The Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette reported today that USCF member and former longtime MACA member Slawomir Anthony Luczak of Worcester died Christmas Day, December 25, in UMass Memorial Medical Center, University Campus, Worcester, after a short illness. He was born May 10, 1947 in Bayreuth, Germany, the son of Josef and Halina Luczak, and came to the United States at age 2 in 1949. He graduated from St. Mary's High School in Worcester in 1965 and later from the College of the Holy Cross, also in Worcester. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Slawomir worked in the research and development division of the David Clark Co. in Worcester as an assistant manager of scheduling and material control for 31 years. In addition to chess, he was an avid reader. He was a member of Our Lady of Czestochowa Chruch. He leaves his wife of 33 years, Irena (Gawrych) Luczak; a daughter, Renata Luczak of New York City; nephews and nieces. The funeral will be held Tuesday, December 30, from the Henry-Dirsa Funeral Home, 33 Ward St., Worcester, with a Mass at 10:30 a.m. in Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, 34 Ward St. Burial will be in Notre Dame Cemetery. Calling hours at the funeral home are Monday, December 29, from 5 to 8 p.m. Donations payable to MACA in memory of Slawomir Anthony Luczak may be made to the Living Memorial Chess Fund, c/o Robert Messenger, MACA Treasurer, 4 Hamlett Drive, Apt. #12, Nashua, NH 03062-4641.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

International master David Vigorito, 38, of Somerville, MA, and national master Alexander Barnett, 19, of Maryland tallied 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the Legends of Chess: Mikhail Chigorin tournament held Saturday, December 27, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Barnett, the 2007 High School Nationals co-champion, drew Vigorito in the third round. Capturing third place with a 3-1 score was national master Lawyer Times of Hyde Park, MA, who had celebrated his 44th birthday three days before. Taking fourth place with a 2.5-1.5 result was expert Lior Rozhansky, 15, of Newton, MA. Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton, MA, and Joseph Dixon of Connecticut chalked up scores of 3-1 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the Under 1800 section. The two-section tourney drew 22 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Twenty-two youngsters from six Massachusetts schools are among those competing in the K-12 National Scholastic Championships, which get under way Friday, December 12, at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The schools and their representative players are as follows:

Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge - 7 players
Grade 7: Nicholas Trieu, rated 1557
Grade 4: Max Wiegand, 1202
Grade 4: Tristan Young, 1097
Grade 4: William Nemirovsky, 859
Grade 4: Isaay Matsumoto, 712
Grade 2: Siddharth Simon, unrated
Grade 1: Benjamin Wiegand, 378

Sage School in Foxboro - 6 players
Grade 8: Ryan Meuth, 1054
Grade 5: Nicholas Plotkin, 1343
Grade 5: Matthew Lee, 1304
Grade 4: Jason Meuth, 704
Grade 2: Daniel Plotkin, 328
Grade 2: Derek Meuth, 293

St. John's Prep in Danvers - 5 players
Grade 12: Benjamin Smith, 1838
Grade 12: John Corbett, 1063
Grade 12: Andrew Crotty, 752
Grade 12: Michael Kelley, unrated
Grade 10: Rajesh Anumolu, unrated

Cabot Elementary School in Newton - 2 players
Grade 5: Charlie Fauman, 1606
Grade 2: Alex Fauman, 992

F.A. Day Middle School in Newton - 1 player
Grade 8: Jakob Fauman, 1761

Trinity Catholic High School in Newton - 1 player
Grade 12: Taehoon Kim, unrated

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Massachusetts and international master David Vigorito of Lowell, Mass. tied for 1st-2nd place in the Manchester December Swiss, held Saturday, December 6, at the Best Western Executive Court Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire. Both tallied 3.5-0.5, drawing each other in the third round. Tying for 3rd place with 2-2 scores were national master Henry "Hal" Terrie of Manchester and Class A contestants Roger Pedersen of New York state and John Phythyon Sr. of Maine. In the Under 1650 section first place went to Guy Dumas of New Hampshire, who scored 3-1. Tying for 2nd place with 2.5-1.5 results were fellow Granite Stater Bruce Stone and 10-year-old Max Wiegand of Cambridge, Mass. Nicodemus Njuguna of Lowell, Mass. claimed the Under 1300 prize with a 1-3 performance as the only player in that rating category. The tournament drew 17 players in the two sections and was directed by FIDE arbiter Alex Relyea of Bedford, N.H., assisted by Nita Patel.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

FIDE master Braden Bournival of Manchester, New Hampshire proved his superiority in five-minute chess by winning the Manchester December Blitz tournament, held Saturday, December 6, at the Best Western Executive Court Inn in Manchester. The 24-year-old Queen City resident tallied 8.5-1.5 in a six-player double round robin to finish ahead of international master David Vigorito, 38, of Lowell, Massachusets, who scored 7.5-2.5. Finishing in third place and out of the prize money was grandmaster Alexander Ivanov, 52, of Newton, Mass., who tallied 7-3, including two losses to Bournival and two draws with Vigorito. The tournament was directed by FIDE arbiter Alex Relyea of Bedford, N.H., assisted by Nita Patel.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Third Spiegel Cup Qualifier tournament for the 2008-2009 academic year was held Saturday, December 6, at The Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke.. The event, sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Chess Association (WMCA) and directed by its president, Frank Kolasinski of Springfield with assistance from Ed Kostreba of Ware, saw the 1st-place finishers in each of the four playing sections qualify for the state finals (Spiegel Cuo) in February.

High School section (3 players)
1st: Larry Zhu of Wellesley, 3-0
2nd: Robert Skalbite of Monson, 2-1
3rd: Zachary Griffin of Belchertown, 1-2

Age 14 & under
1st: Vikas Shiva of Lexington, 3.5-0.5 (winning G/15 tiebreaker)
2nd: Ryan Saxe of Waban, 3.5-0.5
3rd: Yuanfan Yao of Brighton, 3-1

Age 11 & under
1st: Grant Xu of Shrewbury, 3.5-0.5
2nd: Siddharth Arun of Medfield, 3-1 (winning G/15 tiebreaker)
3rd: Calvin Lin of Amherst, 3-1

Age 8 & under
1st: Sathwik Karnik of Plainville, 3-1
2nd: Henry Friedlander of Brookline, 2.5-1.5
3rd (tie): Leonardo Cheng of Westford and Sandeep Shankar of Sudbury, 2-2

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

National master Ilya Krasik won the Harry Nelson Pillsbury Memorial tournament, held Sunday, November 30, at the Leominster Veterans Center in Leominster, MA. The 28-year-old Acton, MA resident chalked up a score of 3.5-0.5 , including a draw in the second round with top-rated international master Jim Rizzitano of Southborough, MA, to claim first prize. Tying for second place with 3-1 tallies were FIDE master John Curdo, 77, of Auburn, MA, and Class A players Alex Fikiet of Storrs, CT, and Shrirangnath Havale of Dedham, MA. The last two were also the highest-scoring players under 2100. Well-known chess organizer and tournament director Tom Hartmayer of Storrs, CT posted a perfect 4-0 to finish first in the Under 1900 section. Tying for 2nd place with 3-1 results were David Ferreira , 59, of Haverhill, MA, and Jimmy Wang, 13, of Acton, MA. Wang was also the top-scoring player rated under 1750. Valerie Abelis, 14, of Newton also posted a perfect 4-0 to win first place in the Under 1600 section Tying for 2nd place with 3-1 performances were Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT and Eduardo Valadares of Marlborough, MA. The top Under 1300 prize was won by Francis Scanlon of Fitchburg, MA with a score of 1.5-2.5. The three-section MACA-sponsored tournament drew 42 players and awarded 90 percent of its published prize fund. It was directed by Ken Ballou of Framingham, MA, assisted by George Mirijanian of Fitchburg<./p>

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

MACA held the Pillsbury Memorial tournament today, November 30, 2008, at the Leominster Veterans Center in Leominster, MA. Ken Ballou and George Mirijanian directed the tournament. The event drew 42 entrants in three sections: Open (13 entrants), Under 1900 (17 entrants), and Under 1600 12 entrants).

Winners:

Open:

1st: Ilya Krasik of Acton, MA (3.5-0.5)
Tied for 2nd and top under 2100:
John Curdo of Auburn, MA (3-1)
Shrirangnath Havale of Dedham, MA (3-1)
Alex Fikiet of Storrs, CT (3-1)

Under 1900:

1st: Thomas Hartmayer of Storrs, CT (4-0)
Tied for 2nd and top under 1750:
David G. Ferreira of Haverhill, MA (3-1)
Jimmy Weilun Wang of Acton, MA (3-1)

Under 1600:

1st: Valerie Abelis of Newton, MA (4-0)
2nd: Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, VT (3-1)
Eduardo Valadares of Marlborough, MA (3-1)
Top under 1300: Francis W. Scanlon II of Fitchburg, MA (1.5-2.5)

Ken Ballou
Chief TD

Two of New England's most prominent tournament directors, Christopher Bird, 36, of Revere, Massachusetts, and F. Alexander Relyea of Bedford, New Hampshire, who celebrates his 36th birthday on December 5, have been named FIDE arbiters by the World Chess Federation, according to published proceedings this past week from the FIDE Congress in Dresden, Germany. Before moving to Massachusetts and organizing and directing the 2007 and 2008 New England Masters tournaments, Bird directed many events in the state of Nevada. He also has many other tournament credits, including more recently directing at the 2008 Chicago Open, 2008 Foxwoods Open, 2008 National High School Championship, 2008 National Junior High School Championship, 2007 North American Open, among others. Relyea did most of his directing in the state of Oklahoma before moving to the Granite State. He was chief TD of the 2008 New England Open in Boxborough, Mass., and more recently has been organizing and directing tournaments in Manchester, N.H. as well as in Vermont. He currently serves on the MACA board of directors and is a member of its tournament committee. Both Bird and Relyea are dedicated MACA members.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

