge, Brassard, Gaciu, Parker
1.5	Chase, Barlas, Hankard, Arsenault
1.0	Mirijanian, Harris, Couture, Gladding, Thomas, (Bradley), McNeilage, Condon, Venezia, Meehan, J. Bennett, Donahue, Burke, Biglow, Mathieu, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, R. Bennett, Su, Talcott, S. Tilton, Scanlon, Gawboy
0.5	Commisso, Fratturelli, E. Rogers, N. Rogers, Lingner, Anderson, Whistler
0.0	Bastarache, Briggs, Sorel, Appelmans, Steadman, R. McLaughlin, Kiser, J. Tilton, F. Rogers

Projected Round 3 Pairings for August 24th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Kildahl vs. Gurge
Board 2: Brassard vs. Cesolini
Board 3: Godin vs. Parker
Board 4: Gaciu vs. Chase
Board 5: Hankard vs. Barlas
Board 6: Harris vs. Arsenault
Board 7: Biglow vs. Mirijanian
Board 8: Mathieu vs. Couture
Board 9: Gladding vs. Donahue
Board 10: O'Rourke vs. Thomas
Board 11: R. Bennett vs. MvNeilage
Board 12: Condon vs. Burke
Board 13: Venezia vs. Talcott
Board 14: S. Tilton vs. Meehan
Board 15: Gawboy vs. J. Bennett
Board 16: Commisso vs. N. Rogers
Board 17: Fratturelli vs. Lingner
Board 18: E. Rogers vs. Anderson
Board 19: Whistler vs. Bastarache
Board 20: R. McLaughlin vs. Briggs
Board 21: Sorel vs. Kiser
Board 22: J. Tilton vs. Appelmans
Board 23: Steadman vs. F. Rogers

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 3 are Paulson and Scanlon.
♔ The Wachusett Chess Club is honored to welcome FM Chris Chase, who joined the tournament in honor of Harold B. Dondis, his long time friend & former co-editor of Boston Globe Chess column.
One of Chris' games can be found in the WCC Games Section.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on August 24th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

Return to Top of List

August 16th, 2016

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at the 46th Continental Open

A number of active & inactive WCC members took part in the 46th Continental Open in Sturbridge, held this past weekend.

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Tuesday August 16, 2016 WCC Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
14514636: CARISSA SHIWEN YIP	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	2282 => 2301
12844878: TONY S CESOLINI	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	2113 => 2122
12890962: NOWELL RYAN SHEINWALD	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER1900	1846 => 1886
13459495: VLAD JAN GACIU	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER1900	1840 => 1836
12465223: EDWARD ARTHUR HARRIS	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER1900	1854 => 1763
13250463: JOSEPH BENNETT	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER1900	1663 => 1680
15163642: ANANTH RANGAN	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	4: UNDER1700	1680 => 1671
12222200: JAMES A HANKARD	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	4: UNDER1700	1684 => 1644
12633241: JAMES E DONAHUE	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	4: UNDER1700	1569 => 1594
12522461: STEVEN MICHAEL KOROSKENYI	2016-08-14	46TH ANNUAL CONTINENTAL OPEN (MA)	5: UNDER1500	1385 => 1395

These & other rating updates nay be found at: ./RatingUpdates.php or in the Statistics Menu under "Recent Activity".

August 12th, 2016

Top Prize Winners at 46th Continental Open

Carissa Yip Wins Big At Sturbridge!!

After opening the tournament with a disappointing loss to USCF Expert & 2010 WCC Champ, Tony Cesolini, 12-year old Carissa Yip, 2014 WCC Champ, proceeded to turn in an undefeated performance for the remainder of the tournament, giving up only a single half point to 2648 rated GM Alexander Srtipunsky, & defeating two USCF Experts & two National Masters in the process. Her score of 4.5-1.5 placed her tied with two GM's, half a point behind the tournament winner, & brought her to sole posession of the Under 2300 prize of $1400, an amount second only to first place finisher, GM Sergey Kudrin! Kudos to Carissa for an outstanding performance. [Tony Cesolini analyzed his first round game with Carissa & it's in the 2016 Section of the Games page.]

♔ 46th Continental Open PRIZE WINNERS ♕
1st:	♔ GM Sergey Kudrin (5-1) $3200
2nd-3rd:	GM Alexander Stripunsky (4.5-1.5) $1100 GM Michael Rohde (4.5-1.5) $1100
Top U2300:	♕ Carissa Yip (4.5-1.5) $1400
4th-5th:	GM Alexander Ivanov (4-2) $266.67 FM Chris Chase (4-2) $266.67 FM Rico Salimbagat (4-2) $266.67

Congratulations to all!!!

August 12th, 2016

Wachusett CC players set to compete in Continental Open

At least a half dozen players with ties to the Wachusett Chess Club are registered to compete in the 46th annual Continental Open, August 11-14, at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, MA.
Carissa Yip of Andover, 2014 Wachusett CC champion, is playing in the Open section (4-day schedule).
Taking part in the Under 1900 section are Ed Harris of Marlboro, NH (3-day schedule), Vlad Gaciu of Holden (4-day schedule) and Joe Bennett of Fitchburg (2-day schedule).
Participating in the Under 1700 section are Ananth Rangan of Nashua, NH (2-day schedule) and Jim Donahue of Stow (3-day schedule).
It is reported that 2010 Wachusett CC champion, Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH and Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH will also be competing, but both are not among the advance entrants at the present time.
George M

August 10th, 2016

2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial
Round 1 of 5

Harold B. Dondis Memorial Tournament
Opens with Record Breaking Upset!

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 10th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Mike Commisso
John Bastarache	0-1	Tony Cesolini
Ray Paulson	1-0	Ed Rogers
♔ Jim Donahue	1-0	George Mirijanian
Paul Godin	1-0	Bill Burke
Brian Biglow	0-1	Ken Gurge
Ed Harris	1-0	Don Briggs
Roland Sorel	0-1	Gary Brassard
Vlad Gaciu	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Dave Couture
Larry Gladding	1-0	Jack Appelmans
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Dave Thomas
Vince Bradley	1-0	Stan Talcott
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Alan Condon	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Jackson Parker
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Francis Scanlon
♕ Emily Gawboy	1-0	Mike Meehan
Total of 18 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Arthur Barlas, Jim Hankard, Ananth Rangan, Joe Bennett, Lenny Arsenault,
Tom Fratturelli, Noah Rogers, Bob Mathieu, Andrew Su, Richard Bennett and Tom Whistler..
♖ Not playing round 1 were Gail Lingner, Sebastian Tilton, Jeromy Tilton and Finn Rogers.

**Harold B. Dondis Memorial, August 10th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Kildahl, Cesolini, Paulson, Godin, Gurge, Harris, Brassard, Gaciu, Couture, Gladding, Thomas, Bradley, McNeilage, Condon, Parker, Venezia, Donahue, Gawboy
0.5	Barlas, Hankard, Rangan, J. Bennett, Arsenault, Fratturelli, N. Rogers, Mathieu, Su, R. Bennett, Whistler
0.0	Mirijanian, Meehan, Commisso, Bastarache, E. Rogers, Burke, Lingner, Biglow, Briggs, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Appelmans, Steadman, Talcott, R. McLaughlin, Anderson, Kiser, Scanlon, S. Tilton, J. Tilton, F. Rogers

Projected Round 2 Pairings for August 17th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Thomas vs. Kildahl
Board 2: Cesolini vs. Gladding
Board 3: Bradley vs. Paulson
Board 4: McNeilage vs. Godin
Board 5: Gurge vs. Condon
Board 6: Parker vs. Harris
Board 7: Brassard vs. Venezia
Board 8: Donahue vs. Gaciu
Board 9: Couture vs. Gawboy
Board 10: Barlas vs. Fratturelli
Board 11: N. Rogers vs. Hankard
Board 12: Rangan vs. Mathieu
Board 13: Su vs. J. Bennett
Board 14: Arsenault vs. R. Bennett
Board 15: Mirijanian vs. Whistler
Board 16: Meehan vs. Steadman
Board 17: Appelmans vs. Bastarache
Board 18: E. Rogers vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 19: Burke vs. S. Tilton
Board 20: Talcott vs. Lingner
Board 21: Anderson vs. Biglow
Board 22: Briggs vs. Kiser
Board 23: Scanlon vs. Sorel
Board 24: H. McLaughlin vs. J. Tilton
Board 25: F. Rogers vs. O'Rourke

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 2 is Commisso.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on August 17th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

Return to Top of List

August 7th, 2016

Billerica Chess Club Holds Woody Wink Memorial Swiss Tournament

Starting Friday, August 5, 2016, The Billerica Chess Club will hold a memorial tournament to honor the memory of Woody Wink, long time member & major contributor to the Billerica CC.

August 4th, 2016

Ratings in effect for the Harold B. Dondis Memorial 2016

The following ratings are in effect for the Harold B. Dondis Memorial 2016,
which starts Wednesday, August 10, at the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♙ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Players most likely to compete in the 2016 Harold B. Dondis Memorial are listed below with their current ratings: (Players at their all time highs are highlighted.)
1	King	2150
2	Kildahl	2144
3	Cesolini	2113
4	Paulson	2029
5	C. Bradley	2011
6	Kochman	1987
7	Cappallo	1953
8	Niemi	1935
9	Mirijanian	1934
10	Godin	1917
11	LePoer	1916
12	Strickland	1888
13	Gurge	1857
14	Harris	1854
15	Brassard	1842
16	Couture	1823
17	Gladding	1819
18	Gaciu	1792
19	Thomas	1791
20	Barlas	1779
21	V. Bradley	1751
22	McNeilage	1714/P7
23	Condon	1704
24	Ganesan	1697
25	Parker	1688
26	Hankard	1684
27	Venezia	1683
28	Meehan	1672
29	P. Lynch	1667
30	J, Bennett	1663
31	Commisso	1656
32	Arsenault	1655
33	Rangan	1655
34	Bastarache	1652
35	Fratturelli	1650
36	E, Rogers	1596
37	Donahue	1569
38	Miller	1556
39	Burke	1532
40	N. Rogers	1521
41	Lingner	1502
42	Biglow	1479
43	Giampietro	1472
44	Lavoie	1459
45	Mathieu	1449
46	Gauthier	1443
47	Briggs	1440
48	Sorel	1410
49	H. McLaughlin	1408
50	O'Rourke	1405
51	Su	1392
52	R. Bennett	1391
53	Koroskenyi	1385
54	Steadman	1384
55	Appelmans	1339
56	Talcott	1323
57	R. McLaughlin	1322
58	K. Lynch	1200
59	Anderson	1167/P3
60	Kiser	1081
61	Scanlon	1066
62	Gawboy	854
63	F. Rogers	829
64	Whistler	758

August 3rd, 2016

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of August 3rd, 2016, 2016
After 5 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 21 games must be completed to qualify.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Additional Games Needed	Grand Prix Points
1.	Tony Cesolini	2113	5	16	5
2.	Ken Gurge	1857	5	16	4
3.	Gary Brassard	1842	5	16	4
4.	Alex Venezia	1683	5	16	4
5.	Ray Paulson	2029	5	16	3
6.	Paul Godin	1917	5	16	3
7.	Ed Harris	1854	5	16	3
8.	Dave Couture	1823	4	17	3
9.	Dave Thomas	1791	5	16	3
10.	Vince Bradley	1751	4	17	3
11.	John Bastarache	1652	5	16	3
12.	Ed Rogers	1596	5	16	3
13.	Jim Donahue	1569	4	17	3

August 3rd, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 5 of 5

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, August 3rd, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Tony Cesolini	1-0	Dave Couture
♔Gary Brassard	1-0	Ray Paulson
♔Alex Venezia	1-0	Paul Godin
Ken Gurge	1-0	Ed Harris
Jim Donahue	0-1	Larry Gladding
♔Vince Bradley	1-0	Roger Cappallo
Brett Kildahl	1-0	Mike Commisso
Noah Rogers	0-1	Dave Thomas
Ralph McNeilage	0-1	♔John Bastarache
Jim Hankard	0-1	♔Ed Rogers
Mike Meehan	1-0	Stan Talcott
Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Bill Burke
Gail Lingner	1/2-1/2	Brian Biglow
Don Briggs	0-1	Wayne Steadman
Andrew Su	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Roland Sorel
Francis Scanlon	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Finn Rogers	1-0	Tom Whistler
Total of 18 boards, 5 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 5 were George Mirijanian, Ananth Rangan, Rob King, Arthur Barlas, Jackson Parker, Tom Fratturelli, Bob Mathieu,
Jack Appelmans, Nicholas Anderson, Andrew Kiser, Eric Strickland, Richard Bennett and Steve Koroskenyi,
the last three of whom had already withdrawn from the tournament.
Also withdrawn from the tournament as a result of not playing a game was Tom Giampietro..

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, August 3rd, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
5.0	Cesolini
4.5	-----
4.0	Brassard, Gurge, Venezia
3.5	Gladding, Couture, Bradley
3.0	Kildahl, Paulson, Godin, Mirijanian, Harris, Thomas, Meehan, Bastarache, Donahue, E. Rogers
2.5	Rangan, H. McLaughlin
2.0	King, Cappallo, McNeilage, Barlas, Parker, Hankard, Fratturelli, Commisso, N. Rogers, Lingner, Biglow, Su, O'Rourke, Steadman, Talcott, Scanlon
1.5	Strickland, Burke, Mathieu, Appelmans, Anderson
1.0	Briggs, Sorel, R. Bennett, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, Kiser, F. Rogers
0.5	Gawboy, Whistler

♔ 2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH
2nd-4th:	Gary Brassard & Ken Gurge, both of Leominster, Alex Venezia of Lunenburg (Top U1600)
Top U1800:	Vince Bradley of Gilsum, NH
Top U1600:	Alex Venezia of Lunenburg
Top U1400:	Wayne Steadman of Lunenburg, & Stan Talcott of Keene, NH
Top U1200:	Francis Scanlon of Fitchburg

Pictures from this year's Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament.

A total of 4 players
gained 50 or more rating points:

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Alexander Venezia	+ 106
Ed Rogers	+ 94
Jim Donahue	+ 57
Ken Gurge	+ 56

A total of 7 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Tony Cesolini	2113
Ken Gurge	1857
Alexander Venezia	1683
Mike Meehan	1672
John Bastarache	1652
Bill Burke	1532
Nicholas Anderson	1167/P3

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Harold B. Dondis Memorial, begins Wednesday, August 10th.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on August 10th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

July 31st, 2016

Chess tactics from the Harlow B. Daly Memorial

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, Round 4 Dave Couture vs. Ananth Rangan**
White to play & win	Here's a potential tactic to show on the website. It's white to move and win. It came up in my [Round 4] game this past week and I missed it. George [Mirijanian] was just over to prep for our Chess Chat show tomorrow and I showed it to him. He eventually got it, but it took awhile. -Dave C.

July 30th, 2016

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2017 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of July 30, 2016
After 4 of 44 games completed in the 2016-2017 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
2017 WCC 'A' Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Eight Highest GPP Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 21 games must be completed to qualify.
Seed #	Name	USCF Rating	Games Played This Season	Additional Games Needed	Grand Prix Points
1.	Tony Cesolini	2097	4	17	4
2.	Ray Paulson	2066	4	17	3
3.	Paul Godin	1927	4	17	3
4.	Ed Harris	1880	4	17	3
5.	Dave Couture	1806	3	18	3
6.	Gary Brassard	1802	4	17	3
7.	Ken Gurge	1801	4	17	3
8.	Alexander Venezia	1577	4	17	3
9.	Ananth Rangan	1602	4	17	2.5
10.	Jim Donahue	1512	3	18	2.5
11.	George Mirijanian	1925	2	19	2
12.	Dave Thomas	1817	4	17	2
13.	Vince Bradley	1744	3	18	2
14.	Jim Hankard	1685	4	17	2
15.	Mike Commisso	1647	4	17	2
16.	John Bastarache	1647	4	17	2
17.	Noah Rogers	1520	4	17	2
18.	Ed Rogers	1502	4	17	2

Notes:
* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

July 30th, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Revised Projected Round 5 Pairings

Revised Projected Round 5 Pairings for August 3rd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1:  Tony Cesolini (4.0) vs. Dave Couture (3.5)
2:  Gary Brassard (3.0) vs. Raymond Paulson (3.0)
3:  Alexander Venezia (3.0) vs. Paul Godin (3.0)
4:  Kenneth Gurge (3.0) vs. George Mirijanian (3.0)
5:  Jim Donahue (3.0) vs. Edward Harris (3.0)
6:  Vincent Bradley III (2.5) vs. Lawrence Gladding (2.5)
7:  Brett Kildahl (2.0) vs. Tom Fratturelli (2.0)
8:  Michael Commisso (2.0) vs. Roger Cappallo (2.0)
9:  James Hankard (2.0) vs. David Thomas (2.0)
10:  Ralph McNeilage (2.0) vs. John Bastarache (2.0)
11:  Arthur Barlas (2.0) vs. Noah Rogers (2.0)
12:  Michael Meehan (2.0) vs. Jackson Parker (2.0)
13:  Ed Rogers (2.0) vs. William Burke (1.5)
14:  Gail Lingner (1.5) vs. Hugh McLaughlin (1.5)
15:  Jack Applemans (1.5) vs. Brian Biglow (1.5)
16:  Nicholas Anderson (1.5) vs. Robert Mathieu (1.5)
17:  Donald Briggs (1.0) vs. Wayne Steadman (1.0)
18:  Andrew Su (1.0) vs. Randy McLaughlin (1.0)
19:  Laurence O'Rourke (1.0) vs. Roland Sorel (1.0)
20:  Francis Scanlon II (1.0) vs. Emily Gawboy (0.5)
21:  Finneas Rogers (0.0) vs. Tom Whistler (0.5)

July 29th, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Recent Pictures posted

Dave Couture has posted some pictures from this year's Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament.
You may also find them in the "Pics & Video" section of the Main Menu above:

Pics &
Video
- 2016 WCC Events ▶
  - Harlow B. Daly 2016

July 27th, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 4 of 5

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 27th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	0-1	Tony Cesolini
Dave Couture	1-0	Ananth Rangan
Ray Paulson	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Ed Harris	1-0	Jim Hankard
Dave Thomas	0-1	♔Alex Venezia
Gary Brassard	1-0	Mike Commisso
John Bastarache	0-1	Ken Gurge
Roger Cappallo	1/2-1/2	Mike Meehan
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Vince Bradley
Andrew Su	0-1	Brett Kildahl
Roland Sorel	0-1	Ralph McNeilage
Bill Burke	1/2-1/2	Jack Appelmans
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Noah Rogers
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Ed Rogers
♔Stan Talcott	1-0	Don Briggs
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Gail Lingner
Tom Whistler	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Nicholas Anderson
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Finn Rogers
Total of 19 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Jim Donahue,
Larry Gladding, Jackson Parker and Brian Biglow.
♖ Not playing round 4 were Rob King, Tom Fratturelli, Tom Giampietro and Andrew Kiser.
♟ Withdrawing from the tournament were Eric Strickland, Richard Bennett and Steve Koroskenyi.

♘ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Ralph McNeilage of Worcester, & Jack Appelmans of Acton.
♔ Also returning after a hiatus of several months is NM Brett Kildahl of Worcester

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 27th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.0	Cesolini
3.5	Couture
3.0	Paulson, Godin, Mirijanian, Harris, Brassard, Gurge, Venezia, Donahue
2.5	Gladding, Bradley, Rangan
2.0	King, Kildahl, Cappallo, Thomas, McNeilage, Barlas, Parker, Hankard, Meehan, Fratturelli, Commisso, Bastarache, N. Rogers, E. Rogers, Talcott
1.5	(Strickland), Burke, Lingner, Biglow, Mathieu, H. McLaughlin, Appelmans, Anderson
1.0	Briggs, Giampietro, Su, Sorel, O'Rourke, (R. Bennett), Steadman, (Koroskenyi), R. McLaughlin, Kiser, Scanlon
0.5	Gawboy, Whistler
0.0	F. Rogers

Projected Round 5 Pairings for August 3rd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cesolini vs. Couture
Board 2: Brassard vs. Paulson
Board 3: Venezia vs. Godin
Board 4: Mirijanian vs. Gurge
Board 5: Donahue vs. Harris
Board 6: Bradley vs. King
Board 7: Kildahl vs. Fratturelli
Board 8: Commisso vs. Cappallo
Board 9: Meehan vs. Thomas
Board 10: McNeilage vs. Bastarache
Board 11: Barlas vs. N. Rogers
Board 12: Parker vs. Talcott
Board 13: Hankard vs. E. Rogers
Board 14: Burke vs. Mathieu
Board 15: Lingner vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 16: Appelmans vs. Biglow
Board 17: Anderson vs. Briggs
Board 18: Steadman vs. Su
Board 19: R. McLaughlin vs. Sorel
Board 20: O'Rourke vs. Kiser
Board 21: Gawboy vs. Scanlon
Board 22: F. Rogers vs. Whistler

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on August 3rd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

July 26th, 2016

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at New Hampshire Open & Bradley Open

A number of active WCC members took part in the New Hampshire Open in Nashua, NH, & the Bradley Open in Windsor Locks, CT. Both tournaments were held this past weekend.

Here are their rating updates:

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Monday July 25, 2016 Active Member Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
12465223: EDWARD ARTHUR HARRIS	2016-07-24	66TH NEW HAMPSHIRE OPEN (NH)	2: UNDER 1950	1890 => 1880
12896953: VINCENT A BRADLEY III	2016-07-24	66TH NEW HAMPSHIRE OPEN (NH)	2: UNDER 1950	1770 => 1744
13459495: VLAD JAN GACIU	2016-07-24	21ST BRADLEY OPEN (CT)	2: UNDER 2010	1790 => 1740
12525099: MICHAEL COMMISSO	2016-07-24	66TH NEW HAMPSHIRE OPEN (NH)	2: UNDER 1950	1639 => 1647
15163642: ANANTH RANGAN	2016-07-24	66TH NEW HAMPSHIRE OPEN (NH)	3: UNDER 1650	1668 => 1627
15518741: ANDREW SU	2016-07-24	66TH NEW HAMPSHIRE OPEN (NH)	3: UNDER 1650	1434 => 1382

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July 22nd, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Revised Projected Round 4 Pairings

Due to the withdrawls of Steve Koroskenyi and Eric Strickland from the current tournament, and also Tom Giampietro not playing next round, and no news from our newcomer, Nicholas Anderson, the updated projected Round 4 pairings for July 27th now look like this:

Projected Round 4 Pairings for July 27th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Cesolini
Board 2: Mirijanian vs. Couture
Board 3: Rangan vs. King
Board 4: Ray Paulson vs. Arthur Barlas
Board 5: Harris vs. Fratturelli
Board 6: Hankard vs. Gladding
Board 7: Thomas vs. Venezia
Board 8: Brassard vs. Commisso
Board 9: Bastarache vs. Gurge
Board 10: Cappallo vs. Meehan
Board 11: Parker vs. Bradley
Board 12: Burke vs. Mathieu
Board 13: O'Rourke vs. N. Rogers
Board 14: R. Bennett vs. E. Rogers
Board 15: R. McLaughlin vs. Briggs
Board 16: Talcott vs. Biglow
Board 17: Su vs. Kiser
Board 18: Sorel vs. Scanlon
Board 19: Gawboy vs. Lingner
Board 20: Whistler vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 21: Steadman vs. F. Rogers

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on July 27th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

July 21st, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 3 of 5

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 20th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Tony Cesolini	1-0	Jim Hankard
Ken Gurge	0-1	Paul Godin
Mike Commisso	0-1	George Mirijanian
Eric Strickland	0-1	♔ Ananth Rangan
Mike Meehan	0-1	Dave Couture
Vince Bradley	0-1	♔ Jim Donahue
Rob King	1-0	Bill Burke
Noah Rogers	0-1	Ray Paulson
Brian Biglow	0-1	Ed Harris
Ed Rogers	0-1	Dave Thomas
Don Briggs	0-1	Gary Brassard
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Andrew Su
Richard Bennett	0-1	John Bastarache
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Tom Whistler	0-1	Bob Mathieu
Roland Sorel	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Hugh McLaughlin	1/2-1/2	Emily Gawboy
Finn Rogers	0-1	Larry O'Rourke
Total of 18 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Larry Gladding, Arthur Barlas, Roger Cappallo, Jackson Parker,
Steve Koroskenyi, Stan Talcott, Andrew Kiser, Gail Lingner and Nicholas Anderson.
♖ Not playing round 3 were Tom Giampietro and Randy McLaughlin.

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 20th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Cesolini, Godin
2.5	Mirijanian, Couture, Rangan, Donahue
2.0	King, Paulson, Harris, Gladding, Thomas, Brassard, Gurge, Barlas, Hankard, Fratturelli, Commisso, Bastarache, Venezia
1.5	Cappallo, Strickland, Bradley, Parker, Meehan, Mathieu
1.0	Burke, N. Rogers, E. Rogers, Briggs, Biglow, Giampietro, Su, Sorel, O'Rourke, R. Bennett, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, Kiser, Scanlon
0.5	Lingner, H. McLaughlin, Gawboy, Whistler, Anderson
0.0	Steadman, F. Rogers

Projected Round 4 Pairings for July 27th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Cesolini
Board 2: Mirijanian vs. Couture
Board 3: Rangan vs, King
Board 4: Paulson vs. Barlas
Board 5: Harris vs. Fratturelli
Board 6: Hankard vs. Gladding
Board 7: Thomas vs. Venezia
Board 8: Brassard vs. Commisso
Board 9: Bastarache vs. Gurge
Board 10: Cappallo vs. Meehan
Board 11: Parker vs. Strickland
Board 12: Mathieu vs. Bradley
Board 13: Burke vs. Sorel
Board 14: O'Rourke vs. N. Rogers
Board 15: R. Bennett vs. E. Rogers
Board 16: Koroskenyi vs. Briggs
Board 17: R. McLaughlin vs. Biglow
Board 18: Giampietro vs. Talcott
Board 19: Su vs. Kiser
Board 20: Scanlon vs. Lingner
Board 21: Whistler vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 22: Gawboy vs. Anderson
Board 23: Steadman vs. F. Rogers

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

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on July 27th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508-904-3476 by 7 P.M.

July 20th, 2016

Yip, Rangan to play in Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions

Carissa Yip of Andover, 2014 champion of the Wachusett Chess Club, and Ananth Rangan of Nashua, NH, new member of the Wachusett CC, will represent Massachusetts and New Hampshire respectively in the Dewain Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions that will be held July 30 to August 2 during the U.S. Open in Indianapolis, Indiana. The winner of the event will receive a $ 5,000 college/university scholarship to the school of his or her choice as well as placement in the U.S. Cadet Championship.

Rounds in that event start in the morning, allowing participants, if they choose, to play in the (117th) U.S. Open in the evening. I wonder whether Carissa and/or Ananth will also want to play in the Open. We won't know until the Open starts on July 30.
-George M.

July 20th, 2016

Today (July 20) is International Chess Day, established by UNESCO in 1966.
It is also the 92nd anniversary of the founding of FIDE in Paris, France.

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July 15th, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 2 of 5 Corrected standings and projected Round 3 pairings for July 20th

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 13th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Cesolini, Godin, Gurge, Hankard, Commisso
1.5	Mirijanian, Strickland, Gladding, Couture, Barlas, Bradley, Rangan, Meehan, Donahue
1.0	Paulson, Cappallo, Harris, Thomas, Brassard, Parker, Bastarache, Venezia, Burke, N. Rogers, E. Rogers, Briggs, Biglow, Giampietro, R. Bennett, R. McLaughlin,
0.5	Mathieu, Koroskenyi, Talcott, Kiser, Whistler
0.0	Lingner, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Steadman, Gawboy, F. Rogers, Anderson

Projected Round 3 Pairings for July 20th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cesolini vs. Hankard
Board 2: Gurge vs. Godin
Board 3: Commisso vs. Mirijanian
Board 4: Bradley vs. Strickland
Board 5: Meehan vs. Gladding
Board 6: Barlas vs. Rangan
Board 7: Paulson vs. Donahue
Board 8: N. Rogers vs. Harris
Board 9: E. Rogers vs. Thomas
Board 10: Biglow vs. Brassard
Board 11: Parker vs. Briggs
Board 12: Giampietro vs. Bastarache
Board 13: Venezia vs. R. Bennett
Board 14: Scanlon vs. Burke
Board 15: Whistler vs. Mathieu
Board 16: Koroskenyi vs. Talcott
Board 17: Steadman vs. Lingner
Board 18: Sorel vs. Gawboy
Board 19: H. McLaughlin vs. Anderson
Board 20: F. Rogers vs. O'Rourke

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on July 20th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508 ♚ 904 ♚ 3476 by 7 P.M.

July 13th, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Upsets Shock Both 2016 WCC Co-Champs!

In round 2 of the Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament this Wednesday night, both reigning WCC co-champions, Ray Paulson & Roger Cappallo, became the victims of two large upsets. Board two saw Ray Paulson, playing the white pieces, struggle in a very close contest against his 265 point lower rated opponent, Ken Gurge, only to eventually reach a theoretically lost ending, which Ken was able to convert to a full point.

Meanwhile at board three, Roger Cappallo had the better of Jim Hankard for most of the game, winning a pawn & then a second pawn to reach what many would consider an overwhelmingly advantageous position where, in addition to his two extra pawns, Roger still had his bishop pair against Jim's knight & bishop, while each had only one rook & no queens on the board. The most likely result was not to be, however. As both players approached the final few minutes, Jim maneuvered to produce tactical complications which soon led to the capture of Roger's rook & shortly thereafter, a 317 point upset victory for Jim.

Dave Thomas also ran into some rough sledding when he sacrificed a minor piece against Mike Commisso for attacking chances, but failed to obtain sufficient compensation & went on to lose a 188 point upset as he eventually ran short of time. Relative newcomer to the club, Ananth Rangan, was able to hold his 149 piont higher rated opponent, Larry Gladding, to a draw after Larry had traded down to what appeared to be a slightly better ending in which Larry had an extra pawn. However when the pieces on the board eventually became reduced to nothing but Ananth's king & queen against Larry's king, queen & extra pawn, Larry's pieces were sufficiently awkwardly placed such that he could not make progress despite his best efforts & the game ended in a K vs. K draw.

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 13th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Gary Brassard	0-1	Tony Cesolini
Ray Paulson	0-1	♔Ken Gurge
♔Jim Hankard	1-0	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Jackson Parker
Ananth Rangan	1/2-1/2	Larry Gladding
Dave Thomas	0-1	♔Mike Commisso
George Mirijanian	1-0	Ed Rogers
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Eric Strickland
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Vince Bradley
Jim Donahue	1-0	Tom Whistler
Ed Harris	1-0	Roland Sorel
John Bastarache	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Bill Burke	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Noah Rogers
Don Briggs	1-0	Finn Rogers
Nicholas Anderson	0-1	Brian Biglow
Total of 17 boards, 3 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Dave Couture, Arthur Barlas, Mike Meehan, Tom Giampietro, Richard Bennett,
Randy McLaughlin, Francis Scanlon, Steve Koroskenyi and Stan Talcott.
♖ Not playing round 2 was Gail Lingner.
♜ Also not playing the round were Walter Niemi, Vlad Gaciu, Alan Condon, Seeth Ganesan, Joe Bennett,
Lenny Arsenault, Tom Fratturelli, Francois Gauthier and Andrew Su, all of whom were withdrawn from the tournament.

