Massachusetts Chess Association

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 7:30pm

Via Zoom

ATTENDEES: Steven Winer (Vice-President, presiding), Robert Messenger (Treasurer and Membership Secretary), Jeffrey Caruso (Clerk and Elections Chair), and Directors Dmitry Barash, Alonzo Ross, and Yi Wang.  Directors Igor Klempf and Elsie Smits joined later.

CALLED TO ORDER at 7:33 p.m.

1. Minutes

MOTION (JC/RM): to approve the minutes of the January 25, 2023 Board meeting.  Passed 6-0.

Mr. Klempf joined the meeting.

2. Elections

Mr. Caruso presented the elections report (appended).  He noted that all candidates have satisfied the membership requirement.  Mr. Barash spoke in support of the candidacy of GM Kosintseva, who is a chess educator and has fielded a number of teams in scholastic events.

3. Tournament Reports

Mr. Messenger presented the financial reports for the Winter Team Challenge and the 3rd Spiegel Cup Qualifier (appended). He noted a great increase in attendance which allowed us to make a profit, even in light of the greatly increased site rental fee.

4. Scholastics

Mr. Barash has posted the top-rated juniors and the Qualifier winners at http://www.masschess.org/scholastics/2023-Spiegel-Invitee.aspx .  The board tentatively scheduled the Spiegel Cup Final for May 20-21 at the Boylston Chess Club.  The High School, 14U, and 11U sections would be 2-day events, and the 8U section would be Saturday only.  The Girls Championship will be scheduled after consulting with the invitees.

5. Membership

Mr. Messenger presented the membership report (appended). He noted that we have gained 68 juniors over last year, probably due to the Winter Team Challenge.

He also noted that US Chess has increased the charge for the print editions of Chess Life and Chess Life for Kids.

Ms. Smits joined the meeting.

MOTION (RM/SW) to increase the amount we collect for US Chess memberships to cover the increase; to wit:

-          Adult membership (one year) with Chess Life increases from $54.00 to $57.00,

-          Young Adult Membership with Chess Life increases from $36.00 to $39.00,

-          Youth membership with Chess Life increases from $29.00 to $32.00, and

-          Youth membership with Chess Life for Kids increases from $24.00 to $26.00.

Passed 8-0.

6. Next meeting

The board recommended that the next meeting take place on April 12 at 7:30pm, at the Boylston Chess Club, subject to the President’s approval.

7. Other business

Ms. Sweeney was unexpectedly unable to attend but provided an update on the collegiate league:

The Mass Collegiate League is progressing well.  The final meet is the first Sunday in April. The last meet was this past Sunday, where students from Brown University in Rhode Island and students from the University of New Hampshire also participated. A lot of fun was had by all.  Northeastern continues to lead. Boston College and MIT are tied for second place. You can follow the standings at https://chessblaster.org.

Ms. Smits passed on a suggestion from a MACA member asking us to organize more team tournaments.

Mr. Messenger addressed the possibility that SENECA will be unable to organize the New England Open. In case that happens, we should be prepared to take over the responsibility.

MOTION (RM/JC) To authorize the Tournament Chair to organize the New England Open.  Passed 8-0.

THE MEETING ADJOURNED at 8:31 p.m.

Minutes written by Jeffrey Caruso, MACA Clerk

Report of the Elections Commission

March 8, 2023

VOTER REGISTRATION

Voter registration closed February 28.  Seven (7) new registrations were received. A total of 101 people are registered, 93 for online ballots and 8 for paper ballots.

NOMINATIONS

Nominations closed February 15. Fifteen candidates were nominated (one of them for two positions), as follows:

   President:   Andrew Hoy, Robert E. King

   VP:               Steven Winer

   Treasurer:   Bob Messenger

   Clerk:           Jeff Caruso

   Director:      Dima Barash, Igor Klempf, Oleg Poliannikov, Alonzo Ross, Nicholas Sterling,

Elsie Smits, Prof. Latanya Sweeney, Yi Wang, Frank DelBonis, Robert E. King,

GM Nadezda Kosintseva

The projected timeline is as follows:

March 15: deadline for candidate statements

April 27: mail out paper ballots

April 29: send out electronic ballots

May 25: voting deadline for online ballots

May 26: voting deadline for mailed paper ballots

May 27: voting deadline for paper ballots submitted by hand

May 27-29: publication of results

- Jeffrey Caruso, Chair of the Elections Commission