USCF-rated expert Carey Theil of Arlington, Massachusetts scored 3.5-0.5 to win the Greg Hager Memorial tournament, held Saturday, November 22, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, Mass. Tied for second place with 3-1 results were USCF senior master Marc Esserman of Cambridge, Mass. and FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville. Edward Foye of Boston tallied 3.5-0.5 to capture first place in the Under 1800 section. Taking second place with a 3-1 performance was Richard Kahn of Merrimack, New Hampshire. The two-section tournament drew 20 players and was directed by the Boylston Chess Club's most active TD, Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton, Mass. The event honored the memory of longtime BCC member and MACA life member Greg Hager of Somerville, who died November 27, 2007 after a long illness.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Boston Blitz, New England's national chess team in the U.S. Chess League, defeated the Carolina Cobras, 2.5-1.5, Wednesday night, November 19, to advance to the USCL championship final match with the Dallas Destiny in what promises to be an exciting rematch of last year's championship. The Blitz gained their victory over the Cobras with GM Eugene Perelshteyn, Jorge Sammour-Hasbun and Marc Esserman gaining draws on the top three boards, while the star of the match, national master Ilya Krasik, chalked up the decisive win for the home team on fourth board. The final match with the Dallas Destiny will take place 2 p.m. Saturday, December 6, at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Room G-G03, 60 Garden St., Cambridge. Spectators are welcome to attend. The Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA) is a proud "Blitz Benefactor" and wishes the team success in this year's championship.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Avraam Pismennyy of Salem, Massachusetts won the BCF $10 Open, held Saturday, November 15, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, Mass.. The 71-year-old USCF master posted a perfect score of 4-0. Runner-up with a 3.5-0.5 tally was fellow master Lawyer Times, 43, of Hyde Park, Mass. In the Under 1800 section, 11-year-old Nicholas Zhang of Lexington, Mass. finished first with a score of 3.5-0.5. Tied for second place with 3-1 results were Mike Griffin, 56, of Quincy, Mass., and Richard Kahn of Merrimack, New Hampshire. The two-section tournament drew 26 players and was directed by longtime BCC director Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton, Mass.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmasters Alexander Ivanov, 52, of Newton, Massachusetts, and Eugene Perelshteyn, 28, of Swampscott, Mass., shared top honors in the Southern New Hampshire Open, held Nov. 15-16 at the Best Western Executive Court Inn in Manchester, N.H. The duo tallied 4.5-0.5, drawing each other in the third round. In the Under 1750 section, John Brady of Maine captured first place with a 4-1 result, while Gerald Potorski of New Hampshire finished second with a 3.5-1.5 score. The FIDE-rated tournament, which had a totally guaranteed prize fund, drew 19 players and was directed by Alex Relyea of Bedford, N.H., for the sponsoring Relyea Chess. He was assisted by Nita Patel of Bedford.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Johann Haker, a 23-year-old FIDE master from Germany, now a resident of Massachusetts and formerly of California, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the 6th UMass Game/60 tournament, held Saturday, November 15, at the Lincoln Campus Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. Capturing second place with a 3-1 score was Dragan Vidanovic of Serbia, who was playing in his first USCF-rated event. As a result of his performance, Vidanovic became the latest provisionally rated master in Massachusetts. Winning the Reserve section with a 4-0 score was Alden Wheeler of Massachusetts, while first-time player William Weiss of Connecticut captured second place with a 3.5-0.5 result. The two-section event drew a total of 29 players and was directed by Frank Kolasinski of Springfield for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Sad news has come to us about the passing of international master William G. Addison of San Francisco, one of the top players in the country in the 1960s, who died on October 29 at age 74. Born William Grady Addison on November 28, 1933 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he rose to the top of the ranks in U.S. chess in the 1960s. He played in five U.S. championships during that decade, with his best performance being in the 1969-70 tournament, when he placed second behind GM Sammy Reshevsky. He was also a two-time member of the U.S. men's team in the Chess Olympiad, playing the 1964 Olympiad in Tel Aviv, Israel, and in the 1966 Olympiad in Havanna, Cuba. In the early 1960s, he was a surprise participant in the Central New England Open tournament in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. His last international tournament was the 1970 Interzonal tournament in Palma De Mallorca, Spain. His last published FIDE rating was 2490. His peak USCF rating was 2595. In the December 1972 USCF rating list, he was ranked 9th in the country, with a rating of 2475. After the Interzonal he quit chess to pursue a career in banking, working for the Crocker National Bank of San Francisco, later acquired in 1986 by Wells Fargo Bank. He had come to San Francisco in the early 1950s after serving in the U.S. military and became driector of the Mechanics Institute Chess Club in that city in the late 1960s.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov, 52, of Newton, Massachusetts, and GM-elect Joshua Friedel, 21, of San Francisco, formerly of Goffstown, New Hampshire, tied for 2nd-3rd place in the Pan-American Continental Championship, held November 2-7 at the Marriott Hotel in Boca Raton, Florida. Ivanov, an 8-time Massachusetts state champion, and Friedel, a 3-time New Hampshire state titleholder, both tallied 6.5-2.5 in a field of 63 players. Winner of the tournament was GM Jaan Ehlvest, 46, of New York, who scored 7-2 (five wins, four draws) and qualified for the 2009 World Cup. Friedel was also undefeated, chalking up four wins and five draws, including a draw with Ehlvest in the second round. Ivanov tallied five wins, three draws and one loss, the last of which was to Ehlvest in the third round. Directing for the sponsoring Boca Raton Chess Club was Bill Snead, assisted by Jon Haskel.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Haizhou Xu, a 17-year-old expert from Essex Junction, Vermont, defended his title as the Vermont state champion by winning the 12th Green Mountain Open, held November 7-9 at the Grand Summit Resort in Mount Snow, Vermont. Erroneously posted as the 13th Green Mountain Open by the USCF on its member service area, the tournament saw Xu - state champion in 2007 and Vermont's entrant in the 2008 Denker Tournament of High School Champions in Dallas, Texas - chalk up a score of 4.5-0.5 in a field of 35 players. Runners-up, all with 4-1 results, were expert Armando Lopez of Massachusetts, first-time player Tianyue Zhou, also of Massachusetts, Class A contestant Kapil Chandran of Connecticut, and Class B player Douglas Reed of Westfield, MA. Steve Immitt directed the Vermont state championship event for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

International master David Vigorito won the 2008 Rhode Island Open, held November 8-9 at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI. The 38-year-old Lowell, MA resident tallied 4.5-0.5 in a three-section field of 25 players and finished a half point ahead of 13-year-old expert Stuart Finney of Barrington, RI, whom he drew in the second round. As the state's highest-scoring player, Finney was awarded the title. Tied for third place with scores of 2.5-2.5 were experts David Harris, 55, of Providence and Stephen Brudno, 66, of Brookline, MA, as well as Class A participant William Smirnov, 41, of East Wareham, MA. Directing the tournament for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association were Frank Vogel III, assisted by Eric Berkey. Complete results will be published in the January-March 2009 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Second Spiegel Cup Qualifier tournament for the 2008-2009 academic year was held Sunday, November 9, 2008, at the BB&N Upper School in Cambridge. The tournament drew 102 entries in 7 sections and was directed by Ken Ballou, assisted by Chief Assistant TD Nicholas Sterling, Bob Messenger, Maryanne Reilly, Steve Frymer, Beebe Wiegand, and David Yasinovsky.

High School (qualifying section) (6 entries)

1st: Genesis Lung of Lexington, MA (2.5-1.5)
2nd: Larry Zhu of Wellesley, MA (2.5-1.5)
3rd: Adam Yedidia of Cambridge, MA (2.5-1.5)

Age 14 & under (qualifying section) (17 entries)

1st: Darwin Ding of Lexington, MA (3.5-0.5)
2nd: Vikas Shiva of Lexington, MA (3.5-0.5)
3rd: Richard Han of Newton, MA (3-1)
Medals awarded to:
Nicholas Trieu of Watertown, MA (3-1)
Nicholas Zhang of Lexington, MA (3-1)

Age 11 & under (qualifying section) (26 entries)

1st: Charlie Fauman of Newton, MA (4-0)
2nd: Luke Lung of Boxborough, MA (3-1)
3rd: Siddharth Arun of Medfield, MA (3-1)
Medals awarded to:
Jared Groff of Weston, MA (3-1)
Nicholas Plotkin of Sharon, MA (3-1)
Mateos Sahakian of Medford, MA (3-1)
Sandeep Vadlamudi of Sharon, MA (3-1)
Grant Xu of Shrewsbury, MA (3-1)

Age 8 & under (qualifying section) (16 entries)

1st: Alex Fauman of Newton, MA (3.5-0.5)
2nd: Henry Friedlander of Brookline, MA (3.5-0.5)
3rd: Sathik Karnik of Plainville, MA (3-1)
Medals awarded to:
Alan Sikarov of Newton, MA (3-1)
Christopher Wang of Lexington, MA (3-1)

Novice under 800: (6 entries)

1st: Tucker Penney of Acton, MA (3-1)
2nd: Laura Brisbois of Framingham, MA (3-1)
3rd: William Wang of Newton, MA (2-2)
Medal awarded to:
Olin Goudey of Newburyport, MA (2-2)

Novice under 400: (29 entries)

1st: Abhiroop Deb of Acton, MA (4-0)
2nd: Dane Coen of Marblehead, MA (4-0)
3rd: Youngin Kang of Auburndale, MA (3-1)
Medals awarded to:
Jonathan Cohen of Newton, MA
Sonia Deodas of Norfolk, MA
Evan Meyer of Newton, MA
Murali Prasad of Ipswich, MA
Denis Smotrov of Sharon, MA

Novice non-rated section: The non-rated novice section (open to all, not USCF rated, no membership required) drew two entrants. Paul Flack of Weston, MA and Declan Sung of Newton, MA played a four game match. Paul Flack swept the match 4-0 and won first place.

Ken Ballou
Chief TD

Women's international master Esther Epstein, 54, of Newton, MA was a runner-up in the Senior Women's World Championship, held October 25-November 8 in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. Epstein, the wife of multitime Massachusetts and New England champion GM Alexander Ivanov, scored 7.5-3.5 in a field of 35 players to finish a half point behind the tournament winner, women's FIDE master Tamara Vilerte, 54, of Latvia. She shared the runner-up position with two other WIMs, Galina Strutinskaya, 51, of Russia, and Tatyana Fomina, 54, of Estonia. Epstein is a two-time U.S. women's champion and just last year won the prestigious MACA-sponsored Greater Boston Open tournament in Natick.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

International master Larry Kaufman of Potomac, Maryland, won the 18th World Senior Championship, held October 28-November 8 in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. Kaufman, who graduated with a degree in economics from MIT in 1968, tallied 9-2 in a field of 301 players. His score equalled that of top-rated grandmaster Mihai Suba, 61, of Romania. But based on superior tiebreak points, Kaufman was awarded the world senior title and also earned the title of international grandmaster, which will be awarded to him by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). He had been an IM since 1980. It was a sweet victory for the Washington, DC native, coming exactly one week before his 61st birthday on November 15. Kaufman is no stranger to veteran chess players in New England, as he won the Massachusetts state championship in 1968. He is well known for his work on Rybka, one of the strongest computer chess engines.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Massachusetts state champion Denys Shmelov, 22, of Pepperell, and international master David Vigorito, 38, of Lowell, state champion in 2007, tied for 1st-2nd place in the 14th Boston University Open, held Saturday, November 1, at the George Sherman Union on the BIU campus. Both scored 3.5-0..5 in a three-section field of 77 players, 13 of whom were titled. Capturing the Top Under 2200 prize with a 3-1 result was expert Stuart Finney, a 13-year-old MACA member from Barrington, Rhode Island. Robert Oresick of Norton, BU Chess Club advisor, organized the event for the college club. Complete results will be published in the January-March 2009 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

FIDE master Nelson Castaneda of New Britain, CT, and Class A player Douglas Fiske of West Hartford., CT, shared top honors in the 3rd WMCA Memorial Open tournament, held Saturday, November 1, at the Palmer Public Library in Palmer, MA. Both tallied 3-0 in a two-section field of 22 players. Frank Kolasinski of Springfield, MA directed the event for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Patrick Sciacca of South Lawrence, MA, won the 33rd New Hampshire Amateur tournament, held Saturday, November 1, at the Comfort Inn in Manchester. The 45-year-old MACA member posted a score of 3.5-0.5 to finish a half point ahead of Granite State resident S. Jeffrey Ames, who was awarded this year's state amateur title. Ames had also won the title in 2002 and 2005. Tied for third place with 2.5-1.5 tallies were fellow NH players Clay Bradley (2001 co-champion), Erin Dame (champion in 2003 and 2004), and Nathan Smith. The event drew 37 players in three sections and was directed by Henry "Hal" Terrie of Manchester for the sponsoring New Hampshire Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Please contact Steve Frymer if you lost any item at the GBO or any previous MACA events.