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 13th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Cesolini, Godin, Gurge, Hankard, Commisso
1.5	Mirijanian, Strickland, Gladding, Couture, Barlas, Bradley, Rangan, Meehan, Donahue
1.0	Paulson, Cappallo, Harris, Thomas, Brassard, Parker, Bastarache, Venezia, Burke, N. Rogers, E. Rogers, Briggs, Biglow, Giampietro, Sorel, R. Bennett, R. McLaughlin, Scanlon
0.5	Mathieu, Koroskenyi, Talcott, Kiser, Whistler
0.0	Lingner, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Steadman, Gawboy, F. Rogers, Anderson

Projected Round 3 Pairings for July 20th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cesolini vs. Hankard
Board 2: Gurge vs. Godin
Board 3: Commisso vs. Mirijanian
Board 4: Strickland vs. Rangan
Board 5: Gladding vs. Bradley
Board 6: Barlas vs. Meehan
Board 7: Paulson vs. Donahue
Board 8: N. Rogers vs. Harris
Board 9: E. Rogers vs. Thomas
Board 10: Biglow vs. Brassard
Board 11: Parker vs. Briggs
Board 12: Giampietro vs. Bastarache
Board 13: Venezia vs. R. Bennett
Board 14: Sorel vs. Burke
Board 15: Scanlon vs. Mathieu
Board 16: Koroskenyi vs. Talcott
Board 17: Whistler vs. Lingner
Board 18: H. McLaughlin vs. Gawboy
Board 19: F. Rogers vs. O'Rourke
Board 20: Steadman vs. Anderson

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

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on July 20th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508 ♚ 904 ♚ 3476 by 7 P.M.

July 13th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #14 by Roger Cappallo
Round 1 of the Harlow B. Daly Memorial as White against Bill Burke.

My weekly Wachusett Chess Club game, this time playing the White pieces against Bill Burke (1522) in an Albin's Counter-Gambit opening.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

July 6th, 2016

2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial
Round 1 of 5

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 6th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Tony Cesolini	1-0	John Bastarache
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Bill Burke
Noah Rogers	0-1	Paul Godin
Eric Strickland	1/2-1/2	Jim Donahue
♔Ed Rogers	1-0	Ed Harris
Larry Gladding	1-0	Don Briggs
Brian Biglow	0-1	Dave Thomas
Dave Couture	1-0	Roland Sorel
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Gary Brassard
Ken Gurge	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Jackson Parker	1-0	Steve Koroskenyi
Stan Talcott	0-1	Jim Hankard
Ananth Rangan	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Finn Rogers	0-1	Mike Meehan
Mike Commisso	1-0	Nicholas Anderson
Total of 17 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Walter Niemi, George Mirijanian, Vlad Gaciu, Alan Condon, Seeth Ganesan,
Joe Bennett, Lenny Arsenault, Tom Fratturelli, Tom Giampietro, Bob Mathieu, Francois Gauthier, Andrew Su,
Richard Bennett, Randy McLaughlin, Andrew Kiser, Francis Scanlon and Tom Whistler.

**Harlow B. Daly Memorial, July 6th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Cesolini, Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, Gladding, Thomas, Couture, Brassard, Gurge, Barlas, Parker, Hankard, Rangan, Meehan, Commisso, E. Rogers
0.5	Niemi, Mirijanian, Strickland, Gaciu, Condon, Ganesan, J. Bennett, Arsenault, Fratturelli, Donahue, Giampietro, Mathieu, Gauthier, Su, R. Bennett, R. McLaughlin, Kiser, Scanlon, Whistler
0.0	Harris, Bastarache, Venezia, Burke, N. Rogers, Briggs, Biglow, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, O'Rourke, Steadman, Koroskenyi, Talcott, Gawboy, F. Rogers, Anderson

Projected Round 2 Pairings for July 13th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Barlas vs. Cesolini
Board 2: Paulson vs. Gurge
Board 3: Hankard vs.Cappallo
Board 4: Godin vs. Parker
Board 5: Meehan vs. Gladding
Board 6: Thomas vs. Rangan
Board 7: Brassard vs. Commisso
Board 8: Niemi vs. E. Rogers
Board 9: Giampietro vs. Mirijanian
Board 10: Mathieu vs. Strickland
Board 11: Gauthier vs. Gaciu
Board 12: Condon vs. Su
Board 13: R. Bennett vs. Ganesan
Board 14: J. Bennett vs. R.McLaughlin
Board 15: Kiser vs. Arsenault
Board 16: Fratturelli vs. Scanlon
Board 17: Donahue vs. Whistler
Board 18: Harris vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 19: Bastarache vs. O'Rourke
Board 20: Koroskenyi vs. Venezia
Board 21: Burke vs. Steadman
Board 22: Gawboy vs. N. Rogers
Board 23: Briggs vs. Talcott
Board 24: Anderson vs. Biglow
Board 25: Sorel vs. F. Rogers

♗ Dave Couture is requesting a half-point bye for Round 2.
♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes 4th Category player, Ananth Rangan, of Nashua, NH, &
♟ Nicholas Anderson, of Ashby, who is now competing in his first rated tournament.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on July 13th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Dave Thomas at 508 ♔ 904 ♔ 3476 by 7 P.M.
NOTE: This is a change from the previous season(s).

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July 5th, 2016

Ratings in effect for the Harlow B. Daly Memorial 2016

The following ratings are in effect for the Harlow B. Daly Memorial,
which starts Wednesday, July 6, at the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg.
Ratings that differ from last stats (06/29/16) on Wachusett CC website are highlighted.

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♙ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Players most likely to compete in the 2016 Harlow B. Daly Memorial are listed below with their current ratings:
1	Rob King	2156
2	Tony Cesolini	2097
3	Ray Paulson	2066
4	Clay Bradley	2011
5	Roger Cappallo	2002
6	Dave Kochman	1987
7	Walter Niemi	1935
8	Paul Godin	1927
9	George Mirijanian	1925
10	Geoff LePoer	1916
11	Ed Harris	1890
12	Larry Gladding	1817
13	Dave Thomas	1817
14	Dave Couture	1806
15	Gary Brassard	1802
16	Ken Gurge	1801
17	Arthur Barlas	1783
18	Vince Bradley	1770
19	Vlad Gaciu	1763
20	Jackson Parker	1707
21	Alan Condon	1704
22	Seeth Ganesan	1697
23	Jim Hankard	1685
24	Paul Lynch	1667
25	Mike Meehan	1665
26	Joe Bennett	1663
27	Lenny Arsenault	1655
28	Tom Fratturelli	1642
29	Mike Commisso	1639
30	John Bastarache	1625
31	Alexander Venezia	1577
32	George Miller	1556
33	Bill Burke	1522
34	Noah Rogers	1520
35	Jim Donahue	1512
36	Ed Rogers	1502
37	Gail Lingner	1500
38	Don Briggs	1500
39	Brian Biglow	1483
40	Tom Giampietro	1472
41	Nik Lavoie	1459
42	Bob Mathieu	1458
43	Francois Gauthier	1443
44	Andrew Su	1436
45	Roland Sorel	1426
46	Hugh McLaughlin	1410
47	Larry O'Rourke	1407
48	Richard Bennett	1400
49	Wayne Steadman	1395
50	Steve Koroskenyi	1393
51	Randy McLaughlin	1352
52	Stan Talcott	1300
53	Kandy Lynch	1200
54	Andrew Kiser	1082
55	Sebastian Tilton	1067
56	Francis Scanlon	1058
57	Jeromy Tilton	981
58	Emily Gawboy	850
59	Finn Rogers	813
60	Tom Whistler	775

July 5th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #13 by Roger Cappallo
Round 5 of the club championship as Black against Ken Gurge.

The final round of the Wachusett Chess Club 2016 Championship, with me fighting it out with Black against Ken Gurge (1795).
A win will mean at worst a tie for the Championship.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

July 1st, 2016

WCC Players in Other Tournaments

2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip, in playing in the Open Section of the 2016 World Open Tournament in Philadelphia, which runs from June 30 through July 4, 2016. You can watch her progress online at: http://chessevents.com/tag/world-open-2016-standings/, as she competes with more than 30 GM's, & numerous other titled players including GM Irina Krush & FM Akshita Gorti.

Vlad Gaciu tied for 1st in the BCF Weaver Adams Qualifier, which was completed on June 27th.

June 29th, 2016

2016 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 5 of 5

♔ Paulson & Cappallo 2016 Co-Champions At WCC ♚

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 29th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Lenny Arsenault
Gary Brassard	1-0	Alan Condon
Ed Harris	1-0	George Mirijanian
Total of 5 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 29th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.5	Paulson, Cappallo
4.0	-----
3.5	-----
3.0	Godin, Brassard
2.5	Harris, Barlas
2.0	Gurge
1.5	Mirijanian
1.0	Condon
0.5	Arsenault

♔ ♚ 2016 WCC 'A' Championship PRIZE WINNERS ♚ ♔
1st-2nd:	2016 Co-Champions: Ray Paulson of Lowell & Roger Cappallo of Groton
3rd-4th:	Paul Godin of Bedford & Gary Brassard of Leominster

Pictures from this year's WCC Club Championship tournament.

June 29th, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 5 of 5

Gladding Tops B Division by a Full Point

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 29th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Mike Commisso	0-1	Larry Gladding
♔John Bastarache	1-0	Jim Hankard
Vlad Gaciu	0-1	♔Alexander Venezia
Jackson Parker	1-0	Bill Burke
♔Andrew Su	1-0	Joe Bennett
♔Roland Sorel	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Jim Donahue	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Dave Couture	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Francois Gauthier	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Steve Koroskenyi
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Tony Cesolini
Don Briggs	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Total of 13 boards, 4 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing the final round were:
Rob King, Mike Meehan, Vince Bradley, Brian Biglow, Richard Bennett, Walter Niemi, Gail Lingner, Tom Giampietro and Stan Talcott.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 29th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
5.0	Gladding
4.5	-----
4.0	Bastarache
3.5	Venezia
3.0	King, Parker, Hankard, Commisso, Meehan, Sorel, Su
2.5	Fratturelli
2.0	Couture, Gaciu, Bradley, J. Bennett, Mathieu, Biglow, Burke, O'Rourke, Gauthier, Koroskenyi, R. Bennett
1.5	Donahue, H. McLaughlin
1.0	Cesolini, Niemi, Briggs, Lingner, Giampietro, Kiser, Scanlon, Gawboy
0.5	Steadman, R. McLaughlin
0.0	Talcott

♔ 2016 WCC 'B' Championship PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Larry Gladding of Leominster - 2016 "B" Champion
Top U1800:	John Bastarache of Fitchburg
Top U1600:	Alexander Venezia of Lunenburg
Top U1400:	Roland Sorel of Westford & Andrew Su of Harvard
Top U1200:	Andrew Kiser of Leominster & Francis Scanlon of Fitchburg
Top U1000:	Emily Gawboy of Leominster

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

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Andrew Su	+184
Alexander Venezia	+136
Roland Sorel	+131
John Bastarache	+93
Larry Gladding	+60
Roger Cappallo	+56

A total of 7 players
reached new all time highs:

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Rob King	2156
Vince Bradley	1770
John Bastarache	1625
Alexander Venezia	1577
Andrew Su	1436
Roland Sorel	1426
Steve Koroskenyi	1393

Updated 2016 season-end statistics are at: StatLeaders.

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Harlow B. Daly Memorial, will begin Wednesday, July 6.
Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 1 of 5 on July 6th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 p.m.

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June 29th, 2016

Carissa Yip stands at 4.5/7 going into final day at US Junior Girls' Invitational

With 7 of 9 games completed, Carissa Yip has 4.5 points, which places her tied with WIM Agata Bykovtsev & WFM Evan Xianga, mere half point behind the leaders at this year's US Junior Girls' Championship. The last two rounds of the tournament will be played on Wednesday, June 29th, coincidentally the same day on which this year's WCC Championship finishes.

June 28th, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship Projected Round 5 Pairings

Projected Round 5 Pairings for July 6th WITHOUT Rob King:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
6 Michael Commisso (3.0) vs. Lawrence Gladding (4.0)
7: John Bastarache (3.0) vs. James Hankard (3.0)
8: Vlad Gaciu (2.0) vs. Alexander Venezia (2.5)
9: Vincent Bradley III (2.0 vs. William Burke (2.0)
10: Jackson Parker (2.0) vs. Roland Sorel (2.0)
11: Andrew Su (2.0) vs. Joseph Bennett (2.0)
12: Richard Bennett (2.0) vs. Robert Mathieu (2.0)
13: Jim Donahue (1.5) vs. Tom Fratturelli (1.5)
14: Walter Niemi (1.0) vs. Hugh McLaughlin (1.5)
15: Dave Couture (1.0) vs. Steven Koroskenyi (1.0)
16: Laurence O'Rourke (1.0) vs. Francis Scanlon II (1.0)
17: Andrew Kiser (1.0) vs. Francois Gauthier (1.0)
18: Wayne Steadman (0.5) vs. Emily Gawboy (1.0)
19: Donald Briggs (0.0) vs. Randy McLaughlin (0.5)

Projected Round 5 Pairings for July 6th WITH Rob King:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
6: Lawrence Gladding (4.0) vs. Robert King (3.0)
7: Michael Commisso (3.0) vs. James Hankard (3.0)
8:  John Bastarache (3.0) vs. Alexander Venezia (2.5)
9:  Vlad Gaciu (2.0) vs. Robert Mathieu (2.0)
10:  Vincent Bradley III (2.0) vs. William Burke (2.0)
11:  Jackson Parker (2.0) vs. Roland Sorel (2.0)
12:  Andrew Su (2.0) vs. Joseph Bennett (2.0)
13:  Tom Fratturelli (1.5) vs. Richard Bennett (2.0)
14:  Jim Donahue (1.5) vs. Hugh McLaughlin (1.5)
15:  Walter Niemi (1.0) vs. Francois Gauthier (1.0)
16:  Andrew Kiser (1.0) vs. Dave Couture (1.0)
17:  Gail Lingner (1.0) vs. Steven Koroskenyi (1.0)
18:  Laurence O'Rourke (1.0) vs. Francis Scanlon II (1.0)
19:  Wayne Steadman (0.5) vs. Emily Gawboy (1.0)
20:  Donald Briggs (0.0) vs. Randy McLaughlin (0.5)

June 28th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #12 by Roger Cappallo
Round 4 of the club championship as White against Paul Godin.

Hello all,
This week I played in round 3 of the club championship, as Black against top-seeded Ray Paulson.
I tried a different variation: I lightly analyzed it first, without computer, then did a quick check with the machine.
I also tweaked my sound a bit, as last week's video was a bit unclear. Hopefully you'll like it.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

June 27th, 2016

New England Chess Photo Archives by Tony Cortizas Now Available

Tony Cortizas, well known New England chess photographer, has made his archive of photographs taken at various events spanning over 16 years from 2000 to present available online.
The permanent archives are arranged chronologically dating back to 2000 & are supplemented by specific groups of photos from more recent events such as the 85th Mass Open & the 2016 US Junior Girls' Championship.
These archives include many present & former WCC members & represent an invaluable resource of New England chess history & we are most grateful for Tony's consistent & continuing quality work.

June 24th, 2016

Carissa Yip to compete in 2016 Junior Girls' Invitational, June 25-29

**Carissa Yip & nine other outstanding competitors to play round robin in Manchester, NH**
Ten US Junior Girls' Contestants with Officials	2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip will compete in the 2016 US Girls' Junior Championship The nine round, ten player round robin will run from Saturday, June 25th to Wednesday, June 29th 2016 at the Homewood Suites, Manchester, NH. The ten invited players include: WCM Maggie Feng, WFM Jennifer Yu, NM Carissa Yip, WIM Annie Wang, WIM Agata Bykovtsev, WCM Apurva Virkud, WFM Emily Nguyen, WFM Joanna Liu, WFM Evan Xiang, & Alice Dong. Tournament officials include: Chief Arbiter, Larry Cohen, & Deputy Arbiter, Alex Relyea

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June 22nd, 2016

2016 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 4 of 5

Paulson & Cappallo
Still in Front of "A" Championship After Four Rounds

With only one round of play to go, Ray Paulson & Roger Cappallo remain in a dead heat at the top of the 2016 WCC "A" Championship. The duo have led the field since round 2, each with a perfect score except fot a draw in their round 3 individual game, hence they will not face each other for a showdown in the final round on Wednesday, June 29th. The Paulson-Barlas pairing next week at board one sets USCF Expert, Ray Paulson, with the white pieces, as a 272 rating point favorite over his Class B opponent, Arthur Barlas, while board two is somewhat closer, yet still on the "major upset" category, pitting Class B, Ken Gurge, as white against Class A, Roger Cappallo, in a pairing with 151 rating point difference favoring Cappallo.

The next nearest competitors, Godin, Gurge, & Brassard, currently stand a full piont & a half behind the two leaders, so there is no combination of wins losses &/or draws on any board that will allow anyone other than Paulson, Cappallo &/or Barlas to share in first place, & it would require full point upsets at both boards one & two for Barlas to enter into the mix for a share of the title. There have been many large upsets at the WCC, so the results are still uncertain until after next Wednesday's games & one should still expect fierce competition at all boards.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 22nd, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
George Mirijanian	0-1	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Paul Godin
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Ken Gurge
Alan Condon	1/2-1/2	Ed Harris
Lenny Arsenault	0-1	Gary Brassard
Total of 5 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 22nd, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.5	Paulson, Cappallo
3.0	-----
2.5	Barlas
2.0	Godin, Gurge, Brassard
1.5	Mirijanian, Harris
1.0	Condon
0.5	Arsenault

Projected Round 5 Pairings for June 29th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Paulson vs. Barlas
Board 2: Gurge vs. Cappallo
Board 3: Godin vs. Arsenault
Board 4: Brassard vs. Condon
Board 5: Harris vs. Mirijanian

June 22nd, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 4 of 5

Gladding Leads "B" Championship Going Into Final Round

With a score of 4.0/4, Larry Gladding, 3-time WCC Champ & 2-time WCC "B" Champ now stands a full point ahead of his five closest competitors, King, Hankard, Commisso, Meehan, & Bastarache, who are tied at 3.0/4 each in the 36-player WCC "B" Championship. As 3-time winner of the WCC "A" Championship & 2-time winner of the WCC "B" Championship Larry is the only player ever to win both the regular "A" Championship & the "B" Championship multiple times. Larry is scheduled to play 2011 WCC Champ, Robert King, on Wednesday, June 29th.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 22nd, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Larry Gladding	1-0	Jackson Parker
Joe Bennett	0-1	♔John Bastarache
Jim Hankard	1-0	Brian Biglow
Bill Burke	0-1	Mike Commisso
Richard Bennett	0-1	Mike Meehan
Alex Venezia	1-0	Roland Sorel
Jim Donahue	0-1	Vince Bradley
Francois Gauthier	0-1	Vlad Gaciu
Bob Mathieu	1-0	Francis Scanlon
♔Andrew Su	1-0	Gail Lingner
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Walter Niemi
Dave Couture	1-0	Don Briggs
Total of 14 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♜ Receiving a full-point bye was Emily Gawboy.
♖ Not playing round 4 were: Rob King, Larry O'Rourke, Steve Koroskenyi, Tom Giampietro and Stan Talcott,
the last two of whom withdrew from the tournament.
♗ ♘ Returning to the club were Walter Niemi & Max Sewell, who haven't played at the club since August 5th, 2015 & April 10, 2013 respectively.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 22nd, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.0	Gladding
3.5	-----
3.0	King, Hankard, Commisso, Meehan, Bastarache
2.5	Venezia
2.0	Gaciu, Bradley, Parker, J. Bennett, Mathieu, Biglow, Burke, R. Bennett, Sorel, Su
1.5	Fratturelli, Donahue, H. McLaughlin
1.0	Niemi, Couture, Lingner, (Giampietro), O'Rourke, Gauthier, Koroskenyi, Kiser, Scanlon, Gawboy
0.5	Steadman, R. McLaughlin
0.0	Briggs, (Talcott)

Projected Round 5 Pairings for June 29th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 6: Lawrence Gladding (4.0) vs. Robert King (3.0)
Board 7: Michael Commisso (3.0) vs. James Hankard (3.0)
Board 8: John Bastarache (3.0) vs. Alexander Venezia (2.5)
Board 9: Vlad Gaciu (2.0) vs. Robert Mathieu (2.0)
Board 10: Vincent Bradley III vs. (2.0) William Burke (2.0)
Board 11: Jackson Parker (2.0) vs. Roland Sorel (2.0)
Board 12: Andrew Su (2.0) vs. Joseph Bennett (2.0)
Board 13: Brian Biglow (2.0) vs. Richard Bennett (2.0)
Board 14: Jim Donahue (1.5) vs. Tom Fratturelli (1.5)
Board 15: Walter Niemi (1.0) vs. Hugh McLaughlin (1.5)
Board 16: Dave Couture (1.0) vs. Steven Koroskenyi (1.0)
Board 17: Laurence O'Rourke (1.0) vs. Francis Scanlon II (1.0)
Board 18: Andrew Kiser (1.0) vs. Francois Gauthier (1.0)
Board 19: Wayne Steadman (0.5) vs. Emily Gawboy (1.0)
Board 20: Donald Briggs (0.0) vs. Randy McLaughlin (0.5)

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on June 29th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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June 21st, 2016

Wachusett CC players prize winners in Keene Open

A couple of Wachusett CC players were among the prize winners in the Keene Open, held Saturday, June 18, in Keene, NH.
♔ Tony Cesolini, Wachusett CC champion in 2010, scored 3-1 to tie for first place in the Open section with fellow expert Nithin Kavi and Class A rivals Stijn Brand and Ian Dudley.
♔ Joe Bennett posted a perfect 4-0 to win first place in the Under 1750 section.
The 3-section tournament drew a total of 33 players, 12 of whom were Wachusett CC players.
-- George M

June 21st, 2016

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at Keene Open

12 active WCC members played in the Keene Open tournament held this past weekend, June 18.

Here are their rating updates whice will be current as of 06/22/16:

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Tuesday June 21, 2016 Active Member Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
12844878: TONY S CESOLINI	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	1: OPEN	2091 => 2098
12003970: CLAY BRADLEY	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	1: OPEN	2015 => 2011
10032059: DAVID M KOCHMAN	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	1: OPEN	1976 => 1969
10004471: GEORGE M MIRIJANIAN	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	1: OPEN	1984 => 1963
13526267: ERIC STRICKLAND	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	1: OPEN	1909 => 1914
10004802: LAWRENCE DAVID GLADDING	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	1: OPEN	1777 => 1757
13250463: JOSEPH BENNETT	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	2: U1750	1710 => 1755
12222200: JAMES A HANKARD	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	2: U1750	1697 => 1692
11292895: GAIL S LINGNER	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	2: U1750	1500 => 1500
15927258: ALEXANDER VENEZIA	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	2: U1750	1431 => 1441
15780663: FRANCOIS GAUTHIER	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	2: U1750	1405 => 1420
12596228: STANFORD TALCOTT	2016-06-18	KEENE OPEN (NH)	3: U1400	1300 => 1300

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June 19th, 2016

Godin wins fun tournament at "Kesajuhla"

Paul Godin of Bedford tallied 4-0 to win the unrated fun tournament on Saturday, June 18, at the Finnish Center at Saima Park's "Kesajuhla" (Summer Festival) in Fitchburg. The 1967 Wachusett CC champion was awarded a scrumptious chicken barbecue dinner as well as chess books and Australian chess magazines for his clean sweep of the field.

Arthur Barlas of Chelmsford finished clear second with a score of 3-1, losing to Godin in the penultimate round. Tying for 3rd-6th place with 2-2 results were Gail Lingner of Fitchburg, Hugh and Randy McLaughlin, both of Groton, and newcomer Nick Anderson of Ashby. Rounding out the 8-player field were Francis Scanlon of Fitchburg, who scored 1-3, and newcomer Karl Lucander of Westminster, who went scoreless.

All participants received chess book prizes. George Mirijanian directed for the Finnish Center at Saima Park, which honored the memory of two-time Wachusett CC champion Evert Siiskonen, who died in 1993 and had been club champion in 1963 and 1966.
-- George M

Event 		Summer Festival Kesajuhla SWISS 2016
Location 	Fitchburg, MA 
Event Date(s) 	2016-06-18
Chief  TD 	George Mirijanian
Non Rated
Time Control: G/20 d5

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Pair | Player Name		Rating	| Round	| Round	| Round	| Round	| Total	|
 Num  | 				|  1	|  2	|  3	|  4	| 	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1 | Paul Godin		1944	|  W4	|  W5	|  W2	|  W3	|  4.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2 | Arthur Barlas		1765	|  W6	|  W3	|  L1	|  W4	|  3.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3 | Gail Lingner		1500	|  W8	|  L2	|  W5	|  L1	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    4 | Randy McLaughlin	1367	|  L1	|  W6	|  W7	|  L2	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    5 | Hugh McLaughlin		1409	|  W7	|  L1	|  L3	|  BYE	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    6 | Nick Anderson		Unr	|  L2	|  L4	|  BYE	|  W7	|  2.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    7 | Francis Scanlon		1033	|  L5	|  BYE	|  L4	|  L6	|  1.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    8 | Karl Lucander		Unr	|  L3	|  ---	| ---	| ---	|  0.0	|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 18th, 2016

Pictures of Dave Couture in Bermuda

**Dave Couture in Bermuda**
Bermuda Chess	In case you're wondering why Dave Couture has not been playing in the 2016 WCC Championship, you can now view the pictures he took playing chess in Bermuda! Pictures from Dave's visit to Bermuda can be found in the "Pics & Video" section of the Main Menu (at the top of his page) under "2016 WCC Events"	Dave Couture in Bermuda	Dave Couture in Bermuda

June 17th, 2016

Fun (unrated) chess tournament on Saturday,
June 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Saima Park

To all chess players:

Just a reminder about the fun (unrated) chess tournament on Saturday, June 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Saima Park in Fitchburg. Registration is from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Entry fee is $3, payable when you enter the park at 61 Scott Road, which is off Ashby State Road (Route 31). You will be given some sort of sticker, which is proof that you are there for the Finnish Center at Saima Park's Summer Festival ("Kesajuhla"). The chess tournament will be held in the function hall at the far end of the park. There will be plenty of parking. Visit www.saima-park.org for announcement of this tournament.
Last year's tournament at Kesajuhla drew 14 players and was 4 rounds. If there are enough players this year, I plan to expand the event to 5 rounds, with a time control of Game/15 minutes. If it stays at 4 rounds, the time control will be Game/20. If the turnout is disappointing and we get fewer than 8 players, the tournament will be 3 rounds with a time control of Game/25. The event will finish by 1 p.m.
Chess book prizes will be awarded in various categories, by rating, age, gender, etc. Last year, all 14 participants received prizes! The overall winner will be awarded a chicken BBQ at the park.
I hope you will support this fun tournament at Saima Park by participating. If you are taking part. please bring chess sets and clocks if you have them. However, I do have lots of sets and a limited number of clocks for use at the event.
Yours for chess,

George Mirijanian
Tournament director

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June 17th, 2016

Chess: My Week at the Club #11 by Roger Cappallo
Round 3 of the club championship as Black against Ray Paulson.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

June 15th, 2016

2016 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 3 of 5

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 15th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1/2-1/2	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	George Mirijanian
Ken Gurge	1-0	Ed Harris
Gary Brassard	1/2-1/2	Arthur Barlas
Lenny Arsenault	1/2-1/2	Alan Condon
Total of 5 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 15th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.5	Paulson, Cappallo
2.0	Godin, Gurge
1.5	Mirijanian, Barlas
1.0	Harris, Brassard
0.5	Condon, Arsenault

Projected Round 4 Pairings for June 22nd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Mirijanian vs. Paulson
Board 2: Cappallo vs. Godin
Board 3: Barlas vs. Harris
Board 4: Condon vs. Brassard
Board 5: Arsenault - BYE

Projected Round 4 Pairings for June 22nd if Gurge plays:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Mirijanian vs. Paulson
Board 2: Cappallo vs. Godin
Board 3: Barlas vs. Gurge
Board 4: Condon vs. Harris
Board 5: Arsenault vs. Brassard

June 15th, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 3 of 5

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 15th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Rob King	1-0	Jim Hankard
John Bastarache	0-1	Larry Gladding
Jackson Parker	1-0	Richard Bennett
Steve Koroskenyi	0-1	Joe Bennett
Mike Commisso	1-0	Tom Giampietro
Alex Venezia	1/2-1/2	Jim Donahue
♔Roland Sorel	1-0	Gail Lingner
Brian Biglow	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Bill Burke
Vince Bradley	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Bob Mathieu
Don Briggs	0-1	♔Francois Gauthier
Wayne Steadman	1/2-1/2	Randy McLaughlin
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Larry O'Rourke
Total of 14 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 3 were Mike Meehan, Vlad Gaciu, Andrew Su, Dave Couture, Stan Talcott and George Miller,
the last of whom was withdrawn from the tournament.

♘ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Francois Gauthier & Vince Bradley (returning after a hiatus), both from New Hampshire.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 15th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	King, Gladding
2.5	-----
2.0	Parker, J. Bennett, Hankard, Commisso, Meehan, Bastarache, Biglow, Burke, R. Bennett, Sorel
1.5	Donahue, Venezia
1.0	Gaciu, Bradley, Mathieu, Lingner, Giampietro, O'Rourke, Gauthier, Koroskenyi, Su, Kiser, Scanlon
0.5	Fratturelli, Steadman, H. McLaughlin, R. McLaughlin
0.0	Couture, Briggs, Talcott, Gawboy

Projected Round 4 Pairings for June 22nd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 6: Gladding vs. King
Board 7: Burke vs. Parker
Board 8: J. Bennett vs. Biglow
Board 9: Hankard vs. Bastarache
Board 10: Sorel vs. Commisso
Board 11: R. Bennett vs. Meehan
Board 12: Donahue vs. Bradley
Board 13: Mathieu vs. Venezia
Board 14: Su vs. Lingner
Board 15: O'Rourke vs. Kiser
Board 16: Gauthier vs. Scanlon
Board 17: R. McLaughlin vs. Fratturelli
Board 18: H. McLaughlin vs. Steadman
Board 19: Talcott vs. Couture
Board 20: Gawboy vs. Briggs

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. on June 22nd in order to be paired for Round 4.
Players running late who wish to be paired cannot call Ken Gurge by 7:00 p.m.
Since he will be unavailable, expected late arrivals must contact other players to let the TDs know that they wish to be paired.