Tiffany Wang
Webmaster

FIDE master William Kelleher, 59, of Watertown posted a score of 3.5-0.5 to win the 75th Greater Boston Open, held Sunday, October 26, at the Kennedy Senior Center in Natick. Taking second place with a 3-1 tally was international master David Vigorito, 38, of Lowell, the newly elected president of the Boylston Chess Foundation. Capturing the top under 2150 prize with a 2.5-1.5 result was Class A-rated contestant Carlos Avalos, 45, of Rhode Island, the current champion of that state's Cranston-Warwick Chess Club. Avalos' score was equal to that of international master Igor Foygel of Brookline, who finished out of the prize money and celebrates his 61st birthday on Wednesday, October 29. The four-section tournament, held for the first time as a one-day event, drew 58 players - the same number that played in 2006 and nine more that played in 2007. MACA tournament coordinator Ken Ballou of Framingham was the chief TD, assisted by fellow senior director Bob Messenger of Nashua, NH. Complete results will be published in the January-March 2009 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

At the annual meeting of the Boylston Chess Foundation in Somerville on October 21, David Vigorito of Lowell was elected president for the 2008-2009 term. Kent Leung of Lynn was elected vice president, while Robert Oresick of Norton was elected treasurer. The position of clerk remains to be announced. Those elected directors are the following:

Chris Chase and Charles Riordan, both of Somerville
Marc Esserman and Jason Rihel, both of Cambridge
William Kelleher and Alex Cherniack, both of Watertown
Bernardo Iglesias of Braintree
Mike Griffin of Quincy
Natasha Christiansen of Westboro
Carey Theil of Arlington

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

FIDE master John Curdo, 76, of Auburn, Massachusetts scored 3.5-0.5 to win the 2nd Max Malyuta Memorial tournament, held Saturday, October 18, at the LeFoyer Club in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Runner-up with a 3-1 tally was fellow MACA member Stuart Finney, a 13-year-old expert from Barrington, Rhode Island. The tournament drew 30 players in three sections and was directed by Frank Vogel III for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association. Eric Berkey was the assistant TD. The event honored the memory of USCF expert and well-known chess teacher and coach Max Malyuta of Pawtucket, a native of Birobidzhan, Russia, who died of meningitis at the age of 25 on March 24, 2007. Tax-deductible donations in memory of Max may be made to the Living Memorial Chess Fund, c/o Robert Messenger, MACA Treasurer, 4 Hamlett Drive, Apt. 12, Nashua, NH 03062-4641

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov enjoyed a good week of tournament successes the week of Sept. 22 through Sept. 27. On September 25 in Storrs, Connecticut, the 52-year-old Newton, Massachusetts resident tied for first place with fellow GM Sergey Kudrin, 49, of Stamford, Connectiut in the UConn September Open Grand Prix tournament. Both tallied 3.5-0.5, drawing each other in the third round. Two days later, Ivanov traveled to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he swept the Manchester September Swiss with a perfect 4-0 score. Reports on these tournaments are expected to be published in the January-March 2009 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The October-December issue of Chess Horizons was delivered to the post office on September 26. However, it may take several weeks to reach certain areas due to postal delays.

Mark Donlan
Chess Horizons Editor

The 2008 Fall Foliage Festival was held today, Sunday, September 28, 2008, at the Sage School in Foxborough. The Chief TD was Kenneth Ballou, assisted by Bob Messenger, Nicholas Sterling, Maryanne Reilly, Beebe Wiegand, and Steve Frymer.

There were five (5) entrants in the high school section, 18 in the age 14 and under section, 24 in the age 11 and under section, and 17 in the age 8 and under section, for a total tournament attendance of 64.

Winners:

High School section:
1st: Richard A. Lunetta II, Burlington, MA (4-0)
2nd: Larry Zhu, Wellesley, MA (3-1)
3rd: Michael J. Kim, Concord, MA (2-2)

Medal awarded to:
  Anirudh Arun, Medfield, MA (2-2)

Age 14 and Under section:
1st: Jacob N. Fauman, Newton, MA (3.5-0.5)
2nd: Darwin Ding, Lexington, MA (3.5-0.5)
3rd: Nicholas Zhang, Lexington, MA (3-1)

Medals awarded to:
  Timothy Lung, Lexington, MA (3-1)
  Richard Han, Newton, MA (3-1)

Age 11 and Under section:
1st: Bary Lisak, Wayland, MA (4-0)
2nd: Luke L. Lung, Boxborough, MA (3.5-0.5)
3rd: Mateos G. Sahakian, Medford, MA (3-1)

Medals awarded to:
  Grant Xu, Shrewsbury, MA (3-1)
  Andrew Liu, Westborough, MA (3-1)
  Vincent Decesaris, E. Greenwich, RI (3-1)

Age 8 & Under section:
1st: Henry Li, Acton, MA (4-0)
2nd: Anton Barash, Brighton, MA (3-1)
3rd: Laurie Chen, Concord, MA (3-1)

Medals awarded to:
  Alex G. Fauman, Newton, MA (3-1)
  Christopher Wang, Lexington, MA (3-1)

Ken Ballou
Chief TD

The Fall Foliage Festival, the first qualifying tournament for the 2009 Massachusetts state scholastic championship (Spiegel Cup), was held September 28 at the Sage School in Foxboro. In a field of 64 players, Richard Lunetta II of Burlington, Jacob Fauman of Newton, Bary Lisak of Wayland and Henry Li of Acton qualified for the state finals in their respective sections. Lunetta scored 4-0 in the five-player high school section. Fauman and Darwin Ding of Lexington, tallied 3.5-0.5 in the 18-player 14&under section and engaged in a two-game blitz match to break the tie, with Fauman energing the winner. Lisak scored 4-0 in the 24-player 11&under section, while Li tallied 4-0 in the 17-player 8&under section. Chief TD was MACA tournament coordinator Ken Ballou of Framingham, assisted by fellow senior TD Bob Messenger of Nashua, NH. A complete list of trophy and medal winners will be published in the January-March 2009 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

WMCA, a not-for-profit, 501(c7) organization has been promoting chess, organizing tournaments and supporting the chess clubs and players who reside in the western half of the state since the 1940's! In an effort to continue our mission, WMCA will be hosting a fundraiser in cooperation with the Papa Gino's restaurant chain on Tuesday, October 14th at the P.G. location at 301 King Street in Northampton, MA. Twenty per cent(!) of food purchases made that evening between 6 PM and 9 PM will be donated to WMCA!

This will be a totally social event, which I encourage you to attend with your wives and children to enjoy fellowship and fun for weeknight out! WMCA will also be sponsoring an ongoing raffle at this event. Participants can win more than once, as raffle numbers will be drawn throughout the evening for chess books and software, as well as WMCA promotional items (t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.). The grand prize offering of the evening will be a donated first edition hard cover issue of Bobby Fischer's legendary book, "My 60 Memorable Games" (recently offered for sale on eBay for $145!).

Of course, we'll play some chess. meet the public. talk about WMCA and the history of chess in western Massachusetts.

Anyone looking to donate items (chess-related or not) of good quality to be raffled off that evening are encouraged to either contact myself or any other WMCA board member, or simply show up on Tuesday night, Nov. 14th to help support a worthy cause.

Our long-term vision for WMCA is to continue to offer high quality tournaments for western Mass. residents, with bigger and better prize funds, at increasingly better locations. Monies donated to the organization allow us to continue to do so. to support the game of chess in western Massachusetts at both an adult and scholastic level, and honor the memories and efforts of so many legendary chess figures and promoters from here in western Mass.

Please join us, even for a brief "hello" at Papa Gino's at 301 King St. in Northampton on Tuesday evening, October 14th anytime from 6:00 to 9:00 PM!!

Frank D. Kolasinski, President
Western Massachusetts Chess Association

Also to be raffled off:
Fritz 10 software
Canon Faxphone B60 Fax machine
Chronos digital chess clock
New and used chess books too numerous too list here!!

R. Kenneth Ballou of Framingham has been named Massachusetts delegate to the U.S. Chess Federation for 2009-2010. The appointment was made recently by MACA President Maryanne C. Reilly of Newton Centre in accordance with provisions of the USCF bylaws. In this year's USCF delegates election, Ballou finished in a tie for third place with Stephen Dann of Worcester, who now becomes first alternate delegate for the state. Ballou, a USCF-certified senior tournament director, is well known to chess players in New England, serving as MACA's tournament coordinator and clerk. He, along with MACA Vice President Donna Alarie of Rutland, has attended the last two USCF delegates meetings: 2007 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and 2008 in Dallas, Texas. Both are expected to attend next year's delegates meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

A gathering to remember the late Al Schaefer, who died August 28 in Wisconsin, will be held Wednesday, September 17, at 7 p.m. at Bronzetti's Pizzeria Bar and Grill, 250 Worcester Road (on Route 9 just past Route 126), Framingham, Mass. This get-together will be a chance for Al's friends, especially his friends from the Metrowest Chess Club, to drink a beer in his memory and reminisce about Al's chess-playing years in the Bay State. RSVP to Robert Huntington - rbhuntington@comcast.net (webmaster: delete "NoSpam" from the address) - is encouraged but not required.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

A gathering to remember the late Al Schaefer, who died August 28 in Wisconsin, will be held Wednesday, September 17, at 7 p.m. at Bronzetti's Pizzeria Bar and Grill, 250 Worcester Road (on Route 9 just past Route 126), Framingham, Mass. This get-together will be a chance for Al's friends, especially his friends from the Metrowest Chess Club, to drink a beer in his memory and reminisce about Al's chess-playing years in the Bay State. RSVP to Robert Huntington - rbhuntington@comcast.net (webmaster: delete "NoSpam" from the address) - is encouraged but not required.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Clay Bradley of Marlow, New Hampshire, and Alex Fikiet of Storrs, Connecticut tied for 1st-2nd place in the 2nd annual Eli Bourdon Memorial, held Saturday, September 6, at Holyoke Public Library in Holyoke, Mass. The co-winners tallied 2.5-0.5 in an Open section field of five players that saw the tournament's top-rated advance entrant, FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn, Mass., experience a flat tire on the way to the event and thus unable to compete. Curdo had tied for 1st-2nd place in last year's tournament. Thomas Smith of Florence, Mass., and Douglas Reed of Westfield, Mass. tied for 1st-2nd place in the 16-player Reserve section with perfect scores of 3-0. Smith had tied for 1st-3rd place in the Under 1800 section of last year's tournament. Frank Kolasinski of Springfield, Mass. directed the 21-player event for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association. The tournamenthonored the memory of Eli Bourdon (1907-1980) of Holyoke, one of the most prominent chess organizers in Western Massachusetts.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

In a surprising finish at the 68th New England Open, held August 31-September 1 at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Massachusetts, Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass. - who needed just a draw to clinch first place - lost to national master Alex Cherniack of Watertown, Mass. in the final round, while 2008 Massachusetts state champion Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, Mass. opted prior to round 2 for a half-point bye in the final round and ended up sharing top honors with Ivanov and Cherniack. All three scored 4.5-1.5 in an Open section field of 27 players. F. Alexander Relyea of Bedford, New Hampshire was chief tournament director for the sponsoring Massachusetts Chess Association. He was assisted by USCF senior TDs Ken Ballou of Framingham, Mass., and Robert Messenger of Nashua, N.H. Nicholas Sterling of Needham, Mass. directed a series of scholastic tournaments over the three-day holiday period in conjunction with the main event. A complete report on the tournament as well as a selection of games from the event will be published in the October-December issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

It is with great sadness that we report via Rob Huntington of Wayland that former MACA member Alan D. Schaefer, formerly of Framingham, Mass., died Thursday, August 28, in Angels Grace Hospice in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. He was born November 8, 1950 in Illinois, raised in Wisconsin, and had lived many years in Massachusetts before moving back to Wisconsin in June 2007. While in the Bay State, Al was an active member of the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick. His last appearance there was in May of this year, when he played a side game in the MCC 25th Anniversary Swiss. Al was a regular member of the Waukesha Chess Club. A celebration of his life will be held in September in Framingham. The specific date, time and place will be announced.

Sign Guest Book Here

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton tallied a perfect 4-0 to win the 11th Western Mass. Open held Saturday, August 23, at Smith College in Northampton. National master Max Enkin of Peabody finished in second place with a score of 3-1. Tying for third place with 2-2 performances were Nelson Castaneda, a FIDE master from Connecticut, and Clay Bradley, an expert from New Hampshire. The event drew 29 players in three sections and was directed by Frank Kolasinski of Springfield for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Blackstone Chess Festival Open, held August 16-17 at the Comfort Inn in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, ended in a three-way tie for first place among grandmasters Timur Gareev of Uzbekistan and Keith Arkell of England and international master Justin Sarkar of Scarsdale, New York. All three tallied 3.5-0.5 in a field of 32 players. Runners-up with 3-1 results were 2007 New England Masters champion GM Leonid Kritz of Germany and GM Sergey Erenburg of Israel, winner of this year's New England Masters tournament. Ken Ballou of Framingham, Mass. directed for the sponsoring Blackstone Chess Academy.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Sergey Erenburg, 25, of Israel won the New England Masters tournament, held August 11-15 at the Blackstone Chess Academy (To Kalon Club) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Erenburg, a financial economics major and a Coca-Cola Fellow at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, tallied 7.5-1.5 in a field of 45 players. Capturing second place with a score of 7-2 was GM Timur Gareev, 20, of Uzbekistan, also a student at UMBC. International master Eli Vovsha of Israel, a current resident of New York, posted a score of 6.5-2.5 to take third place. Four players tied for fourth place with 6-3 results. They were 2007 New England Masters champion GM Leonid Kritz of Germany, three-time New Hampshire state champion IM Joshua Friedel, IM Jacek Stopa of Poland, and national master Parker Bi Guang Zhao of New York. The event was organized and directed by Chris Bird. Complete results are available at http://newenglandmasters.com.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The following are the results of this year's USCF election for delegates and alternate delegates for 2009-2010 for Massachusetts. The state is entitled to three delegates and three alternate delegates. The tie for the third delegate position will be broken by the MACA board of directors at its meeting in September.

62 votes - George Mirijanian of Fitchburg
54 votes - Donna Alarie of Rutland
36 votes - Ken Ballou of Framingham
36 votes - Stephen Dann of Worcester
15 votes - Joe Alfano of Holden
12 votes - Brian Lafferty of Andover
2 votes - Frank Kolasinski of Springfield (write-in)

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Three grandmasters - Alexander Ivanov of Massachusetts, Sergey Kudrin of Connecticut and Michael Rohde of New York - tied for first place with international master Marlo Micayabas of New Jersey in the 13th Bradley Open, held August 8-10 at the Sheraton Hotel at Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. All four tallied 4-1 in an Open section field of 35 players. Steve Immitt directed for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association, assisted by Harold Stenzel. The tournament drew 175 players in four sections.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Chess Journalists of America (CJA), at its annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, announced on Friday, August 8, that MACA's Website - with Tiffany Wang, Webmaster - was voted the Best State Website in the country for 2007-2008. Chess Horizons - Mark Donlan, editor - received honorable mention as the Best State Magazine, while George Mirijanian tied for first place in the category of Best Human Interest story for his story "In Memoriam: Gilbert F. Gosselin," published in the July-September 2007 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Stripunsky of New York won the 38th Continental Open, held July 25-27 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The winner tallied 5-1 in an Open section field of 41 players. Tying for 2nd-5th place with scores of 4.5-1.5 were GMs Jaan Ehlvest of New York, Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass., and Sergey Erenberg of Maryland, as well as Harvard graduate Marc Esserman, a national master from Florida. The event drew 230 players in seven sections and was directed by Bill Goichberg for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association. He was assisted by MACA executive board officer Bob Messenger of Nashua, New Hampshire.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn and expert Matthew Meredith of West Hartford, Connecticut tied for first place in the 3rd annual WMCA Free G/60 tournament, held Saturday, July 19, at the Florence Congregational Church in Florence. Each scored 3.5-0.5 in a field of 22 players, drawing each other in the final round. David Kochman of Swanzey, New Hampshire won the Top A prize with a score of 3-1, while Tom Smith of Florence and Dave Couture of Westminster shared the Top B prize with identical scores of 3-1. Robert Skalbite of Monson won the Top C prize with a 2.5-1.5 tally, while Joseph Vigue of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and Enrique McDonald of Northampton also scored 2.5-1.5 to tie for 1st-2nd place for those rated under 1400. Frank Kolasinski of Springfield, president of the Western Massachusetts Chess Association and a member of the MACA executive board, directed the tournament, which was co-sponsored by The Daily Gazette of Northampton and WMCA. The tourney, which gave free entry to WMCA members, offered a 100 percent guaranteed prize fund.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Massachusetts state champion Denys Shmelov of Pepperell is the subject of a 30-minute episode of "Chess Chat," a TV program produced by Wachusett Chess Club members Martin Laine and George Mirijanian on Fitchburg Access Television (FATV). The program is available for Webcast on fatv.org. Click in the menu on Video on Demand, then Public Access, followed by Chess Chat, and finally on Chess Chat Episode 22. The show will present a game that Shmelov won in the 2007 World Open. Two other Chess Chat episodes are also currently available for viewing with many more to be posted in the future.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Deepak Aaron, an expert from Schenectady, New York, tallied 4.5-0.5 to win the 19th Vermont Resort Open, held July 11-13 at the Grand Summit Resort in Mount Snow, Vermont. MACA junior member Stuart Finney, 13, of Barrington, Rhode Island was second with a score of 3.5-1.5, while Daniel Rozovsky of Connecticut captured third place with a 3-2 result. Michael-David Mangini of Connecticut scored 4-1 to take first place in the Under 1900 section. Tied for 2nd-4th place with 3.5-1.5 performances were three Massachusetts players: Robert Harvey, 69, of Lexington, Larry Eldridge, 75, of West Newton, and Embert Lin, 13, of Acton. Warner Smith of Massachusetts finished first in the Under 1500 with a 4-1 score. Tied for 2nd-4th place with 3.5-1.5 results were William Montross of Connecticut, Jonathan Kuehne of Vermont, and Daniel Pike of New York. The event drew 37 players - 11 of whom were from Massachusetts - in three sections and was directed by Steve Immitt for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The following are the top scorers from Massachusetts in the 36th World Open, which was held June 30-July 6 in Philadelphia and attracted 1262 players in 11 sections:

Open section: GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, 6-3
U2400 section: IM James Rizzitano of Southborough, 6-3
U2200 section: Rory Wasiolek of Concord, 5.5-3.5
U2000 section: Zaroug Jaleel of Lexington, 6.5-2.5
U1800 section: George Duval of Sudbury and Ronald Gist of Northampton, 5.5-3.5
U1600 section: Seth Bannon, 7.5-1.5
U1400 section: Ted O'Donnell Jr. of Boston, 3-6
U1200 section: no Massachusetts participant
U900 section: Afareen Jaleel of Lexington, 4-5
U600 section: no Massachusetts participant
Unrated section: no Massachusetts participant

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Tom Smith of Florence sends us sad news that his uncle, Reginald A. "Reggie" Boone of Gardner, died Saturday, June 28, in UMass Medical Center, University Campus, Worcester, after an illness. Reggie was a former MACA member and a former longtime member of the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg. He was a current USCF member. He was born on January 15, 1926 in Gardner, the son of Thomas and Jane (Kliskey) Boone of Penzance, England, and had lived most of his life in Gardner. He graduated in 1944 from Gardner High School, where he was a standout football player. He scored five touchdowns against Leominster High School. That feat earned him a place in the Gardner High School Football Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1993. After graduating from high school, he was inducted into the Army and fought in the European theater, spending two years overseas. He returned home a decorated veteran, feted with the Bronze Star for bravery behind enemy lines. But the war cost him a chance to further his education. Before being conscripted, he had planned to attend Georgia Technical School with two football scholarships he had earned. But when he returned to the United States, he decided to pursue a career in gymnastics. With a 1942 Massachusetts state gymnastic championship award for prowess on the horizontal bar and flying rings, Reggie and his three-man troupe headed for California. There, he roomed for two years with Steve Reeves, who won the Mr. Universe title in 1950. They became very close friends. While out in California, Reggie rediscovered his love of checkers - a game he took up when he was 12 years old. He showed his skill in the game when he defeated world checkers champion Tom Wiswell when Wiswell visited Fitchburg in 1958 to perform a checkers and chess exhibition at the local YMCA. In a June 2001 interview in the Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper in Fitchburg, Reggie recounted that it was the excitement and the unexpected that intrigued him the most. "The mental combat is beautiful," he said. As an athlete, Reggie's philosophy of life came from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once said, "Give me health and a day and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous." Reggie also enjoyed music and played the piano. "I recommend hobbies to anyone. For me, music, chess and walking go hand in hand. They are games for the mind and they keep you healthy." After moving back East in 1948 and marrying in 1952, Reggie's regimen was to walk three miles a day, six days a week until he took ill in the late winter of 2006. His last tournament game at the Wachusett Chess Club was on March 1, 2006. Reggie's favorite defense against 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 was Petroff's Defense, aka Russian Defense, a system he knew better than anyone else at the local club. His love affair with chess spanned more than half a century and he will be sorely missed by the many chess players who knew him.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov won the 58th New Hampshire Open, held June 21-22 at the Comfort Inn in Manchester. The 52-year-old Newton, Mass. resident tallied 3.5-0.5 to finish ahead of international master Igor Foygel of Brookline, Mass., FIDE master William Kelleher of Watertown, Mass., and FIDE master Braden Bournival of Manchester - all of whom scored 3-1. Bournival, as the highest-scoring New Hampshire resident, was awarded the state title. It was his fifth straight state championship title, either won clear or shared, since 2004. Tied for 5th-6th place with 2.5-1.5 results were 2008 Massachusetts state champion Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, Mass. - who drew Ivanov in the final round - and USCF expert Steven Dillon of Maine, the latter of whom won the top under 2300 prize. The tournament drew 75 players in four sections and was directed by USCF senior TD Bob Messenger of Nashua, N.H.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The July - September 2008 issue of Chess Horizons was delivered to the post office on June 24. Please note that due to postal delays it may take several weeks to be delivered to certain areas. Thank you.

Mark Donlan
Chess Horizons Editor

Open Section:

Paul MacIntyre, for his game against Jim Rizzitano.

Honorable mention: Chris Williams, for his game against Dave Vigorito.

Under 2000 Section:

Winston Huang, for his game against Danny Angermeier.