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June 13th, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship Revised projected Pairings

Revised Projected Round 3 "B" Championship Pairings for June 15th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 6: Robert King (2.0)  vs. James Hankard (2.0)
Board 7: John Bastarache (2.0)  vs. Lawrence Gladding (2.0)
Board 8: Vlad Gaciu (1.0)  vs. Richard Bennett (2.0)
Board 9: Jackson Parker (1.0)  vs. Steven Koroskenyi (1.0)
Board 10: Thomas Giampietro (1.0)  vs. Joseph Bennett (1.0)
Board 11: Michael Commisso (1.0)  vs. Alexander Venezia (1.0)
Board 12: Andrew Su (1.0)  vs. Jim Donahue (1.0)
Board 13: Roland Sorel (1.0)  vs. Gail Lingner (1.0)
Board 14: Brian Biglow (1.0)  vs. Andrew Kiser (1.0)
Board 15: Francis Scanlon II (1.0)  vs. William Burke (1.0)
Board 16: Donald Briggs (0.0)  vs. Tom Fratturelli (0.5)
Board 17: Hugh McLaughlin (0.5)  vs. Robert Mathieu (0.0)
Board 18: Stanford Talcott (0.0)  vs. George Miller (0.0)
Board 19: Wayne Steadman (0.0)  vs. Randy McLaughlin (0.0)
Board 20: Emily Gawboy (0.0)  vs. Laurence O'Rourke (0.0)

June 13th, 2016

IM Danny Kopec (February 28, 1954 - June 12, 2016)

Bill Goichberg has posted on the CCA site news of Kopec's passing. I knew that Danny was younger than both of us [George Mirijanian & Stephen Dann], but I didn't realize he was 62 - having celebrated his birthday on Feb. 28. I am hopeful that Nathan [Smolensky] will have fine tribute to Danny in the next issue of CH.
George M

**From Bill Goichberg at Continental Chess Association http://www.chesstour.com/:**
IM Danny Kopec	DANNY KOPEC, (February 28, 1954 - June 12, 2016) I was very sorry to hear of the passing of IM Dr. Danny Kopec today. Danny was a frequent and popular lecturer/analyst at CCA tournaments in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, having lectured and done analysis of games submitted by players most recently at the New York State Open in Lake George, NY in May and Eastern Class at Sturbridge, MA in April. He was an active tournament player and prolific chess author and lecturer, also known for devising his "Kopec System" against the Sicilian Defense. His first experience in organized chess was playing in the 1966 Greater New York Elementary School Championship that I directed, where he scored 6 points out of 8 and won a USCF membership. He will be missed by many in the chess world, including CCA players who benefited from his activity at our events. -Bill Goichberg, 6/12/16
For more information & the Maine Chess Association Blog, go to: http://chessmaine.net/chessmaine/2016/06/in-memory-of-im-danny-kopec.html Danny Kopec obituary can be found a: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspxn=danny-kopec&pid=180329330

June 13th, 2016

Viktor Korchnoi (March 23, 1931 - June 6, 2016)

**ChessCenter: Remembering Viktor Korchnoi:**
GM Viktor Korchnoi	Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (March 23, 1931 - June 6, 2016) Last Monday (6 June) saw the death of one of chess' most iconic figures, the 85 year old Viktor Korchnoi. His famous quote "chess is my life" is one many will connect to. Viktor, however, backed it up, dedicating all his days to the game we love. The databases record an incredible 70 years of his competitive games. He played in 10 Candidates Tournaments from 1962-1991 and challenged Karpov for the world title twice, losing narrowly in 1978 but finding Karpov too strong in '81. Viktor surprised everyone by qualifying for the championship matches. Here was a player who was becoming even stronger as he got older. Bear in mind he was 12 years older than Bobby Fischer who had retired in '75, 20 years older than Karpov and was now superior to the stars of his generation (Korchnoi beat both Petrosian and Spassky on the way to the '78 match). Even in his 60s, he took on the very best, competing in the Intel Grand Prix events against Morozevich, Ivanchuk and Anand. Most people would be proud of that but of course, chess was Viktor's life. He carried on competing, sensationally beating Fabiano Caruana in 2011 at the age of 80! Ultimately he will be remembered for his fighting ability, his passion for chess and, of course, his games. Viktor Korchnoi - Detailed Obituary at The Telegraph Viktor Korchnoi - "A Pleasant Interview" on YouTube

June 13th, 2016

Ken Ballou to be the chief TD for the Millionaire Chess Open in Atlantic City, NJ

National Tournament Director, Ken Ballou, will be the chief TD for the Millionaire Chess Open in Atlantic City, NJ in early October. Senior Tournament Director, Matt Phelps, will be his "Back Room Chief." The duo are veteran TD's currently involved with the MetroWest Chess Club in Natick, MA, where they have directed many events.

June 12th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #10 by Roger Cappallo

Hello all,
The next installment of my chess adventures is ready at YouTube.
This week I played the black side of an Anderssen's opening against Ed Harris.
Sorry about the annoyance of the server connecting and disconnecting.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

June 11th, 2016

June 6, 2016 Edition of FATV Chess Chat features 85th Mass Open

This month George Mirijanian & co-host Dave Couture discuss the results of the 85th Massachusetts Open Championship tournament which ended in a four-way tie for first place between FM Mika Brattain, IM David Vigorito, FM David Brodsky, of New York, & NM Chris Williams. The Mass open trophy & state championship title will be shared among the three Massachusetts residents, Brattain, Vigorito, & Williams.13-year old New Yorker, David Brodsky, will join the ranks of such notables as Joe fang, Harlow Daly, Robert Perez, & Michael Casella as out-of-staters who have won or tied for first place in the event.

This Chess Chat program features the first round game played between 2012 WCC Champ, Trevor Bierig & 11-year old USCF Expert, Danila Poliannikov in which Trevor sacrificed a minor piece, then his queen for an unstoppable mating attack.

**Four Way Tie For First Place At 85th Mass Open**
Photos by Tony Cortizas, Jr.
FM Mika Brattain	IM David Vigorito	FM David Brodsky	NM Chris Williams

June 10th, 2016

2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip competes in IM norm invitational tournament

**This is Carissa's first IM norm invitational tournament, and she is seeking her first IM norm.**
NM Carissa Yip, USCF 2299, FIDE 2196	The tournament is scheduled to run from June 8, 2016 through June 13, 2016. You can follow the results & view some selected games, but the USChessChamps.com web site seems a bit clunky to navigate. If you are seeking your very own GM or IM norm, you can find the regulations & requirements here.

June 8th, 2016

2016 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 2 of 5

Two "Newcomers" At Top After Two

At the end of the first two of five rounds in the 2016 WCC "A" Championship, USCF Expert, Ray Paulson, & Class A rated, Roger Cappallo now share the lead with two wins each. While both Ray & Roger are long term chess veterans & have been consistently strong performers at the WCC & elsewhere for at least this past season, & they rank #1 & #3 respectively by rating at the start of the tournament, neither has ever won the WCC "A" Championship (Roger was WCC "B" Champ in 2014).

In what could prove to be the deciding game of this year's championship, Ray Paulson, & Roger Cappallo will face each other at board one next week. The only former WCC Champs in the remainder of the field, current WCC Champ & 17-time winner, George Mirijanian, & 1967 WCC Champ, Paul Godin, are paired on board two for next week's games.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 8th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	0-1	Ray Paulson
Ed Harris	0-1	Roger Cappallo
George Mirijanian	1-0	Alan Condon
Ken Gurge	1-0	Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Lenny Arsenault
Total of 5 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 8th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Paulson, Cappallo
1.5	Mirijanian
1.0	Godin, Harris, Gurge, Barlas
0.5	Brassard
0.0	Condon, Arsenault

Projected Round 3 Pairings for June 15th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Paulson vs. Cappallo
Board 2: Godin vs. Mirijanian
Board 3: Gurge vs. Harris
Board 4: Brassard vs. Barlas
Board 5: Arsenault vs. Condon

June 8th, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 2 of 5

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 8th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brian Biglow	0-1	Rob King
Larry Gladding	1-0	Alex Venezia
Tom Giampietro	0-1	Jim Hankard
♔Richard Bennett	1-0	Mike Commisso
Mike Meehan	1-0	Roland Sorel
Andrew Kiser	0-1	John Bastarache
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Jackson Parker
Joe Bennett	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Vlad Gaciu
♔Steve Koroskenyi	1-0	Don Briggs
Jim Donahue	1-0	Stan Talcott
Bob Mathieu	0-1	♔Andrew Su
Bill Burke	1-0	Emily Gawboy
♔Francis Scanlon	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Total of 14 boards, 4 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 2 were Gail Lingner, Dave Couture, George Miller and Tom Whistler,
the last of whom withdrew from the tournament.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 8th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	King, Gladding, Hankard, Meehan, Bastarache, R. Bennett
1.5	-----
1.0	Gaciu, Parker, J. Bennett, Commisso, Donahue, Lingner, Biglow, Burke, Giampietro, Venezia, Koroskenyi, Sorel, Su, Kiser, Scanlon
0.5	Fratturelli, H. McLaughlin
0.0	Couture, Briggs, Miller, Mathieu, Steadman, O'Rourke, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, Gawboy

Projected Round 3 Pairings for June 15th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 6: King vs. Meehan
Board 7: Bastarache vs. Gladding
Board 8: Hankard vs. R. Bennett
Board 9: Gaciu vs. Burke
Board 10: Parker vs. Koroskenyi
Board 11: Giampietro vs. J. Bennett
Board 12: Commisso vs. Venezia
Board 13: Su vs. Donahue
Board 14: Sorel vs. Lingner
Board 15: Biglow vs. Kiser
Board 16: Fratturelli vs. Scanlon
Board 17: H. McLaughlin vs. Mathieu
Board 18: Briggs vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 19: Steadman vs. Talcott
Board 20: Gawboy vs. O'Rourke

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on June 15th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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June 6th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #9 by Roger Cappallo

Hello all,
After some serious wrestling with my recording software and a few takes, I've posted this week's game
from Round 1 of the WCC Club Championship up on my website.
I played Arthur Barlas in what turned out to be an interesting Queen's Indian.
Enjoy!

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

June 3rd, 2016

"Carissa Yip | Chess in the 21st Century" YouTube video by GM Ben Finegold

Grandmaster Ben Finegold is impressed with 12 year old Carissa Yip.
Yip played in the 2016 U.S. Women's Championship and is rising fast up the ranks.
See four of her best wins to date. Three from the US Women's Championship plus her victory over GM Kovalev.

June 3rd, 2016

FATV Chess Chat Linked on Keene Site

The Keene Knights Chess Club now has direct links to the FATV Chess Chat programs hosted by George Mirijanian.
This means you can select from a list by topic & watch them online.
Of course you can still do that here on the WCC site, but it's nice to have choices.

June 1st, 2016

2016 WCC 'A' Championship
Round 1 of 5

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 1st, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	1/2-1/2	George Mirijanian
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Alan Condon	0-1	Paul Godin
Ed Harris	1-0	Lenny Arsenault
Total of 5 boards, no major upsets.

**WCC 'A' Championship, June 1st, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, Harris
0.5	Mirijanian, Brassard
0.0	Gurge, Barlas, Condon, Arsenault

Projected Round 2 Pairings for June 8th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Paulson
Board 2: Harris vs. Cappallo
Board 3: Mirijanian vs. Condon
Board 4: Gurge vs. Brassard
Board 5: Barlas vs. Arsenault

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on June 8th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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

June 1st, 2016

2016 WCC 'B' Championship
Round 1 of 5

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 1st, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Rob King	1-0	Bill Burke
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Larry Gladding
Jackson Parker	0-1	♔Tom Giampietro
♔Alex Venezia	1-0	Joe Bennett
Jim Hankard	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Hugh McLaughlin	1/2-1/2	Tom Fratturelli
Mike Commisso	1-0	Steve Koroskenyi
Stan Talcott	0-1	Mike Meehan
Don Briggs	0-1	♔Richard Bennett
♔Roland Sorel	1-0	Jim Donahue
John Bastarache	1-0	Andrew Su
♔Andy Kiser	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Gail Lingner	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Brian Biglow
Total of 14 boards, 5 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 1 were Dave Couture, George Miller, Randy McLaughlin and Tom Whistler.

**WCC 'B' Championship, June 1st, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	King, Gladding, Hankard, Commisso, Meehan, Bastarache, Lingner, Biglow, Giampietro, Venezia, R. Bennett, Sorel, Kiser
0.5	Fratturelli, H. McLaughlin
0.0	Couture, Parker, J. Bennett, Briggs, Miller, Donahue, Mathieu, Burke, Steadman, O'Rourke, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, Su, Scanlon, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 2 Pairings for June 8th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 6: Biglow vs. King
Board 7: Gladding vs. Lingner
Board 8: Giampietro vs. Hankard
Board 9: Venezia vs. Commisso
Board 10: Meehan vs. Sorel
Board 11: R. Bennett vs. Bastarache
Board 12: Fratturelli vs. Kiser
Board 13: Couture vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 14: O'Rourke vs. Parker
Board 15: J. Bennett vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 16: Koroskenyi vs. Briggs
Board 17: Su vs. Miller
Board 18: Donahue vs. Talcott
Board 19: Mathieu vs. Gawboy
Board 20: Burke vs. Whistler
Board 21: Scanlon vs. Steadman

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on June 8th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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May 31st, 2016

Seeth Ganesan opts out of WCC Championship, Alan Condon to play instead.

Seeth Ganesan has decided not to play in this year's WCC Championship, and since the next player on the qualified list is Alan Condon, Alan was invited to play & he has accepted, so now the first round pairings based on this change & the latest rating updates look like:

Projected Pairings for Round 1 of the WCC Championship June 1st:
(Including reordered ranking due to rating changes
for anyone playing in this weekend's Mass Open in Marlborough)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Ray Paulson (2037) vs. Ken Gurge (1795)
Board 2: Gary Brassard (1789) vs. George Mirijanian 1984)
Board 3: Roger Cappallo (1946) vs. Arthur Barlas (1765)
Board 4: Alan Condon (1728) vs. Paul Godin (1944)
Board 5: Ed Harris (1855) vs. Lenny Arsenault (1692)

May 31st, 2016

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at 85th Mass Open

Ten active & inactive WCC members played in the 85th Mass Open Championship tournament held this past weekend, May 28, 29, & 30.

Here are their rating updates:

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Tuesday May 31, 2016 Active Member Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
14933988: BRANDON WU	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	1: CHAMPIONSHIP	2156 => 2178
11235611: PATRICK SCIACCA	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	2080 => 2096
12401616: RAYMOND PAULSON	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	2085 => 2037
11305831: ERIK ZOLTAN	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	2008 => 1996
14545906: TREVOR WARD BIERIG	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	1884 => 1893
11156665: GARY BRASSARD	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	1816 => 1789
13459495: VLAD JAN GACIU	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER 1800	1772 => 1778
14358604: JACKSON PARKER	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	2: UNDER 2100	1737 => 1721
10008191: JOHN W MARTIN	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER 1800	1700 => 1700
12458787: WILLIAM T BURKE II	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	3: UNDER 1800	1485 => 1486
15518741: ANDREW SU	2016-05-30	85TH MASSACHUSETTS OPEN (MA)	4: UNDER 1500	1261 => 1252

May 31st, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #8 by Roger Cappallo

Hello all,
For a change this week, I annotated the exciting and decisive game on board 1, rather than the quiet draw between me and Ed Harris.
It was between Dave Thomas and Eric Strickland. Enjoy!

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

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May 27th, 2016

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of May 18, 2016
After 44 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the final standings for qualification for the Club Championship.
The top ten winning percentage finishers qualified.

For pairing purposes in the 5 round Swiss System Tournament,
the current USCF ratings listed below (following the tournament concluded on May 25, 2016) will be revised to reflect the players' then current ratings as of the start of the WCC Championship Tournament on June 1, 2016.

A coin flip conducted by the Tournament Director on May 25, 2016 resulted in the highest rated player as of June 1, 2016, who will be the number one seed in the Championship Tournament, having the White pieces in Round 1.
Normal Swiss System pairing colors will follow from that.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage
Paulson	2074	33	.864
Cappallo	1946	39	.744
Godin	1944	43	.733
Mirijanian	1984	29	.724
Harris	1855	41	.659
Gurge	1795	41	.659
Barlas	1768	22	.636
Brassard	1816	37	.635
Ganesan	1697	27	.630
Arsenault	1692	34	.618

Notes:
♔ All ten of the players list have qualified & will compete in the Championship.
♚ All others are invited to play in the WCC "B" Championship Tournament.
♖ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♗ Larry Gladding is omitted at his request.
♘ Dave Thomas is omitted at his request.

Projected Pairings for Round 1 of the WCC Championship June ist:
(Barring any changes in ranking due to rating changes
for anyone playing in this weekend's Mass Open in Marlborough)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Ray Paulson (2074) vs. Gary Brassard (1816)
Board 2: Ken Gurge (1795) vs. George Mirijanian 1984)
Board 3: Roger Cappallo (1946) vs. Arthur Barlas (1765)
Board 4: Seeth Ganesan (1697) vs. Paul Godin (1944)
Board 5: Ed Harris (1855) vs. Lenny Arsenault (1692)

May 27th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #7 by Roger Cappallo

Roger Cappallo has posted a video of his game with Dave Thomas from the third round of the Martin Laine Mmemorial tournament played on Wednesday May 18th.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

May 25th, 2016

2016 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 4 of 4

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 25th, 2016**
Round 4 of 4 Results
White	Result	Black
Dave Thomas	0-1	Eric Strickland
Ray Paulson	1-0	Jackson Parker
Jim Hankard	1/2-1/2	Nik Lavoie
Ed Harris	1/2-1/2	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
George Miller	0-1	Ken Gurge
♔Don Briggs	1-0	Dave Couture
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Larry Gladding
Gary Brassard	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Roland Sorel	0-1	Lenny Arsenault
Bob Mathieu	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Steve Koroskenyi	0-1	Wayne Steadman
Andrew Su	0-1	Alexander Venezia
George Mirijanian	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Bill Burke	1-0	Tom Giampietro
Gail Lingner	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Tom Whistler	0-1	John Bastarache
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Brian Biglow
Total of 18 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♖ Not playing round 4 were Clay Bradley, Arthur Barlas, Alan Condon, Joe Bennett, Vlad Gaciu, Mike Commisso,
Richard Bennett, Jim Donahue and Stan Talcott.

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 25th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.0	Strickland
3.5	Paulson
3.0	Godin, Gurge, Thomas, Hankard, Parker, Briggs, Lavoie
2.5	Bradley, Cappallo, Harris, Brassard, Arsenault, Ganesan
2.0	Barlas, Condon, Fratturelli, Miller, Mathieu, Steadman, Venezia
1.5	Mirijanian, Couture, Gladding, J. Bennett, Gaciu, Lingner, Burke, O'Rourke, R. McLaughlin, Sorel
1.0	Commisso, Bastarache, Biglow, H. McLaughlin, Koroskenyi, R. Bennett, Su
0.5	Donahue, Giampietro, Talcott, Scanlon, Whistler
0.0	Gawboy

♔ 2016 Martin Laine Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT
2nd:	Ray Paulson of Lowell
Top U1850:	Ken Gurge of Leominster, Dave Thomas of Fitchburg, and Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH
Top U1650:	Jackson Parker of Fitchburg
Top U1450:	Don Briggs of Lunenburg
Top U1250:	Nik Lavoie of Worcester

Pictures from this year's Martin Laine Memorial tournament.

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Nik Lavoie	+ 221
Don Briggs	+ 156
Jackson Parker	+ 83
Dave Thomas	+ 63

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Jackson Parker	1737
Seeth Ganesan	1697
Tom Fratturelli	1689
Don Briggs	1574
Nik Lavoie	1459
Roland Sorel	1295
Andrew Su	1261

♔ Congratulations to all! ♔

REMINDER: The 2016 Wachusett Chess Club Championship starts Wednesday, June 1.
Players in both the "A" and "B" Divisions must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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May 20th, 2016

2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip, to Train in Saint Louis Next Week

As reported at: http://en.chessbase.com/post/young-stars-success:
"Training to be the World's best is no easy task, and there is little rest time. Both Sam [Sevian] and Jeffery [Xiong] will be attending a training session with Garry Kasparov and Michael Khodarkovsky in Saint Louis, from May 27-29. They will be joined by other American stars, such as Kayden Troff, John Burke and the rising female star Carissa Yip."

May 20th, 2016

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of May 18, 2016
After 43 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Notes
Paulson	2074	32	.859
Cappallo	1960	38	.750
Godin	1954	42	.726
Mirijanian	2004	28	.714
Thomas	1773	39	.692
Harris	1862	40	.663
Gurge	1773	40	.650
Barlas	1777	22	.636	♝
Brassard	1815	36	.625
Ganesan	1687	26	.615
Arsenault	1694	33	.606
Condon	1727	25	.600
Couture	1850	36	.597
Fratturelli	1658	37	.595
Parker	1654	28	.589
Commisso	1680	28	.571
Hankard	1679	42	.571
Meehan	1646	30	.567
Bennett, J.	1734	38	.539
Rogers, E.	1502	29	.517

Notes:
♟ There is 1 regular season game left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .636 has played 22 games and has qualified based on gamesplayed. If he maintains a sufficientlt high qualifying percentage he would qualify, however, he has indicated that he's still undecided as to whether he'll opt out.
♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♚ Larry Gladding is omitted at his request.
* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

May 18th, 2016

2016 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 3 of 4

Surprise, Surprise: 8 Major Upsets, 7 With Black!

Of the 18 pairings for round 3 of the Martin Laine Memorial tournament this Wednesday night, 8 ended in major upsets of 150 rating points or more, & 7 of those 8 were won by the player with the black pieces!
Board 1 featured two qualifiers for this year's WCC Championship, Roger Cappallo & Dave Thomas. Dave lost a pawn & an exchange early in the game only to turn the tables quickly with a powerful winning mating attack.
At board 3, Jackson Parker out played Ed Harris in an opening variation that caught his rival off guard. Ed accidentally left his queen available for the taking & Jackson took it.
At board 6, Westminster resident & chess author, Dave Couture, found himself a full rook down against Nik Lavoie but missed tricky drawing opportunity & soon had to resign.
At board 7, Larry Gladding lost a piece in the opening & resigned on move 11 when Jim Hankard skewered his queen & king thereby producing one of the shortest games in WCC history.
The remaining four upsets were all won by the player with the black pieces as follows:
Board 11: Mike Commisso 0-1 Don Briggs
Board 14: Tom Giampietro 0-1 Roland Sorel
Board 16: John Bastarache 0-1 Steve Koroskenyi
Board 17: Brian Biglow 0-1 Andrew Su

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 18th, 2016**
Round 3 of 4 Results
White	Result	Black
Roger Cappallo	0-1	♔ Dave Thomas
Eric Strickland	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
♔ Jackson Parker	1-0	Ed Harris
Ray Paulson	1-0	Gary Brassard
Clay Bradley	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Dave Couture	0-1	♔ Nik Lavoie
Larry Gladding	0-1	♔ Jim Hankard
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Paul Godin
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Alan Condon
Mike Commisso	0-1	♔ Don Briggs
Richard Bennett	0-1	George Miller
Joe Bennett	1-0	Gail Lingner
Tom Giampietro	0-1	♔ Roland Sorel
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Tom Whistler
John Bastarache	0-1	♔ Steve Koroskenyi
Brian Biglow	0-1	♔ Andrew Su
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Total of 18 boards, 8 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Ken Gurge, Vlad Gaciu, Lenny Arsenault, Jim Donahue and Francis Scanlon.
♖ Not playing round 3 were Randy McLaughlin, George Mirijanian, Bill Burke and Stan Talcott.
♙ Andrew Kiser was withdrawn from the tournament.

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 18th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Strickland, Thomas, Parker
2.5	Paulson, Bradley, Hankard, Lavoie
2.0	Cappallo, Godin, Harris, Barlas, Gurge, Condon, Fratturelli, Miller, Briggs
1.5	Couture, Gladding, Brassard, J. Bennett, Gaciu, Arsenault, Ganesan, O'Rourke, R. McLaughlin, Sorel
1.0	Commisso, Mathieu, Steadman, Venezia, H. McLaughlin, Koroskenyi, R. Bennett, Su
0.5	Mirijanian, Donahue, Giampietro, Lingner, Burke, Talcott, Scanlon, Whistler
0.0	Bastarache, Biglow, Gawboy

Projected Round 4 Pairings for May 25th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Thomas vs. Strickland
Board 2: Paulson vs. Parker
Board 3: Hankard vs. Lavoie
Board 4: Gurge vs. Cappallo
Board 5: Godin vs. Condon
Board 6: Harris vs. Fratturelli
Board 7: Miller vs. Barlas
Board 8: Briggs vs. Couture
Board 9: Arsenault vs. Gladding
Board 10: Ganesan vs. Brassard
Board 11: O'Rourke vs. J. Bennett
Board 12: R. McLaughlin vs. Gaciu
Board 13: Sorel vs. Commisso
Board 14: Mathieu vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 15: Koroskenyi vs. Steadman
Board 16: Venezia vs. R. Bennett
Board 17: Su vs. Mirijanian
Board 18: Donahue vs. Burke
Board 19: Talcott vs. Giampietro
Board 20: Lingner vs. Scanlon
Board 21: Whistler vs. Bastarache
Board 22: Gawboy vs. Biglow

♖ Bradley is not playing the final round.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on May 25th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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May 18th, 2016

Eight WCC Players Compete in Keene Quick Championship

Of the twelve players who showed up to do battle in the 2nd annual Keene Knights Quick Chess Championship, a full two thirds or eight players were from the WCC. Top honors went to Dave Kochman while 2nd -3rd place were shared by Tony Cesolini & Paul Godin, all WCC players.

Here are their quick rating updates:

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Wednesday May 18, 2016 Keene Knights CC Quick Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
12844878: TONY S CESOLINI	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1982 => 1981
12459389: PAUL L GODIN	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1991 => 1980
10032059: DAVID M KOCHMAN	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1837 => 1933
13526267: ERIC STRICKLAND	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1710 => 1721
13250463: JOSEPH BENNETT	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1787 => 1721
12222200: JAMES A HANKARD	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1588 => 1607
12776334: DAVID J THOMAS	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1624 => 1595
12465223: EDWARD ARTHUR HARRIS	2016-05-16	2ND ANNUAL KCC QUICK CLUB CHAM (NH)	1: 2ND ANNUAL	1517 => 1541

May 18th, 2016

Carissa Yip featured in Lowell Sun

"She's a national chess master, and she's only 12",
proclaims the headline in the Lowell Sun article by Alana Melanson, as updated this morning.
In addition to some background information & highlights of Carissa's past accomplishments, Alana covers Carissa's performance at the recent US Women's Championship as well as noting that Carissa remains first in the US among girls under age 21 & that she creates instructional videos, and is the only child video author on ChessKid.com.

May 17th, 2016

Tony Cesolini to Play Simul in NH

Tony Cesolini, USCF rated expert & former scholastic chess champion of NH, will play any number of people simultaneously this Saturday, May 21, from 1:00 PM till 4:00 PM at the Gregg Free Library, 7 Forest Road, Wilton, NH.
The promoters are going to borrow some chess sets, and including his and those we probably will total 10 or 12. Ideally, we'll attract some seniors as well as kids. Please bring sets & boards if you have them.

May 14th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #6 by Roger Cappallo

Roger Cappallo has posted a video of his game with Alan Condon from the second round of the Martin Laine Mmemorial tournament played this past Wednesday.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

May 11th, 2016

2016 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 2 of 4

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 11th, 2016**
Round 2 of 4 Results
White	Result	Black
Ken Gurge	1/2-1/2	Ray Paulson
Alan Condon	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	0-1	♔Dave Thomas
Lenny Arsenault	0-1	Eric Strickland
Ed Harris	1-0	Mike Commisso
Jim Hankard	1/2-1/2	Dave Couture
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Arthur Barlas
♔Jackson Parker	1-0	George Mirijanian
Gary Brassard	1-0	Tom Giampietro
♔Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Joe Bennett
Stan Talcott	0-1	Seeth Ganesan
♔Nik Lavoie	1-0	Jim Donahue
George Miller	1-0	Steve Koroskenyi
Don Briggs	1-0	Brian Biglow
Bob Mathieu	1-0	Andrew Su
♔Richard Bennett	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Vlad Gaciu	1-0	John Bastarache
Total of 19 boards, 5 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were:
Clay Bradley, Larry Gladding, Gail Lingner, Bill Burke, Larry O'Rourke, Tom Whistler and Andrew Kiser.
♙ Requesting a zero-point bye was Roland Sorel.

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 11th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Cappallo, Strickland, Harris, Thomas, Fratturelli, Parker
1.5	Paulson, Bradley, Couture, Gladding, Brassard, Gurge, Ganesan, Hankard, R. McLaughlin, Lavoie
1.0	Godin, Barlas, Gaciu, Condon. Commisso, Arsenault, Miller, Mathieu, Venezia, H. McLaughlin, Briggs, R. Bennett, Kiser
0.5	Mirijanian, J. Bennett, Giampietro, Lingner, Burke, O'Rourke, Talcott, Sorel, Whistler
0.0	Donahue, Bastarache, Biglow, Steadman, Koroskenyi, Su, Scanlon, Gawboy

Projected Round 3 Pairings for May 18th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cappallo vs. Fratturelli
Board 2: Strickland vs. Parker
Board 3: Thomas vs. Harris
Board 4: Paulson vs. Brassard
Board 5: Bradley vs. Ganesan
Board 6: Couture vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 7: Gladding vs. Hankard
Board 8: Godin vs. Lavoie
Board 9: Barlas vs. Miller
Board 10: Mathieu vs. Gaciu
Board 11: Venezia vs. Condon
Board 12: Commisso vs. Briggs
Board 13: H. McLaughlin vs. Arsenault
Board 14: Mirijanian vs. R. Bennett
Board 15: J. Bennett vs. O'Rourke
Board 16: Giampietro vs. Talcott
Board 17: Sorel vs. Lingner
Board 18: Burke vs. Whistler
Board 19: Donahue vs. Koroskenyi
Board 20: Bastarache vs. Su
Board 21: Biglow vs. Scanlon
Board 22: Steadman vs. Gawboy

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 3 is Gurge.
♝ Kiser will be paired if he shows up on time to play.

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of May 11, 2016
After 42 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed	Notes
Paulson	2074	31	.855	0
Cappallo	1960	37	.770	0
Godin	1954	41	.720	0
Mirijanian	2004	28	.714	0
Thomas	1773	38	.684	0
Harris	1862	39	.679	0
Gurge	1773	40	.650	0
Brassard	1815	35	.643	0
Ganesan	1687	25	.640	0
Barlas	1777	21	.619	1	♝
Couture	1850	35	.614	0
Fratturelli	1658	36	.611	0
Arsenault	1694	33	.606	0
Commisso	1680	27	.594	0
Condon	1727	24	.583	0
Parker	1654	27	.574	0
Meehan	1637	30	.567	0
Hankard	1679	41	.561	0
Bennett, J.	1734	37	.527	0
Rogers, E.	1502	29	.517	0

Notes:
♟ There are 2 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .619 has played 21 games and would need to play 1 of the remaining 2 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♚ Larry Gladding is omitted at his request.
* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for Round 3 on May 18th.
Players who expect to be late who wish to be paired MUST E-MAIL George Mirijanian by 5:30 p.m. on May 18th.
Ken Gurge cannot be reached by phone on that day.

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May 8th, 2016

Mike Meehan ties for 1st in U1600 section of Kaamatan Open

Fresh from winning the Top U1600 prize in the Evert Siiskonen Memorial at the Wachusett Chess Club, WCC member Mike Meehan of Westminster, MA tallied 4-1 to tie for 1st place in the Under 1600 section of the Kaamatan Open, held Saturday, May 7, in West Newbury, MA. Mike gained 9 USCF rating points in the process and raised his rating to 1646. Also competing in the same section was fellow club member Alexander Venezia of Lunenburg, MA, who scored 2.5-2.5 to tie for 6th-8th place, losing 37 points and lowering his rating to 1422. Competing in the Open section were four other Wachusett CC players: Geoff LePoer of Westford, MA, who tallied 2.5-2.5, tying for 6th-9th place, gaining 13 points and raising his rating to 1916; as well as Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH, and Jackson Parker of Fitchburg, MA, both of whom scored 2-3 to tie for 9th-13th place. Mike lost 22 points and lowered his rating to 1680, while Jackson gained 22 points and raised his rating to 1654. Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH rounded out the Wachusett contingent, scoring 1.5-3.5, gaining 6 points and bringing his rating to 1679. The Wachusett CC sextet represented roughly 22 percent of the total field of 27 players in the two sections.