Under 1800 Section:

Jaime Cintron, for his game against Mike Griffin.

Under 1600 Section:

Larry Kleine, for his game against Tom Sifter.

The games were judged by Igor Foygel.

Rizzatano,James (2343) - MacIntyre,Paul (2309) [E76]
77th Massachusetts Open Boxborough, Massachusetts (5), 26.05.2008

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5 Qa5 8.Bd3 Qxc5 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.Be3 Qa5 11.0-0 Bg4 12.Qf2 Nb4 13.Bb1 Be6 14.h3 Bxc4 15.Rd1 b6 16.a3 Nc6 17.Bc2 Rac8 18.g4 Qa6 19.Rac1 Rfd8 20.b3 Be6 21.f5 Bd7 22.Bd3 Qb7 23.b4 Be8 24.Qe2 Nb8 25.Bd4 e5 26.Bf2 d5 27.Bh4 Nxe4 28.Bxe4 dxe4 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Bxd8 exf3 31.Qd3 Nc6 32.Qd5 Qc8 33.Ne4 gxf5 34.Nf6+ Bxf6 35.Bxf6 Qe6 36.Qxe6 fxe6 37.b5 Nd4 38.Rc8 Ne2+ 39.Kf2 e4 40.Be5 Kf7 41.Rc7+ Kg8 42.a4 Bg6 43.a5 bxa5 44.Rxa7 Nc1 45.b6 Nd3+ 46.Ke3 Nxe5 47.Rc7 f4+ 48.Kd4 f2 49.b7 Nc6+ 50.Rxc6 f1Q 51.b8Q+ Kg7 52.Rc7+ Bf7 53.Qb2 Qd3+ 54.Ke5 f3 55.Kf4+ Kg6 56.Rc5 h6 57.h4 Be8 58.h5+ Kh7 59.Rc7+ Bd7 60.Qe5 f2 61.Rxd7+ Qxd7 62.Qxe4+ Kg8 63.Qg6+ Qg7 64.Qxe6+ Qf7+ 65.Qxf7+ Kxf7 0-1

Williams,Christopher (2303) - Vigorito,David (2439) [D14]
77th Massachusetts Open Boxborough, Massachusetts (2), 24.05.2008

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Bf5 7.e3 e6 8.Bb5 Nd7 9.0-0 Be7 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.Qe2 0-0 12.Rfd1 a6 13.Bd3 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 b5 15.e4 Nb4 16.Qb1 dxe4 17.Nxe4 Qb6 18.Nfg5 g6 19.h4 Nd5 20.Bg3 N7f6 21.Qd3 Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Nb4 23.Qb1 Rxc1 24.Qxc1 Nxa2 25.Qh6 f6 26.h5 g5 27.d5 Rf7 28.d6 Bd8 29.d7 Qc6 30.Nxf6+ Rxf6 31.Qxg5+ Kf7 32.h6 e5 33.Qg7+ Ke6 34.Qg8+ Rf7 35.Qxd8 Rxd7 36.Qe8+ 1-0

Angermeier,Danny (1624) - Huang,Winston (1896) [C54]
77th Massachusetts Open Boxborough, Massachusetts (3), 25.05.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nbd2 a6 8.Bb3 Ba7 9.h3 Ne7 10.d4 Ng6 11.Bc2 Qe7 12.Re1 Nf4 13.Nf1 N6h5 14.Bxf4 Nxf4 15.Ne3 c6 16.Qd2 Qf6 17.dxe5 dxe5 18.Nh2 Rd8 19.Qc1 Qg6 20.Nhg4 h5 21.Nf5 Bxf5 22.exf5 Qg5 23.Rxe5 hxg4 24.h4 Qh6 25.Re4 Bb8 26.g3 Nh3+ 27.Kg2 Rd2 28.Re8+ Kh7 29.f6+ g6 30.Kh1 Nxf2+ 0-1

Cintron,Jaime (1633) - Griffin,Mike (1719) [C05]
77th Massachusetts Open Boxborough, Massachusetts (1), 24.05.2008

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Ndf3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Bb5 a6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nh3 Be7 10.Nfg5 h6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Nf4 Nb6 14.Ng6+ Kg8 15.Nxh8 Kxh8 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Qxh6+ Kg8 18.Qg6+ Kf8 19.h4 cxd4 20.Rh3 Nd7 21.Rf3+ Nf6 22.exf6 Bxf6 23.Rxf6+ Ke7 24.Rf7+ Kd6 25.h5 dxc3 26.Qg3+ e5 27.Qxc3 Bg4 28.Rc1 Rc8 29.Qc5+ Ke6 30.Rh7 Qh4 31.Rh6+ Kf5 32.Qd6 Ke4 33.Qg6+ Kd4 34.Qc2 a5 35.Qa4+ Kd3 36.Rc3# 1-0

Sifter,Thomas (1572) - Kleine,Larry (1549) [C96]
77th Massachusetts Open Boxborough, Massachusetts (5), 26.05.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nb6 16.Be4 Qc7 17.Qc2 g6 18.Nf1 Rb8 19.Bh6 Nb4 20.Qb1 Rd8 21.Ng3 Bb7 22.a3 Bxe4 23.Rxe4 Nd3 24.Qc2 c4 25.Bf4 Nxf4 26.Rxf4 Rbc8 27.h4 Na4 28.h5 Nc5 29.hxg6 hxg6 30.Rg4 Nd3 31.Nf5 Nxe5 32.Nxe5 Qxe5 33.Nh6+ Kf8 34.Nxf7 Qf5 35.Qxf5 gxf5 36.Nxd8 fxg4 37.Ne6+ Kf7 38.Re1 Bf6 39.Nf4 Bxb2 40.Re3 Bc1 41.Re4 Bxf4 42.Rxf4+ Ke6 43.Rd4 c3 44.Rd1 c2 45.Rc1 Kd5 46.Kf1 Kd4 47.Ke2 Kc3 48.f3 gxf3+ 49.gxf3 Kb2 50.Kd2 Rd8+ 0-1

Bob Messenger
Membership Secretary and Tournament Director

New Hampshire Chess Association secretary Hal Terrie has sent us the sad news of the passing of John J. Hallahan, who died at age 80 on Saturday, June 14, at Villa Crest Nursing and Retirement Home in Manchester, NH. John Joseph Hallahan was born on August 12, 1927, in Dorchester, MA, the son of Jeremiah and Helen (Fitzgerald) Hallahan. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and graduated from Boston College following the war. He earned a master's degree in library science at Simmons College in Boston. In 1951 John moved to Norwalk, CT, where he served as director of the city's public library from 1955 to 1966. In 1963, he was named Norwalk's "Man of the Year" for his community involvement. He subsequently moved to Manchester, NH, and was director of Manchester City Library for 25 years before he retired. He was instrumental in setting up the library's computer system, developing the library's West Side branch, and forming the Manchester Inter-Library Cooperative. As one of the most active chess players in New Hampshire, John was on the board of directors of the New Hampshire Chess Association for many years and served as chairman of the NHCA publicity committee. He was also a member of the Massachusetts Chess Association for many years. John's participation in tournaments was extensive, ranging from all the major NH events (New Hampshire Open, New Hampshire Amateur, Queen City Open) and MA tournaments (Mass. Open, Greater Boston Open, Pillsbury Memorial, Mass. Game/60) to major regional tournaments, such as the New England Open, Eastern Class Championship and Bradley Open in Connecticut. He also competed in many U.S. Opens. His last USCF-rated tournament was the Queen City Open in February 2007. Following his retirement as library director, John was able to travel the world and play in many more tournaments. He leaves his wife, Julia E. (Sarjeant) Hallahan of Manchester; four sons, Frances "Frank" B. Hallahan of Falls Church, VA, Bill I. Hallahan of Nashua, NH, Gerry H. Hallahan of Hoocksett, NH, Tom G. Hallahan of Manchester, NH; one daughter, Marie G. Patrick of Concord, NH; a sister, Eileen Hallahan of Brookfield, MA; nine grandchildren, many nephews and nieces. A funeral liturgy will be held Thursday, June 19, at 11 a.m. in St. Pius X Catholic Church, 575 Candia Road, Manchester, followed by burial with military honors in New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen. Calling hours are Wednesday, June 18, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. at Goodwin Funeral Home, 607 Chestnut St., Manchester. Donations in John's memory may be made to the Living Memorial Chess Fund, c/o Robert Messenger, MACA Treasurer, 4 Hamlett Drive, Apt. #12, Nashua, NH 03062-4641.

Sign Guest Book - John Hallahan on legacy.com and Guest Book on goodwinfh.com.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Sad news has come to us via Bob Oresick on the Boylston Chess Club webblog that former longtime MACA member Ed Lafferty died of lung cancer on Thursday, June 5. He was 51. Ed was one of the most active players in New England - having competed in nearly 400 USCF-rated tournaments since his very first one on Feb. 24, 1995 at the Waltham Chess Club. Besides being a member of the Waltham club, Ed was also a regular participant at many tournaments at the Boylston CC in Somerville and the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick. He was a big supporter of MACA-sponsored events, including Mass. Opens, Mass. Game/60, Greater Boston Opens and Pillsbury Memorials. His last MACA tournament was the Pillsbury Memorial on Nov. 25, 2007 in Leominster. Edward Cary Lafferty was born on June 23, 1956, the son of Edward L. and Margot A. (Footer) Lafferty, and had lived many years in Newton before moving to Waltham. Boylston CC member Mike Griffin remembers Ed as a student majoring in chemistry at UMass-Amherst in the mid-1970s and also as a varsity soccer player there. Ed had worked at the Fessenden School, a private boarding school in West Newton. Besides his parents, he leaves two brothers, Michael J. and Jeffrey P. Lafferty, one nephew and three nieces. A funeral was held June 9, with private interment in Newton Cemetery in Newton. Donations in Ed's memory may be made to the Living Memorial Chess Fund, c/o Robert Messenger, MACA Treasurer, 4 Hamlett Drive, Apt. #12, Nashua, NH 03062-4641

Guest Book - Edward Cary Lafferty

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

National master Denys Konstantinovic Shmelov, 21, of Pepperell won the 77th Massachusetts Open, held May 24-26 at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough. The 21-year-old Ukrainian native, recently crowned champion of the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick, scored 5-1 in an Open section field of 24 players. He is the first non-FIDE-titled master to win the coveted state championship title since 1999. Capturing 2nd place with a 4.5-1.5 tally was international master Igor Foygel of Brookline, who drew Shmelov in the fifth round. Sharing 3rd place and the top Under 2300 prize with 4-2 results were national masters Christopher Williams of Brighton and Alex Cherniack of Watertown as well as 17-time Mass. Open champion FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn. Winning the top Under 2200 prize was Ilya Krasik of Acton, who tallied 3.5-2.5 Other section prize winners were as follows:

Under 2000 section (14 players):
1st: John Elmore of Hampton Falls, NH, 5-1
2nd: Valentin Levin of Lynn, 4-2
3rd (tie): Scott Didham of Sharon, Nikita Konovalchuk of Ashland, James Shao of Sunnyside, NY, 3.5-2.5

Under 1800 section (18 players):
1st: Avery Chen of Woodbridge, CT, 5.5-0.5
2nd: Harold Dondis of Belmont, 4.5-1.5
3rd: Mike Griffin of Quincy, 4-2