Here are their rating updates:

**♙ ♝ ♘ ♜ ♘ ♟ Tuesday May 10, 2016 Active Member Rating Updates ♗ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♗ ♟**
USCFID#: WCC Member Name	End Date	Most Recent Rated Tournament	Section: Name	Pre => Post
12763343: GEOFFREY LEPOER	2016-05-07	KAAMATAN OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1903 => 1916
12525099: MICHAEL COMMISSO	2016-05-07	KAAMATAN OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1702 => 1680
12222200: JAMES A HANKARD	2016-05-07	KAAMATAN OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1673 => 1679
14358604: JACKSON PARKER	2016-05-07	KAAMATAN OPEN (MA)	1: OPEN	1632 => 1654
12758321: MICHAEL J MEEHAN	2016-05-07	KAAMATAN OPEN (MA)	2: U1600	1637 => 1646
15927258: ALEXANDER VENEZIA	2016-05-07	KAAMATAN OPEN (MA)	2: U1600	1459 (P17) => 1422 (P22)

May 7th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #5 by Roger Cappallo

Roger Cappallo has posted a video of his game with George Miller from the first round of the Martin Laine Mmemorial tournament played this past Wednesday.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

May 6th, 2016

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of May 5, 2016
After 41 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed	Notes
Paulson	2074	30	.867	0
Cappallo	1960	36	.764	0
Mirijanian	2004	27	.741	0
Godin	1954	40	.738	0
Thomas	1773	37	.676	0
Harris	1862	38	.671	0
Gurge	1773	39	.654	0
Barlas	1777	20	.650	2	♝
Brassard	1815	34	.632	0
Arsenault	1694	32	.625	0
Ganesan	1687	24	.625	0
Couture	1850	34	.618	0
Commisso	1702	26	.615	0
Condon	1727	23	.609	0
Fratturelli	1658	35	.600	0
Meehan	1637	30	.567	0
Hankard	1673	40	.563	0
Parker	1632	26	.558	0
Bennett, J.	1734	36	.542	0
Rogers, E.	1502	29	.517	0

Notes:
♟ There are 3 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .650 has played 20 games and would need to play 2 of the remaining 3 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♚ Larry Gladding is omitted at his request.
* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

May 4th, 2016

2016 Martin Laine Memorial
Round 1 of 4

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 4th, 2016**
Round 1 of 4 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Jim Donahue
John Bastarache	0-1	Clay Bradley
Roger Cappallo	1-0	George Miller
Brian Biglow	0-1	Paul Godin
Eric Strickland	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Ed Harris
Dave Couture	1-0	Bill Burke
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Larry Gladding
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Ken Gurge
Dave Thomas	1-0	Don Briggs
Steve Koroskenyi	0-1	Alan Condon
Mike Commisso	1-0	Richard Bennett
Andrew Su	0-1	Lenny Arsenault
Seeth Ganesan	1/2-1/2	Nik Lavoie
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Jim Hankard
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Tom Whistler	0-1	Jackson Parker
Total of 18 boards, no major upsets.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Gary Brassard, Joe Bennett, Randy McLaughlin,
Stan Talcott, Roland Sorel and Andrew Kiser.
♗ Declining a half-point bye was Gail Lingner.

**Martin Laine Memorial, May 4th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Paulson, Bradley, Cappallo, Godin, Strickland, Harris, Couture, Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Thomas, Condon, Commisso, Arsenault, Hankard, Fratturelli, Parker
0.5	Mirijanian, Brassard, J. Bennett, Ganesan, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, Sorel, Lavoie, Kiser
0.0	Donahue, Bastarache, Miller, Biglow, Mathieu, Lingner, Steadman, Burke, Venezia, O'Rourke, H. McLaughlin, Briggs, Koroskenyi, R. Bennett, Su, Scanlon, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 2 Pairings for May 11th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Gurge vs. Paulson
Board 2: Condon vs. Cappallo
Board 3: Godin vs. Thomas
Board 4: Commisso vs. Strickland
Board 5: Harris vs. Fratturelli
Board 6: Arsenault vs. Couture
Board 7: Hankard vs. Barlas
Board 8: Parker vs. Mirijanian
Board 9: R. McLaughlin vs. Brassard
Board 10: J. Bennett vs. Talcott
Board 11: Sorel vs. Ganesan
Board 12: Lavoie vs. Bastarache
Board 13: Donahue vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 14: Miller vs. Koroskenyi
Board 15: Briggs vs. Biglow
Board 16: Mathieu vs. Su
Board 17: Lingner vs. Scanlon
Board 18: R. Bennett vs. Steadman
Board 19: Gawboy vs. Venezia
Board 20: O'Rourke vs. Whistler

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 2 are Bradley, Gladding, Burke and Kiser.
♜ Some pictures from this tournament can be seen at:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zi55rhpff58d63o/AABTa7RxorVwCbj0Rzd1ekyTa/2016%20Martin%20Laine%20Memorial?dl=0

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on May 11th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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May 3rd, 2016

Rating List for the Martin Laine Memorial (1950-2014)

Round 1 of the 2016 Martin Laine Memorial will be played this Wednesday night, May 4, in Room C192 in the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the round.
Players most likely to compete are listed below with their current ratings:

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Players most likely to compete in the 2016 Martin Laine Memorial are listed below with their current ratings:
1	Tony Cesolini	2091
2	Ray Paulson	2074
3	George Mirijanian	2004
4	Roger Cappallo	1960
5	Paul Godin	1948
6	Ed Harris	1852
7	Dave Couture	1850
8	Larry Gladding	1815
9	Gary Brassard	1815
10	Arthur Barlas	1777
11	Ken Gurge	1773
12	Joe Bennett	1772
13	Dave Thomas	1752
14	Mike Commisso	1702
15	Lenny Arsenault	1694
16	Seeth Ganesan	1687
17	Paul Lynch	1667
18	Jim Hankard	1660
19	Tom Fratturelli	1658
20	Mike Meehan	1637
21	Jackson Parker	1632
22	Jim Donahue	1582
23	John Bastarache	1571
24	George Miller	1550
25	Brian Biglow	1540
26	Bob Mathieu	1514
27	Gail Lingner	1500
28	Wayne Steadman	1480
29	xBill Burke	1480
30	Alexander Venezia	1459
31	Larry O'Rourke	1420
32	Hugh McLaughlin	1419
33	Don Briggs	1418
34	Steve Koroskenyi	1374
35	Randy McLaughlin	1336
36	Stan Talcott	1300
37	Richard Bennett	1275
38	Roland Sorel	1261
39	Andrew Su	1248
40	Nik Lavoie	1238
41	Kandy Lynch	1200
42	Andrew Kiser	1048
43	Francis Scanlon	1043
44	Emily Gawboy	863
45	Tom Whistler	777

May 3rd, 2016

Harold Dondis Remembered on WBUR

Today the WBUR Remembrance Project featured Chris Chase's touching tribute to Harold Dondis.
"Harold Dondis practiced law in Boston for 70 years, but he played the game of chess for 80. His fellow club members will never forget when Harold defeated Bobby Fischer, nor will they forget his last match."

Listen to the Chris Chase interview.

May 3rd, 2016

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of May 2, 2016
After 40 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed	Notes
Paulson	2068	29	.862	0
Cappallo	1960	35	.757	0
Mirijanian	2004	27	.741	0
Godin	1951	39	.731	0
Thomas	1752	36	.667	0
Harris	1852	37	.662	0
Gurge	1773	38	.645	0
Brassard	1831	34	.632	0
Barlas	1777	19	.632	3	♝
Ganesan	1687	23	.630	0
Arsenault	1694	31	.613	0
Couture	1850	33	.606	0
Commisso	1702	25	.600	2
Condon	1727	22	.591	2
Fratturelli	1658	34	.588	0
Meehan	1637	30	.567	0
Hankard	1660	39	.551	0
Bennett, J.	1772	36	.542	0
Parker	1632	25	.540	0
Rogers, E.	1533	29	.517	0

Notes:
♟ There are 4 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .632 has played 19 games and would need to play 3 of the remaining 4 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♚ Larry Gladding is omitted at his request.
* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

May 1st, 2016

Happy 60th Birthday, GM Alexander Ivanov

♔ New England Chess Icon, GM Alexander Ivanov, Turns 60 Today ♔

He was born on May 1, 1956 in Omsk, Russia, which is in southwestern Siberia. He came to the United States sometime in the late 1980s (1988 according to his bio on the USCF site) and has lived in Newton, MA for many years. In 1982, Ivanov tied for first place with Anatoly Karpov and Boris Gulko in a Moscow tournament that featured 51 grandmasters.

Ever since his arrival & up until today he is widely considered to be one of the strongest players ever to reside in New England. He is a 15-time Massachusetts state champion and a U.S. Championship co-winner (with GMs Patrick Wolff and Nick DeFirmian) in 1995.

He has won or shared first place in the New England Open at least twelve times including:
1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, & 2014.

May 1st, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #4 by Roger Cappallo

Roger Cappallo has posted a video of his game with Ed Harris from the last round of the Evert Siiskonen memorial tournament that was completed this past Wednesday.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

May 1st, 2016

Paulson ties for 1st in Billerica April Swiss

Ray Paulson of Lowell scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for first place with fellow expert Tim Bromley in the Billerica April Swiss that ended Friday night, April 29, at the Billerica Chess Club. Ray's lone draw was against fellow Wachusett CC member Paul Godin of Bedford. The event saw another WCC player, Jim Donahue of Stow, participate in the event. Paulson's updated rating is now 2074, while Godin currently stands at 1949 and Donahue is at 1582.

Here are their updated ratings:

Ray Paulson -> 2074
Paul Godin -> 1948
Jim Donahue -> 1582

April 30th, 2016

7 Wachusett CC Players compete in Waltham Miles G/5 d0 Blitz Tournament

Seven Wachusett CC players, a full third of the field of 21 contestants, competed in the Waltham Miles G/5 d0 Blitz Tournament on Friday Night. The tournament consisted of 12 games played as a 6-round double Swiss format. The WCC was well represented in the winners' circle also, as Paul Godin & Geoff LePoer tied for 2nd-3rd place while Mike Commisso won the U1800 prize. First place went to USCF Expert, Todd Chase, who scpred 11.5 out of 12, giving up only a single draw to yet another WCC member, Joe Bennett.

Here are their final scores & new Blitz ratings:

Paul Godin (8.5) -> B: 1903
Joe Bennett (8.0) -> B: 1903
Geoff LePoer (8.5) -> B: 1874
Mike Commisso (7.0) -> B: 1632
Mike Meehan (6.5) -> B: 1630
Jim Hankard (6.0) -> B: 1602
Alex Venezia (4.0) -> B: 1354

April 27th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 5 of 5

♔ Couture Captures Crown in Siiskonen Memorial!

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 27th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Gary Brassard	0-1	Dave Couture
Ed Harris	1/2-1/2	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Ken Gurge
Geoff LePoer	0-1	♔ Mike Commisso
Larry Gladding	0-1	♔ Mike Meehan
Lenny Arsenault	0-1	Seeth Ganesan
John Bastarache	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Dave Thomas
♔ Wayne Steadman	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Jim Hankard	1-0	Roland Sorel
♔ Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Brian Biglow
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Nik Lavoie
Don Briggs	0-1	George Miller
♔ Andrew Su	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Steve Koroskenyi
Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Tom Whistler	0-1	Richard Bennett
Total of 17 boards, 5 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing round 5 were Ray Paulson, George Mirijanian, Joe Bennett, Alan Condon, Andrew Kiser, William Burke, Gail Lingner,
Stan Talcott, Jim Donahue, Jeromy Tilton and Jackson Parker.

♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes 9 year old Andrew Su, of Harvard, our newest club member. His one game tonight (against Larry O'Rourke) netted him 44 rating points.

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 27th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
5.0 ♔	Couture
4.5	-----
4.0	Godin, Brassard, Commisso
3.5	Cappallo, Harris, Ganesan, Meehan
3.0	Paulson, LePoer, Gurge, Barlas, Thomas, Hankard, Steadman, H. McLaughlin
2.5	Mirijanian, Gladding, Arsenault, Bastarache, Miller, Venezia
2.0	J. Bennett, Condon, Fratturelli, Biglow, Mathieu, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, R. Bennett, Sorel, Su, Lavoie, Kiser
1.5	Burke
1.0	Lingner, O'Rourke, Briggs, Talcott, Scanlon, Gawboy, Whistler
0.5	Donahue, Tilton
0.0	Parker

♔ 2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Dave Couture of Westminster
2nd-4th:	Paul Godin of Bedford, Gary Brassard of Leominster (Top U1800) & Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH (Top U1800
Top U1600:	Mike Meehan of Westminster
Top U1400:	Wayne Steadman of Lunenburg and Hugh McLaughlin of Groton

Pictures from this year's Evert Siiskonen Memorial tournament.

See 2016 WCC crosstables here.

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Hugh McLaughlin	+ 182
Dave Couture	+ 160
Wayne Steadman	+ 95
Nik Lavoie	+ 72
Mike Commisso	+ 71
Alexander Venezia	+ 65
Andrew Kiser	+ 53
Seeth Ganesan	+ 50

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Alexander Venezia	1459/P17
Roland Sorel	1261
Andrew Su	1248
Nik Lavoie	1238

♟ ♘ ♝ ♖ ♛ ♔ Congratulations to all !

REMINDER: The next tournament at the club, the Martin Laine Memorial (1950-2014), will start Wednesday, May 4th.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on May 4th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

April 25th, 2016

Carissa defeats GM Irina Krush to finish 9th in U.S. Women's Championship

While finishing in 9th place with a 4.5/11 score, 12-year-old Carissa Yip of Andover, MA still managed to conjure up yet another big surprise win over 7-time US Women's Champ, GM Irina Krush in round ten of the eleven round round robin event..

Here is Carissa's thrilling round 10 victory against 7-time US Women's Champ, GM Irina Krush:

[Event "US Chess Championships (Women)"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2016.04.24"]
[EventDate "2016.04.14"]
[Round "10.3"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Carissa Yip"]
[Black "Irina Krush"]
[ECO "B43"]
[WhiteElo "2164"]
[BlackElo "2465"]
[PlyCount "105"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. O-O d6
8. f4 Nbd7 9. Kh1 Be7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Bd2 Nc5 12. Rae1 Nxd3 13. cxd3 b5
14. Rc1 Qd7 15. g4 Bb7 16. g5 Ne8 17. f5 b4 18. Nd1 e5 19. Nf3 d5
20. Nf2 f6 21. gxf6 Nxf6 22. Nxe5 Qb5 23. Neg4 dxe4 24. Nxf6+ Bxf6 25. Nxe4 Rfe8
26. Rce1 Rad8 27. Rf3 Rxd3 28. Qxd3 Qxd3 29. Rxd3 Rxe4 30. Kg1 Rg4+ 31. Rg3 Rd4
32. Bg5 Bxg5 33. Rxg5 Kf7 34. Kf2 Bd5 35. b3 a5 36. Ke3 Re4+ 37. Kd2 Rd4+
38. Ke3 Re4+ 39. Kd2 Rd4+ 40. Kc1 Kf6 41. Reg1 Rh4 42. Rxg7 Rxh2 43. Kb1 a4
44. Rd7 Be4+ 45. Ka1 axb3 46. axb3 h5 47. Rf1 Rh1 48. Rd6+ Kg7 49. f6+ Kf7
50. Rd7+ Kg6 51. Rg7+ Kh6 52. Rxh1 Bxh1 53. Rg5 1-0

April 25th, 2016

Wachusett CC Players' Rating Gains and Losses at Eastern Class Championships

Of the four Wachusett CC players who competed in the regular sections of the 25th Eastern Class Championships the weekend of April 22-24 in Sturbridge, MA, Jim Donahue of Stow, MA gained the most number of rating points, 33, raising his rating to 1646. Ed Harris of Marlboro, NH, netted 4 rating points to boost his rating to 1842, while Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT lost 13 rating points to lower his rating to 1922 and Dave Couture of Westminster, MA took a loss of 15 points to emerge with a rating of 1690. Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH took part in the Eastern Class Blitz Championship and saw his USCF blitz rating go from 1976 to 1962.

Here are their Regular & Blitz rating updates:

Tony Cesolini -> B: 1962
Eric Strickland -> R: 1922
Ed Harris -> R: 1842
Dave Couture -> R: 1690
Jim Donahue -> R: 1646

April 25th, 2016

Quinsigamond Community College, Intercollegiate Chess Tournament Results

Quinsigamond Community College Intercollegiate Chess Tournament - Saturday April 23, 2016
Hosted by: Jerry Williams, Quinsigamond Community College
Tournament director: Joe Alfano, Assumption College

Place NAME School Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 TOTAL

1 Clark Bishop DHS ( 6) 1.0 ( 5) 1.0 ( 3) 0.5 ( 4) 1.0 3.5

2 Stephen Dann T&G (LE) 0.5 ( 4) 0.0 ( 6) 1.0 ( 3) 1.0 2.5

3 Jerry Williams QCC ( 4) 1.0 ( 7) 1.0 ( 1) 0.5 ( 2) 0.0 2.5

4 Dustin Hopkins QCC ( 3) 0.0 ( 2) 1.0 ( 5) 1.0 ( 1) 0.0 2.0

5 Aidan Light QCC ( 8) 1.0 ( 1) 0.0 ( 4) 0.0 ( 7) 1.0 2.0

6 Mike Imse QCC ( 1) 0.0 ( 8) 1.0 ( 2) 0.0 (BY) 1.0 2.0

7 Will Pitman QCC (LE) 0.5 ( 3) 0.0 ( 8) 1.0 ( 5) 0.0 1.5

8 Mark DeVirgilio QCC ( 5) 0.0 ( 6) 0.0 ( 7) 0.0 (WD) 0.0 0.0

DHS = Douglas High School
QCC = Quinsigamond Community College
T&G = Telegram and Gazette
1.0 = Win
0.0 = Loss
0.5 = Draw
BY = Bye: the player had no opponent, and won by default.
LE = Late entry: 0.5 points for an unplayed first round.
WD = Withdrew.

In each round, the player is listed with their opponent and final score.
E.g. in Round 1, Clark Bishop played Mike Imse (player 6) and won.

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April 24th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #3 by Roger Cappallo

I've published the video of my loss to Gary Brassard this week; it's at: https://youtu.be/5KQvjtvYOOw

Re-listening to it, I hear about 10 mistakes that I make - mostly just saying the wrong word, but I also fail to correctly point out a N fork on g4, and claim in another spot that maybe his K should have come forward (through check!). Consider them Easter eggs to be found.
Once again, I tried to be brief, but it's hard to optimize both for brevity and for information content.

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

Cheers,
Roger

April 21st, 2016

Wachusett CC players to compete in Eastern Class Championships

Four Wachusett Chess Club players are registered to compete in the 25th Eastern Class Championships, which will be held April 22-24 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, MA. Playing in the Class A section are Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT and Ed Harris of Marlboro, NH, while Dave Couture of Westminster, MA and Jim Donahue of Stow, MA will compete in the Class B section. The tournament, organized by Bill Goichberg for the Continental Chess Association, is one of the most popular events held annually in Massachusetts.
George M

April 20th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 4 of 5

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 20th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Roger Cappallo	0-1	♔ Gary Brassard
Dave Couture	1-0	Lenny Arsenult
Arthur Barlas	0-1	Ray Paulson
Dave Thomas	0-1	Paul Godin
Geoff LePoer	1-0	Alan Condon
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Ed Harris
Ken Gurge	1-0	Jim Hankard
Mike Commisso	1-0	Joe Bennett
Alexander Venezia	0-1	John Bastarache
Brian Biglow	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Bob Mathieu	1-0	Richard Bennett
♔ Hugh McLaughlin	1-0	Gail Lingner
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	♔Roland Sorel
♔ Nik Lavoie	1-0	Don Briggs
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Wayne Steadman
Steve Koroskenyi	0-1	♔ Andrew Kiser
Emily Gawboy	1-0	Tom Whistler
Total of 17 boards, 5 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Larry Gladding, Seeth Ganesan, Mike Meehan,
George Miller, William Burke, Jim Donahue and Jeromy Tilton.
♖ Not playing round 4 was Stan Talcott.
Jackson Parker had already withdrawn from the tournament.

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 20th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.0	Brassard, Couture
3.5	-----
3.0	Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, LePoer, Harris, Gurge, Commisso
2.5	Mirijanian, Gladding, Arsenault, Ganesan, Meehan, Bastarache
2.0	J. Bennett, Barlas, Thomas, Condon, Fratturelli, Hankard, Biglow, Mathieu, Steadman, H. McLaughlin, Sorel, Lavoie, Kiser
1.5	Miller, Burke, Venezia
1.0	Lingner, O'Rourke, Briggs, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, R. Bennett, Scanlon, Gawboy, Whistler
0.5	Donahue, Tilton
0.0	Parker

Projected Round 5 Pairings for April 27th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Brassard vs, Couture
Board 2: Harris vs. Cappallo
Board 3: Godin vs. Gurge
Board 4: Commisso vs. LePoer
Board 5: Mirijanian vs. Ganesan
Board 6: Gladding vs. Meehan
Board 7: Arsenault vs. Bastarache
Board 8: J. Bennett vs. Mathieu
Board 9: Steadman vs. Barlas
Board 10: Sorel vs. Thomas
Board 11: H. McLaughlin vs. Fratturelli
Board 12: Hankard vs. Kiser
Board 13: Biglow vs. Lavoie
Board 14: Venezia vs. Miller
Board 15: Lingner vs. Talcott
Board 16: R. Bennett vs. O'Rourke
Board 17: Briggs vs. Scanlon
Board 18: Gawboy vs. Koroskenyi
Board 19: Whistler vs. R. McLaughlin

♖ Not paired for Round 5 are: Paulson, Condon, Burke, Donahue, Tilton and Parker.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on April 27th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

April 20th, 2016

Carissa draws leader in U.S Women's Championship

In Round 6 of the 2016 U.S. Women's Championship, played Wednesday, April 20, in Saint Louis, 12-year-old Carissa Yip held the tournament leader, IM Nazi Paikidze, 22, of Baltimore, MD to a draw. Paikidze, who had been leading the 12-player round-robin field with a score of 4-1 going into the round, adopted the Caro-Kann Defense against her younger opponent and faced the Advance Variation right away. After a very tricky middlegame, the players traded down to a same-colored bishop and 4 pawns ending that ended peacefully after 43 moves.

The splitting of the point allowed two other contenders, GM Irina Krush and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, to move into sharing the lead with Paikidze with scores of 4.5-1.5 going into round 7. IM Anna Zatonskih is currently in sole possession of 4th place with a 4-2 tally, while Carissa and WGM Katerina Nemcova are deadlocked in 5th place with 3-3 results. Five rounds remain in the championship.
George M

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April 19th, 2016

Carissa even after 5 rounds in 2016 U.S. Women's Championship

With six rounds remaining in the U.S. Women's Championship in Saint Louis, 2014 Wachusett Chess Club champion Carissa Yip is currently tied for 5th place with an even score of 2.5-2.5 after losing in round 5 on Monday, April 18, to 16-year-old WIM Agata Bykovtsev of Goleta, CA in 60 moves of a Sicilian Defense (Najdorf Variation). Carissa and Agata are deadlocked in 5th place with WGM Sabrina Foisor, 26, of Lubbock, TX.

Leading the 12-player round-robin field with a score of 4-1 is IM Nazi Paikidze, followed by GM Irina Krush and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, both at 3.5-1.5. Four-time U.S. Women's champion IM Anna Zatonskih is in 4th place with a 3-2 tally.
George M


2016 US Women's Championship:
Cross table after round 5

Rank 	Name 				Rating 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	Score
1 	IM Paikidze, Nazi 		2346 	x	  	1/2  	1/2  	  	  	  	1  	  	1  	1  	  	4.0
2 	GM Krush, Irina 		2465 	  	x	  	1/2  	1  	  	1  	  	1/2  	  	  	1/2  	3.5
3 	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev 		2342 	1/2  	  	x	  	1  	1/2  	  	  	1/2  	1  	  	  	3.5
4 	IM Zatonskih, Anna 		2470 	1/2  	1/2  	  	x	  	  	1/2  	  	1/2  	  	  	1  	3.0
5 	WIM Bykovtsev, Agata 		2219 	  	0  	0  	  	x	1  	  	  	  	1/2  	  	1  	2.5
6 	Yip, Carissa 			2164 	  	  	1/2  	  	0  	x	  	1  	  	0  	1  	  	2.5
7 	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca 	2258 	  	0  	  	1/2  	  	  	x	1  	  	  	1/2  	1/2  	2.5
8 	FM Gorti, Akshita 		2184 	0  	  	  	  	  	0  	0  	x	1  	  	  	1  	2.0
9 	WGM Nemcova, Katerina 		2367 	  	1/2  	1/2  	1/2  	  	  	  	0  	x	  	1/2  	  	2.0
10 	WFM Yu, Jennifer R 		2157 	0  	  	0  	  	1/2  	1  	  	  	  	x	1/2  	  	2.0
11 	WIM Eswaran, Ashritha 		2225 	0  	  	  	  	  	0  	1/2  	  	1/2  	1/2  	x	  	1.5
12 	FM Melekhina, Alisa 		2205 	  	1/2  	  	0  	0  	  	1/2  	0  	  	  	  	x	1.0

April 18th, 2016

Non-Rated Blitz At Burger King

Great turnout for yesterday's Burger King Open Blitz Tournament. A great turnout of players in general, actually, as 8 people from the club were there for a fun afternoon of chess, good conversation, and just a little bit of trash talking. Six of the eight in attendance competed in the tournament, a fast paced, 5-round double round robin with G5/d0 time controls.

Congratulations to Tony Cesolini for winning the unrated event with a score of 9/10. Tony sailed through the field, losing only one game on his way to victory to the eventual 2nd place finisher Joe Bennett. Joe finished with a strong 6.5/10. Mike Meehan came in 3rd with 4.5/10, and Gary Brassard, Dave Thomas, and Alexander Venezia rounded out the field with 4th - 6th place, respectively. See the crosstable below for detailed results. Thanks to all that came out and played, and we'll see you at the next one!!

Kindest Regards,
Mike Meehan

Burger King Open Blitz Tournament 17-Apr-16

Double Round Robin Six Entrants UNRATED EVENT

♜ ♘ ♝ ♟ ♖ Tony Cesolini Joe Bennett Mike Meehan Gary Brassard Dave Thomas Alexander Venezia TOTAL

Tony Cesolini 1 2 2 2 2 9

Joe Bennett 1 1 1.5 2 1 6.5

Mike Meehan 0 1 1 1 1.5 4.5

Gary Brassard 0 .5 1 .5 2 4

Dave Thomas 0 0 1 1.5 1 3.5

Alexander Venezia 0 1 .5 0 1 2.5

April 18th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Revised (again) Projected Round 4 Pairings for April 20th

Projected Round 4 Pairings for April 20th: (Revised April 18th)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Roger Cappallo (3.0) Gary Brassard (3.0)
Board 2: Dave Couture (3.0) Lenny Arsenault (2.5)
Board 3: Tom Fratturelli (2.0) Raymond Paulson (2.0)
Board 4: George Mirijanian (2.0) Arthur Barlas (2.0)
Board 5: Michael Commisso (2.0) Paul Godin (2.0)
Board 6: Geoff LePoer (2.0)  David Thomas (2.0)
Board 7: Michael Meehan (2.0) Edward Harris (2.0)
Board 8: Kenneth Gurge (2.0) Alan Condon (2.0)
Board 9: Joseph Bennett (2.0) James Hankard (2.0)
Board 10: Alexander Venezia (1.5) John Bastarache (1.5)
Board 11: Brian Biglow (1.0) Randy McLaughlin (1.0)
Board 12: Robert Mathieu (1.0) Stanford Talcott (1.0)
Board 13: Gail Lingner (1.0) Richard Bennett (1.0)
Board 14: Hugh McLaughlin (1.0) Laurence O'Rourke (1.0)
Board 15: Nickolas Lavoie (1.0) Donald Briggs (1.0)
Board 16: Francis Scanlon II (1.0) Wayne Steadman (1.0)
Board 17: Steven Koroskenyi (1.0) Roland Sorel (1.0)
Board 18: Emily Gawboy (0.0) Tom Whistler (1.0)

1/2  Lawrence Gladding (2.0)  BYE
1/2  Seetharaman Ganesan (2.0)  BYE
1/2  Jim Donahue (0.0)  BYE
1/2  William Burke (1.0)  BYE

April 18th, 2016

Carissa half point off lead after four rounds in U.S. Women's Championship


2016 US Women's Championship:
Cross table after round 4

Rank 	Name 				Rating 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	Score
1 	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev 		2342 	x	1/2  	  	  	1/2  	1  	  	1  	  	  	  	  	3.0
2 	IM Paikidze, Nazi 		2346 	1/2  	x	  	1/2  	  	  	  	  	  	  	1  	1  	3.0
3 	GM Krush, Irina 		2465 	  	  	x	  	  	  	1  	1  	1/2  	1/2  	  	  	3.0
4 	IM Zatonskih, Anna 		2470 	  	1/2  	  	x	  	  	1/2  	  	1/2  	1  	  	  	2.5
5 	Yip, Carissa 			2164 	1/2  	  	  	  	x	0  	  	  	  	  	1  	1  	2.5
6 	WFM Yu, Jennifer R 		2157 	0  	  	  	  	1  	x	  	1/2  	  	  	1/2  	  	2.0
7 	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca 	2258 	  	  	0  	1/2  	  	  	x	  	  	1/2  	  	1  	2.0
8 	WIM Bykovtsev, Agata 		2219 	0  	  	0  	  	  	1/2  	  	x	  	1  	  	  	1.5
9 	WGM Nemcova, Katerina 		2367 	  	  	1/2  	1/2  	  	  	  	  	x	  	1/2  	0  	1.5
10 	FM Melekhina, Alisa 		2205 	  	  	1/2  	0  	  	  	1/2  	0  	  	x	  	  	1.0
11 	WIM Eswaran, Ashritha 		2225 	  	0  	  	  	0  	1/2  	  	  	1/2  	  	x	  	1.0
12 	FM Gorti, Akshita 		2184 	  	0  	  	  	0  	  	0  	  	1  	  	  	x	1.0

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April 17th, 2016

Carissa draws Abrahamyan - both deadlocked in 1st place in U.S. Women's Championship

In an amazing display of defensive play, 12-year-old Carissa Yip of Andover, MA held WGM Tatev Abrahamyan of Glendale, CA to a draw on Saturday, April 16, in Round 3 of the U.S. Women's Championship in Saint Louis. Carissa, playing the white pieces, faced the French Defense, Tatev's favorite defense against 1. e4, and adopted the Tarrasch Variation (3. Nd2) against her 28-year-old opponent. Carissa experienced some difficulties in the middlegame but managed to turn the game around with effective defensive play and the players agreed to a draw after 45 moves.

The splitting of the point allowed both Tatev and Carissa to remain tied for first place with scores of 2.5-0.5 with IM Nazi Paikidze, who defeated WIM Ashritha Eswaran in round 3 in the 12-player round-robin event, so there is a three-way tie for first right now.
George M

Yip vs. Abrahamyan 1/2 - 1/2
by GM Cristian Chririla
"What a miss by Abrahamyan!
The game between the two leaders in the women's section was a one-sided affair in which Black could have finished her opponent on different occasions. Abrahamyan surprised her young opponent by choosing 3...h6. White developed her pieces well, up to a point, but failed to understand the requirements of the position and tried to save a pawn when he should have went for the dynamic compensation. White should have tried to destabilize the center with 13.c4 instead of 13.Ba4?! which was a poor decision. Abrahamyan played a perfect game, improving her pieces and occupying more space with every single move. 29...c4! with the threat of c3 would have almost certainly finished the game in due time but her big mistake was 33...Bb3? Allowing Rc3! A disappointing round for Abrahamyan who is surely going to have a night full of regrets ahead of her."

[What the distinguished commentator above neglected to mention is that with this, Tatev Abrahamyan adds her name to the ever increasing list of people who have almost beaten Carissa Yip!]

Here is Carissa's round 3 game:

[Event "ch-USA w 2016"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2016.04.16"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[BlackTitle "WGM"]
[WhiteElo "2164"]
[BlackElo "2342"]
[ECO "C03"]
[Opening "French Defence, Tarrasch Variation"]
[EventDate "2016.04.14"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 h6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6
8. O-O g5 9. Qe2 Qb6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Bc2 Bg7 12. h3 Nd7 13. Ba4 O-O
14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Re1 Ba6 16. Qe3 Nc5 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qc3 Nd3 19. Re3 Qb5
20. a4 Qd5 21. Re4 c5 22. Qa5 Bb7 23. Qc3 f5 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Qxc4 Qxc4
26. Rxc4 Bd5 27. Rc2 Rab8 28. Rb1 Rfc8 29. Nf1 Nxc1 30. Rbxc1 Bxb2 31. Rb1 Ba3
32. Rxb8 Rxb8 33. Ne5 Bb3 34. Rc3 Bb2 35. Rxc5 Bxa4 36. Ng4 Bg7 37. Ra5 Bc6
38. Rxa7 Rb1 39. Nh2 Be5 40. g3 Rb2 41. Ng4 Bg7 42. Rc7 Bf3 43. Rc1 Bxg4 44. hxg4 Bd4 45. Ne3 Bxe3
1/2-1/2

April 16th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Revised Projected Round 4 Pairings for April 20th

Projected Round 4 Pairings for April 20th: (Revised April 16th)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Roger Cappallo (3.0) Gary Brassard (3.0)
Board 2: Dave Couture (3.0) Lenny Arsenault (2.5)
Board 3: Tom Fratturelli (2.0) Raymond Paulson (2.0)
Board 4: George Mirijanian (2.0) Arthur Barlas (2.0)
Board 5: Michael Commisso (2.0) Paul Godin (2.0)
Board 6: Geoff LePoer (2.0)  David Thomas (2.0)
Board 7: Michael Meehan (2.0) Edward Harris (2.0)
Board 8: Kenneth Gurge (2.0) Alan Condon (2.0)
Board 9: Joseph Bennett (2.0) James Hankard (2.0)
Board 10: Alexander Venezia (1.5) John Bastarache (1.5)
Board 11: Brian Biglow (1.0 Richard Bennett (1.0)
Board 12: Steven Koroskenyi (1.0) George Miller (1.0)
Board 13: Robert Mathieu (1.0) Roland Sorel (1.0)
Board 14: Hugh McLaughlin (1.0) Gail Lingner (1.0)
Board 15: Nickolas Lavoie (1.0) Laurence O'Rourke (1.0)
Board 16: Francis Scanlon II (1.0) Donald Briggs (1.0)
Board 17: Tom Whistler (1.0) Wayne Steadman (1.0)
Board 18: Emily Gawboy (0.0) Randy McLaughlin (0.5)

1/2  Lawrence Gladding (2.0)  BYE
1/2  Seetharaman Ganesan (2.0)  BYE
1/2  Jim Donahue (0.0)  BYE
1/2  William Burke (1.0)  BYE

April 16th, 2016

Carissa wins again! - Still tied for 1st place in U.S. Women's Championship

Carissa Yip continued her winning ways by chalking up her second victory in a row in the 2016 U.S. Women's Championship in Saint Louis. In round 2 of the 12-player round-robin event on Friday, April 15, Carissa, playing the black pieces, defeated WIM Ashritha Eswaran in 71 moves of a Sicilian Defense (Najdorf Variation). The win keeps Carissa tied for first place with WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, who beat WFM Jennifer Yu in round 2. Carissa will now face Abrahamyan with the white pieces in round 3 on Saturday, April 16. An exciting game is expected.
George M

April 16th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
Chess: My Week at the Club #2 by Roger Cappallo

Chess: My Week at the Club #2
My weekly game at the Wachusett Chess Club, in Fitchburg MA.
This week I played on board 1 as Black in a very unusual Reti opening.

Hello All,
Thanks again for all of the good feedback you guys provided me on my first attempt. I've now posted this week's game against Dave Thomas on YouTube, with the URL:
Chess: My Week at the Club #2
It seemed like the principal suggestion was to keep it a bit shorter, so I've limited my analysis, attempting to stay out of the analysis weeds where possible.
Hopefully there's still some instructive content still left in it!

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

Cheers,
Roger

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April 14th, 2016

Carissa Yip wins Game 1 in U.S. Women's Championship

Carissa Yip faces WIM Akshita Gorti in round 1

2014 Wachusett Chess Club Champion, Carissa Yip, 12, of Andover, MA scored a win in Round 1 of the 2016 U.S. Women's Championship, played Thursday, April 14, at the Chess Center and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Carissa, playing the white pieces, defeated WIM Akshita Gorti, 13, of Chantilly, VA. The win puts Carissa in a current tie for first place with WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, 28, of Glendale, CA, who beat WIM Agata Bykovtsev, 16, of Goleta, CA in the first round of a 12-player round robin. Four other Round 1 games ended in draws.
Round 2 is Friday, April 15. The 11th and final round is Monday, April 25.
George M
Here is Carissa's game from Round 1:
[Event "US Chess Championships (Women)"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2016.04.14"]
[EventDate "2016.04.13"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Carissa Yip"]
[Black "Akshita Gorti"]
[ECO "C04"]
[WhiteElo "2164"]
[BlackElo "2184"]
[PlyCount "95"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. c3 f6 7. exf6 Qxf6 8. Nb3 Bd6 9. Be2 O-O 10. Bg5 Qf7 11. Bh4 h6 12. O-O e5 13. dxe5 Ndxe5 14. Bg3 Bd7 15. Nfd4 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Nc4 17. Nc5 Bxg3 18. hxg3 Nxb2 19. Qb3 Nc4 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Qxb7 Bf5 22. Rac1 Rad8 23. Qb2 Qd5 24. Rfd1 Bg4 25. Rd2 Bh5 26. Qb7 Qg5 27. Ne4 Qa5 28. Rxc4 Bf7 29. Rc5 Qa4 30. Nc3 Qa3 31. Rxc7 Rde8 32. Rd1 a5 33. Qc6 Rb8 34. Qc5 Qb2 35. Rb1 Qd2 36. Rxb8 Rxb8 37. Rc8+ Rxc8 38. Qxc8+ Kh7 39. d5 Qe1+ 40. Kh2 Qxf2 41. d6 Bh5 42. d7 Bf3 43. Qh8+ Kg6 44. Qe8+ Kh7 45. Qg8+ Kxg8 46. d8=Q+ Kf7 47. Qd7+ Kg8 48. Qc8+ 1-0

The following Wachusett CC players are the only ones currently registered to vote
in the 2016 USCF Executive Board election:
George Mirijanian
Dave Kochman
Larry Gladding
Ken Gurge
Arthur Barlas
Vince Bradley
Dave Couture
Seeth Ganesan
Wayne Steadman

George M

April 13th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 3 of 5

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 13th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Dave Thomas	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Ed Harris	0-1	Dave Couture
Seeth Ganesan	0-1	Gary Brassard
Arthur Barlas	1/2-1/2	Lenny Arsenault
Tom Fratturelli	1/2-1/2	Mike Meehan
Ray Paulson	1-0	Brian Biglow
George Miller	0-1	George Mirijanian
Paul Godin	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Gail Lingner	0-1	Geoff LePoer
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Larry Gladding
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Ken Gurge
Don Briggs	0-1	Joe Bennett
Alan Condon	1-0	Steve Koroskenyi
Jim Hankard	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Richard Bennett	0-1	Mike Commisso
John Bastarache	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Jim Donahue	0-1	♔Alexander Venezia
William Burke	1-0	Jeromy Tilton
Roland Sorel	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Total of 19 boards, 1 major upset (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Randy McLaughlin, Stan Talcott, Nik Lavoie, Andrew Kiser and Tom Whistler.
♙ Withdrawn from the tournament were Vlad Gaciu, Paul Lynch, Noah Rogers, Ed Rogers and Kandy Lynch.
♟ Jackson Parker had already withdrawn from the event.

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 13th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Cappallo, Brassard, Couture
2.5	Arsenault
2.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Godin, LePoer, Gladding, Harris, Gurge, J. Bennett, Barlas Thomas, Condon, Fratturelli, Hankard, Commisso, Ganesan, Meehan
1.5	Bastarache, Venezia
1.0	Biglow, Miller, Mathieu, Lingner, O'Rourke, Burke, Briggs, Steadman, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, R. Bennett, H. McLaughlin, Sorel, Lavoie, Scanlon, Kiser, Whistler
0.5	-----
0.0	(Parker), Donahue, Tilton, Gawboy

Projected Round 4 Pairings for April 20th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Cappallo vs. Brassard
Board 2: Couture vs. Arsenault
Board 3: Barlas vs. Paulson
Board 4: Mirijanian vs. Thomas
Board 5: Fratturelli vs. Godin
Board 6: LePoer vs. Condon
Board 7: Meehan vs. Harris
Board 8: Gurge vs. Hankard
Board 9: J. Bennett vs. Ganesan
Board 10: Commisso vs. Bastarache
Board 11: Venezia vs. Miller
Board 12: Biglow vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 13: Mathieu vs. R. Bennett
Board 14: Lingner vs. Sorel
Board 15: H. McLaughlin vs. O'Rourke
Board 16: Whistler vs. Briggs
Board 17: Scanlon vs. Steadman
Board 18: Koroskenyi vs. Lavoie
Board 19: Gawboy vs. Donahue

♗ Requesting half-point byes for Round 4 are Gladding and Burke.
♘ Not paired for round 4 are Talcott, Kiser and Tilton.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on April 20th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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April 12th, 2016

Carissa Yip Featured in Friday's Sampan

**Bob Messenger Shown Below Presenting Carissa Yip with the 2016 Spiegel Cup Trophy**
The Chinese-English newspaper "Sampan", published in Boston, has an article about Carissa in its Friday (April 8) edition. The editor, Ling-Mei Wong, called me and asked questions about Carissa. I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with her. Links to the story - in both English and Chinese - are available. George M	Carissa Yip to Play in National Women's Chess Competition You can also see the .pdf print versions below: English page 1 - 7 Chinese page 1 - 10

April 10th, 2016

6 Wachusett CC Members at Mass G/60

The 26th Mass. Game/60 Championship, held on Sunday, April 10, in Marlborough had a record-breaking turnout: 151 players (posted on rating report as 152 players). Six Wachusett CC players (Tony Cesolini, Gary Brassard, Jack Martin, Dave Martin, Mike Commisso, & Stan Talcott) competed in various sections.

The event was dual-rated, so here are their Regular (R) & Quick (Q) rating updates:

Tony Cesolini R: 2066 -> 2091 Q: 1986 -> 2002
Gary Brassard R: 1766 -> 1807 Q: 1700 -> 1726
Jack Martin R: 1738 -> 1733 Q: 1640 -> 1631
Dave Martin R: 1670 -> 1681 Q: 1565 -> 1571
Mike Commisso R: 1659 -> 1631 Q: 1541 -> 1504
Stan Talcott R: 1344 -> 1300 Q: 1223 -> 1200

April 10th, 2016

Wachusett CC Youths Play in NH Scholastic Team Championships

Noah Rogers, Finn Rogers and Sebastian Tilton, three of the youngest members of the Wachusett Chess Club, competed in the Junior High section of the 2016 New Hampshire Scholastic Team Championships on Saturday, April 9, at Pelham Elementary School in Pelham, NH.

Finn posted the only perfect score of 4-0 in the section and raised his regular rating by 50 points, while his brother Noah tallied 3.5-0.5 and lost 16 points. Sebastian scored 3-1 but lost 36 rating points.

The event was dual-rated, so here are their Regular (R) & Quick (Q) rating updates:

Noah Rogers R: -> 1532, Q: -> 1174
Sebastian Tilton R: -> 1007, Q: -> 1042
Finn Rogers R: -> 873, Q: -> 838

April 9th, 2016

New Wachusett Chess Club Feature!
My Week at the Club #1 by Roger Cappallo

My Week at the Club #1
My weekly game at the Wachusett Chess Club, in Fitchburg MA.
This week I played as White in a Pirc opening, against Jim Hankard.

Hello All,
I've decided to take a bit of a leap and to post a video each week on my game from the club. If nothing else, it will give you all a chance to prepare for games with me, exposing the gaping holes in my opening preparations.
(And Jim, sorry for mis-pronouncing your name - I've only known it for 25 years or so!)
If you're interested, here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoQixNXhYo0

Watch this & any of Roger's other videos here or
on Roger's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxEXavHbFnSXbOeyZ99KeQ.

Cheers,
Roger

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April 7th, 2016

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of April 7, 2016
After 37 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed	Notes
Paulson	2080	27	.852	0
Cappallo	1971	32	.781	0
Mirijanian	2002	26	.731	0
Gladding	1852	36	.722	0
Godin	1955	36	.708	0
Thomas	1753	33	.697	0
Harris	1838	34	.676	0
Arsenault	1686	28	.661	0
Barlas	1789	16	.656	6	♝
Gurge	1790	35	.643	0
Ganesan	1637	21	.643	1	♘
Brassard	1766	31	.629	0
Fratturelli	1688	31	.629	0
Condon	1732	20	.600	2
Couture	1705	30	.567	0
Meehan	1595	28	.554	0
Commisso	1659	22	.545	2
Bennett, J.	1789	34	.544	0
Hankard	1664	36	.542	0
Parker	1694	25	.540	0
Rogers, E.	1533	29	.517	0

Notes:
♟ There are 7 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.

* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♘ Seeth Ganesan with a current winning percentage of .643 has played 21 games and would need to play 1 of the remaining 7 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .656 has played 16 games and would need to play 6 of the remaining 7 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.

April 6th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 2 of 5

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 6th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
♔Dave Couture	1-0	Ray Paulson
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Jim Hankard
♔Lenny Arsenault	1-0	Paul Godin
Larry Gladding	0-1	♔Seeth Ganesan
Mike Commisso	0-1	Ed Harris
Gary Brassard	1-0	Don Briggs
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Dave Thomas
Stan Talcott	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Mike Meehan	1-0	Tom Whistler
Ken Gurge	1-0	William Burke
♔Steve Koroskenyi	1-0	Jackson Parker
Jim Donahue	0-1	♔Wayne Steadman
Nik Lavoie	1/2-1/2	John Bastarache
Brian Biglow	1-0	Roland Sorel
Jeromy Tilton	0-1	George Miller
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Gail Lingner
Total of 17 boards, 5 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Joe Bennett, Vlad Gaciu, Alan Condon, Paul Lynch,
Noah Rogers, Ed Rogers, Bob Mathieu, Larry O'Rourke, Richard Bennett, Kandy Lynch, Francis Scanlon,
Randy McLaughlin and Andrew Kiser.
♙ ♟ Withdrawing from the tournament were Geoff LePoer and Dave Martin.

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, April 6th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Cappallo, Harris, Brassard, Thomas, Couture, Arsenault, Ganesan
1.5	Barlas, Fratturelli, Meehan
1.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Godin, Gladding, Gurge, J. Bennett, Gaciu, Condon, P. Lynch, Hankard, Commisso, Biglow, N. Rogers, Miller, E. Rogers, Mathieu, Lingner, O'Rourke, Briggs, Steadman, Koroskenyi, R. Bennett, H. McLaughlin, K. Lynch, Scanlon
0.5	Bastarache, Venezia, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, Lavoie, Kiser, Whistler
0.0	Parker, Donahue, Burke, Sorel, Tilton, Gawboy

Projected Round 3 Pairings for April 13th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Thomas vs. Cappallo
Board 2: Harris vs. Couture
Board 3: Ganesan vs. Brassard
Board 4: Barlas vs. Arsenault
Board 5: Fratturelli vs. Meehan
Board 6: Paulson vs. N. Rogers
Board 7: Miller vs. Mirijanian
Board 8: Godin vs. E. Rogers
Board 9: Mathieu vs. Gladding
Board 10: Lingner vs. Gurge
Board 11: O'Rourke vs. J. Bennett
Board 12: Briggs vs. Gaciu
Board 13: Steadman vs. Condon
Board 14: P. Lynch vs. Koroskenyi
Board 15: Hankard vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 16: R. Bennett vs. Commisso
Board 17: K. Lynch vs. Biglow
Board 18: Bastarache vs. Scanlon
Board 19: Venezia vs. Talcott
Board 20: Kiser vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 21: Whistler vs. Donahue
Board 22: Burke vs. Tilton
Board 23: Sorel vs. Gawboy

♗ Requesting a half-point bye for Round 3 is Lavoie. Parker is withdrawing from the tournament.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on April 13th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

April 5th, 2016

Non-Rated Blitz At Burger King

The results are in. Low turnout for the latest Burger King Blitz Open Tournament, but fun was had by all.

The tournament was a G/5 double round robin with four contestants. Paul Godin steamrolled his way into the winner's circle, scoring a perfect 6/6. Alexander Venezia also turned in a nice performance, blanking both Mike Meehan and Mike Commisso, on way to a strong second place finish with 4/6 (losing only to eventual tournament winner, Godin). Meehan and Commisso rounded out the field with 3rd and 4th place, respectively. See the attached crosstable for full results.

Thanks all!! See you at the next one!
Kindest Regards, Mike Meehan

Burger King Open Blitz Tournament 3-Apr-16

Double Round Robin Four Entrants UNRATED EVENT

Paul Godin Alexander Venezia Mike Meehan Mike Commisso Total

Paul Godin 2 2 2 6

Alexander Venezia 0 2 2 4

Mike Meehan 0 0 2 2

Mike Commisso 0 0 0 0

April 3rd, 2016

Wachusett CC rating updates

Ray Paulson won the Billerica March Swiss with a perfect 4-0 score & achieved a new all time high rating of 2080. Tony Cesolini played only one game which was reported as a side game & thereby previously included in his rating calculation. The following Wachusett CC players took part in the event, which ended April 1 and was rated April 2:

Ray Paulson -> 2080
Paul Godin -> 1955
Jim Donahue -> 1613

March 30th, 2016

2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial
Round 1 of 5

Siiskonen Opener Punctuated by Pair of Huge Upsets

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 30th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Jim Donahue
John Bastarache	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Brian Biglow
George Miller	0-1	Larry Gladding
Ed Harris	1-0	William Burke
♔Don Briggs	1-0	Ken Gurge
Arthur Barlas	1/2-1/2	Alexander Venezia
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Gary Brassard
Dave Thomas	1-0	Steve Koroskenyi
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Dave Couture
Jackson Parker	0-1	♔Hugh McLaughlin
Roland Sorel	0-1	Lenny Arsenault
Jim Hankard	1-0	Nik Lavoie
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Mike Commisso
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Total of 15 boards, 2 major upsets (♔).

Hugh McLaughlin graciously contributed his round one game with comments which may be viewed in the Games Section. Not only is the game a significant upset, but it's a fine example of a good old fashioned double edged slug fest. It's of course sprinkled with miscalculations & oversights, but also lots of excitement & fun. If perfect chess is what you want, you have a much better chance of finding it somewhere like here.

♝ Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Geoff LePoer, Joe Bennett, Vlad Gaciu, Alan Condon,
Tom Fratturelli, Dave Martin, Paul Lynch, Mike Meehan, Noah Rogers, Ed Rogers, Bob Mathieu, Larry O'Rourke,
Stan Talcott, Richard Bennett, Kandy Lynch, Francis Scanlon and Tom Whistler.
♖ Not playing round 1 were Gail Lingner and Jeromy Tilton.

**Evert Siiskonen Memorial, March 30th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Paulson, Cappallo, Godin, Gladding, Harris, Brassard, Thomas, Couture, Arsenault, Hankard, Commisso, Ganesan, Briggs, H. McLaughlin
0.5	Mirijanian, LePoer, J. Bennett, Barlas, Gaciu, Condon, Fratturelli, Martin, P. Lynch. Meehan, N. Rogers, E. Rogers, Mathieu, O'Rourke, Venezia,Talcott, R. Bennett, K. Lynch, Scanlon, Whistler
0.0	Gurge, Parker, Donahue, Bastarache, Biglow, Miller, Lingner, Burke, Steadman, Koroskenyi, R. McLaughlin, Sorel, Lavoie, Kiser, Tilton, Gawboy

Projected Round 2 Pairings for April 6th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Couture vs. Paulson
Board 2: Cappallo vs. Hankard
Board 3: Arsenault vs. Godin
Board 4: Gladding vs. Ganesan
Board 5: Commisso vs. Harris
Board 6: Brassard vs. Briggs
Board 7: H. McLaughlin vs. Thomas
Board 8: Mirijanian vs. E. Rogers
Board 9: Mathieu vs. J. Bennett
Board 10: O'Rourke vs. Barlas
Board 11: Venezia vs.Gaciu
Board 12: Fratturelli vs. Talcott
Board 13: R. Bennett vs. Martin
Board 14: P. Lynch vs. Scanlon
Board 15: K. Lynch vs. Meehan
Board 16: N. Rogers vs. Whistler
Board 17: Gurge vs. Steadman
Board 18: Koroskenyi vs. Parker
Board 19: Donahue vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 20: Lavoie vs. Bastarache
Board 21: Biglow vs. Sorel
Board 22: Tilton vs. Miller
Board 23: Gawboy vs. Lingner
Board 24: Burke vs. Kiser

♙ The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Steve Koroskenyi of Leominster & Jim Donahue of Stow.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on April 6th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

March 30th, 2016

Link to Spiegel Cup Picture Gallery by Tony Cortizas, Jr.

Tony Cortizas, Jr., photograahper of many MACA events has posted 55 pictures from the recent 2016 Spiegel Cup State Championship tournament:
2016 Spiegel Cup State Championship crosstables
2016 Spiegel Cup State Championship picture gallery
"See you all at Mass Open." -Tony Cortizas, Jr.

Pictures from the 2016 Spiegel Cup Championship:
Photos by Tony Cortizas, Jr.
Carissa Yip (R) - Danila Poliannikov	Danila Poliannikov - Jason Tang	Michael Isakov - Mika Brattain	Carissa Yip - Brandon Wu

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March 29th, 2016

Current rating list for 2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial

Round 1 of the 2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial will be played this Wednesday night, March 30, in Room C192 in the McKay Complex at Fitchburg State University.
Players must be present by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for the round.
Players most likely to compete are listed below with their current ratings:

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Players most likely to compete in the 2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial are listed below with their current ratings:
1	Tony Cesolini	2064
2	Ray Paulson	2045
3	George Mirjanian	2002
4	Roger Cappallo	1971
5	Paul Godin	1962
6	Geoff LePoer	1916
7	Larry Gladding	1852
8	Ed Harris	1838
9	Ken Gurge	1790
10	Joe Bennett	1789
11	Arthur Barlas	1789
12	Gary Brassard	1766
13	Vlad Gaciu	1761
14	Dave Thomas	1753
15	Dave Couture	1705
16	Jackson Parker	1694
17	Tom Fratturelli	1688
18	Lenny Arsenault	1686
19	Paul Lynch	1667
20	Jim Hankard	1664
21	Mike Commisso	1659
22	Seeth Ganesan	1637
23	Mike Meehan	1595
24	John Bastarache	1584
25	Brian Biglow	1556
26	Noah Rogers	1548
27	George Miller	1546
28	Ed Rogers	1533
29	Bob Mathieu	1517
30	Gail Lingner	1501
31	Larry O'Rourke	1491
32	William Burke	1488
33	Don Briggs	1436
34	Alexander Venezia	1416
35	Wayne Steadman	1385
36	Steve Koroskenyi	1381
37	Randy McLaughlin	1347
38	Stan Talcott	1344
39	Richard Bennett	1287
40	Hugh McLaughlin	1237
41	Roland Sorel	1237
42	Kandy Lynch	1200
43	Nik Lavoie	1166
44	Sebastian Tilton	1103
45	Francis Scanlon	1057
46	Andrew Kiser	995
47	Jeromy Tilton	986
48	Emily Gawboy	852
49	Finn Rogers	823
50	Tom Whistler	807

March 25th, 2016

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of March 23, 2016
After 35 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the
Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating
after the final regular season tournament is rated! *
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed	Notes
Paulson	2045	25	.880	0
Cappallo	1971	30	.767	0
Gladding	1852	34	.735	0
Mirijanian	2002	26	.731	0
Godin	1962	34	.721	0
Thomas	1753	31	.677	0
Harris	1838	32	.656	0
Gurge	1790	33	.652	0
Arsenault	1686	26	.635	0
Fratturelli	1688	30	.617	0
Ganesan	1637	19	.605	3	♘
Brassard	1766	29	.603	0
Condon	1732	20	.600	2
Parker	1694	23	.587	0
Commisso	1659	20	.550	2
Bennett, J.	1789	34	.544	0
Hankard	1664	34	.544	0
Meehan	1595	27	.537	0
Couture	1705	28	.536	0
Rogers, E.	1533	29	.517	0
Barlas	1789	14	.643	8	♝

Notes:
♟ There are 9 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.

* This is a change since March 16, 2016.

♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♘ Seeth Ganesan with a current winning percentage of .605 has played 19 games and would need to play 3 of the remaining 9 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .643 has played 14 games and would need to play 8 of the remaining 9 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.

March 24th, 2016

Wachusett CC blitz rating updates

The following are updated USCF blitz ratings for those who competed in the Wachusett CC Blitz Championship on March 23rd:

Rob King -> B:2051
Roger Cappallo -> B:1978
Tony Cesolini -> B:1976
Joe Bennett -> B:1900
Larry Gladding v1877
Paul Godin -> B:1876
Geoff LePoer -> B:1854
Gary Brassard -> B:1799
Jackson Parker -> B:1797
Ken Gurge -> B:1756
Jack Martin -> B:1741
Dave Couture -> B:1722
Arthur Barlas -> B:1692
Seeth Ganesan -> B:1657
Dave Martin -> B:1634
Jim Hankard -> B:1619
Mike Meehan -> B:1603
Mike Commisso -> B:1599
George Miller -> B:1579
Dave Thomas -> B:1545
William Burke -> B:1497
John Bastarache -> B:1487
Gail Lingner -> B:1453
Don Briggs -> B:1420
Randy McLaughlin -> B:1364
Alexander Venezia -> B:1362
Larry O'Rourke -> B:1332
Nik Lavoie -> B:1253
Hugh McLaughlin -> B:1202
Francis Scanlon -> B:1086
Tom Whistler -> B:894
Emily Gawboy -> B:808

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March 23rd, 2016

2016 WCC Blitz Chess Championship
Round 7 of 7

♔ King Is Blitz King ♔

2011 WCC Champ & USCF rated expert, Rob King, won tonight's WCC Blitz Championship with a convincing 7.0 of 7 games, a point & a half ahead of his closest rival, Roger Cappallo, who finished clear second with 5.5/7. Tied for 3rd through 5th place were Tony Cesolini, Paul Godin, & Jackson Parker

Pictures & video from this event.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 1 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Tony Cesolini	1/2-1/2	Ken Gurge
Mike Meehan	0-1	Rob King
Joe Bennett	0-1	Dave Thomas
John Bastarache	0-1	Larry Gladding
Paul Godin	1-0	William Burke
Gail Lingner	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Jackson Parker	1-0	Don Briggs
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Gary Brassard
Dave Couture	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Geoff LePoer	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Jack Martin
Jim Hankard	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Nik Lavoie	0-1	George Miller
Dave Martin	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Tom Whistler	0-1	Mike Commisso
Total of 16 boards.

Here's a link to the video of the end of Cesolini-Gurge in the 1st round (courtesy of Dave Couture).

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 2 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
King	1-0	LePoer
Gladding	1-0	Hankard
J. Martin	0-1	Godin
Cappallo	1-0	Miller
Commisso	0-1	Parker
Brassard	1-0	D. Martin
Thomas	0-1	Couture
Cesolini	1-0	Ganesan
Gurge	0-1	Bennett
Barlas	1-0	H. McLaughlin
O'Rourke	0-1	Meehan
R. McLaughlin	0-1	Bastarache
Burke	0-1	Lavoie
Scanlon	0-1	Lingner
Briggs	1-0	Whistler
Gawboy	0-1	Venezia
Total of 16 boards.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 3 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Cappallo	0-1	King
Parker	1-0	Gladding
Godin	0-1	Brassard
Couture	0-1	Cesolini
Bennett	1-0	Meehan
Bastarache	0-1	Barlas
LePoer	1-0	Thomas
Lingner	0-1	J. Martin
Hankard	1-0	Briggs
Miller	1-0	Venezia
D. Martin	1-0	Ganesan
Lavoie	0-1	Commisso
Burke	1/2-1/2	Gurge
Scanlon	1-0	O'Rourke
Whistler	0-1	R. McLaughlin
H. McLaughlin	1-0	Gawboy
Total of 16 boards.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 4 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
King	1-0	Parker
Brassard	1/2-1/2	Cesolini
J. Martin	1-0	Bennett
Gladding	1/2-1/2	LePoer
Hankard	0-1	Godin
Commisso	0-1	Cappallo
Miller	0-1	Couture
Barlas	1-0	D. Martin
Venezia	0-1	Gurge
Meehan	1-0	H. McLaughlin
Thomas	1-0	Scanlon
Ganesan	1-0	Bastarache
R. McLaughlin	1-0	Lingner
Briggs	1-0	Lavoie
O'Rourke	0-1	Burke
Gawboy	0-1	Whistler
Total of 16 boards.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 5 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Brassard	0-1	King
Cesolini	1-0	Parker
Godin	1-0	Barlas
Cappallo	1/2-1/2	J. Martin
Couture	1-0	Gladding
LePoer	1-0	Hankard
Meehan	1-0	Miller
D. Martin	1-0	Thomas
Briggs	0-1	Commisso
Gurge	0-1	Ganesan
Burke	1-0	R. McLaughlin
Bastarache	1-0	Scanlon
Lavoie	1-0	Venezia
H. McLaughlin	0-1	Whistler
Gawboy	0-1	O'Rourke
Total of 15 boards.

♗ ♛ Bennett and Lingner withdrew from the tournament prior to round 5.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 6 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
King	1-0	Cesolini
Couture	0-1	Godin
LePoer	0-1	Cappallo
J. Martin	0-1	Brassard
Parker	1-0	Ganesan
Barlas	0-1	Meehan
Commisso	1/2-1/2	D. Martin
Gladding	1-0	Burke
R. McLaughlin	0-1	Hankard
Miller	1-0	Bastarache
Gurge	1-0	Briggs
Thomas	1-0	Lavoie
Whistler	0-1	Venezia
O'Rourke	0-1	H. McLaughlin
Scanlon	1-0	Gawboy
Total of 15 boards.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
Round 7 of 7 Results
White	Result	Black
Godin	0-1	King
Cappallo	1-0	Brassard
Cesolini	1-0	Meehan
Parker	1-0	Couture
J. Martin	0-1	Gladding
D. Martin	1-0	LePoer
Barlas	0-1	Commisso
Hankard	1-0	Thomas
Miller	0-1	Gurge
Ganesan	1/2-1/2	Burke
Bastarache	1-0	Whistler
Briggs	1-0	Scanlon
Venezia	1-0	H. McLaughlin
O'Rourke	0-1	R. McLaughlin
Lavoie	1-0	Gawboy
Total of 15 boards.