Under 1600 section (14 players):
1st: Larry Kleine of Hanover, 6-0
2nd: Eduardo Valadares of Hudson, 4.5-1.5
3rd (tie): Thomas Sifter of Quincy, Jeffrey Wright of Somerville, 3.5-2.5
Top Under 1400: Grant Xu of Acton, 3-3

One-day (May 25) Under 2000 section (23 players):
1st-2nd: Howard Goldowsky of Canton, Darwin Ding of Lexington, 3.5-0.5
Top Under 1600: Jimmy Wang of Acton, 3-1
Top Under 1400 (tie): Austin Mei of Andover, Varun Palnati of Westford, Charlie Fauman of Newton, 2-2

One-day (May 25) Under 1300 section (7 players):
1st-2nd: Chirantan Neogy of Acton, David Todd of Boxford, 3.5-0.5

K-3 Under 1200 section (12 players):
1st: Arnav Ghosh of Winchester, 3-1
2nd: Henry Li of Acton, 3-1
3rd: Jack Goldsmith IV of Newton, 3-1
Medal winners: Lucas Aguirre of Lexington, Brandon Wu of Littleton, 3-1

K-3 Under 600 section (19 players):
1st: Afareen Jaleel of Lexington, 4-0
2nd: Bridget Fox of Needham, 3-1
3rd: Jenny Qiu of Acton, 3-1
Medal winners: William Fox of Needham, Alan Sikarov of Newton, Youngin Kang of Auburndale, 3-1

K-6 Under 1400 section (14 players):
1st: Alexander Sorets of Newton, 3.5-0.5
2nd: Alex Hu of Acton, 3-1
3rd: Varun Palnati of Westford, 3-1
Medal winner: Michael Shulman of Auburndale

K-6 Under 800 section (19 players):
1st: Jenny Qiu of Acton, 4-0
2nd: Sathwik Karnik of Plainville, 3-1
3rd: Brandon Wu of Littleton
Medal winners: Alexander Shih of Andover, Sean Cheng of Westford, Shuvom Sadhuka of Acton, 3-1

Blitz (5-minute) championship (10 players)
1st: FM William Kelleher of Watertown, 10-0
2nd: Benjamin Goldberg of Cumberland, RI, 7-3
Top Under 2000 (tie): George Winsor of South Easton, Larry Gladding of Leominster, 4-6

Tournament staff: Ken Ballou, chief TD
Assistants: Bob Messenger, George Mirijanian, Nicholas Sterling

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

President:
Maryanne Reilly (88 votes) - elected
Steve Frymer (1 vote) - write-in
George Mirijanian (1 vote) - write-in
Mikhail Perelshteyn (1 vote) - write-in
Beebe Wiegand (1 vote) - wrte-in

Vice President:
Donna Alarie (84 votes) - elected
George Mirijanian (2 votes) - write-in
Steve Frymer (1 vote) - write-in

Treasurer:
Robert Messenger (92 votes) - elected
Matthew Gosselin (1 vote) - write-in

Clerk:
R. Kenneth Ballou (87 votes) - elected
Bernardo Iglesias (1 vote) - write-in

DIRECTORS (elected)
George Mirijanian, 93 votes
Steve Frymer, 88 votes
Stephen Dann, 80 votes
Beebe Wiegand, 73 votes
Joseph Alfano, 71 votes
Brian Lafferty, 70 votes
Brian Mottershead, 69 votes
Robert King, 63 votes
Margaret King, 60 votes

WRITE-INS FOR DIRECTOR:
Kenneth Belt, Mark Kaprielian, William Kelleher (3 votes each)
Natasha Christiansen, Walter Driscoll, Larry Eldridge, Matthew Gosselin, Frank Kolasinski, Matthew Phelps, Alonzo Ross (2 votes each) Donna Alarie, David Allard, Chris Chase, Neil Cousin, John Curdo, Bruce Denis, Max Enkin, Igor Foygel, Chris Galli, Kate Gasser, Tomas Girnius, Mike Griffin, Louis Jacques, lya Krasik, Ed Lafferty, Mark LaRocca, Anatoly Levin, Paul MacIntyre, Mark Marshall, Eugene Perelshteyn, Harvey Reed, James Rizzitano, Jeffrey Smith, Peter Shtudiner, Joe Sparks, Dan Sullivan, Jerry Williams, Irving Wolfson, Carl Yastrzemski (1 vote each)

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Election ballots, sent out to MACA members in early April, must be returned by U.S. mail in the self-addressed envelopes provided no later than Friday, May 23. Ballots can be returned in person to the Election Commissioner or his designee at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, MA, site of the 77th Massachusetts Open Championship, no later than 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 24. All ballots must be submitted in the envelope provided, whether by mail or delivered in person. Ballots not returned in the envelope will not be counted. Ballots will be opened and counted in public view at the Mass. Open on Saturday, May 24, starting at 12 p.m. The following individuals are running for election:

For President: Maryanne C. Reilly of Newton

For Vice President: Donna M. Alarie of Rutland

For Treasurer: Robert D. Messenger of Nashua, NH

For Clerk: Kenneth R. Ballou of Framingham

For the Board of Dirtectors:
Steve Frymer of Lexington
Brian Mottershead of Carlisle
Stephen A. Dann of Worcester
Brian Lafferty of Andover
George M. Mirijanian of Fitchburg
Beebe Wiegand of Cambridge
Joseph Alfano of Holden
Margaret King of Plymouth
Robert King of Plymouth

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Danny Angermeier, a second-grade student at the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School in Franklin, Mass., tied for first place in the K-3 Division of the 2008 National Burt Lerner Elementary Championship, held May 9-11 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. Angermeier, who won this year's Massachusetts State Scholastic Singles Championship / Spiegel Cup for those age 8 and under, tallied 6.5-0.5 in the national championship and shared top honors with Tom Polgar-Shutzman of Texas, son of GM Susan Polgar. Angermeier went home with the first-place trophy based on his superior tiebreak points. Also finishing high in the standings was Jeffrey Yao, 8, of Lexington, Mass., who tied for third place with a score of 6-1 and went home with the fourth-place trophy based on tiebreak points. The three-day event drew nearly 2200 players in 10 sections, including 209 players in the K-3 Championship. More results, including games, will be published in the next issue of Chess Horizons, scheduled to be mailed out to members and subscribers in June.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Frank K. Berry 2008 U.S. Chess Championship gets under way Tuesday, May 13, in Tulsa Oklahoma. Twenty-four players will compete in a 9-round Swiss tournament that will end on May 21. Among the entrants are three well-known players from Massachusetts: GM Alexander Ivanov, 52, of Newton; GM Eugene Perelshteyn, 28, of Swampscott; and current Massachusetts state champion IM David Vigorito, 37, of Lowell. Pairings have been announced for Round 1, with colors to be posted at the players' meeting on May 12. Playing on board 7 in the opening round, Ivanov (2628) will face Vigorito (2439). Two other players from New England are also competing in the event. They are GM Sergey Kudrin, 48, of Stamford, Connecticut; and IM Joshua Friedel, 21, of Goffstown, New Hampshire. Concurrent with the championship, the Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Championship will be held as a 10-player round robin. The lone Massachusetts entrant is Women's International Master Esther Epstein of Newton, who celebrates her 54th birthday on May 10. Complete action for both events can be followed at www.monroi.com.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

MACA gratefully acknowledges the generous donation by USCF Sales of wooden chess sets, score books and instructional books with a retail value in excess of $400. These materials will be used in an outreach program helping young people at risk ages 14 to 17 being started by board member Donna Alarie in conjunction with Spectrum R.E.A.C.H. (Recovery through Education, Adventure, Commitment and Health).

Brian Lafferty
MACA Board of Director

About Spectrum R.E.A.C.H.

Part of a non-profit agency (Spectrum Health Systems, Inc.), Spectrum R.E.A.C.H. is a 90-120 day residential program for adolescent males committed to the Department of Youth Services. The program functions as a therapeutic community, and uses several treatment approaches: cognitive behavioral, recovery based for substance abuse, and experiential learning with Project Adventure components. R.E.A.C.H. (Recovery through Education, Adventure, Commitment and Health) provides a safe, structured and supportive environment for its clients. Through an interdisciplinary team approach, the programís primary goal is to improve the functional abilities of the clients by teaching them cognitive and behavioral skills that will assist them in maintaining productive, pro-social lives free of drugs and crime.

The program is highly structured and demands physical and mental stamina, discipline and strong commitment to change. In addition to its substance abuse and relapse prevention components, our program also offers clients youth development skill building, academic and vocational education, individual, group and family counseling and training on various Lifeskills topics. Our efforts are geared toward helping the youths in ìfinding their way.î We also promote unity, teamwork, diversity and discipline, and provide our clients with the building blocks they will need to build better futures for themselves, and in some cases their families.

The 18th Massachusetts G/60 Championship was held today, Sunday, April 27, at the Kennedy Senior Center in Natick, MA. A total of 72 players competed in the event.

Tournament staff: Kenneth Ballou (Chief TD), Robert Messenger, Steven Frymer, Nicholas Sterling.

Open section (12 players):

1st-2nd:
GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, MA (3.5/4.0)
Denys K. Shmelov of Pepperell, MA (3.5/4.0)
Top under 2150:
Stuart S. Finney of Barrington, RI (2.5/4.0)

Under 2000 section (29 players):

1st:
Alex M. Fikiet of Storrs, CT (4.0/4.0)
2nd:
David G. Ferreira of Haverhill,MA (3.5/4.0)
Top under 1850:
Thomas Hartmayer of Storrs, CT (3.0/4.0)
Top under 1750:
Jimmy W. Wang of Acton, MA (2.5/4.0)

Under 1700 section (12 players):

1st-2nd:
Richard A. Lunetta II of Burlington, MA (3.5/4.0)
George W. R. Duval of Sudbury, MA (3.5/4.0)
Top under 1550:
Nicholas Plotkin of Sharon, MA (2.0/4.0)

Under 1400 section (19 players):

1st-2nd:
Varun P. Palnati of Westford, MA (3.5/4.0)
Tian Rossi of West Newton, MA (3.5/4.0)
Charlie D. Fauman of Newton, MA (3.5/4.0)
Top under 1250:
Valerie Abelis of Newton, MA (3.0/4.0)
Top under 900:
David Todd of Boxford, MA (2.5/4.0)

Kenneth Ballou
Chief TD

The BB&N Scholastic Open was held today, April 13, at Buckingham Browne & Nichols Upper School in Cambridge, MA. A total of 64 entrants competed in six sections.

TD staff: Ken Ballou (chief TD), Maryanne Reilly, Beebe Wiegand, Steve Frymer.