**WCC Blitz Chess Championship, March 23rd, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
7.0	King
6.5	-----
6.0	-----
5.5	Cappallo
5.0	Cesolini, Godin, Parker
4.5	Gladding, Brassard. D. Martin, Commisso
4.0	Couture, Hankard, Gurge, Meehan
3.5	LePoer, J. Martin, Ganesan
3.0	Barlas, Miller, Thomas, Bastarache, Burke, Briggs, Venezia, R. McLaughlin, Lavoie
2.5	-----
2.0	Bennett, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, Whistler
1.5	-----
1.0	Lingner, O'Rourke
0.5	-----
0.0	Gawboy

♔ 2016 WCC Blitz Chess Championship PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Rob King of Framingham
2nd:	Roger Cappallo of Groton
3rd-5th:	Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH, Paul Godin of Bedford, & Jackson Parker of Fitchburg

Pictures from this year's WCC Blitz Chess Championship tournament.

See 2016 WCC crosstables here.

The following players had a blitz rating increase of 50 or more points in the Wachusett CC Blitz Championship:
Nik Lavoie	+ 87
Tom Whistler	+ 87
Gary Brassard	+ 86
Rob King	+ 74
Dave Martin	+ 55
Mike Meehan	+ 55

The following players achieved a new all-time high blitz rating:
Rob King	2051
Roger Cappallo	1978
Gary Brassard	1799
Jackson Parker	1797
John W. Martin	1741
Dave Couture	1722
Seeth Ganesan	1657
Mike Meehan	1603
Mike Commisso	1599
Bill Burke II	1497
Randy McLaughlin	1364
Nik Lavoie	1253
Francis Scanlon II	1086
Tom Whistler	894

REMINDER: Next week starts the 2016 Evert Siiskonen Memorial (1915-1993) tournament.
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on March 30th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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March 21st, 2016

Potential Lineup for the Wachusett CC Blitz Championship on March 23

The 2016 Wachusett Chess Club Blitz Championship
will be held Wednesday evening, March 23, in
Room C192 in the McKay Complex, 67 Rindge Road, Fitchburg State University.

This will be a 7-round Swiss in one section, Game/10, no delay.
Players who wish to participate should appear at the club by 7 p.m.
and by 7:10 p.m. at the latest.
Late arrivals will be paired in subsequent rounds.

There has not been a club blitz championship since June 19, 2013, when Bruce Felton scored 5.5-1.5 to capture first place. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 5-2 tallies were Paul Godin and Larry Gladding. The event drew only 16 players.
I am hopeful that we will have many more players compete in this year's club blitz championship. It is an opportunity for many players who do not have a USCF blitz rating to acquire a blitz rating.
Players will be seeded according to their current blitz ratings (B).
For those without blitz ratings, quick ratings (Q) will be used.
For those without quick ratings, regular ratings (R) will be used.
The event will be blitz-rated. Regular ratings will not be affected.
I encourage you all to participate.

George Mirijanian, Wachusett CC Program Director

♔ ♛ ♖ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♗ ♜ ♕ ♚ Here is the current ranking of past and current members, for this Wednesday's blitz event:
Carissa Yip	2147Q
Tony Cesolini	1982B
Brett Kildahl	1980Q
Robert King	1977B
George Mirijanian	1944Q
Walter Niemi	1944Q
Joe Bennett	1939B
Bruce Felton	1920B
Dave Kochman	1914B
Larry Gladding	1897B
Paul Godin	1868B
Eric Strickland	1865B
Ray Paulson	1855Q
Roger Cappallo	1846Q
Steve Nelson	1795Q
Vince Bradley	1770B
Jackson Parker	1730B
Paul Lynch	1730B
Gary Brassard	1713B
Dave Couture	1704B
Arthur Barlas	1653Q
Geoff LePoer	1637Q
Jim Hankard	1633B
Vlad Gaciu	1622Q
Ed Harris	1613B
Lenny Arsenault	1603B
George Miller	1595B
Mike Commisso	1570B
Ken Gurge	1565Q
Mike Meehan	1548B
Dave Thomas	1547B
Brian Biglow	1542Q
Alan Condon	1529Q
Ed Rogers	1518B
Bob Mathieu	1517R
John Bastarache	1508B
William Burke	1488R
Gail Lingner	1461Q
Don Briggs	1442Q
Alexander Venezia	1416Q
Tom Fratturelli	1402Q
Percy Yip	1366Q
Vince Premus	1315Q
Larry O'Rourke	1306Q
Seeth Ganesan	1263Q
Richard Bennett	1257Q
Randy McLaughlin	1254Q
Roland Sorel	1237R
Wayne Steadman	1227Q
Stan Talcott	1223Q
Hugh McLaughlin	1140Q
Andrew Kiser	1079Q
Sebastian Tilton	1078Q
Francis Scanlon	1056Q
Nik Lavoie	1033Q
Kandy Lynch	1011B
Noah Rogers	978B
Jeromy Tilton	952Q
Finn Rogers	780Q
Tom Giampietro	690Q
Emily Gawboy	683Q
Ervin Brown	676R
Tom Whistler	622Q
Duncan Premus	472Q

March 21st, 2016

Carissa Yip Wins 14 & Under Section in Spiegel Cup

2014 Wachusett Chess Club champion Carissa Yip, 12, of Andover posted a perfect 4-0 score to capture first place in the 14 & Under section of the Barry S. Spiegel Cup (Massachusetts State Scholastic Singles Championship), held Sunday, March 20, in Marlborough.
Carissa raised her USCF rating to 2315, which is now her all-time high. Because of the ending dates of the New England Masters & this tournament, the USCF rerated this tournament as shown below.

**Carissa Yip First place age 14 & under at Spiegel Cup 2016 Chess Championships**
Carissa Yip at 2016 Spiegel Cup Championship First Place age 14 & under.	♕ ♛ ♕ ♛ 2014 Wachusett Chess Club champion Carissa Yip, 12, of Andover posted a perfect 4-0 score to capture first place in the 14 & Under section of the Barry S. Spiegel Cup (Massachusetts State Scholastic Singles Championship), held Sunday, March 20, in Marlborough. Carissa raised her USCF rating to 2315, which is now her all-time high. Because of the ending dates of the New England Masters & this tournament, the USCF rerated this tournament as shown below. ♛ ♕ ♛ ♕

Caarissa Yip -> 2315 -> 2325 (rerated March 23)

March 21st, 2016

Wachusett CC Youths Play in NH Individual Scholastic Championships

Three of the youngest members of the Wachusett Chess Club, Noah Rogers, Finn Rogers and Sebastian Tilton, all of New Ipswich, NH, competed in the 2016 New Hampshire Individual Scholastic Championships, held Saturday, March 19, at Londonderry High School in Londonderry, NH.
Noah and Sebastian tallied 3-1 to tie for 2nd-3rd place in the Junior High section, while Finn scored 3-1 to finish in a tie for 2nd-5th place in the Elementary section.

The event was dual rated, so here are their Regular (R) & Quick (Q) rating updates:

Noah Rogers R: -> 1548, Q: -> 1180
Sebastian Tilton R: -> 1103, Q: -> 1078
Finn Rogers R: -> 823, Q: -> 780

March 21st, 2016

Carissa Yip ties for 3rd-5th in strong invitational New England Masters tournament

2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip finished in fine style at the FIDE invitational tournament this weekend at Boylston CC in Cambridge. Her final score was 4.5/7 which placed her in a tie with strong Senior Master Jacob Chudnovsky & local GM, Alexander Ivanov & boosted her USCF rating to 2319. While her score was somewhat buoyed by three half point byes, she also defeated two National Masters, Tim Sage & Lawyer Times, & made draws with Candidate Msster, Nithin Kavi & IM Denys Shmelov, so somewhere in there she had to play some quality chess. Unfortunately while more that 60 games were played in her section, not a single scoresheet is available.

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March 18th, 2016

Carissa Yip a full point ahead of GM Ivanov going into round 5 in New England Masters

2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip is currently competing in the New England Masters, FIDE Rated tournament at the Boylston CC in Cambridge.

Carissa stands at 3.0 After four rounds of play, a full point ahead of GM Alexander Ivanov. Also with 3.0 scores are 2014 New England Open co-champ, Farzad Abdi, & IM Denys Shmelov, whom she will face in round five.

March 18th, 2016

Wachusett CC Players Compete in Waltham March G/5

Four Wachusett Chess Club players competed in the Waltham March G/5 tournament on Friday night, March 18, at the Waltham Chess Club. Tying for 4th-5th place with scores of 7.5-4.5 were 2010 Wachusett CC champion Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH and 2011 Wachusett CC champion Robert King of Framingham. Both drew each other twice in the 22-player event. Other club participants were Mike Meehan of Westminster, who tallied 6-6 for a tie for 9th-12th place, and Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH, who scored 5.5-6.5, tying for 13th-15th place.

New blitz ratings for the Wachusett quartet are as follows:

Tony Cesolini -> 1982
Robert King -> 1977
Jim Hankard -> 1633
Mike Meehan -> 1548

March 18th, 2016

Cesolini wins Knights CC Amateur Open
2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings

2010 Wachusett Chess Club champion Tony Cesolini scored 4-1 (three wins, two draws) to capture first place in the Knights Chess Club Amateur Open, held Feb. 15 through March 14 in Keene, NH.

Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 3.5-1.5 tallies were two other Wachusett CC players, Dave Kochman and Anthony Bracco, the latter of whom is reported to be moving to New Mexico. Other WCC players who competed in the 13-player event were Eric Strickland (4th place, 3-2), Ed Harris and Jim Hankard (tied for 6th-9th, 2-3), and Vince Bradley and Stan Talcott (tied for 10th-13th. 1-4). Chief TD was Ed Harris.

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings as of March 16, 2016
After 35 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating entering the final regular season tournament.
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed	Notes
Paulson	2045	25	.880	0
Cappallo	1971	30	.767	0
Gladding	1852	34	.735	0
Mirijanian	2002	26	.731	0
Godin	1962	34	.721	0
Thomas	1753	31	.677	0
Harris	1838	32	.656	0
Gurge	1790	33	.652	0
Arsenault	1686	26	.635	0
Fratturelli	1688	30	.617	0
Barlas	1789	14	.643	8	♝
Ganesan	1637	19	.605	3	♘
Brassard	1766	29	.603	0
Condon	1732	20	.600	2
Parker	1694	23	.587	0
Commisso	1659	20	.550	2
Bennett, J.	1789	34	.544	0
Hankard	1664	34	.544	0
Meehan	1595	27	.537	0
Couture	1705	28	.536	0
Rogers, E.	1533	29	.517	0

Notes:
♟ There are 9 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.

♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♘ Seeth Ganesan with a current winning percentage of .605 has played 19 games and would need to play 3 of the remaining 9 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .643 has played 14 games and would need to play 8 of the remaining 9 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.

March 16th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 5 of 5

It's Harris by a Half at the Final

Ed Harris of Marlboro, NH, overcame long odds & finished in clear first place with a score of 4.5/5 by beating USCF expert Ray Paulson in the final round of the George E. O'Rourke Memorial tournament which concluded this Wednesday. Ed entered the tournament as a middle Class B player rated 1712 & roared to an undefeated finish giving up only a single draw to USCF expert George Mirijanian, thereby boosting his own rating to a solid class A 1838. On the way, he also beat strong competitor, Roger Cappallo, a Candidate Master currently rated 1984, & two lower rated players.

Pictures from this event.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 16th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	0-1	♔Ed Harris
Lenny Arsenault	0-1	Paul Godin
George Mirijanian	1-0	Ken Gurge
Arthur Barlas	0-1	Larry Gladding
Gary Brassard	0-1	Geoff LePoer
John Bastarache	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Joe Bennett	0-1	♔Jim Hankard
Seeth Ganesan	1/2-1/2	Ed Rogers
Jackson Parker	1-0	Gail Lingner
♔Alexander Venezia	1-0	Mike Meehan
Noah Rogers	1-0	George Miller
♔Don Briggs	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Jeromy Tilton	0-1	Wayne Steadman
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Vlad Gaciu	1-0	Roland Sorel
Richard Bennett	0-1	Mike Commisso
William Burke	0-1	Brian Biglow
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Sebastian Tilton
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Randy McLaughlin
Total of 19 boards, 4 major upsets (♔).

♖ Not playing the final round were Roger Cappallo, Dave Thomas, Tony Cesolini, Dave Couture, Anthony Bracco, Nik Lavoie,
Andrew Kiser, Paul Lynch, Stan Talcott, Kandy Lynch and Ervin Brown.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 16th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.5	Harris
4.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Godin, Gladding
3.5	LePoer, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Hankard
3.0	Barlas, Gurge, Brassard, Parker, N. Rogers, Venezia, Briggs
2.5	Cappallo, Thomas, Ganesan, E. Rogers, Bastarache, Steadman, H. McLaughlin
2.0	Cesolini, J. Bennett, Gaciu, Couture, Commisso, Meehan, Bracco, Biglow, O'Rourke, Miller, Lingner, Lavoie
1.5	Mathieu, R. McLaughlin, Scanlon, J. Tilton, Kiser
1.0	P. Lynch, Burke, Talcott, R. Bennett, Sorel, K. Lynch, S. Tilton, Brown
0.5	-----
0.0	Gawboy

♔ 2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Ed Harris of Marlboro, NH
2nd-5th:	Ray Paulson of Lowell, George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Paul Godin of Bedford, & Larry Gladding (Top U1850) of Leominster
Top U1650:	Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH
Top U1450:	Alexander Venezia and Don Briggs, both of Lunenburg
Top U1250:	Hugh McLaughlin of Groton

Pictures from this year's George E. O'Rourke Memorial tournament.

See 2016 WCC crosstables here.

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
John Bastarache	+ 96
Don Briggs	+ 168
Nik Lavoie	+ 160
Alexander Venezia	+ 138
Ed Harris	+ 126
Noah Rogers	+ 88
Andrew Kiser	+ 84
Jim Hankard	+ 64
Jeromy Tilton	+ 63

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Jackson Parker	1694
Tom Fratturelli	1688
Anthony Bracco	1665
John Bastarache	1584
Noah Rogers	1559
Alexander Venezia	1416
Nik Laavoie	1166
Ervin Brown	676

The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes William Burke of Leominster, who joined tonight.

REMINDER: The next tournament on Wednesday, March 23rd, will be the 2016 Wachusett CC Blitz Championship,
a 7-round Swiss in one section, Game/10, no delay. (See USCF Blitz Rules excerpts.)
Players MUST APPEAR by 7:10 p.m. in order to be paired for round 1. No exceptions.

The next regular rated event, the Evert Siiskonen Memorial, will begin on the following Wednesday, March 30

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March 15th, 2016

2016 FIDE Women's World Championship

Hou Yifan wins Women's World Championship Match

The ninth game of the Women's World Chess Championship Match finished with a victory of Hou Yifan and with the final score 3:6 she became the Women's World Champion for the fourth time. It was the last and decisive game of the Match.
Download all games in .PGN format here: http://theweekinchess.com/assets/files/pgn/wchw16.pgn

March 14th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Revised Projected Pairings for Round 5

Projected Round 5 pairings for March 16th: (Revised March 14th)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1     Raymond Paulson (4.0)     Edward Harris (3.5)
2     Lenny Arsenault (3.5)         Paul Godin (3.0)
3     George Mirijanian (3.0)     Kenneth Gurge (3.0)
4     Arthur Barlas (3.0)             Lawrence Gladding (3.0)
5     Gary Brassard (3.0)            Geoff LePoer (2.5)
6     James Hankard (2.5)          David Thomas (2.5)
7     John Bastarache (2.5)       Tom Fratturelli (2.5)
8     Joseph Bennett (2.0)        Ed Rogers (2.0)
9     Dave Couture (2.0)           Gail Lingner (2.0)
10     Seetharaman Ganesan (2.0)     Alexander Venezia (2.0)
11     Noah Rogers (2.0)          Jackson Parker (2.0)
12     Donald Briggs (2.0)         Michael Meehan (2.0)
13     Nickolas Lavoie (2.0)     George Miller (2.0)
14     Francis Scanlon II (1.5)     Robert Mathieu (1.5)
15     Jeromy Tilton (1.5)         Wayne Steadman (1.5)
16     Andrew Kiser (1.5)         Hugh McLaughlin (1.5)
17     Richard Bennett (1.0)     Michael Commisso (1.0)
18     Paul Lynch (1.0)             Roland Sorel (1.0)
19     Kandy Lynch (1.0)          Brian Biglow (1.0)
20     Laurence O'Rourke (1.0)     Sebastian Tilton (1.0)
21     Emily Gawboy (0.0)         Randy McLaughlin (0.5)

March 12th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Revised Projected Pairings for Round 5

Projected Round 5 pairings for March 16th: (Revised March 10th)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1     Raymond Paulson (4.0)     Edward Harris (3.5)
2     Lenny Arsenault (3.5)     Paul Godin (3.0)
3     George Mirijanian (3.0)     Kenneth Gurge (3.0)
4     Arthur Barlas (3.0)     Lawrence Gladding (3.0)
5     Gary Brassard (3.0)     Geoff LePoer (2.5)
6     James Hankard (2.5)     David Thomas (2.5)
7     John Bastarache (2.5)     Tom Fratturelli (2.5)
8     Noah Rogers (2.0)     Tony Cesolini (2.0)
9     Joseph Bennett (2.0)     Ed Rogers (2.0)
10     Dave Couture (2.0)     Gail Lingner (2.0)
11     Seetharaman Ganesan (2.0)     George Miller (2.0)
12     Jackson Parker (2.0)     Alexander Venezia (2.0)
13     Donald Briggs (2.0)     Michael Meehan (2.0)
14     Nickolas Lavoie (2.0)     Michael Commisso (1.5)
15     Francis Scanlon II (1.5)     Robert Mathieu (1.5)
16     Jeromy Tilton (1.5)     Wayne Steadman (1.5)
17     Andrew Kiser (1.5)     Hugh McLaughlin (1.5)
18     Paul Lynch (1.0)     Richard Bennett (1.0)
19     Kandy Lynch (1.0)     Brian Biglow (1.0)
20     Laurence O'Rourke (1.0)     Roland Sorel (1.0)
21     Stanford Talcott (1.0)     Sebastian Tilton (1.0)
22     Emily Gawboy (0.0)     Randy McLaughlin (0.5)

March 12th, 2016

Daylight Saving Time (United States) 2016 begins at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 13

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead & change the batteries in your chess clock!

March 9th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 4 of 5

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 9th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	0-1	Ray Paulson
Ed Harris	1/2-1/2	George Mirijanian
Tom Fratturelli	0-1	Lenny Arsenault
Larry Gladding	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
George Miller	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge	1-0	Jackson Parker
Anthony Bracco	0-1	Gary Brassard
Dave Thomas	1/2-1/2	John Bastarache
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Geoff LePoer
Ed Rogers	1/2-1/2	Dave Couture
Mike Meehan	1/2-1/2	Noah Rogers
Jim Hankard	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Roland Sorel	0-1	Joe Bennett
Brian Biglow	0-1	♔Don Briggs
Gail Lingner	1-0	Kandy Lynch
Wayne Steadman	1/2-1/2	Francis Scanlon
Richard Bennett	0-1	♔Nik Lavoie
Sebastian Tilton	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	♔Jeromy Tilton
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Total of 20 boards, 3 major upsets (♔).

♝ Receiving half-point byes were Roger Cappallo, Hugh McLaughlin, Mike Commisso and Ervin Brown.
♖ Not playing round 4 were Tony Cesolini, Paul Lynch and Stan Talcott.
Alan Condon withdrew from the tournament.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 9th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.0	Paulson
3.5	Harris, Arsenault
3.0	Mirijanian, Godin, Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Brassard
2.5	Cappallo, LePoer, Thomas, Fratturelli, Hankard, Bastarache
2.0	Cesolini, J. Bennett, Couture, Ganesan, Parker, Meehan, Bracco, Miller, E. Rogers, Lingner, N. Rogers, Venezia, Briggs, Lavoie
1.5	Mathieu, Steadman, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, J. Tilton, Kiser
1.0	Commisso, P. Lynch, Biglow, O'Rourke, Talcott, R. Bennett, Sorel, K. Lynch, S. Tilton, Brown
0.5	R. McLaughlin
0.0	Gawboy

Projected Round 5 Pairings for March 16th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Paulson vs. Harris
Board 2: Arsenault vs. Godin
Board 3: Mirijanian vs. Gurge
Board 4: Barlas vs. Gladding
Board 5: Brassard vs. LePoer
Board 6: Hankard vs. Thomas
Board 7: Bastarache vs. Fratturelli
Board 8: N. Rogers vs. Cesolini
Board 9: J. Bennett vs. E. Rogers
Board 10: Couture vs. Lingner
Board 11: Ganesan vs. Miller
Board 12: Parker vs. Venezia
Board 13: Briggs vs. Meehan
Board 14: Lavoie vs. Commisso
Board 15: H. McLaughlin vs. Mathieu
Board 16: Kiser vs. Steadman
Board 17: P. Lynch vs. Scanlon
Board 18: R. Bennett vs. Biglow
Board 19: K. Lynch vs. O'Rourke
Board 20: Talcott vs. Sorel
Board 21: Gawboy vs. R. McLaughlin

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on March 16th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

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March 9th, 2016

Will Go Go The Way Of Chess?

Big story in Scientific American suggests that we're about to witness the silicon robots consume yet another pastoral pastime.

Tanguy Chouard, an editor with Nature, saw Google-DeepMind's AI system AlphaGo defeat a human professional for the first time last year at the ancient board game Go. This week, he is watching top professional Lee Sedol take on AlphaGo, in Seoul, for a $1 million prize.
As I'm sure you've heard, one of humanity's best Go players, Lee Sedol, just lost his first game in a best-of-five series against AlphaGo, the artificial intelligence system created by Google DeepMind. "I'm in shock," Lee said at the post-match press conference.
I was surprised too by my emotional reaction to the result. Before I saw the game, which I watched alongside DeepMind's CEO Demis Hassabis, and David Silver, one of the lead researchers on AlphaGo, I didn't know who I wanted to win.
Now-to my surprise-I find myself rooting for the very personable and human Lee Sedol.

...
"AlphaGo played like a human professional player, but with the emotional element carved out," said one Korean commentator, Kim Sung-ryong. He said that all top-level pro players were in shock. Silver said that-judging from the statistics he'd seen when sitting in Google's technical room-"Lee Sedol pushed AlphaGo to its limits".

Does this mean that AI has finally defeated humanity at what may be the most complex board game we've ever invented? Not quite. There are still four games to go; tomorrow (10 March) we may see a different kind of match, as AlphaGo will play first, with the black stones, rather than second, with the white ones.

Lee said he wouldn't be affected psychologically by the loss. "This game is not going to affect how I play in the next games," he said. As Redmond told me after the game: "he's a very tough guy".

March 7th, 2016

Non-Rated Blitz At Burger King

Congratulations to Tony Cesolini for winning the "Burger King Open Blitz Tournament" with a perfect score of 10/10. The event was an unrated double round robin, with each player playing each other player twice, once with white and once with black, for a total of 10 games played.

It was an exciting evening of chess. We had it all: Hotly contested games, mad time scrambles with pieces flying and clocks knocked over, and heartbreakingly short games ending with hung queens and slumped shoulders...

Congratulations as well to Gary Brassard (2nd place, 6/10 points) and Alexander Venezia (3rd place, 5.5/10 points). All other placements and details can be viewed in the attached results crosstable.
Fun was had by all. Hope to see y'all at the next one!
Kindest Regards Mike Meehan

Burger King Open Blitz Tournament 6-Mar-16

Double Round Robin Six Entrants UNRATED EVENT

Mike Meehan Anthony Bracco Dave Thomas Alexander Venezia Tony Cesolini Gary Brassard Total

Tony Cesolini 2 2 2 2 2 10

Gary Brassard 2 1 2 1 0 6

Alexander Venezia 1.5 2 1 0 1 5.5

Mike Meehan 2 1 0.5 0 0 3.5

Dave Thomas 1 1 1 0 0 3

Anthony Bracco 0 1 0 0 1 2

The big story here is of course newcomer Alexander Venezia, who was able to split with veterans Gary Barassard & Dave Thomas on his way to a respectable third place.

If all goes well and we don't have any makeup round for the current club tournament, we will be holding the Wachusett CC Blitz Championship on Wednesday, March 23.

An interesting article in Science Magazine: Why this week's man-versus-machine Go match doesn't matter (and what does)
By Dana Mackenzie

March 6th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Revised Projected Pairings for Round 4

Projected Round 4 pairings for March 13th: (Revised March 6th)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1     Paul Godin (3.0)           Raymond Paulson (3.0)
2     Edward Harris (3.0)     George Mirijanian (2.5)
3     Tom Fratturelli (2.5)     Lenny Arsenault (2.5)
4     David Thomas (2.0)     Tony Cesolini (2.0)
5     Lawrence Gladding (2.0)     Seetharaman Ganesan (2.0)
6     George Miller (2.0)         Arthur Barlas (2.0)
7     Kenneth Gurge (2.0)        Jackson Parker (2.0)
8     Anthony Bracco (2.0)      Gary Brassard (2.0)
9     John Bastarache (2.0)     Geoff LePoer (1.5)
10     Robert Mathieu (1.5)     Dave Couture (1.5)
11     Michael Meehan (1.5)     Ed Rogers (1.5)
12     James Hankard (1.5)       Noah Rogers (1.5)
13     Andrew Kiser (1.5)          Joseph Bennett (1.0)
14     Paul Lynch (1.0)                Alexander Venezia (1.0)
15     Sebastian Tilton (1.0)     Brian Biglow (1.0)
16     Gail Lingner (1.0)             Donald Briggs (1.0)
17     Wayne Steadman (1.0)     Roland Sorel (1.0)
18     Stanford Talcott (1.0)     Kandy Lynch (1.0)
19     Richard Bennett (1.0)     Francis Scanlon II (1.0)
20     Randy McLaughlin (0.5)     Nickolas Lavoie (1.0)
21     Ervin Brown (0.5)                 Jeromy Tilton (0.5)
22     Laurence O'Rourke (0.0)     Emily Gawboy (0.0)
1/2 Roger Cappallo (2.0)  BYE
1/2 Michael Commisso (0.5)  BYE
1/2 Hugh McLaughlin (1.0)  BYE

March 6th, 2016

Weekend rating updates: Billerica, MA & New Ipswich, NH

Ray Paulson and Paul Godin played in the Billerica February Swiss, which ended this past Friday, and scored 2.5-1.5 to tie for 3rd-7th place. Ray lost 7 points to bring his rating to 2046, while Paul gained 6 points to raise his rating to 1956.
Had Ray won his final round game (instead of losing it) to expert Tim Bromley, he would have come into first place. Paul also would have come into first place or a tie for it if he had played the final and won instead of sitting out the round.

Sebastian Tilton scored a perfect 4-0 to win first place in the Boynton Middle School March Tournament on Saturday, March 5, in New Ipswich, NH. Sebastian gained 80 (!) rating points and now stands at 1101. The tournament was dual rated, so his quick rating also increased to 1065. Lest one surmise that he was simply foraging on the misfortunes of players having a bad tournament, it is notable that each of his opponents also increased his own rating despite losing to Sebastian.

Ray Paulson -> 2046
Paul Godin -> 1956
Sebasian Tilton -> R: 1101, Q: 1065

March 2nd, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 3 of 5

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 2nd, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Anthony Bracco
Jackson Parker	0-1	Paul Godin
John Bastarache	0-1	Ed Harris
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Mike Meehan
Lenny Arsenault	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Paul Lynch
Geoff LePoer	1/2-1/2	Jim Hankard
Joe Bennett	0-1	♔ George Miller
Brian Biglow	0-1	Larry Gladding
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Richard Bennett
Kandy Lynch	0-1	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Nik Lavoie	0-1	Dave Thomas
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Seeth Ganesan
Mike Commisso	0-1	♔ Noah Rogers
Jeromy Tilton	0-1	Ed Rogers
♔ Don Briggs	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Alexander Venezia	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Total of 18 boards, 3 major upsets (♔).

Receiving half-point byes were George Mirijanian, Tony Cesolini, Dave Couture, Andrew Kiser, Gail Lingner, Stan Talcott,
Roland Sorel, Hugh McLaughlin, Randy McLaughlin and Ervin Brown.
Not playing round 3 were Alan Condon and Sebastian Tilton.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, March 2nd, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	Paulson, Godin, Harris
2.5	Mirijanian, Fratturelli, Arsenault
2.0	Cesolini, Cappallo, Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Brassard, Thomas, Ganesan, Parker, Bracco, Miller, Bastarache
1.5	LePoer, Couture, Meehan, Hankard, Mathieu, E. Rogers, N. Rogers, Kiser
1.0	J. Bennett, Condon, P. Lynch, Biglow, Lingner, Steadman, Talcott, R. Bennett, Venezia, Briggs, Sorel, K. Lynch, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, S. Tilton,
0.5	Commisso, R. McLaughlin, J.Tilton, Brown
0.0	O'Rourke, Gawboy

Projected Round 4 pairings for March 9th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. Paulson
Board 2: Harris vs. Mirijanian
Board 3: Fratturelli vs. Arsenault
Board 4: Thomas vs. Cesolini
Board 5: Gladding vs. Ganesan
Board 6: Miller vs. Barlas
Board 7: Gurge vs. Parker
Board 8: Bracco vs. Brassard
Board 9: Bastarache vs. LePoer
Board 10: Mathieu vs. Couture
Board 11: Meehan vs. E. Rogers
Board 12: Hankard vs. N. Rogers
Board 13: Kiser vs. J. Bennett
Board 14: Condon vs. Venezia
Board 15: P. Lynch vs. Briggs
Board 16: S. Tilton vs. Biglow
Board 17: Lingner vs. K. Lynch
Board 18: Steadman vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 19: Talcott vs. Scanlon
Board 20: R. Bennett vs. Sorel
Board 21: R. McLaughlin vs. Lavoie
Board 22: Brown vs. J. Tilton
Board 23: O'Rourke vs. Gawboy

Requesting half-point byes for Round 4 are Cappallo and Commisso.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on March 9th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

Return to Top of List

March 1st, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Revised Projected pairings for Round 3

Projected Round 3 pairings for March 2nd: (Revised March 2nd)
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
1     Raymond Paulson (2.0)     Edward Harris (2.0)
2     Jackson Parker (2.0)     George Mirijanian (2.0)
3     Anthony Bracco (2.0)     Paul Godin (2.0)
4     John Bastarache (2.0)     Tony Cesolini (1.5)
5     Tom Fratturelli (1.5)     Michael Meehan (1.5)
6     Lenny Arsenault (1.5)     Robert Mathieu (1.5)
7     Roger Cappallo (1.0)     Seetharaman Ganesan (1.0)
8     Geoff LePoer (1.0)     Paul Lynch (1.0)
9     Joseph Bennett (1.0)     James Hankard (1.0)
10     Brian Biglow (1.0)     Lawrence Gladding (1.0)
11     Arthur Barlas (1.0)     George Miller (1.0)
12     Richard Bennett (1.0)     Kenneth Gurge (1.0)
13     Gary Brassard (1.0)     Wayne Steadman (1.0)
14     Kandy Lynch (1.0)     David Thomas (1.0)
15     Francis Scanlon II (1.0)     Alan Condon (1.0)
16     Dave Couture (1.0)     Sebastian Tilton (1.0)
17     Nickolas Lavoie (1.0)     Michael Commisso (0.5)
18     Stanford Talcott (0.5)     Ed Rogers (0.5)
19     Gail Lingner (0.5)     Noah Rogers (0.5)
20     Jeromy Tilton (0.5)     Laurence O'Rourke (0.0)
21     Alexander Venezia (0.0)     Emily Gawboy (0.0)
22     Ervin Brown (0.0)     Donald Briggs (0.0)

1/2  Randy McLaughlin (0.0)  BYE
1/2  Roland Sorel (0.5)  BYE
1/2  Hugh McLaughlin (0.5)  BYE
1/2  Andrew Kiser (1.0)  BYE

February 28th, 2016

Queen City Tornado rating updates

Two Wachusett CC players were prize winners in the 3rd Queen City Tornado, held Saturday, Feb. 27, in Manchester, NH.
Dave Kochman tallied 3-1 to tie for 2nd-4th place in the Open section of the event, while Mike Commisso also scored 3-1 to tie for 3rd place in the Under 1800 section.
Dave raised his rating to 1973 and Mike's rating went up to 1719. Also competing in the tournament were club members Gary Brassard, whose rating went down to 1765, and Jim Hankard, whose rating remained the same at 1600.