The tournament consisted of six sections:

1. Premier (open to players rated 1400 and above)
2. Classic (open to players rated between 1200 and 1399)
3. Challenge (open to players rated between 1000 and 1199)
4. Reserve (open to players rated between 800 and 999)
5. Novice II (open to players rated between 400 and 799)
6. Novice I (open to players rated between 100 and 399)

Premier (1400+):

1st: Stasik Popov of Wayland, MA (3.0/4.0)
2nd: Nicholas Trieu of Watertown, MA (1.0/4.0)
(two player section)

Classic (1200-1399):

1st: Akshay Saini of Weston, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: Cam Vicars of Newton Centre, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Alexander Sorets of Newton Highlands, MA (3.0/4.0)

Challenge (1000-1199):

1st: Christopher Kuang of Winchester, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: Arnav Ghosh of Winchester, MA (2.5/4.0)
3rd: Mateos Sahakian of Medford, MA (2.0/4.0)

Reserve (800-999):

1st: Ian Delaney of Weston, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: David Todd of Boxford, MA (3.5/4.0)
3rd: Clark Uhl of Marblehead, MA (3.0/4.0)
Medals to:
Thornton Uhl of Marblehead, MA (3.0/4.0)

Novice II (400-799):

1st: Shuvom Sadhuka of Acton, MA (4.0/4.0)
2nd: Lucas Aguirre of Lexington, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Alexander Shih of Andover, MA (3.0/4.0)
Medals to:
Jack Goldsmith of Newton, MA (3.0/4.0)
Kavish Gandhi of Auburndale, MA (3.0/4.0)

Novice I (100-399):

1st: William Wang of Newton, MA (4.0/4.0)
2nd: Jesse Sun of West Newton, MA (4.0/4.0)
3rd: Ayman Quadir of Lexington, MA (3.0/4.0)
Medals to:
Benjamin Wiegand of Cambridge, MA (3.0/4.0)
David Flanagan of Grafton, MA (3.0/4.0)
Youngin Kang of Auburndale, MA

Ken Ballou
Chief TD

Seven players from the Weston (MA) public schools are among those competing in the 2008 National Junior High (K-9) Championship, being held April 4-6 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in Texas. The septet is one of 270 teams from 37 states vying for top honors in one of the largest scholastic tournaments in the nation. The Weston school participants are as follows:

Alexander Kaye (grade 9), rated 1322
Sam Lurie (grade 7) rated 1222
Akshay Saini (grade 7), rated 1129
Jared Groff (grade 3), rated 1124
Daniel Glauber (grade 8), rated 938
Ian Delaney (grade 7), rated 844
Naveed Hedayat (grade 7), rated 811

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Howard W. Cook of Cumberland, RI, a former longtime MACA and USCF member, died on Friday, March 28, in Cortland Place Lifecare Community, in Smithfield, RI. He was 88. Mr. Cook was born in Hyde Park, MA, the son of the late Louis and Dorothy (Wood) Cook, and had lived the past 67 years in Cumberland. He was a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, among the Mayflower passengers who settled Plymouth (MA) Colony in 1620. Mr. Cook was a salesman and a Christmas tree farmer, operating Cook's Christmas Tree Farm. He was a member of the Rhode Island Christmas Tree Growers Association. He was also a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Cumberland. He was a World War II Navy veteran, serving in the Pacific theater. Mr. Cook was known to the chess community as a longtime player, organizer and tournament director. He founded the Sven Brask Chess Club in North Attleboro, MA, which later moved to Plainville, MA. He competed in many tournaments in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with his last being a weeknight tournament at the Sven Brask CC in October 2005. A former certified USCF tournament director, he directed and assisted at many events in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, especially at RI scholastic and open tournaments. He was a frequent participant in the National Opens in Las Vegas, NV, where he also served as an assistant TD. Mr. Cook leaves his wife, Dorothy (Klowan) Cook; two sons, Howard W. Cook Jr. of Marco Island, FL, and John K. Cook of East Greenwich, RI; four grandchildren, Patricia Bruno, Jonathon Cook, Dr. Stephen Cook, Shelby Kornbluth; and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a sister, Muriel Kinder. A funeral service was held April 1 in Emmanuel Episcopal Church followed by burial with military honors in Diamond Hill Cemetery, Cumberland. Donations in his memory may be made to MACA's Living Memorial Chess Fund (LMCF) and mailed to Robert Messenger, MACA Treasurer, 4 Hamlett Drive, Apt. 12, Nashua, NH 03062.

Guest Book - Howard W. Cook

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Massachusetts State Scholastic Team Championship, more commonly known as the Hurvitz Cup, was held March 30 at Natick High School. The event was held in four divisions and drew 46 teams, consisting of a total of 195 players including alternates, and was directed by senior TD Ken Ballou, assisted by Bob Messenger, George Mirijanian, Steve Frymer and Maryanne Reilly.

High School division (12 teams)
1st: Commonwealth School Team B of Boston (Jake Garbarino, Gabriel Frieden, Danny Moraff, Max Ehrman), 4-0
2nd: Brookline High School Team 1 (James Sun, Insik An, Alex Kogan, Eugene Linkov), 3-1
3rd: Weston High School (Ernest Zeidman, Kevin Yue, Travis Nilsson, Jordan Gottlieb), 3-1

Grades 6-9 division (8 teams)
1st: Day Middle School of Newtonville (Winston Huang, Winber Xu, Jacob Fauman, Richard Han), 3-1
2nd: Jonas Clarke Middle School of Lexington (James Lung, Zaroug Jaleel, Darwin Ding, Timothy Lung), 3-1
3rd: Weston School Team 1 (Alexander Kaye, Akshay Saini, Daniel Glauber, Ian Delaney), 2.5-1.5

Grades K-6 division (15 teams)
1st: Buckingham Browne & Nichols School of Cambridge (Nicholas Trieu, Bunnard Phan, Zachary Lovett, Darrith Phan), 3.5-0.5
2nd: Sage School Team A of Foxboro (Clara Wang, Nicholas Plotkin, Bary Lisak, Matthew Lee), 3-1
3rd: Bridge School Team A of Lexington (Jeffrey Yao, Nicholas Zhang, Sabrina Zhang, Ayman Anwar Quadir), 3-1

Grades K-3 division (11 teams)
1st: Buckingham Browne & Nichols School Team 1 of Cambridge (Max Wiegand, William Nemirovsky, Tristan Young, Issay Matsumoto), 4-0
2nd: Cabot Elementary School of Newton (Alex Fauman, Noah Stonehill, Jack Vasu, Louis Torracinta), 3-1
3rd: Carlisle School (Mathew Li, Namita Chandra, Rholee Xu, Steve Li), 3-1

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

A dark grey Old Navy winter jacket was left at Natick High School. Please contact Steve Frymer to retrieve it.

Tiffany Wang
Webmaster

Grandmasters Alexander Ivanov of Newton, MA, and Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott, MA are among 102 players competing in the Frank K. Berry U.S. Championship Qualifier Open, being held March 28-30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is a 7-round Swiss with a guaranteed prize fund of $11,000 that will qualify the top seven scorers to compete in this year's U.S. Championship. Ivanov (2622) and Perelshteyn (2615) are ranked second and third respectively in a master field of 57, headed by GM Julio Becerra of Miami, FL.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The following are the top prize winners from Massachusetts at the 10th Foxwoods Open, held March 19-23 at the Foxwoods Casino & Hotel in Mashantucket, Connecticut:

Open Section
GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, 7-2, 1st-5th prize
GM Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott, 6.5-2.5, 6th-8th prize

Under 2100 Section
Stephen Brudno of Brookline, 5-2, 5th-10th prize

Under 1900 Section
James Lung of Lexington, 5.5-1.5, 3rd-4th prize
Felix Yang of Norwell and Jonathan Poggi of Norton, 5-2, 5th-10th prize

Under 1500 Section
Seyhmus Yuksekkaya of Revere, 5-2, 5th-7th prize
Corey Tolbert, 4.5-2.5, 8th-10th prize

Under 1300 Section
Venkata Vutukuri of Shrewsbury, 4.5-2.5, 9th-10th prize

Under 900/Unrated Section
Larry Urbanski, 5-2, 3rd-7th place, trophy winner

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The April-June 2008 issue of Chess Horizons was delivered to the post office on March 25. Please note that it can sometimes take several weeks to be delivered to certain areas.

Mark Donlan
Chess Horizons Editor

The following are the final point totals for Massachusetts players who competed in the nine-round Open section of this year's Foxwoods Open at the Foxwoods Casino & Hotel in Mashantucket, CT:

7 - GM Alexander Ivanov (2622) of Newton
6.5 - GM Eugene Perelshteyn (2615) of Swampscott
5.5 & IM norm - Christopher Williams (2257) of Brighton
5 - IM David Vigorito (2479) of Lowell
5 - Avraam Pismennyy (2268) of Salem - took half point bye in Round 9
4.5 - Alex Cherniack (2285) of Watertown
4.5 - Libardo Rueda (2206) of Winthrop - withdrew after Round 8
4 - Denys Shmelov (2396) of Pepperell
4 - Leonid Tkach (2122) of Amherst - took half point bye in Round 9
3.5 - FM Paul MacIntyre (2286) of Malden - withdrew after Round 6
3.5 - Sergey Vertkin (2228) - forfeited with no-show in Round 9
2 - Julian Chan (2123) of Boston - withdrew after Round 7
1.5 - Bennet Pellows (2151) of Sharon - withdrew after Round 6

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The 10th Foxwoods Open, held March 19-23 at the Foxwoods Casino & Hotel in Mashantucket, CT, ended in a five-way for first among grandmasters Yury Shulman of Barrington, IL, Alexander Ivanov of Newton, MA, Alexander Shabalov of Pittsburgh, PA, Julio Becerra of Miami, FL, and international master Robert Hess of New York. All tallied 7-2 in an Open section field of 121 players. In an Armageddon playoff game involving the two players with the best tiebreak points, Shulman defeated Ivanov to gain this year's Foxwoods Open championship title. The sensation of the tournament was IM Hess, who achieved a grandmaster norm by defeating four GMs - Ivanov, Keith Arkell, Ildar Ibragimov, and Alexander Stripunsky - and by drawing two others - Darmen Sadvakasov and Mark Paragua. Chris Williams earned an IM norm with score of 5.5 in Open section. A total of approximately 500 players competed in the seven-section tournament, organized and directed by William Goichberg, head of the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Sad news has come to us from John Ogni via Ken Ballou that MACA life member Warren A. Chamandy of Cranston, Rhode Island died at home Tuesday, March 4, at the age of 76. He was born on May 12, 1931 in Providence, the son of the late Sydney and Mary A. (Halley) Chamandy, and had lived there before moving to Cranston in 1993. He graduated from LaSalle Academy. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and following his discharge from the Air Force was a radar systems analyst/trouble-shooter for the Raytheon Company for 35 years before he retired. Mr. Chamandy was a tournament and club chess player for many years. He was a longtime member of the former Gambit Chess Club in Providence and a life member of the U.S. Chess Federation and the Massachusetts Chess Association. Among his tournament successes was winning the New England Class A Championship. The funeral was held Saturday, March 8, with entombment in Our Risen Christ Mausoleum, St. Ann's Cemetery, Cranston.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov of Pennsylvania scored 4.5-0.5 to win the 17th Eastern Class Championship, held Feb. 29-March 2 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, MA. GM Darmen Sadvakasov of Kazakhstan finished second with a 4-1 tally. Tying for third place with 3-2 results were GM Sergey Kudrin of Stamford, CT; Jorge Sammour-Hasbun of Rhode Island; IM James Rizzitano of Southborough, MA; and FMs Braden Bournival of Manchester, NH, and William Kelleher of Watertown, MA. MA players were also among the prize winners in the other sections of the 8-section, 183-player event. Carey Theil tied for 1st-2nd in the Expert section. Gilberto Ballesteros finished 2nd in the Class A section. Michelle Chen, 10, of Concord and Larry Eldridge of West Newton tied for 2nd in the Class B section. Buddhadeb Biswas of Lexington and Corey Tolbert tied for 2nd place in the Class C section, while Patrick Wong tied for 1st in the Class D section. Bill Goichberg directed for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association and was assisted by MACA officer Bob Messenger of Nashua, NH. Complete crosstables are available at http://masschess.org.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Gus Gosselin Grade Championship was held today, March 2, 2008, at Natick High School. The tournament drew exactly 100 players (not counting two no-show forfeits). The tournament directors were Ken Ballou, Donna Alarie, George Mirijanian, and Steve Frymer.