Dave Kochman -> 1973
Mike Commisso -> 1719
Gary Brassard -> 1765
Jim Hankard -> 1600

February 26th, 2016

News Updates:
WCC info & flyer are now on NH Chess Assoc. website.
2016 Women's World Chess Championship Match scheduled to start March 1st.

WCC info with link to website & flyer are now on the New Hampshire Chess Assoc. website.
2016 Women's World Chess Championship Match (Mariya Muzychuk vs. Hou Yifan) begins March 1 in Lviv, Ukraine

Hou Yifan

2673 FIDE

Women's World Chess Championship Match 2016 between the current World Champion Maria Muzychuk of Ukraine and her challenger Hou Yifan of China (former World Champion 2010-2012 & 2013-2015) is taking place in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 1-18, 2016.

Maria Muzychuk

Current Women's World Champion
2554 FIDE

February 24th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 2 of 5

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 24th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Dave Thomas	0-1	Ray Paulson
George Mirijanian	1-0	Gary Brassard
Ed Harris	1-0	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Dave Couture
Larry Gladding	0-1	♔ Jackson Parker
♔ Anthony Bracco	1-0	Arthur Barlas
Ken Gurge	0-1	♔ John Bastarache
Tony Cesolini	1-0	Nik Lavoie
♔ Bob Mathieu	1-0	Mike Commisso
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Don Briggs	0-1	Joe Bennett
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Jim Hankard	1-0	Alexander Venezia
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Brian Biglow
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	♔ Andrew Kiser
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Ervin Brown
Total of 16 boards, 5 major upsets (♔)

Receiving half-point byes were Lenny Arsenault, Mike Meehan, Geoff LePoer, Alan Condon, Paul Lynch, George Miller,
Richard Bennett, Kandy Lynch, Francis Scanlon, Sebastian Tilton, Ed Rogers, Gail Lingner, Noah Rogers, Stan Talcott,
Roland Sorel and Jeromy Tilton.
Withdrawing from the tournament were Tom Whistler and Finn Rogers.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 24th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Godin, Harris, Parker, Bracco, Bastarache
1.5	Cesolini, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Meehan, Mathieu
1.0	Cappallo, LePoer, J. Bennett, Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Brassard, Thomas, Condon, Couture, Ganesan, P. Lynch, Hankard, Biglow, Miller, Steadman, R. Bennett, K. Lynch, Scanlon, S. Tilton, Lavoie, Kiser
0.5	Commisso, E. Rogers, Lingner, N. Rogers, Talcott, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, J. Tilton
0.0	O'Rourke, R. McLaughlin, Venezia, Briggs, Gawboy, Brown

Projected Round 3 pairings for March 2nd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Paulson vs. Harris
Board 2: Parker vs. Mirijanian
Board 3: Bracco vs. Godin
Board 4: Bastarache vs. Cesolini
Board 5: Fratturelli vs. Meehan
Board 6: Arsenault vs. Mathieu
Board 7: P. Lynch vs. LePoer
Board 8: J. Bennett vs. Hankard
Board 9: Biglow vs. Gladding
Board 10: Barlas vs. Miller
Board 11: R. Bennett vs. Gurge
Board 12: Brassard vs. Steadman
Board 13: K. Lynch vs. Thomas
Board 14: Couture vs. Scanlon
Board 15: S. Tilton vs. Ganesan
Board 16: Lavoie vs. Commisso
Board 17: Talcott vs. E. Rogers
Board 18: Lingner vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 19 J Tilton vs. N. Rogers
Board 20: O'Rourke vs. Briggs
Board 21: R. McLaughlin vs. Gawboy
Board 22: Venezia vs. Brown

Requesting half-point byes for Round 3 are Cappallo, Sorel and Kiser. Condon will be paired if he shows up for the round.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on March 2nd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

February 24th, 2016

Metrowest Chess Club's Groundhog Day Swiss rating updates

Robert King scored 2.5-1.5 to tie for 4th-6th place in the Metrowest Chess Club's Groundhog Day Swiss,
which ended Tuesday night, Feb. 23. Rob's rating for the 2/24/16 spreadsheet is 2138.

Robert King -> 2138

February 21st, 2016

Waltham Chess Club's "Levin Game/30" rating updates

Robert King scored 3-1 to tie for 2nd-3rd place in the Waltham Chess Club's "Levin Game/30" tournament Friday night, Feb. 19. Rob raised his rating to 2135, drawing in the final round with life master Lawyer Times, with whom he shared the runner-up spot.

Robert King -> 2135

October 19th, 2015

40 Massachusetts Players Competing in the 2016 World Team Event

A total of forty players from Massachusetts, including WCC member Rob King, competed in the 2016 World Team Tournament held this past weekend in Parsippany, NJ. They are listed here in order of finishing place, with their rating changes & hyperlinks to their opponents.

Section 1 - USTEAM16
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
22:	MA 14940771 BERNIE XU R: 1854 -> 1921 N:1 Opponents
34:	MA 13052087 MIKA ANDREW BRATTAIN R: 2456 -> 2453 N:C Opponents
64:	MA 14217413 ERIC FENG R: 2059 -> 2070 N:1 Opponents
94:	MA 13433622 DENYS K SHMELOV R: 2480 -> 2479 N:C Opponents
96:	MA 10010985 CHRISTOPHER W CHASE R: 2374 -> 2390 N:M Opponents
104:	MA 13987660 ANDREW LIU R: 2321 -> 2315 N:C Opponents
115:	MA 13206647 SIDDHARTH ARUN R: 2208 -> 2202 N:1 Opponents
202:	MA 14212491 NITHIN KAVI R: 2094 -> 2097 N:1 Opponents
211:	MA 12596716 TAYLOR CURTIS R: 2002 -> 2042 N:C Opponents
225:	MA 12487244 CHARLES SLADE R: 1960 -> 1974 N:1 Opponents
241:	MA 13215965 URI FELD R: 1904 -> 1891 N:3 Opponents
327:	MA 12681247 ROBERT J KING R: 2132 -> 2127 N:1 Opponents
330:	MA 12909778 JAKE R GARBARINO R: 2097 -> 2107 N:1 Opponents
339:	MA 12414355 TODD S CHASE R: 2063 -> 2053 N:2 Opponents
370:	MA 12768127 BENJAMIN H SMITH R: 1912 -> 1909 N:2 Opponents
468:	MA 12720571 EVAN Z RABIN R: 2247 -> 2238 N:C Opponents
473:	MA 12846607 ANDREW HOY R: 2180 -> 2167 N:1 Opponents
497:	MA 12559342 MIKE E BRUNS R: 2020 -> 2007 N:2 Opponents
506:	MA 15418978 ALAN SONG R: 1943 -> 1936 N:2 Opponents
510:	MA 12367030 MARK FINS R: 1921 -> 1907 N:2 Opponents
535:	MA 14679007 EDDIE YI MING WEI R: 1811 -> 1805 N:3 Opponents
550:	MA 12320880 MATT PHELPS R: 1741 -> 1734 N:4 Opponents
578:	MA 14148891 KEVIN HU R: 1547 -> 1605 N:3 Opponents
587:	MA 15454526 LEWIS TU R: 1586 -> 1576 N:4 Opponents
645:	MA 12426279 DAVID VIGORITO R: 2493 -> 2470 N:C Opponents
647:	MA 12167330 LAWYER TIMES R: 2255 -> 2235 N:1 Opponents
662:	MA 15421306 SOREN SANDMANN PEDERSEN R: 2018 -> 2004 N:2 Opponents
729:	MA 14353593 ERIC HU R: 1405 -> 1424 N:4 Opponents
758:	MA 15958905 ANDREW YAN R: Unrated->  823P4   Opponents
762:	MA 10460921 LARRY M CHRISTIANSEN R: 2661 -> 2663     Opponents
791:	MA 13853501 MICHAEL MI R: 1879 -> 1875 N:2 Opponents
792:	MA 11366805 NATASHA C CHRISTIANSEN R: 1873 -> 1857     Opponents
817:	MA 10020425 WILLIAM G MICHAEL R: 1700 -> 1714 N:2 Opponents
852:	MA 12417865 KARL G HAHN R: 1417 -> 1400     Opponents
862:	MA 13790082 DANIEL MICHAEL PLOTKIN R: 1306 -> 1305     Opponents
877:	MA 15957353 DUNCAN ALFORD PECKHAM R: Unrated-> 1240P5   Opponents
956:	MA 12928533 MATTHEW R LEE R: 1512 -> 1498     Opponents
960:	MA 10095069 ROBERT JELLINGER R: 1460 -> 1429     Opponents
1056: MA 15331380 DAVID ALAN GILIVER R:  863P17->  922P22  Opponents
1157: MA 15961790 SUNGHOON KONG KANG R: Unrated->  519P5   Opponents
Section 2 - FILLER
#:	State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List

February 17th, 2016

2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial
Round 1 of 5

Bastarache Begins By Beating Bennett

The 2016 George E. O'Rourke Memprial tournament began with a bang at as John Bastarache beat Joe Bennett at board 5 while newcomer Nik Lavoie bested Seeth Ganesan at board 14. Hugh McLaughlin held Mike Commisso to a draw at board 13 with each of the 15 remaining boards concluding in wins for the higher rated players. The 366 point upset at board five started off "normal" enough as Joe, playing white, used his familiar Bird's opening to achieve a rather complex & unusual position involving his uncastled king & several ambitious pawn moves. Somewhere in the middlegame manouvers, John managed to capture Joe's queen in exchange for only a minor piece & a couple pawns which turned out to be too big a deficit for Joe to overcome & he resigned fairly early in the evening.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room at board 14, Nik Lavoie took his 672 point higher rated opponent, Seeth Ganesan, to task winning a piece & soon more material & eventually the game to chalk up his third victory this season & one of the biggest upsets in WCC history.

Several of the other games, though they ended in victorys for the higher rated & hence statistically favored players, contained much excitement as well. A few examples would include Jim Hankard's solid handling of the opening phase of his game against USCF expert, Ray paulson's familiar queen pawn opening at board one. However Ray soon got the better of Jim & demonstrated strong consistent technique to assure his win. Arthur Barlas was on his way to a textbook example of a classical positional win at board seven wherein he held several small adavantages & was preparing to prove that to be sufficient for the full point when his opponent, Wayne Steadman, lost his queen to a simple knight fork & immediately resigned. Larry Gladding had an interesting double edged game against Noah Rogers with kings castled on opposite sides of the board & both players trying to simultaneously attack & defend. Ultimately Larry's 373 rating point advantage was confirmed as he finished in the winners' circle as well.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 17th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ray Paulson	1-0	Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow	0-1	George Mirijanian
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Ed Rogers	0-1	Paul Godin
Joe Bennett	0-1	John Bastarache
Noah Rogers	0-1	Larry Gladding
Arthur Barlas	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Ken Gurge
Gary Brassard	1-0	Stan Talcott
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Dave Thomas
Dave Couture	1-0	Don Briggs
Roland Sorel	0-1	Ed Harris
Mike Commisso	1/2-1/2	Hugh McLaughlin
Nik Lavoie	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Jackson Parker	1-0	Jeromy Tilton
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Lenny Arsenault
Mike Meehan	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Ervin Brown	0-1	Anthony Bracco

Receiving half-point byes were Tony Cesolini, Geoff LePoer, Alan Condon, Tom Fratturelli, Paul Lynch, George Miller,
Bob Mathieu, Richard Bennett, Kandy Lynch, Francis Scanlon, Sebastian Tilton, Tom Whistler and Finn Rogers.
Not playing round 1 was Gail Lingner, who declined a half-point bye.

**George E. O'Rourke Memorial, February 17th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Cappallo, Godin, Gladding, Barlas, Gurge, Brassard, Thomas, Couture, Harris, Parker, Arsenault, Meehan, Bracco, Bastarache, Lavoie
0.5	Cesolini, LePoer, Condon, Commisso, Fratturelli, P. Lynch, Miller, Mathieu, R. Bennett, K. Lynch, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, S. Tilton, Whistler, F. Rogers
0.0	J. Bennett, Ganesan, Hankard, Biglow, O'Rourke, E. Rogers, Lingner, N. Rogers, Steadman, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, Venezia, Briggs, Sorel, J. Tilton, Kiser, Gawboy, Brown

Projected Round 2 pairings for February 24th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Thomas vs. Paulson
Board 2: Mirijanian vs. Couture
Board 3: Harris vs. Cappallo
Board 4: Godin vs. Parker
Board 5: Gladding vs. Arsenault
Board 6: Bracco vs. Barlas
Board 7: Gurge vs. Meehan
Board 8: Bastarache vs. Brassard
Board 9: Cesolini vs. Lavoie
Board 10: LePoer vs. R. Bennett
Board 11: K. Lynch vs. Commisso
Board 12: H. McLaughlin vs. Fratturelli
Board 13: Scanlon vs. P. Lynch
Board 14: Miller vs. Whistler
Board 15: F. Rogers vs. Mathieu
Board 16: Talcott vs. J. Bennett
Board 17: Ganesan vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 18: Hankard vs. Venezia
Board 19: Briggs vs. Biglow
Board 20: O'Rourke vs. Sorel
Board 21: J. Tilton vs. E. Rogers
Board 22: Lingner vs. Kiser
Board 23: Gawboy vs. N. Rogers
Board 24: Steadman vs. Brown

Requesting a half-point bye for Round 2 is Sebastian Tilton.
The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes Ervin Brown of Ayer, MA.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on February 24th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

February 16th, 2016

2016 World Team rating updates

Robert King played in the World Team event this past weekend in Parsippany, New Jersey.
He scored 3.5/6 in a field of over 1100 players.

Robert King -> 2127

February 15th, 2016

Carissa Yip to compete in 2016 US Women's Championship

12 year old NM Carissa Yip,
2014 WCC Champ, has accepted her invitation to compete in this year's US Women's Championship. ♕ ♛ ♕
Her current rating of 2305, places her at #11 on the US Women's Top Players list.

At just 12 years of age, Carissa Yip has quickly become one of the top female players in America. Known for her creativity over the board, she enters the tournament with an all time high rating of 2305.

Yip has been on a record-shattering pace ever since she learned how to play the game from her father at age 6. Three years later, at age 9, she became the youngest ever to reach the title of Expert.

Two years later she broke the record for youngest female to achieve the title of National Master at the age of 11 years, 5 months, and 18 days -- breaking the record previously held by Annie Wang. Along the way to Master, she set the record for youngest female player to beat a Grandmaster for her win against GM Alexander Ivanov in the New England Open a few days before her 11th birthday.

February 14th, 2016

February Freeze rating updates

Wachusett CC members Sebastian Tilton and Finn Rogers competed on Saturday, Feb. 13, in the 14th Annual February Freeze tournament in New London, NH. Both scored 2-2 to tie for 3rd place. Sebastian's rating now stands at 1021, while Finn's rating is now 788. Due to the time control, G/30;d5, the tournament was dual rated, so both players have new quick ratings as well.

Sebastian Tilton R: -> 1021, Q: -> 943
Finn Rogers R: -> 788, Q: -> 731

February 13th, 2016

Leominster Champion report on chess tournament at WCC

The locally distributed newspaper, The Leominster Champion has an article about the results of the recently completed George Sturgis Memorial Chess Tournament at which three Leominster residents, Larry Gladding, Gary Brassard & Tom Fratturelli finished with prizes.

February 12th, 2016

Greater New Haven Winter Open rating updates

Joe Bennett's regular rating is now 1854. The event he played in last weekend, the 2016 Greater New Haven Winter Open in Connecticut, has been rated by the USCF. Joe scored 2-2, including wins against a 2033-rated expert and a 2330-rated master. He gained 53 rating points & the event was dual rated, so his Quick rating was also increased. Joe was the only player from Massachusetts to compete in the event & he finished tied for 4th-6th place in the Open Section. Congratulations, Joe!

Joe Bennett
R: -> 1854
Q: -> 1838
(Due to the chronological sequence of Joe's last two Quick rated events & the late reporting of the New Haven tournament, the USCF may rerate the WCC Quick Championship.)

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February 10th, 2016

2016 WCC Quick Chess Championship
Round 5 of 5

♔ Paul Godin 2016 WCC Quick Champ

Paul Godin took top honors in this year's WCC Quick Chess Championship with a score of 4.5 out of 5. Paul gave up only a half point by obtaining a second round draw against Dave Thomas while winning rounds 1, 3, 4, & 5, against Don Briggs, Jackson Parker, George Mirijanian & Tony Cesolini respectively. The tournament was played at a fast paced 15 minutes per player per game with a 3 second delay & hence all five rounds could be completed in one night.

The formidable thirty player field included two USCF regular rated experts, two first place finishers from last year's quick championship, Tony Cesolini, who also won the 2010 quick championship, & Gary Brassard, two time quick champ, George Mirijanian & 2012 quick champ, Arthur Barlas.

Four players, Tony Cesolini, Joe Bennett, Larry Gladding, & Jackson Parker, tied for second through fifth place each scoring 4.0 out of 5. Also notable is only other player besides Godin to finish undefeated, Jim Hankard of Antrim, NH, who won his first & last rounds & drew each of the middle three to finish with 3.5 out of 5.

**WCC Quick Chess Championship, February 10th, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Godin	1-0	Cesolini
Cappallo	0-1	Gladding
Bennett	1-0	Commisso
Brassard	0-1	Parker
Barlas	0-1	Mirijanian
Hankard	1-0	Gurge
Meehan	0-1	Thomas
Ganesan	0-1	Biglow
Lingner	1-0	Venezia
Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Briggs
Bracco	0-1	Lavoie
LePoer	1-0	Steadman
Kiser	0-1	O'Rourke
Scanlon	0-1	Bastarache
Gawboy	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin

**WCC Quick Chess Championship, February 10th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.5	Godin
4.0	Cesolini, Bennett, Gladding, Parker
3.5	Mirijanian, Hankard
3.0	Cappallo, Brassard, Thomas, Biglow, Lingner, Commisso, R. McLaughlin, Lavoie
2.5	-----
2.0	LePoer, Barlas, Gurge, Briggs, Meehan, O'Rourke, Bastarache, Venezia, Ganesan
1.5	Bracco
1.0	Steadman, H. McLaughlin, Kiser, Scanlon
0.5	-----
0.0	Gawboy

♔ 2016 WCC Quick Chess Championship PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Paul Godin of Bedford
2nd-5th:	Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH, Joe Bennett and Jackson Parker, both of Fitchburg, and Larry Gladding of Leominster

Participants in this tournament may see WCC Quick rating updates here.
See 2016 WCC Quick Chess Championship crosstables here.

The following players had quick rating increases of 50 or more points:
Jackson Parker	+ 294
Nikolas Lavoie	+ 268
Randy McLaughlin	+ 70
Seeth Ganesan	+ 68
Jim Hankard	+ 52

The following players achieved a new all-time high quick rating:
Paul Godin	1991
Tony Cesolini	1967
Jackson Parker	1532
Brian Biglow	1530
Alex Venezia	1415
Seeth Ganesan	1262
Randy McLaughlin	1254
Anthony Bracco	1038
Nik Lavoie	1006

REMINDER: Next week starts the 2016 George E. O'Rourke Memorial (1929-2007).
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1 on February 17th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

**WCC Quick Chess Championship, February 10th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Cesolini	1-0	Cappallo
Mirijanian	0-1	Godin
Gurge	0-1	Bennett
Briggs	0-1	Brassard
Parker	1-0	Barlas
Lavoie	0-1	Gladding
Thomas	0-1	Commisso
Biglow	1/2-1/2	Hankard
Venezia	1-0	LePoer
Steadman	0-1	Lingner
Kiser	0-1	Meehan
O'Rourke	0-1	Ganesan
Bastarache	0-1	Randy McLaughlin
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Bracco
Gawboy	0-1	Scanlon

**WCC Quick Chess Championship, February 10th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Brassard	0-1	Cesolini
Barlas	0-1	Cappallo
Godin	1-0	Parker
Mirijanian	1-0	Biglow
Hankard	1/2-1/2	Thomas
Bennett	1-0	O'Rourke
Gladding	1-0	Bastarache
Gurge	1-0	Venezia
Commisso	1-0	Steadman
Ganesan	0-1	Briggs
Meehan	0-1	Lavoie
Bracco	0-1	LePoer
Scanlon	0-1	Lingner
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Kiser
Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Gawboy

**WCC Quick Chess Championship, February 10th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Thomas	1/2-1/2	Godin
Cesolini	1-0	Gladding
Hankard	1/2-1/2	Mirijanian
Cappallo	1-0	Gurge
Parker	1-0	Bennett
Brassard	1-0	Commisso
Barlas	1-0	Lavoie
LePoer	0-1	Biglow
Bracco	0-1	Meehan
Lingner	0-1	Ganesan
Briggs	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
O'Rourke	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Kiser	0-1	Bastarache
Venezia	1-0	Scanlon
Gawboy	0-1	Steadman

**WCC Quick Chess Championship, February 10th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	1-0	Don Briggs
Mike Meehan	0-1	Tony Cesolini
George Mirijanian	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
John Bastarache	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Joe Bennett	1-0	Alexander Venezia
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Gary Brassard
Geoff LePoer	0-1	Jackson Parker
Seeth Ganesan	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Larry Gladding	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Dave Thomas
Ken Gurge	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Jim Hankard
Brian Biglow	1/2-1/2	Anthony Bracco
Nik Lavoie	1-0	Gail Lingner
Mike Commisso	1-0	Emily Gawboy

February 8th, 2016

1st Crazy Clock Open rating updates

Dave Kochman, Dave Thomas and Aanthony Bracco scored 2.5-1.5 to tie for 2nd-4th place at the 1st Crazy Clock Open held at the Knights' Chess Club in Keene, NH this past month. These three plus seven other WCC members participaated in the tournament which resulted in the following rating changes:

Tony Cesolini -> 2053
Paul Godin -> 1947
Eric Strickland -> 1921
Dave Kochman -> 1905
Joe Bennett -> 1802
Dave Thomas -> 1774
Ed Harris -> 1726
Jim Hankard -> 1600
Anthony Bracco -> 1575P15
Stan Talcott -> 1399

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February 3rd, 2016

2016 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 5 of 5

Kochman Captures Crown At Boone Memorial Tournament

Pictures from this event.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, February 3rd, 2016**
Round 5 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Dave Kochman	1-0	Ken Gurge
Paul Godin	1-0	Larry Gladding
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Mike Meehan
Joe Bennett	0-1	Mike Commisso
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Bob Mathieu
Lenny Arsenault	1-0	Anthony Bracco
Jim Hankard	0-1	Noah Rogers
George Mirijanian	1-0	Ed Harris
Jackson Parker	1/2-1/2	Geoff LePoer
Brian Biglow	1/2-1/2	Gary Brassard
Ed Rogers	0-1	Dave Thomas
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	John Bastarache
Stan Talcott	0-1	Gail Lingner
Larry O'Rourke	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Richard Bennett	0-1	Alexander Venezia
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Sebastian Tilton
Don Briggs	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Finn Rogers	0-1	Roland Sorel
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Nik Lavoie
Tom Whistler	0-1	Andrew Kiser

Not playing round 5 were Tony Cesolini, Arthur Barlas, Vlad Gaciu, Dave Couture, Paul Lynch, Randy McLaughlin, Kandy Lynch and Jeromy Tilton.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, February 3rd, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.5	Kochman
4.0	Cappallo, Godin, Gurge, Commisso
3.5	Gladding, Fratturelli, Arsenault, N. Rogers
3.0	Cesolini, Mirijanian, Thomas, J. Bennett, Barlas, Ganesan, Meehan
2.5	LePoer, Brassard, Parker, Hankard, Biglow, O'Rourke, Mathieu, Lingner, Bracco, Venezia
2.0	Gaciu, Couture, Harris, P. Lynch, E. Rogers, Bastarache, Talcott, Steadman, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, Lavoie
1.5	R. McLaughlin, R. Bennett, K. Lynch, Scanlon S. Tilton
1.0	Briggs, Kiser, F. Rogers
0.5	J. Tilton, Gawboy, Whistler

♔ 2016 Reggie Boone Memorial PRIZE WINNERS ♔
1st:	Dave Kochman of Swanzey, NH
2nd-5th:	Roger Cappallo of Groton, Paul Godin of Bedford Ken Gurge of Leominster (Top U1900) Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH (Top U1700)
Top U1500:	Noah Rogers of New Ipswich, NH
Top U1300:	Roland Sorel of Westford, Hugh McLaughlin of Groton & Nickolas Lavoie of Worcester

Pictures from this year's Reggie Boone Memorial tournament.

See 2016 WCC crosstables here.

The following players had a rating increase of 50 or more points:
Noah Rogers	+161
Mike Commisso	+127
Anthony Bracco	+91
Sebastian Tilton	+58
Arthur Barlas	+53
Mike Meehan	+51

The following players achieved a new all-time high rating:
Arthur Barlas	1813
Ken Gurge	1808
Noah Rogers	1471
Kandy Lynch	1210
Sebastian Tilton	1038
Nik Lavoie	1006P24

2016 Club Championship Qualification Standings As of February 3, 2016
After 30 of 44 games completed in the 2015-2016 season, the following are the current standings for qualification for the Club Championship Tournament.
The Top Ten High Winning Percentage Finishers Qualify.
The tiebreaker, if necessary, is the higher USCF rating entering the final regular season tournament.
A minimum of 22 games must be completed to qualify.
Name	Rating	Games Played This Season	Winning Percentage	Additional Games Needed
Paulson	2032	20	.900	2
Cappallo	1984	27	.778	0
Gladding	1843	29	.724	0
Godin	1964	29	.707	0
Mirijanian	1994	22	.705	0
Thomas	1764	27	.685	0
Gurge	1808	28	.661	0
Arsenault	1657	22	.614	0
Harris	1707	27	.611	0
Brassard	1790	24	.604	0
Condon	1732	20	.600	2
Fratturelli	1677	26	.596	0
Commisso	1696	16	.594	6
Parker	1677	18	.583	4
Bennett, J.	1800	25	.580	0
Meehan	1641	23	.565	0
Couture	1714	25	.540	0
Rogers, E.	1518	25	.520	0
Hankard	1600	29	.517	0

Notes:
♟ There are 14 regular season games left to be played.
♟ Players who cannot reach 22 total games played for the season are excluded from the list.
♙ Players with current winning percentages under .500 are omitted from the list.

♔ Geoff LePoer is omitted due to his golf commitments.
♖ Tom Giampietro is omitted due to his likely inability to reach 22 games played due to work commitments.
♘ Seeth Ganesan with a current winning percentage of .643 has played 14 games and would need to play 8 of the remaining 14 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♝ Arthur Barlas with a current winning percentage of .667 has played 9 games and would need to play 13 of the remaining 14 games while maintaining a qualifying percentage to qualify.
♞ Paul Lynch with a current winning percentage of .563 has played 8 games and would need to play 14 of the remaining 14 games while achieving a qualifying percentage to qualify.

REMINDER: The 2016 Wachusett CC Quick Chess Championship, a 5-round Swiss, G/15 d3,
will be played weather permitting, on Wednesday, February 10th. (See list of previous winners here.)
Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 1.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

February 4th, 2016

Oyster River MS Tournament rating updates

Sebastian Tilton scored 3-1 to tie for 2nd-4th place in the Oyster River MS tournament, held on Saturday, January 30, in Durham, NH.
Sebastian gained 19 points to raise his rating to 980. Also competing was Finn Rogers, who tallied 1-3 to tie for 9th-11th place. He lost 65 rating points and now stands at 810. Since this tournament was played at a time control of G/30 d5, it was dual rated, so both Sebastian & Finn now have new quick ratings as well as new regular ratings.

Regular:
Sebastian Tilton -> 980
Finn Rogers -> 810

Quick:
Sebastian Tilton -> 953
Finn Rogers -> 740

February 1st, 2016

Northeastern University Open rating updates

Here are updated ratings for Wachusett CC players as a result of playing in the Northeastern University Open, & the West Newbury Class Clash, both of which ended on Sunday, January 31:

Robert J. King -> 2132
Joe Bennett -> 1801
Mike Commisso -> 1569

♞ Robert King - 2132 - scored 1.5-2.5 in Northeastern University Open on Sunday, Jan. 31, in Boston. Lost 22 points.
♔ Joe Bennett - 1801 - scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st place in U1800 section of Northeastern University Open. Gained 33 points.
♖ Mike Commisso - 1569 - scored 2.5-1.5 to tie for 3rd place in U1800 section of West Newbury Class Clash, in West Newbury, MA. Lost 24 points.

January 31st, 2016

Six WCC players "Represent WCC!!" at Waltham Blitz.

♔ ♖ ♜ ♗ ♘ ♞
2010 Wachusett CC champion Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH & Joe Bennett of Fitchburg tied with 8 points out of 12 for 2nd-4th place with IM Denys Shmelov Friday at the Waltham January G/5 d0 blitz chess tournament, held at the Waltham Chess Club. WCC members Rob King, Joe Bennett, Jackson Parker, Mike Commisso, & Mike Meehan also competed in the event.

Their blitz ratings were affected as follows:

Tony Cesolini -> B: 2016
Rob King -> B: 1991
Joe Bennett -> B: 1939P22
Jackson Parker -> B: 1730
Mike Commisso -> B: 1570P22
Mike Meehan -> B: 1562P22

Hey Mike,
Thanks in abundance to all the players who came from Fitchburg and the Wachusett Chess Club. You guys made the night a spirited and fun one for all. I'll post this notice on the Waltham CC Facebook page when I get my computer on the internet again.
We look forward to seeing you all again at our next blitz event, and we'll have a trampoline ready for Joe. Smiling face with open mouth and tightly-closed eyes Great job to you all!
-Nick [Sterling]

Good day, all.
Great tournament in Waltham last night. Wachusett Chess Club was well represented, with six members showing up. The field totaled 18.
The tournament was won by Siddharth Arun (Blitz rating: 2265), with a total score of 10.5 out of 12. Joe Bennett and Tony Cesolini kicked butt (as Joe Bennett said: "Represent WCC!!"), and tied with Denys Shmelov (Blitz rating: 2559) for second place with 8 points out of 12.. To be fair, it is entirely likely that the only reason why Shmelov, with a sky high rating like that, only ended up tying for second, was that he did not play the first two rounds. In the 8 games he did play (there were two per round) he scored 7 wins and 1 draw.
Rob King took sole possession of 3rd place, scoring 7.5.
Jackson Parker had a great tournament, tying with one other player for 4th place and scoring 6.5 out of 12. Throughout the course of the tournament, Jackson drew with a 2021 rated player, and took a game from a 2063 rated player (provisional rating). His rating shot up nearly 80 points as a result of his performance. Nice job, Jackson.
Mike Meehan, current Westminster champ, tied with 4 other players for 5th place with 6 out of 12 (OK, OK, I admit, I am taking advantage of the fact that the crosstables were not presented in order of tiebreaks, because given the 4 way tie, and the ties further up in the standings, I was actually somewhere down around 10th, but that will be my dirty little secret), and Michael Commisso took 10th place with 2.5 out of 12. Mike had a tough row to hoe, 3 out of the 6 players he faced had ratings above 1900 (2 of them in fact had ratings over 2000).
Anyway, many thanks for Dr. Nick Sterling and the Waltham Chess Club for hosting such an enjoyable event. We will be back!
See you all next Wednesday.
-Mike [Meehan]

January 27th, 2016

2016 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 4 of 5

Gurge Surges to Lead After 4;
WCC Attendance Record Matched

Veteran class B player, Ken Gurge, by defeating his class B rival, Joe Bennett, at board one tonight, has most likely increased his USCF rating sufficiently to cross the 1800 threshold & thereby place himself into class A at his all time high. Ken, with the white pieces, somewhat uncharacteristically opened with his queen pawn to which Joe responded with a variant of the Old Benoni Defence known as the Mujannah formation. The game, while not without numerous tactical opportunities for both sides, was a tight positional contest in which Ken was able to maintain a slight advantage & gradually increase his edge until eventually he sacrificed an exchange to reach a winning ending with barely four minutes on his clock.

Ken's win tonight places him in sole possession of the tournament lead & sets up a showdown next Wednesday between himself & class A rated, Dave Kochman, of Swanzey, NH, who while currently rated 1915 has yet to face anyone within 340 points of that in this tournament.

With the exception of Mike Commisso's 184 point upset of Dave Thomas at board six & Noah Rogers' 252 point upset of Larry O'Rourke at board eleven, most other games, while fiercely contested, finished as the ratings would predict. A couple other notable minor upsets included Mike Meehan's win over Seeth Ganesan & Ed Rogers' draw with Gary Brassard.

Once again the WCC equalled our recent record turnout for the club at FSU, and once again, the combined total (42) of regular competitors plus relatively new attendees extended the pairing list to 21 boards. This time however, WCC program director & chief TD, George Mirijanian, had the situation well in hand by producing additional board number tags as needed.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 27th, 2016**
Round 4 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Ken Gurge	1-0	Joe Bennett
Anthony Bracco	0-1	Dave Kochman
Larry Gladding	1-0	Tom Fratturelli
Tony Cesolini	1-0	Jackson Parker
Paul Lynch	0-1	Paul Godin
Mike Commisso	1-0	Dave Thomas
Mike Meehan	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Gary Brassard	1/2-1/2	Ed Rogers
Kandy Lynch	0-1	Lenny Arsenault
Gail Lingner	0-1	Jim Hankard
Noah Rogers	1-0	Larry O'Rourke
Bob Mathieu	1-0	Richard Bennett
Sebastian Tilton	0-1	George Mirijanian
Roland Sorel	0-1	Dave Couture
Ed Harris	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Brian Biglow	1-0	Don Briggs
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Stan Talcott
Randy McLaughlin	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Francis Scanlon	1-0	Tom Whistler
Nik Lavoie	1-0	Jeromy Tilton
Andrew Kiser	0-1	Alexander Venezia

Receiving half-point byes were Roger Cappallo, Arthur Barlas, Geoff LePoer and Vlad Gaciu.
Not playing round 4 were John Bastarache and Finn Rogers.
Ray Paulson was withdrawn from the tournament.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 27th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
4.0	Gurge
3.5	Kochman, Gladding
3.0	Cesolini, Cappallo, Godin, J. Bennett, Barlas Commisso, Meehan
2.5	Fratturelli, Arsenault, Hankard, Mathieu, Bracco, N. Rogers
2.0	Mirijanian, LePoer, Brassard, Gaciu, Thomas, Couture, Harris, Ganesan, P. Lynch, Parker, Biglow, E. Rogers, Bastarache, Talcott
1.5	O'Rourke, Lingner, R. McLaughlin, R. Bennett, K. Lynch, Scanlon, S. Tilton, Venezia
1.0	Steadman, Briggs, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, Lavoie, F. Rogers
0.5	J. Tilton, Gawboy, Whistler
0.0	Kiser

Projected Round 5 pairings for February 3rd:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Kochman vs. Gurge
Board 2: Gladding vs. Cesolini
Board 3: Cappallo vs. Barlas
Board 4: Godin vs. Commisso
Board 5: J. Bennett vs. Meehan
Board 6: Fratturelli vs. Mathieu
Board 7: Arsenault vs. Bracco
Board 8: Hankard vs. N. Rogers
Board 9: Mirijanian vs. Ganesan
Board 10: P. Lynch vs. LePoer
Board 11: Parker vs. Brassard
Board 12: Thomas vs. Biglow
Board 13: E. Rogers vs. Couture
Board 14: Bastarache vs. Harris
Board 15: Talcott vs. O'Rourke
Board 16: Lingner vs. K. Lynch
Board 17  Scanlon vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 18: R. Bennett vs. S. Tilton
Board 19: Venezia vs. Steadman
Board 20: Briggs vs. Lavoie
Board 21: H. McLaughlin vs. Sorel
Board 22: Whistler vs. F. Rogers
Board 23: Kiser vs. Gawboy

Not paired for Round 5 are Gaciu and J. Tilton.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 5 on February 3rd.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

January 27th, 2016

Rating Update

Robert King scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for first place Tuesday night in the Metrowest Chess Club's New Year Swiss in Natick. Rob's score equaled that of master Lawyer Times, whom he drew in round 2. Rob's rating is now back to 2154, his all-time high.
Congratulations Rob!

Robert J. King -> 2154

Return to Top of List

January 21st, 2016

2016 Reggie Boone Memorial
Revised Projected pairings for Round 4

Revised Projected Round 4 pairings for January 27th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Gurge vs. Bennett
Board 2: Kochman vs. Barlas
Board 3: Gladding vs. Fratturelli
Board 4: Bracco vs. Cesolini
Board 5: Parker vs. Godin
Board 6: Commisso vs. Thomas
Board 7: Meehan vs. Ganesan
Board 8: P. Lynch vs. Bastarache
Board 9: Brassard vs. E. Rogers
Board 10: Lingner vs. Gaciu
Board 11: R. Bennett vs. Arsenault
Board 12: N. Rogers vs. Hankard
Board 13: S. Tilton vs. O'Rourke
Board 14: Mathieu vs. K. Lynch
Board 15: Steadman vs. Mirijanian
Board 16: Briggs vs. Couture
Board 17: Harris vs. Sorel
Board 18: Biglow vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 19: F. Rogers vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 20: Scanlon vs. Whistler
Board 21: J. Tilton vs. Gawboy
Board 22: Lavoie vs. Venezia

Requesting half-point byes for Round 4 are Cappallo & LePoer.

January 20th, 2016

2016 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 3 of 5

Many Upsets but Few Real Surprises as
Near Record Setting Attendance Continues

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 20th, 2016**
Round 3 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Paul Godin	0-1	Joe Bennett
Dave Thomas	0-1	Ken Gurge
Arthur Barlas	1/2-1/2	Tony Cesolini
Geoff LePoer	0-1	Larry Gladding
Larry O'Rourke	0-1	Dave Kochman
Tom Fratturelli	1-0	Ed Rogers
George Mirijanian	0-1	Anthony Bracco
Jim Hankard	1/2-1/2	Gary Brassard
Dave Couture	0-1	Mike Meehan
Mike Commisso	1-0	Ed Harris
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Brian Biglow
Wayne Steadman	0-1	Paul Lynch
Don Briggs	0-1	Jackson Parker
Lenny Arsenault	1/2-1/2	Gail Lingner
Jeromy Tilton	0-1	Bob Mathieu
Sebastian Tilton	1-0	Randy McLaughlin
Alexander Venezia	0-1	Kandy Lynch
Roland Sorel	1-0	Nik Lavoie
Andrew Kiser (Forfeit)	0-1	Hugh McLaughlin
Emily Gawboy	1/2-1/2	Francis Scanlon

Receiving half-point byes were Roger Cappallo, John Bastarache, Vlad Gaciu, Richard Bennett, Noah Rogers,
Stan Talcott, Finn Rogers and Tom Whistler.
Not playing round 3 was Ray Paulson.
Alan Condon withdrew from the tournament.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 20th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
3.0	J. Bennett, Gurge
2.5	Cappallo, Kochman, Gladding, Barlas, Fratturelli, Bracco
2.0	Cesolini, Godin, Thomas, Ganesan, P. Lynch, Parker, Commisso, Meehan, Bastarache
1.5	LePoer, Brassard, Gaciu, Arsenault, Hankard, O'Rourke, Mathieu, E. Rogers, Lingner, R. Bennett, N. Rogers, K. Lynch, S. Tilton
1.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Couture, Harris, Biglow, Talcott, Steadman, Briggs, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, F. Rogers
0.5	R. McLaughlin, Scanlon, J. Tilton, Gawboy, Whistler, Venezia
0.0	Lavoie, Kiser

Projected Round 4 pairings for January 27th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Gurge vs. J. Bennett
Board 2: Kochman vs. Barlas
Board 3: Gladding vs. Fratturelli
Board 4: Bracco vs. Cesolini
Board 5: Parker vs. Godin
Board 6: Commisso vs. Thomas
Board 7: Meehan vs. Ganesan
Board 8: P. Lynch vs. Bastarache
Board 9: E. Rogers vs. LePoer
Board 10: Brassard vs. Mathieu
Board 11: Lingner vs. Gaciu
Board 12: R. Bennett vs. Arsenault
Board 13: K. Lynch vs. Hankard
Board 14: N. Rogers vs. O'Rourke
Board 15: S. Tilton vs. Mirijanian
Board 16: Steadman vs. Couture
Board 17: Harris vs. Briggs
Board 18: Biglow vs. Sorel
Board 19: H. McLaughlin vs. Talcott
Board 20: F. Rogers vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 21: Scanlon vs. Whistler
Board 22: J. Tilton vs. Gawboy
Board 23: Lavoie vs. Venezia

Requesting a half-point bye for Round 4 is Cappallo.
Kiser was withdrawn from the tournament.

♚ Westminster Championship Changes Hands ♔

Once again, a third round pairing, this time in the Reggie Boone Memorial Tournament on Wednesday night, pitted reigning Westminster champ, Dave Couture, of Westminster, MA against rival resident, Mike Meehan, the only other WCC member also from Westminster, hence another chapter of the continuing Westminster Chess Championship saga was written.

Last yeaar's matchup between these two resulted in Couture's claiming the cup. However, 2016 ushered in a new champ as Meehan took control by winning a king & pawn ending aagainst his class B rated opponent & author of "Progressive Tactics", Dave Couture.

**Westminster Championship, January 20th, 2016**
Round 1 of 1 Results
White	Result	Black
Couture	0-1	Meehan

**Westminster Championship, January 20th, 2016**
FINAL STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Meehan
0.5	----
0.0	Couture

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 4 on January 27th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

January 20th, 2016

Carissa Yip to Compete in 2016 US Women's Championship!

According to very reliable sources, the 2014 WCC Champ, Carissa Yip, has been invited to play in the next US Womens Championship in St Louis in April 2016.

Carissa Yip at 2015 World Youth Championships

January 19th, 2016

Pair of WCC NH Residents Compete in Portsmouth

Ed Harris and Jim Hankard played in the FIDE rated Portsmouth Open this past weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Ed scored 3-1 in the Under 1750 section and tied for second place, sharing the second-place guaranteed prize money. He lost 4 rating points. His rating is now 1731. Jim, playing in the same section, tallied 2.5-1.5, and his rating of 1600 remained the same.

Ed Harris -> 1731
Jim Hankard -> 1600

January 13th, 2016

2016 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 2 of 5

Barlas Prevails at Board One as
WCC Sets FSU Attendance Record!

Arthur Barlas, considered by many to be the "Rodney Dangerfield of the WCC", scored a huge 269 rating point upset over USCF Expert & reigning WCC club champ, George Mirijanian at board one in round two of the 2016 Reggie Boone Memorial tournament. Arthur, playing the white pieces, achieved a solid positional advantage early in the middlegame with his bishop against George's knight while each player still had several other pieces & pawns on the board. This proved to be sufficient to win the full point as Barlas used his lone cleric to tie down his opponent's weaker minor piece by means of a deadly pin & some back rank tactics. This allowed Arthur to force exchanges & reach a technically won yet still challenging ending. Ultimately, George was unable to generate sufficient counterplay & resigned as both competitors approached the time control. Except for Noah Rogers' draw upset of Mike Meehan at board ten, this was the only upset of the night.

Buoyed by the recent addition of several new players, namely: Vlad Gaciu, Roland Sorel, Nik Lavoie, Anthony Bracco, & Andrew Kiser plus the return of Jeromy & Sebastian Tilton, the WCC attained a record turnout for the club at FSU! The combined total (42) of regular competitors plus relatively new attendees extended the pairing list to 21 boards, thereby exceeding the number of available board number tags!

A recent archaeological dig has uncovered a hitherto unknown cache of unseen images dating back to 2009!

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 13th, 2016**
Round 2 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
Arthur Barlas	1-0	George Mirijanian
Roger Cappallo	1-0	Dave Couture
Ed Harris	0-1	Paul Godin
Paul Lynch	0-1	Dave Thomas
Joe Bennett	1-0	Seeth Ganesan
Jackson Parker	0-1	Ken Gurge
Tony Cesolini	1-0	Wayne Steadman
Randy McLaughlin	0-1	Larry Gladding
Stan Talcott	0-1	Tom Fratturelli
Mike Meehan	1/2-1/2	Noah Rogers
Kandy Lynch	0-1	Larry O'Rourke
Ed Rogers	1-0	Jeromy Tilton
Anthony Bracco	1-0	Sebastian Tilton
Gary Brassard	1-0	Finn Rogers
Vlad Gaciu	1-0	Roland Sorel
Jim Hankard	1-0	Hugh McLaughlin
Francis Scanlon	0-1	Mike Commisso
Brian Biglow	1-0	Nik Lavoie
Gail Lingner	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Richard Bennett	1-0	Emily Gawboy
Tom Whistler	0-1	Don Briggs

Receiving half-point byes were:
Geoff LePoer, Dave Kochman, John Bastarache, Ray Paulson, Alan Condon, Lenny Arsenault, Bob Mathieu,
and newcomer Alexander Venezia of Lunenburg.
George Miller withdrew from the tournament.
Not playing round 2 was a new player, Alexander Venezia of Lunenburg. He has been paired for Round 3.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 13th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
2.0	Cappallo, Godin, Thomas, J. Bennett, Gurge, Barlas
1.5	Cesolini, LePoer, Kochman, Gladding, Fratturelli, O'Rourke, E. Rogers, Bastarache, Bracco
1.0	Paulson, Mirijanian, Brassard, Gaciu, Couture, Harris, Condon, Ganesan, P. Lynch, Parker, Arsenault, Hankard, Commisso, Meehan, Biglow, Lingner, Steadman, R. Bennett, N. Rogers, Briggs
0.5	Mathieu, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, K. Lynch, J. Tilton, S. Tilton, F. Rogers, Venezia
0.0	Sorel, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, Lavoie, Kiser, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 3 pairings for January 20th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Godin vs. J. Bennett
Board 2: Thomas vs. Gurge
Board 3: Barlas vs. Cesolini
Board 4: O'Rourke vs. Kochman
Board 5: Gladding vs. E. Rogers
Board 6: Fratturelli vs. Bastarache
Board 7: Mirijanian vs. Bracco
Board 8: Hankard vs. Brassard
Board 9: Commisso vs. Gaciu
Board 10: Couture vs. Meehan
Board 11: Biglow vs. Harris
Board 12: Ganesan vs. Lingner
Board 13: Steadman vs. P. Lynch
Board 14: N. Rogers vs. Parker
Board 15: Arsenault vs. R. Bennett
Board 16: Briggs vs. Mathieu
Board 17: J. Tilton vs. R. McLaughlin
Board 18: S. Tilton vs. Talcott
Board 19: Venezia vs. K. Lynch
Board 20: Sorel vs. F Rogers
Board 21: H. McLaughlin vs. Gawboy
Board 22: Kiser vs. Scanlon
Board 23: Lavoie vs. Whistler

Requesting half-point byes for Round 3 are Cappallo and LePoer.
Paulson and Condon will be paired if they show up to play Round 3.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 3 on January 20th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

January 11th, 2016

4th Boston Chess Congress rating updates

Here are updated ratings for Wachusett CC players as a result of playing in the 4th Boston Chess Congress, which ended Sunday night, January 10:

Robert J. King -> 2126
Vlad Gaciu -> 1788
Dave Thomas -> 1777
Sebastian Tilton -> 961
Jeromy Tilton -> 951

January 10th, 2016

Four WCC players compete in Waltham, 7 at Boston Chess Congress.

♔ ♗ ♘ ♙
2010 Wachusett CC champion Tony Cesolini of Rindge, NH scored 6-1 to finish clear second in the Waltham "Not First Friday" tournament, a G/10 d3 quick chess event, held on January 8 at the Waltham Chess Club.

Tony's only loss was to IM Denys Shmelov of Newton, formerly of Pepperell, who won the tournament with a perfect 7-0 score. Fellow Wachusett CC member Joe Bennett of Fitchburg tallied 4-3 to finish in a tie for 4th place. Other Wachusett CC members competing in the 15-player event were Mike Commisso of Brookline, NH and Mike Meehan of Westminster.

Their quick ratings were affected as follows:

Tony Cesolini -> Q 1960
Joe Bennett -> Q 1792
Mike Commisso -> Q 1469
Mike Meehan -> Q 1372

Congratulations to Tony Cesolini for his strong 2nd place finish at the Waltham G/10 tourney last Friday night. Tony racked up 6 points (out of 7) to take home his prize, losing only to the eventual tournament winner [IM] Denys Shmelov (a 2333 rated player who swept the field, going 7 for 7).

Joe Bennett took 5th place with 4/7 points, Mike Commisso came in 12th place with 2/7, and yours truly, with great skill, NAILED last place with a totally impressive 1/7. Well, I actually escaped TRUE last place due to one player who withdrew after losing his first 3 games. Phew!!

Fun was had by all. Dr. Nick Sterling runs a tight tournament, like clockwork, and the venue was pleasant and comfortable.
-Mike Meehan

The following current and former Wachusett CC players are competing in the 4th Boston Chess Congress:
Premier Section: Carissa Yip, Robert J. King and Brandon Wu
Under 1900 Section: Dave Thomas and Vlad Gaciu
Under 1300 Section: Jeromy Tilton and Sebastian Tilton
The tournament concludes later today.
Among other notables competing in the Premier section is England's #4 ranked & FIDE World #71, GM Luke McShane, whose current USCF rating is 2815!

Today while I was preparing the latest update to this web site, with CNN on in the background, former World Champion, Gary Kasparov, came on for a Fareed Zakaria GPS segment that aired earlier this week about Vladimir Putin & some geopolitical realities.

January 7th, 2016

Two WCC players advance in USCF title norms categories.

♗ The next rating list update will show the highest "USCF Norms-Based Titles" earned by Jackson Parker as a 3rd Category player and Larry O'Rourke as a 4th Category player. Congratulations on continued progress.

Jackson Parker -> 3rd Category
Larry O'Rourke -> 4th Category

January 6th, 2016

2016 Reggie Boone Memorial
Round 1 of 5

2016 Opens With Trio of Upsets

Though there was no shortage of dramatic close calls, the top five & bottom nine boards finished tonight's first round according to rating expectations, but boards six, seven, & eight featured upsets of nearly 400 points each.

Class A rated Gary Brassard's knight & four pawns were overrun by his 385 point lower rated opponent, John Bastarache's seven pawns, at board 6. Board 7 finished in a split point as relative newcomer, Anthony Bracco, overcame a 409 point rating mismatch by playing his class A opponent, Larry Gladding, to a draw. Finally at board 8, Wayne Steadman broke through with a successful mating attack & scored a 443 rating point upset victory over class A rated, Vlad Gaciu.

These results, combined with the expected return of several contestants opting for first round byes, are likely to create a number of significant mismatches in the second round & hence the potential for additional large upsets as the Reggie Boone Memorial tournament proceeds.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 6th, 2016**
Round 1 of 5 Results
White	Result	Black
George Mirijanian	1-0	Jim Hankard
Mike Commisso	0-1	Roger Cappallo
Paul Godin	1-0	Brian Biglow
Bob Mathieu	0-1	Geoff LePoer
Dave Kochman	1-0	Gail Lingner
John Bastarache	1-0	Gary Brassard
Larry Gladding	1/2-1/2	Anthony Bracco
Wayne Steadman	1-0	Vlad Gaciu
Dave Thomas	1-0	Richard Bennett
Don Briggs	0-1	Joe Bennett
Ken Gurge	1-0	Roland Sorel
Hugh McLaughlin	0-1	Arthur Barlas
Dave Couture	1-0	Francis Scanlon
Nik Lavoie	0-1	Ed Harris
Seeth Ganesan	1-0	Andrew Kiser
Emily Gawboy	0-1	Paul Lynch
Jackson Parker	1-0	Tom Whistler

Receiving half-point byes were Tony Cesolini, Ray Paulson, Alan Condon, Tom Fratturelli, Lenny Arsenault, Mike Meehan,
Larry O'Rourke, George Miller, Ed Rogers, Randy McLaughlin, Stan Talcott, Noah Rogers, Kandy Lynch, Jeromy Tilton,
Sebastian Tilton and Finn Rogers.

**Reggie Boone Memorial, January 6th, 2016**
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points	Players
1.0	Mirijanian, Cappallo, Godin, LePoer, Kochman, Thomas, J. Bennett, Gurge, Barlas, Couture, Harris, Ganesan, P. Lynch, Parker, Bastarache, Steadman
0.5	Cesolini, Paulson, Gladding, Condon, Fratturelli, Arsenault, Meehan, O'Rourke, Miller, E. Rogers, Bracco, R. McLaughlin, Talcott, N. Rogers, K. Lynch, J. Tilton, S. Tilton, F. Rogers
0.0	Brassard, Gaciu, Hankard, Commisso, Biglow, Mathieu, Lingner, R. Bennett, Briggs, Sorel, H. McLaughlin, Scanlon, Lavoie, Kiser, Gawboy, Whistler

Projected Round 2 pairings for January 13th:
Board #: [White] vs. [Black]
Board 1: Harris vs. Mirijanian
Board 2: Cappallo vs. Couture
Board 3: Ganesan vs. Godin
Board 4: P. Lynch vs. Thomas
Board 5: J. Bennett vs. Parker
Board 6: Bastarache vs. Gurge
Board 7: Barlas vs. Steadman
Board 8: Cesolini vs. E. Rogers
Board 9: Bracco vs. Paulson
Board 10: R. McLaughlin vs. Gladding
Board 11: Talcott vs. Condon
Board 12: Fratturelli vs. N. Rogers
Board 13: K. Lynch vs. Arsenault
Board 14: Meehan vs. J. Tilton
Board 15: S. Tilton vs. O'Rourke
Board 16: Miller vs. F. Rogers
Board 17: Brassard vs. Briggs
Board 18: Gaciu vs. Sorel
Board 19: Hankard vs. H. McLaughlin
Board 20: Scanlon vs. Commisso
Board 21: Biglow vs.Lavoie
Board 22: Kiser vs. Mathieu
Board 23: Lingner vs. Gawboy
Board 24: R. Bennett vs. Whistler

Requesting half-point byes for Round 2 are LePoer and Kochman.

The Wachusett Chess Club welcomes three new members:
Dave Kochman, of Swanzey, NH, Roland Sorel, of Westford, & Nik Lavoie, of Worcester.

REMINDER: Players must be present by 7:10 P.M. in order to be paired for Round 2 on January 13th.
Players running late who wish to be paired MUST CALL Ken Gurge by 7 P.M.

♚ Top 25 Active New England Players ♔ 2016-JANUARY-6 ♚
Place	Name	Rating	State
1	GM SAMUEL SEVIAN	2670	MA
2	GM LARRY M CHRISTIANSEN	2661	MA
3	GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN	2596	MA
4	GM ILDAR IBRAGIMOV	2584	CT
5	IM STEVEN C ZIERK	2581	MA
6	GM ALEXANDER IVANOV	2578	MA
7	GM SERGEY KUDRIN	2550	CT
8	IM JAN VAN DE MORTEL	2528	CT
9	IM DAVID VIGORITO	2510	MA
10	IM MARC ESSERMAN	2501	MA
11	IM DENYS K SHMELOV	2486	MA
12	IM IGOR FOYGEL	2466	MA
13	MIKA ANDREW BRATTAIN	2455	MA
14	CHRISTOPHER GU	2450	RI
15	IM DANNY EDELMAN	2447	CT
16	FM STEVEN WINER	2446	MA
17	FM KAPIL CHANDRAN	2429	CT
18	FM CHRISTOPHER W CHASE	2404	MA
19	FM JACOB CHUDNOVSKY	2396	MA
20	EDWARD F MCHUGH	2378	CT
21	VADIM MARTIROSOV	2377	MA
22	FM NELSON CASTANEDA	2367	CT
23	FM CHARLES RIORDAN	2353	MA
24	CHRIS WILLIAMS	2342	MA
25	HANS MOKE NIEMANN	2342	CT

January 6th, 2016

Rating Updates for start of 2016 Reggie Boone Memorial Tournament

The following up-to-date ratings are in effect for the Reggie Boone Memorial, which starts Wednesday, January 6, at the Wachusett CC.
Some players have undergone re-rates by the USCF.
Updated ratings are as follows: (Outdated ratings are listed in parentheses.)

Robert J. King -> 2149
Tony Cesolini -> 2049 (2052)
Ray Paulson -> 2032
George Mirijanian -> 2029 (2030)
Roger Cappallo -> 1971
Paul Godin 1963 -> (1953)
Geoff LePoer -> 1937
Walter Niemi -> 1934
Bruce Felton -> 1923
Eric Strickland -> 1918
Gary Brassard -> 1843 (1844)
Larry Gladding -> 1834
Vlad Gaciu -> 1817
Dave Thomas -> 1812 (1835)
Joe Bennett -> 1768 (1774)
Ken Gurge -> 1762
Vince Bradley -> 1762
Arthur Barlas -> 1760
Dave Couture -> 1739 (1740)
Ed Harris -> 1735 (1715)
Alan Condon -> 1732 (1733)
Seeth Ganesan -> 1689
Paul Lynch -> 1686
Jackson Parker -> 1679
Tom Fratturelli -> 1658
Lenny Arsenault -> 1650
Jim Hankard -> 1600 (1613)
Mike Commisso -> 1593 (1594)
Mike Meehan -> 1590
Brian Biglow -> 1574
Larry O'Rourke -> 1571
George Miller -> 1540
Ed Rogers -> 1524 (1516)
Tom Giampietro -> 1517
Gail Lingner -> 1500
John Bastarache -> 1459
Anthony Bracco -> 1440/P11 (1425/P8)
Randy McLaughlin -> 1437 (1436)
Stan Talcott -> 1391 (1406)
Wayne Steadman -> 1374 (1373)
Richard Bennett -> 1369 (1368)
Noah Rogers -> 1319 (1317)
Don Briggs -> 1307
Kandy Lynch -> 1187
Hugh McLaughlin -> 1179 (1180)
Francis Scanlon -> 1062
Jeremy Tilton -> 986
Sebastian Tilton -> 947
Andrew Kiser -> 900
Finn Rogers -> 875 (876)
Emily Gawboy -> 870
Tom Whistler -> 828

Rating updates for active WCC members are available here.

January 3rd, 2016

Massachusetts Players Competing in 25th Aannual North American Open

In between the holidays, six Massachusetts players competed in the 25th Aannual North American Open in five sections. Here are their finishing places within each section & their rating changes.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
USCF MSA - Cross Table for 25TH ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN OPEN
Below is a list of all players from the state of MA competing:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Section 1 - OPEN
#: State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
21: MA 13433622 DENYS K SHMELOV R: 2486 -> 2480 Opponents

Section 2 - UNDER2300
#: State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
72: MA 12580336 ILYA KRASIK R: 2278 -> 2260 Opponents

Section 3 - UNDER2100
#: State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
48: MA 12659361 JOHN CURCURU R: 2000 -> 2006 Opponents
123: MA 15466651 PINYI HU R: 1815 -> 1806 Opponents

Section 5 - UNDER 1700
#: State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
115: MA 12931292 JONATHAN J. CROWE R: 1625 -> 1537 Opponents

Section 6 - UNDER 1500
#: State USCF-ID  Player-Name  Rtng-In -> Rtng-Out Title-Norm   Opp-List
42: MA 15328077 MICHAEL SAMUELS R: 1486 -> 1479 Opponents

January 2nd, 2016

WCC Members With FIDE ID's

The following Wachusett Chess Club players have FIDE ID numbers:
Robert J. King  ID No. 2077204  Rating: 2001  Birth year: 1983
Ray Paulson  ID No. 2055775  no rating  Birth year: 1956
George Mirijanian  ID No. 2071177  no rating  Birth year: 1943
Roger Cappallo  ID No. 30924006  no rating  Birth year: 1949
Vlad Gaciu (Canada) ID No. 2602423  no rating  Birth year: 1991
Ed Harris  ID No. 2044625  no rating  Birth year: 1957
Joe Bennett  ID No. 2045842  no rating  Birth year: 1988

For information & news stories from 2015, please refer to the WCC 2015-News Archive

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Place	NAME	School	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	TOTAL
1	Clark Bishop	DHS	( 6) 1.0	( 5) 1.0	( 3) 0.5	( 4) 1.0	3.5
2	Stephen Dann	T&G	(LE) 0.5	( 4) 0.0	( 6) 1.0	( 3) 1.0	2.5
3	Jerry Williams	QCC	( 4) 1.0	( 7) 1.0	( 1) 0.5	( 2) 0.0	2.5
4	Dustin Hopkins	QCC	( 3) 0.0	( 2) 1.0	( 5) 1.0	( 1) 0.0	2.0
5	Aidan Light	QCC	( 8) 1.0	( 1) 0.0	( 4) 0.0	( 7) 1.0	2.0
6	Mike Imse	QCC	( 1) 0.0	( 8) 1.0	( 2) 0.0	(BY) 1.0	2.0
7	Will Pitman	QCC	(LE) 0.5	( 3) 0.0	( 8) 1.0	( 5) 0.0	1.5
8	Mark DeVirgilio	QCC	( 5) 0.0	( 6) 0.0	( 7) 0.0	(WD) 0.0	0.0