Grades 9-12

1st: Anirudh Arun of Medfield, MA (3.0/4.0)
2nd: Alexander Kaye of Weston, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Nathan Kessel of Natick, MA (2.0/4.0)
Medals awarded to:
Elad Shliselberg of Natick, MA (2.0/4.0)
Jaymin Patel of Natick, MA (2.0/4.0)

Grade 8:

1st: Mustafa Buxamusa of Westford, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: Richard Han of Newton, MA (2.5/4.0)
(no other entrants, so no 3rd)

Grade 7:

1st: Ashvin Nair of Malden, MA (4.0/4.0)
2nd: Akshay Saini of Weston, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Darwin Ding of Lexington, MA (2.5/4.0)
Medals awarded to:
Andrew Robinson of Jamaica Plain, MA (2.5/4.0)
Ryan Saxe of Waban, MA (2.5/4.0)

Grade 6:

1st: Michael Li Wang of Lexington, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: David Ter-Ovanesyan of Newton, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Tian Rossi of West Newton, MA (2.5/4.0)
Medal awarded to:
Anthony Zheng of Westford, MA (2.5/4.0)

Grade 5:

1st: Adam Yee of Andover, MA (4.0/4.0)
2nd: Nicholas Zhang of Lexington, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Mason Liu of Acton, MA (3.0/4.0)
Medal awarded to:
Varun Palnati of Westford, MA (3.0/4.0)

Grade 4:

1st: Siddharth Arun of Medfield, MA (4.0/4.0)
2nd: Eric Chen of Newton, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Akash Purohit of Acton, MA (3.0/4.0)
Medal awarded to:
Jordan Shapiro of Sharon, MA (3.0/4.0)

Grade 3:

1st: Luke Qi of Andover, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: Arnav Ghosh of Winchester, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Sabrina Zhang of Lexington, MA (3.0/4.0)
(no medals awarded)

Grade 2:

1st: Henry Friedlander of Brookline, MA (3.5/4.0)
2nd: Shuvom Sadhuka of Acton, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Brandon Wu of Littleton, MA (3.0/4.0)
Medal awarded to:
Laurie Chen of Concord, MA (3.0/4.0)

Grade 1:

1st: Anton Barash of Brighton, MA (4.0/4.0)
2nd: Alex G. Fauman of Newton, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Jack Goldsmith IV of Newton, MA (2.5/4.0)
(no medals awarded)

Grade K:

1st: Henry Li of Acton, MA (3.0/4.0)
2nd: Justin Wu of Littleton, MA (3.0/4.0)
3rd: Isabella Shih of Andover, MA (2.0/4.0)
Medal awarded to:
Benjamin Wiegand of Cambridge, MA (2.0/4.0)

Sad news has come to us from Jack Correia of the Sven Brask Chess Club in Plainville, MA that Daniel A. Young of North Providence, RI died Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008 at age 57. A native of Providence, Dan was the son of the late David A. and Barbara M. Young. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a staff sergeant. He leaves two brothers: Donald A. Young and David A. Young Jr., and a sister, Jayne D. Young. Dan was a member of the Providence Chess Club for many years. He was later a member of the Sven Brask Chess Club, playing in its club championship in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In February 1992, he tied for first place in the Under 1950 section of the 106th Rhode Island Open state championship, directed by the late Gus Gosselin. As a result of that victory, Dan's USCF rating peaked at 1903. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Wake info and service hours for Dan Young: Maceroni Funeral Home, 1381 Smith St., North Providence, Friday evening 4-7pm followed by a Service at 7:00pm.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

A team consisting of three grandmasters (Zviad Izoria, 24, of New York; Eugene Perelshteyn, 28, of Swampscott, MA; and Roman Dzindzichashvili, 63, reportedly living in Massachusetts) teamed up with 5-year-old Stephen Fanning of Hull, MA to win the 2008 World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East Championship, held Feb. 16-18 in Parsippany, NJ. Bearing the name of "GGGg," the team won all its matches, 6-0. It was intially ranked 47th in a field of 291 teams, with an average rating of 2017. Izoria, Perelshteyn and "Dzindzi" had ratings of 2714, 2592 and 2586 respectively, with Fanning bringing up the rear with a rating 178. Both Perelshteyn and "Dzindzi" tallied 6-0 individual scores for boards 2 and 3 respectively. The prize for the top MA team went to "There Will Be Bloodgood" (GM Larry Christiansen of Cambridge, FM Paul MacIntyre of Malden, Andrew Wang of Sharon, and Natasha Christiansen of Cambridge - all MACA members), who tallied 5-1. They were initially ranked 9th with an average rating of 2197. Also scoring 5-1 but losing out on tiebreak points were the MA-based "Cambridge Springers" (FM William Kelleher, IM Joseph Fang, Leonard Morrissey, Anatoly Levin and alternate WIM Vesna Dimitrijevic.) An excellent performance was turned in by a team from Boston University, "BU Baku," (Melvin Zhang, Roza Eynullayeva, Jacob Schwartzman, Steven Abrahams), who scored 4.5-1.5 and were initially ranked 67th with an average rating of 1909. A record total of 1251 players competed in the three-day event. More than a half-dozen other MA teams participated in the championship.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

International master David Vigorito of Lowell, MA, scored 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the 32nd Queen City Open, held Feb. 9-10 in Manchester, NH. FM Braden Bournival of Manchester tallied 3-1 to take second place. Tied for third place with 2.5-1.5 results were IM Joseph Fang of Nashua, NH; FM John Curdo of Auburn, MA; and Class A contestant John Elmore of Hampton Falls, NH. Boston Globe chess columnist Harold Dondis of Belmont, MA captured first place in the Under 1900 section with a 3.5-0.5 score. Tied for the runner-up position with 3-1 tallies were Eric Blatt of Vermont and Michael Moore of Newburyport, MA. Bruce Stone of New Hampshire was the winner in the Under 1600 section with a 3-1 performance, while 32-year-old Florencio Cecenas of Manchester, NH finished first in the Under 1300 section with a perfect 4-0 score. A one-day event held on Feb. 10 was won by Andrew Tichenor of Brookline, MA. A total of 49 players - 39 in the two-day main event and 10 in the one-day tournament - participated. Hal Terrie of Manchester, NH directed for the sponsoring New Hampshire Chess Association, assisted by John Elmore.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The Massachusetts State Scholastic Singles Championship, better known as the Spiegel Cup, was held Feb. 10 at the Kennedy Senior Center in Natick. In a four-section field of 40 players - 10 players per section - three state champions and two state co-champions were crowned. Christopher Williams, a USCF-rated master from Brighton, won the high school section with a perfect 4-0 score and will represent Massachusetts at the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, Aug. 2-5, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. In a hotly contested Age 14 & under section, Class A players Winston Huang of Newton and James Lung of Lexington shared top honors with 3-1 tallies. Both engaged in a 3-game playoff to determine who would take home the first-place trophy, with Huang winning the decisive "shoot-out" third game and garnering that prize. Ashvin Nair of Malden captured first place in the Age 11 & under section with a 3-1 result, while Danny Angermeier of Franklin took first in the Age 8 & under section with a perfect 4-0 performance. Senior TD Ken Ballou directed. A complete report on the tournament, listing all trophy and medal winners as well as a selection of games and photos, will be published in the April-June issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn, MA, and fellow MACA member Douglas Fiske of West Hartford, CT, tied for 1st place in the 17th Mid-Winter Classic, held Jan. 20 at the Florence Civic Center in Northampton, MA. Both tallied 2.5-0.5, drawing each other in the final round. Antonio Laudati of Florence scored 2.5-0.5 to finish first in the Under 1600 section, while Joseph Vigue, a MACA member from Hinsdale, NH, posted a perfect 3-0 to capture first place in the Under 1400 section. The three-section event drew 28 players and was directed by Frank Kolasinski, vice president of the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

Chess Horizons is looking to increase its coverage of scholastic events in Massachusetts. If you are interested in submitting articles relating to scholastic news and events, please contact the editor via our contact form.

Mark Donlan
Chess Horizons Editor

Click here to read this story on AP.

A special tribute to Fischer will appear in the April-June 2008 issue of Chess Horizons.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

The 4th and final qualifying tournament for the Massachusetts State Scholastic Championship/Spiegel Cup was held Jan. 13 at Natick High School. The event drew 110 players in six sections: High School (13 players), Age 14 & Under (21 players), Age 11 & Under (35 players), Age 8 & Under (16 players), Novice U800 (13 players) and Novice U400 (12 players). Charliam He, 14, of Acton won the High School section and an invitation to the state finals by scoring 3.5-0.5. Taking the 2nd-place trophy on tiebreak points with a 3-1 tally was Reilly Nathans, 16, of Newton Centre. Larry Zhu, 15, of Wellesley also scored 3-1 and took home the 3rd-place trophy. Winning a medal, also with a 3-1 performance, was Gabriel Frieden, 18, of Cambridge. Jacob Fauman, 12, of Newtonville won the Age 14 & Under section with a perfect 4-0 score and will be invited to the state finals. Mustafa Buxamusa, 13, of Westford was second with a 3.5-0.5 tally. Winning third place on tiebreak points with a 3-1 result was Darwin Ding, 12, of Lexington. Dan Wang, 12 of Newton also scored 3-1 and took home a medal. In the Age 11 & Under section. Nicholas Zhang, 10, of Lexington and Luke Lung, 9, of Boxborough tied for the top spot in the Age 11 & Under section with identical 4-0 scores, with Zhang winning a playoff match for first place and an invitation to the state finals and Lung taking home the 2nd-place trophy. Capturing third place on tiebreak with a 3-1 performance was Nicholas Plotkin, 9, of Sharon. Also scoring 3-1 and winning medals were David Ter-Ovanesyan, 11, of Newton; Changmng Xu, 10, of Carlisle, Matthew Lee, 9, of East Walpole; and Andrew Marshall, 11, of Newton. William Nemirovsky, 8, of Boston tallied a perfect 4-0 to win first place in the Age 8 & Under section and an invitation to the state finals. Taking second place on tiebreak with a 3-1 score was Sandeep Vadlamudi, 7, of Sharon. Also tallying 3-1 and winning third place was Luke Qi, 8, of Andover. Allen Li, 11, of Lexington scored 4-0 to win first place in the Novice U800 section. Taking second place on tiebreak with a 3-1 performance was Naveed Hedayat, 12, of Weston. Third place went to Kavish Gandhi, 10, of Auburndale, also scoring 3-1. Monica Jane Alves, a 9-year-old student from Mansfield, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the Novice U400 section. Capturing second place on tiebreak with a 3-1 score was first-time player Rohan Shankar, 10, of Sudbury. Also scoring 3-1 and taking home the 3rd-place trophy was another first-time player, Christopher Templeton, 7, of Waltham. MACA tournament coordinator Ken Ballou was the chief TD and was assisted by fellow MACA officials Bob Messenger, Steve Frymer, Maryanne Reilly and George Mirijanian.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator