After 27 calendar 2011 events the final results are in!


PETER TEODORESCU         37.5    20   1st
MAXWELL WANG             26.5    10   2nd
BENJAMIN BO LU           25.5    10   3rd

Steve Frymer
MACA Correspondent

Bob Messenger
MACA Board Member

The July - Oct 2011 issue of Chess Horizons is available now. Please click here to read it online or download the full issue in PDF here. 

Tiffany Wang
MACA Webmaster

MACA has back issues of Chess Life going back to the early 1960's, back issues of Chess Review going back to the mid 1940's, and back issues of Chess Horizons going back to the 1970's.

If interested contact Steve Frymer at <sfrymer at rcn dot com>.

Prices negotiable.

Steve Frymer
MACA Board Member

Spiegel Cup / State Singles Championship Invitation - likely invitee listed updated. Please click here to view the most updated list.

Steve Frymer
MACA Board Member

The April – June 2011 issue of Chess Horizons is now available online on the MACA web site.

Bob Messenger
MACA Board Member

Bob Messenger
Chief TD

Robert Hungaski, a 23-year-old international master from Milford, Connecticut and a student at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, achieved one of the greatest tournament triumphs in his career by winning the 4th annual New York International, which ended today at the Manhattan campus of St. John's University in New York City. Hungaski finished the event with an astounding score of 8-1 (seven wins, two draws) - a full 1.5 points ahead of his closest rival! The victory netted him a first prize of $5,000 and, more importantly, his second grandmaster norm. He achieved his first GM norm in August 2007, when he won a gold medal for the United States by leading the national team to victory at the Pan-American Junior Championship in Riobamba, Ecuador. He needs only one more GM norm to achieve the prestigious Grandmaster title from the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Hungaski, who was born on Dec. 8, 1987 in Stamford, Conn. and has been playing in USCF-rated tournaments since Dec. 18, 1999 - when he competed in the Fairfield County Open in Danbury, Conn., gained quickly a Class B rating at the age 12. His first major tournament in Massachusetts was the 2001 U.S. Open in Framingham, where he competed still as a Class B player. He became an "A" player in January 2002, an expert in August 2002 at the U.S. Open in Cherry Hill, N.J., a master at the 2005 World Open, and a senior master at the 2009 World Open.  Among his tournament triumphs in the Bay State are tying for first place in the BU Open in November 2010 in Boston and also tying for first place in the 2010 Eastern Class Championships in Sturbridge. In the 4th New York International, he tallied an outstanding record aginst grandmasters, of whom he faced five. His victims included Uzbekistan GM Timur Gareyev of Texas (round 3), Georgian GM Mikheil Kekelidze of New York (round 4), GM Sergey Kudrin of Stamford, Conn. (round 7), and GM Alexander Shabalov of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (round 8). He drew GM Jaan Ehlvest of New York in round 6 and defeated USCF senior master Parker Bi-Guang Zhao of New York, an untitled FIDE player, in the final round. Finishing as runner-up in the championship was GM Ehlvest, who scored 6.5-2.5 and took home $2500 in prize money. Hungaski is one of the highest achievers among New England players. As a member of Phi Beta Kappa, one of the oldest and most prestigious academic national honor societies, at UConn at Storrs, he led his college team to victory as the top college in the 2011 World Amateur Team Championship in February in New Jersey.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Sunday Quick Play Tournament, held June 19 at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, ended in a three-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 2-1 were Class A player Warren Mackenzie of Providence, R.I., Class C contestant Paul Gavlick of North Providence, R.I., and Class D participant Tal Puhov, 11, of Shrewsbury, Mass. , the last of whom defeated Gavlick in round 1 but lost to Mackenzie in the final round. The Game/40 tournament drew seven players, including the tournament director playing an extra-rated game with one of the entrants. MACA member David Harris of Providence was the TD.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Mauricio Ruiz, a national master from North Providence, Rhode Island, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Under 2400 section of the CMC Saturday Action Tournament on June 18 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, R.I. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 score was national master Lawyer Times of Hyde Park, Mass., who drew Ruiz in round 3. Cristian Estrada of Central Falls, R.I, was the winner in the Under 1900 section, where he posted a perfect score of 4-0. The two-section, Game/30 event drew 24 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Peter Teodorescu, a 14-year-old MACA member from Marlborough, chalked up a perfect score of 4-0 to win the 61st Chelmsford Burger King Tournament on Sunday, June 12. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 results were a couple of fellow MACA members: Jonathan Yin, 9, of Acton (who lost to Teodorescu in round 3) and Alissa Kong, 11, also of Acton, who lost to Teodorescu in round 2 and gained a full-point bye in the final round. The tournament drew seven players and was directed by Matthew Gosselin of Beverly for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the BCF Tornado #107 on Saturday, June 18, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying as runners-up with scores of 3-1 were David Finol of Boston, a 17-year-old FIDE master from Venezuela who lost to Chase in the final round, experts Mika Brattain of Lexington and Farzad Abdi of Rockland, as well as Class B player Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton. The tournament drew 22 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Waltham Chess Club's Stanley Cup Game/60 Tournament, held Friday night, June 17, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham ended in a four-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 2-0 were USCF life senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose, and experts Andrew Liu, 12, of Westborough and Jesse Nicholas, 18, of Newton. The event, celebrating the Boston Bruins' win of the Stanley Cup, drew 21 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Masters from Massachusetts will be among the nearly 200 players expected to take part in the 4th annual New York International tournament, which gets under way today at noon at the Manhattan campus of St. John's University in New York City. The tournament, which has a projected prize fund of $40,000 ($25,000 guaranteed), has currently about 160 advance entrants. Organized by the world famous Marshall Chess Club in New York and sponsored by the Marshall Chess Foundation and St. John's University, the event will have among its participants 11-time Massachusetts state champion GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass., national masters Alex Cherniack of Waltham, Mass., formerly of Watertown, Mass., and Andrew Wang of Cambridge, Mass., as well as FIDE master Teddy Coleman, a student at Harvard University. The tournament, which will have two additional sections (Under 2200 and Under 1800), is a 9-round Swiss that will end on Tuesday, June 21. Among those competing in the Under 2200 section is Frank Wang, father of NM Andrew Wang.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Muharrem Brahimaj, an expert from Worcester, tallied 3-1 to win the Greater Worcester Chess Club's "Mayte in Four Open," held Thursday nights, May 5-26, at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. Tying as runners-up with scores of 2.5-1.5 were FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn (who lost to Brahimaj in round 2) and expert Joshua Marcus of Worcester (who defeated Brahimaj in round 3 but lost to Curdo in the final round). Henry Liu, a 9-year-old MACA member from Northborough, was the winner in Section 2, where he scored 3.5-0.5. As a result of his performance, Liu gained a Class C rating for the first time in his career - advancing from a rating of 1284 to 1478 for a gain of 194 rating points! Capturing second place with a 3-1 result was Class B player Richard Marseglia of Worcester, who was held to a draw by Liu in round 2. The two-section tournament drew 15 players and was directed by Donna Alarie of Rutland, assisted by Robert King of Worcester, for the sponsoring ChessPals affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert Louis Petithory, a 66-year-old MACA member from Cheshire, Mass., tallied 3-1 to finish as one of four runners-up in the Schenectady Open, held Sunday, June 12, at the Studio of Bridge & Games in Schenectady, New York. Petithory, who is well known as a correspondence player, was playing for first place going into the final round of the tournament. But he lost to fellow expert Patrick Chi of New York, who won the event with a perfect 4-0 score. Chi was last seen in New England playing in the 80th Massachusetts Open in Marlborough. The Schenectady Open drew a total of 46 players in three sections and was directed by Bill Goichberg for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 12th annual Paramount Tournament, which began Feb. 28 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, came to an end Monday night, June 13. The event, which was the brainchild of Boylston CC life member Bryan Clark of Las Vegas and first adopted in 2000, pits players homogeneously by rating into sections where double round robins are conducted. The most recent event saw expert Edward Astrachan, a MACA member from Waban, tally 7 points in 8 games (6 wins, 2 draws, no losses) to take first place in the top section. Khikmet Sadykov, a Class B player from Medford, scored 8.5 points in 12 games (8 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) to capture first place in Section 2. The tournament drew 14 players and was directed by Boylston Chess Foundation treasurer Robert Oresick of Norton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Fitchburg Access Television (FATV), one of the leading PEG (public, educational and governmental) cable access TV stations in Massachusetts, released today on its Video on Demand the latest episode of "Chess Chat." The program, produced by members of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University, features an interview done by Chess Chat co-host Martin Laine with Dr. Frank Brady, author of the Bobby Fischer biography "Endgame." The show begins with a video of a book-signing done by Brady several months ago at the Barnes & Noble Booksellers in New York City and displays various photos of Fischer and Brady himself during the subsequent interview. At the end of the program, several photos of Fischer from his March 2, 1964 simultaneous exhibition in Fitchburg are shown. The program can be accessed by visiting http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1757/Chess_Chat_June_6,_2011/

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Robert Bagdasaryan was a big winner in Las Vegas, Nevada. The player from Cranston, Rhode Island, who has only been playing in USCF-rated tournaments since August 2010, scored 5.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 2000 section of the National Open that ended Sunday, June 12, at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. Bagdasaryan gained 135 rating points to boost his national rating to 2025 and took home $3,600 in prize money. Another New England player who gained a substantial prize was expert John Elmore of Stratham, New Hampshire, who tallied 5-1 (four wins, two draws) to tie for 2nd-3rd place in the Under 2200 section of the tournament. Elmore, who is president of the New Hampshire Chess Association and directs tournaments at the Newburyport Chess Club in Massachusetts, boosted his USCF rating to 2104 - a gain of 69 points. The National Open had a total of 614 players, 92 of whom competed in the Under 2200 section and 120 of whom participated in the Under 2000 section.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmasters Alexander Ivanov of Newton and Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott tallied 3-1 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the Seacoast Open on Saturday, June 11, at the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Finishing out of the prize money in a tie for third place with scores of 2.5-1.5 were international master David Vigorito of Somerville (who beat Perelshteyn in round 2 but lost to Ivanov in the final round) and FIDE master Nelson Castaneda of New Britain, Connecticut (who defeated Ivanov in round 2, drew Vigorito in round 3 and lost to Perelshteyn in the final round). Also tying for third place with 2.5-1.5 results but splitting the Under 2300 prize were expert Patrick Sciacca of Salem, N.H. (who lost to Perelshteyn in round 2) and Class A player John Gaspar of Berwick, Maine (who lost to Vigorito in round 1). Blake Gendron of Greenland, N.H. won first place in the Under 1900 section with a score of 3.5-0.5. Matthew Manzo, a 12-year-old MACA member from Beverly, Mass., posted the same score to win first place in the Under 1250 section. The three-section tournament drew 45 players, including one entrant who played just an extra-rated game, and was directed by associate national TD Alex Relyea of Bedford, N.H. He was assisted by club TD Eugene Tappen of New London, N.H.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Charles Riordan and Christopher Chase, both of Somerville, tied for first place in the BCF Somerville Open on Saturday, June 11, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. The two FIDE masters posted scores of 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in round 3. Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester chalked up a score of 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 1800 section, where his result earned him a Class A rating of 1808 for the first time in his chess-playing career. The two-section tournament drew 24 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National masters Miro Reverby of Providence, Rhode Island and Lawyer Times of Hyde Park, Mass. split the top prize in the Under 2400 section of the CMC Saturday Action Tournament on June 11 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence. Both tallied 3-1, with Times losing to Reverby in the final round. Daniel Bromberg of Cambridge, Mass.  and Cameron Pita of Central Falls, R.I. scored 3-1 to split the top prize in the Under 1900 section, with Pita upsetting Bromberg in the final round. The Under 1400 section ended in a two-way tie for first place between Rhode Island scholastic players Cale McCormick and Artiom Sorokin. Both posted scores of 3.5-0.5. The three-section tournament drew 29 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis of Rhode island, who played an extra-rated game with one of the contestants.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Miro Reverby of Providence, Rhode Island scored 2.5-0.5 to win the Blackstone Rapids tournament on Saturday, June 11, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. The event drew only four players, with two additional entrants playing a side game. MACA member David Harris of Providence directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Miro Reverby chalked up another tournament victory - this time winning the Greater Providence Open on Sunday, June 12, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. The 41-year-old national master from Providence scored 3.5-0.5 in a field of 10 players. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were expert David Harris of Providence, who lost to Reverby in the final round, and Class A player Philip Noll of Rhode Island, who lost to Harris in the second round. David Harris directed the event.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF life senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win the Waltham Chess Club's June Game/20 Tournament on Friday night, June 10, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were international master Jonathan Yedidia of Cambridge, FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose (who beat Yedidia in round 3 but lost to Shmelov in the final round), expert Andrew Liu of Westborough and Class A entrant Yuriy Zhaurov of Waltham (who lost to Shmelov in round 2). The tournament drew 22 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Alon Trogan, a 10-year-old MACA member from Needham tallied a perfect 3-0 to win the 21st Papa Gino's Open on Sunday, June 5, at the restaurant in Waltham. Finishing as runner-up with a 2-1 score was fellow MACA member Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough, who lost to Trogan in the second round. The tournament drew six players and was directed by Matthew Gosselin of Beverly for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Donna Alarie of Rutland tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Greater Worcester Chess Club's May Quick Chess Open, held Thursday nights, May 5-26, at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. Robert King of Worcester, who lost to Alarie in the second round, finished as runner-up with a score of 3-1. The tournament drew 13 players, including three first-time players, and was directed by Alarie for the sponsoring ChessPals affiliate

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Three MACA members are among the more than 600 players competing in the National Open now under way at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament, one of America's longest-running premier Open events - first established in 1965 - is being held June 10-12 as part of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival. Among the entrants are MACA life members John Elmore of Stratham, New Hampshire and John Ogni of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, as well as longtime MACA member Natasha Christiansen of Cambridge, Mass. In addition, three other players from New England - Robert Bagdasaryan of Cranston, Rhode Island, Gordon Gribble of Hanover, New Hampshire and Paul Budney of Sunderland, Mass. - are competing in their respective Under sections of the tournament.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass. wasted no time in heading back to the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, where he posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win the CMC Saturday Swiss on June 4 - five days after he had won for the third year in a row the Massachusetts Open  in Marlborough, Mass. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were national master Miro Reverby of Providence (who lost to Ivanov in the final round), fellow NM Chris Williams of Brighton, Mass. (who lost to Ivanov in round 3), and expert Joseph Perl of Watertown, Mass. (who lost to Reverby in round 3). Four Rhode Island scholastic players tied for first place in the Under 1900 section with scores of 3-1. They were Ryan Sowa of North Kingstown, Sam Adofo of Central Falls (who won by forfeit against Sowa in the final round), Freddy Monteiro, also of Central Falls, and Niloy Singh. The Under 1400 sections also saw a tie for first place among three Rhode Island scholastic players: Christopher Tien, Xiaoyi Wu and Grant Whitney. All tallied 3-1. The three-section, Game/30 tournament drew 35 players and was directed by MACA life member Matthew Phelps of Groton, Mass., assisted by Frank DelBonis of Rhode Island, for the sponsoring CMC-LLC affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The documentary "Bobby Fischer Against the World" makes it debut tonight at 9 p.m.. ET on HBO. The film chronicles the complex life of America's most talked about chess player, Robert James Fischer - from his meteoric rise in the 1950s, culminating in his historic 1972 world championship match with Boris Spassky in Iceland, as well as his shocking withdrawal from competition and the paranoia that derailed his life. Directed by Liz Garbus, the one and three-quarter hour film draws on a wealth of archival footage, along with never-before-seen photographs, creating a searing portrait of a brilliant but elusive man whose life was shattered by obsession and mental instability. A must-see for all serious chess players.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Quads, held Saturday, June 4, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville drew 16 players in four sections. All quad winners finished with perfect scores of 3-0. Winning Quad 1 was international master Jonathan Yedidia, a MACA member from Cambridge. Class A player Terrence Fricker of Belmont was the winner in Quad 2. Class B entrant and MACA member Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester finished first in Quad 3, while fellow MACA member David Elkin of Warwick, Rhode Island captured first place in Quad 4. As a result of his performance, the last player was able to regain the Class C rating that he once had more than four years ago. Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton directed the Game/60 event.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

MACA members Cory Silva of Fall River, Tal Puhov of Shrewsbury and Paul Gavlick of North Providence, Rhode Island tied for first place in Sunday Quick Play #5 on June 5 at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. All tallied 2-1. In games among themselves, Puhov defeated Gavlick (round 1), Silva beat Puhov (round 2), and Gavlick downed Silva (round 3). The Game/40 event drew only four players and was directed by fellow MACA member David Harris of Providence, R.I.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF life senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell scored 6.5-0.5 to win the Waltham Chess Club's First Friday Tournament #110 on June 3 at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose, who lost to Shmelov in round 3, finished in second place with a 6-1 tally. Ending up in third place with a 5-2 result was expert Andrew Liu of Westborough, who lost to both Shmelov and Winer. Expert Sebastian Gueler of Natick, who held Shmelov to a draw but lost to Winer, captured 4th place with a score of 4.5-2.5. Tying for 5th place with 4-3 performances were expert Joshua Marcus of Worcester (who lost to Shmelov, Winer and Gueler) and Class B entrant Jesse Klimov of Waban (who lost to Marcus and Winer). The quick-rated Game/10 tournament drew 18 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham, the newly elected MACA clerk.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Massachusetts Chess Association released today figures for its total number of members and non-members. The figures reflect membership totals as of May 26, 2011.

• 93 Adult members (receiving Chess Horizons online)
• 122 Adult members (receiving printed Chess Horizons)
• 0  Family members
• 265 Junior members (receiving Chess Horizons online)
• 75 Junior members (receiving printed Chess Horizons)
• 141 Life members (receiving Chess Horizons online)
• 77 Life members (receiving printed Chess Horizons)
• TOTAL MEMBERS = 773
•  
• 1 Affiliate
• 6 Complimentary
• 16 Exchanges
• 5 Libraries
• 262 Prison (receiving printed Chess Horizons)
• 24 Subscribers (receiving printed Chess Horizons)
• 29 Other Subscribers
• TOTAL NON-MEMBERS = 343
•  
• GRAND TOTAL = 1,116
•  
• Gains were made from May 2010 in adult members receiving Chess Horizons online (+82) and junior members receiving printed Chess Horizons (+56) and life members receiving printed CH (+16). Biggest loss was adult members receiving printed Chess Horizons (-74).

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Benjamin Swiszcz, a 16-year-old Class B player from Cumberland, Rhode Island and the author of the recently published paperback book "A Guide to Chess Success," tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Cranston-Warwick Chess Club's "Quick Knight Tournament" on Tuesday night, May 31, at the Garden City Center in Cranston, R.I. Tying as runners-up with scores of 3-1 were fellow "B" player Richard Dusza, 64, of Riverside, R.I. (who lost to Swiszcz in round 3) and Class C contestant Paul Gavlick, 81, of North Providence, R.I. (who held Swiszcz to a draw in the final round). The quick-rated Game/20 event drew 12 players and was directed by Mark Neale of Middletown, R.I.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are winners in top sections of USCF-rated tournaments held in May at various chess clubs in Massachusetts:

• MCC 27th Anniversary Swiss (MetroWest CC, Natick, 73 players): IM James Rizzitano, 4.5.0.5
• BCF May $10 Open (Boylston CC, Somerville, 42 players): NM Christopher Gu, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Grand Prix #5 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 30 players): IM Jonathan Yedidia, 4-0
• Sven Brask Chess Club Championship (Plainville, 24 players): Andrew Hoy (club champion), David Harris, 5.5-1.5
• Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #106 (21 players): Patrick Sciacca, 6-1
• Waltham Triskaidekaphobia #9 Game/13 (Waltham CC, 20 players): SM Denys Shmelov, FM Steven Winer, 6-1
• Waltham First Friday Tournament #109 (Waltham CC, 17 players): FM Steven Winer, 6.5-0.5
• BCF Quads (Boylston CC, Somerville, 17 players): IM Jonathan Yedidia, 2-0
• Waltham Mid-Spring Game/60 (Waltham CC, 15 players): SM Denys Shmelov, Todd Chase, 2-0
• Mayte in Four Open (Greater Worcester CC, 15 players): Muharrem Brahimaj, 3-1
• May Quick Chess Open (Greater Worcester CC, 13 players): Donna Alarie, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Thursday Night Swiss (Boylston CC, Somerville, 12 players): IM Jonathan Yedidia, 4-0
• MetroWest Chess Club Championship (Natick, 6 players): IM Igor Foygel, 5-0
• MetroWest Chess Club Class Championship (Natick, 6 players): Robert Harvey, 3.5-1.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are the results of the 80th Massachusetts Open Scholastic K-6 tournament, held Monday, May 30, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The event drew 31 players in two sections and was directed by Brian Mottershead of Carlisle.

• UNDER 1400 SECTION (13 players)
• 1st: Yi Yang (first-time player), 12, of Shrewsbury, 4-0
• 2nd: Ari Xuan, 9, of Boxborough, 3-1
• 3rd: Alan Sikarov, 9, of Newton, 3-1
•  
• UNDER 800 SECTION (18 players)
• 1st: Eric Zhang, 7, of Dover, 4-0
• 2nd: Gene Kuperman, 9, of Brookline, 3.5-0.5
• 3rd: Jason Liang, 8, of Worcester, 3-1

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master James Rizzitano of Southborough scored 4.5-0.5 to win the Metrowest Chess Club's 27th Anniversary Swiss, held Tuesday nights, May 3-31, at the temporary senior center in Natick. National master Vadim Martirosov of Allston, who lost to Rizzitano in round 3, finished in second place with a 4-1 tally. Tying for third place with 3.5-1.5 results were national master Ilya Krasik of Newton (who drew Rizzitano in round 2 and lost to Martirosov in the final round), FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn (who lost to Rizzitano in round 4), and national master Miro Reverby of Providence, Rhode Island (who lost to Krasik in round 4). Paul Felker of Arlington won the Under 2000 section with a score of 4-1. Steve Eddins of Milford tallied a perfect 5-0 to win the Under 1700 section, while Tom Iversen of Hopkinton was the winner in the Under 1400 section with a performance of 4.5-0.5. The tournament drew 73 players, including one contestant who played just an extra-rated game, and was directed by national TD Ken Ballou of Framingham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Igor Foygel of Brookline posted a perfect score of 5-0 to win the 2011 Metrowest Chess Club Championship, a six-player round robin played Tuesday nights, May 3-31, at the temporary senior center in Natick. Finishing as runner-up with a 4-1 tally was national master Lawyer Times of Hyde Park. Class A player Robert Harvey, a MACA life member from Lexington, was the winner of the six-player round-robin MCC Class Championship, scoring 3.5-1.5. Tying as runners-up with 3-2 tallies were fellow MACA life member Mark Kaprielian of Framingham and MACA member Neil Cousin of Franklin. National TD Ken Ballou of Framingham directed the club championships, assisted by MACA life member Matthew Phelps of Groton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov performed the "classic hat trick" this past Memorial Day weekend, winning for the third consecutive year the Massachusetts Open. The 55-year-old GM from Newton tallied 5-1 (four wins, two draws) in an Open section field of 34 players to claim first place in the 80th Mass. Open, held May 28-30 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. It was Ivanov's 11th state championship victory since 1988. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with scores of 4.5-1.5 were 2007 Mass. Open winner IM David Vigorito of Somerville (who lost to Ivanov in round 4), six-time Mass Open winner IM Igor Foygel of Brookline (who drew Ivanov in round 5 and Vigorito in round 6), as well as Matthew Derek Meredith of West Hartford, Connecticut, who - as an expert - was also the top-scoring Under 2300 player and gained a master rating of 2205 for the first time in his tournament career. Posting 4-2 scores and sharing the 2nd Under 2300 prize were national master Stuart Finney of Barrington, Rhode Island and experts Libardo Rueda of Winthrop, Mika Brattain of Lexington and Grant Xu of Shrewsbury. Also scoring 4-2 but finishing out of the prize money was 2008 Mass. Open winner, USCF life senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, who drew Ivanov in round 3, lost to Vigorito in round 5, and drew Meredith in round 6, as well as FIDE master Charles Riordan of Somerville, who lost to Vigorito in round 2 and to Ivanov in the final round. A total of 123 players competed in the MACA-sponsored four-section tournament, which was directed by USCF senior TD Bob Messenger of Nashua, New Hampshire. He was assisted by national TDs Ken Ballou of Framingham and George Mirijanian of Fitchburg. Additional assistance was provided by Brian Mottershead of Carlisle. Roughly one out of four players - 32 in all - won prize money. Because of the increased attendance, the prize fund was totally guaranteed and raised to more than $5000 - a record for a Mass. Open tournament. Many thanks are given to MACA life member Walter Champion of Wellesley, who made generous donations to the tournament to assure that all the top place prizes in the Open section were guaranteed and that participants were eligible for an additional $750 in special game prizes for the "Most Interesting Games" in each section as well as each section winner receiving a 3-DVD set of GM Patrick Wolff's "Improve Your Chess.". Complete listings of prize winners in the other sections will be issued in a subsequent release.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are the prize winners in the Under 2100, Under 1800 and Under 1500 sections of the 80th Massachusetts Open, played May 28-30 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough:

• UNDER 2100 SECTION (23 players)
• 1st-2nd: Jason Rihel of Cambridge and Scott Didham of Sharon, 4.5-1.5
• 3rd: Alonzo Ross of Shrewsbury, 4-2
• 1st-2nd U1950: George Winsor of South Easton and Valentin Levin of Lynn, 4-2
•  
• UNDER 1800 SECTION (38 players)
• 1st-2nd: Mateos Sahakian of Medford and Cornel of Osadsa of North Grafton, 5-1
• 1st U1650: Jesse Klimov of Waban, 4.5-1.5
• 3rd/2nd U1650: Brian Smith of Connecticut, Thomas Sifter of Quincy, Kevin Hu of Sharon, Cory Silva of Fall River, Jason Tang of Belmont, 4-2
•  
• UNDER 1500 SECTION (28 players)
• 1st: Robert E. King of Plymouth, 5.5-0.5
• 2nd/1st U1350: Jenny Qiu of Acton, Eric Hu of Sharon, 4.5-1.5
• 3rd: Anton Barash of Brighton, Sean Blaisdell of Revere, Eric Soli of Westford, 4-2
• 3rd/2nd U1350: Brian Santiago of Springfield, Brandon Wu of Littleton, 4-2
• 1st U1200: Adam Weiss of Natick, 4-2
• 2nd U1200: Justin Lin of Lexington, Samuel Qiu of Acton, 3.5-2.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The final two rounds of the 80th Massachusetts Open will be played today, Monday, May 30, at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The six-round state championship has a total of 123 players competing in four sections. MACA, along with MACA life member Walter Champion of Wellesley, is offering an increased, record-breaking total prize fund of $5,000 to sectional winners. After four rounds of play, the sectional leaders are as follows:

• OPEN SECTION (34 players)
• GM Alexander Ivanov (2608) of Newton, 3.5-0.5
• Denys Shmelov (2530) of Pepperell, 3.5-0.5
• IM Igor Foygel (2515) of Brookline, 3.5-0.5
• IM David Vigorito (2535) of Somerville, 3-1
• FM Charles Riordan (2440) of Somerville, 3-1
• FM Nelson Castaneda (2342) of New Britain, Conn., 3-1
• Matthew Derek Meredith (2119) of West Hartford, Conn. 3-1
•  
• UNDER 2100 SECTION (23 players)
• Jason Rihel (1970) of Cambridge, 3.5-0.5
• Leonid Tkach (2025) of Amherst, 3-1
• Scott Didham (1930) of Sharon, 3-1
• Robert J. King (2005) of Worcester, 2.5-1.5
• John Elmore (1991) of Stratham, N.H., 2.5-1.5
• Alonzo Ross (1960) of Shrewsbury, 2.5-1.5
• Valentin Levin (1919) of Lynn, 2.5-1.5
• Nicholas Plotkin (1791) of Sharon, 2.5-1.5
• Jeffrey Yao (1766) of Lexington, 2.5-1.5
•  
• UNDER 1800 SECTION (37 players)
• Mateos Sahakian (1670) of Medford, 3.5-0.5
• Jesse Klimov (1647) of Waban, 3.5-0.5
• Cornel Osadsa (1603) of North Grafton, 3.5-0.5
• Mark Kaprielian (1787) of Framingham, 3-1
• Brian Smith (1731) of Connecticut, 3-1
•  
• UNDER 1500 SECTION (28 players)
• Robert E. King (1391) of Plymouth, 4-0
• Samuel Qiu (1045) of Acton, 3.5-0.5
• Aashish Welling (1427) of Nashua, N.H., 3-1
• Eric Soli (1363) of Westford, 3-1
• Brandon Wu (1266) of Littleton, 3-1
• Jenny Qiu (1215) of Acton, 3-1
• Adam Weiss (1165) of Natick, 3-1

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grant Xu, a 13-year-old expert from Shrewsbury, chalked up a score of 8.5-1.5 to win the Massachusetts Open Blitz Championship, held Sunday night, May 29, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Capturing second place with a score of 7.5-2.5 was fellow expert Sherif Khater of Nashua, New Hampshire. Tying for the top under 2100 prize with 6-4 tallies were expert Robert J. King of Worcester and Class A player Andrew Liu of Westborough. The state blitz championship drew nine players and was directed by MACA tournament committee chairman Bob Messenger.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are the results of the 80th Massachusetts Open Scholastic K-3 tournament, held Sunday, May 29, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The event drew 26 players in two sections and was directed by Brian Mottershead of Carlisle.

• UNDER 1200 SECTION
• 1st: Eric Feng, 9, of Sudbury, 4-0
• 2nd: Matthew Ding, 8, of Westford, 3-1
• 3rd: Rohan Krishnan, 9, of Hopkinton, 2-2
•  
• UNDER 600 SECTION
• 1st: Daniel Wang, 6, of Lexington, 4-0
• 2nd: Ryan Saklad, 9, of Sudbury, 3-1
• 3rd: Daniel Shih, 9, of Acton, 3-1
• Medal winners: Audrey Gaines, 9, of Shrewsbury and Jason Liang, 8, of Worcester, 3-1

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 80th Massachusetts Open got under way Saturday, May 28, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Players squared off in the first two rounds of the annual six-round state championship, which is being held in four sections with more than 100 players. Not counting players who are joining the tournament today in a two-day schedule, the sectional leaders after two rounds of play are as follows:

• OPEN SECTION
• GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, 2-0
• IM David Vigorito of Somerville, 2-0
• Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, 2-0
• FM Charles Riordan of Somerville, 2-0
• FM Christopher Chase of Somerville, 2-0
• FM John Curdo of Auburn, 1.5-0.5
• Libardo Rueda of Winthrop, 1.5-0.5
•  
• UNDER 2100 SECTION
• Scott Didham of Sharon, 2-0
• Leonid Tkach of Amherst, 1.5-0.5
• Robert J. King of Worcester, 1.5-0.5
• John Elmore of Stratham, N.H., 1.5-0.5
• Jason Rihel of Cambridge, 1.5-0.5
•  
• UNDER 1800 SECTION
• Mark Kaprielian of Framingham, 2-0
• Mateos Sahakian of Medford, 2-0
• Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester, 2-0
• Daniel Tiedemann of Southborough, 1.5-0.5
• Cornel Osadsa of North Grafton, 1.5-0.5
• Cory Silva of Fall River, 1.5-0.5
•  
• UNDER 1500 SECTION
• Robert E. King of Plymouth, 2-0
• Brandon Wu of Littleton, 2-0
• Aashish Welling of Nashua, N.H., 1.5-0.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are the results from the 80th Massachusetts Open Scholastic K-12 tournament, held Saturday, May 28, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Tournament director was Brian Mottershead of Carlisle, assisted by David Yasinovsky of Newton. A total of 32 players competed.

• UNDER 1500 SECTION
• 1st: Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough, 3.5-0.5
• 2nd: Changming Xu, 13, of Carlisle, 3-1
• 3rd: Jesse Sun, 10, of Sudbury, 3-1
• Medal winners: Leonardo Cheng, 10, of Westford and Alexander Kaye, 18, of Weston, 3-1
•  
• UNDER 1000 SECTION
• 1st: Adam Maimon, 12, of Weston, 4-0
• 2nd: James Cassidy, 13, of Westwood, 3-1
• 3rd: Luke Randolph, 7, of Jamaica Plain, 3-1
• Medal winners: Justin Lee, 12, and David Maimon, 12, both of Weston, 3-1

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The follwing are the results from the 2011 MACA Election, as reported by Ken Belt (Elections Commissioner) and commission member Nita Patel, and Bob Messenger. Tellers were Ken and Maureen Belt, and Nita Patel. A total of 666 ballots were mailed and 108 ballots were received, with one ballot ruled invalid for voting for too many candidates for director. Candidates are listed with vote totals. Winning candidates are listed in boldface.

• PRESIDENT
• George Mirijanian 96
• Ken Ballou 1
• Maryanne Reilly 1
• John Elmore 1
•  
• VICE PRESIDENT
• Steve Frymer 97
• Bill Kelleher 1
•  
• TREASURER
• Bob Messenger 104
• Brian Mottershead 1
•  
• CLERK
• Nicholas Sterling 93
• Stephen Dann 1
• Beebe Wiegand 1
•  
• DIRECTORS
• Larry Eldridge 81
• Stephen Dann 74
• Walter Driscoll 74
• Ken Belt 73
• Robby King 63
• Dan Sullivan 63
• Nicholas Sterling 58
• Brian Mottershead 55
• Peter Majahad 49
•  
• All eight bylaws amendments were ratified, i.e. reducing the size of the board, changing the quorum for board meetings, board majority action by writing, president not on Elections Commission, online voting, 10 votes needed for director, board taking office at end of annual meeting, and eliminating references to appointed officers.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 80th Massachusetts Open, which is being played Saturday through Monday, May 28-30, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough, has players from all over the Bay State coming to compete in either the two-day or three-day schedule for the main event and young players coming to participate in each of the daily scholastic events. Players from the following Massachusetts cities and towns will be among the participants:

• Acton, Allston, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Auburn, Belmont, Billerica, Boxborough, Bradford, Brighton, Brookline, Buzzards Bay, Cambridge, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Clinton, Cohassett, Concord, Dedham, Dover, East Wareham, Fall River, Framingham, Hyannis, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Leominster, Lexington, Littleton, Lynn, Marlborough, Medfield, Medford, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newton, Northborough, North Grafton, Otter River, Pepperell, Plymouth, Quincy, Revere, Rockport, Salem, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Somerville, Southborough, South Easton, South Grafton, Springfield, Sudbury, Waban, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Westford, West Newton, Weston, Westwood, Winthrop, and Worcester.
• In addition, there will be players from New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and even Florida (!)

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Patrick Sciacca, an expert from Salem, New Hampshire, tallied 6-1 to win Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #106, played Thursday nights, April 7-May 26, at Hope Community Church in Newburyport, Mass. Fellow expert John Elmore, a MACA life member from Stratham, N.H. finished second with a score of 5.5.1.5, including a win against Sciacca in round 4. Class A contestant Richard Judy of York Beach, Maine ended up in third place with a 5-2 result, including a loss to Sciacca in round 2 and a draw with Elmore in the final round. The tournament drew 21 players, including one participant who played just an extra-rated game, and was directed by John Elmore.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Sinclair Banks of Dighton scored a perfect 4-0 to win the Blackstone May Swiss, held Thursday nights, May 5-26, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Expert David Harris of Providence, R.I., who lost to Banks in round 3, finished as runner-up with a 2.5-1.5 tally. The tournament drew nine players, including two participants who played only extra-rated games, and was directed by David Harris.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 80th Massachusetts Open (state championship), which will be played Saturday through Monday, May 28-30, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough, is offering the largest guaranteed first prize in Mass. Open history. Thanks to the generosity of MACA life member Walter Champion of Wellesley, MACA is able to offer a guaranteed first prize of $1000 as well as a guaranteed second prize of $400 and third prize of $200. The total prize fund for the four-section tournament is $4500 based on 100 paid entries, 75 percent guaranteed. In addition, there are attractive "Most Interesting Game" prizes donated by Mr. Champion for each section. The following are state champions (Mass. Open winners) who are among those expected to compete in this year's tournament.. Champions are listed in order of the number of times they have won the Mass. Open - either outright or shared (=).

• FM John Curdo of Auburn (17 times): 1948, 1949=, 1955, 1957, 1958=, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1975=, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985 - already entered in advance for championship
• GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton (10 times): 1988=, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003=, 2004, 2005=, 2006, 2009, 2010= - already entered in advance for championship
• IM Igor Foygel of Brookline (6 times): 1992=, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005=, 2010= - already entered in advance for championship
• IM James Rizzitano of Southborough (4 times): 1981, 1983, 1986=, 1987 - not playing
• GM Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott (once): 1996 - not playing
• IM David Vigorito of Somerville (once): 2007 - already entered in advance for championship
• USCF life senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell (once): 2008 - already entered in advance for championship
• FM William Kelleher of Watertown (once): 1992= - already entered in advance for championship

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Thursday, May 26, is the deadline to register in advance online to play in the 80th Massachusetts Open and save money on the entry fee. Players should visit the MACA Website at http://masschess.org for complete tournament details and for registration using PayPal. Two- and three-day schedules are available to all. The tournament will be held Saturday through Monday, May 28-30, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Jonathan Yedidia of Cambridge won the BCF Thursday Night Swiss, held May 5-26 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Yedidia, who is competing in this weekend's 80th Massachusetts Open in Marlborough, posted a perfect score of 4-0 to claim first place in the Thursday night event. Class A player Ted Cross of Arlington, who lost to Yedidia in the second round, finished in second place with a 3-1 tally. Tying for third place with 2.5-1.5 results were Class B participant (now rated Class A) Brian Perez-Daple of Brookline (who lost to Yedidia in round 1) and fellow "B" player Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton. The tournament drew 12 contestants, including one first-time player, and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Andrew Hoy of Mansfield and MACA member David Harris of Providence, Rhode Island both scored 5.5-1.5 to tie for first place in the Sven Brask Chess Club Championship, held Wednesday nights, April 6-May 25, at United Methodist Church in Plainville. Harris tallied 5 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss (to Hoy in round 6), while Hoy posted 4 wins, 2 draws and one half-point bye. As a result of Hoy's win over Harris, Hoy was declared the 2011 club champion. The tournament drew 24 players and was directed by MACA member James Aspinall of Mansfield.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Frank Vogel III, a Class B player from North Kingstown, Rhode Island, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Cranston-Warwick Chess Club's May Tournament, held Tuesday nights, May 3-24, at the Garden City Center in Cranston, R.I. Tying as runners-up with scores of 3-1 were fellow "B" players Richard Dusza of Riverside, R.I. (who lost to Vogel in the final round) and Earl Salisbury of Warwick, R.I. (who lost to Dusza in round 3). The tournament drew 14 players and was directed by John Magill of North Kingstown.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The CMC Saturday Swiss, held on May 21 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, drew 39 players in three sections. Tying for first place in the Under 2400 section with scores of 3-1 were expert Daniil Mosiyenko of West Warwick, R.I. and national master Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. (who lost to Mosiyenko in round 3).  Finishing as runner-up with a 2.5-1.5 tally was woman grandmaster Anya Sun Corke, a student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts (who beat Mosiyenko in the final round). Nicholas Plotkin of Sharon, Mass. and Matthew Phelps of Groton, Mass. tied for first place in the Under 1900 section. Both scored 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round. Niloy Singh of Rhode Island posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win first place in the Under 1400 section. First-time player Ian MacDonald of Rhode Island was runner-up with a 3.5-0.5 result. MACA life member Matthew Phelps directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

TUESDAY, MAY 24, is the deadline to use the U.S. Postal Service to mail advance entries for the 80th Massachusetts Open. The tournament will be held Saturday through Monday, May 28-30, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. Two- and three-day schedules are available. Complete details of the tournament are found on the MACA Website at http://masschess.org and also on the USCF Website as well as in Chess Life. Mailed advance entries need to be postmarked by May 24. Players, however, can enter online using PayPal on the MACA Website. Those entries should be received by THURSDAY, MAY 26. Discounts on the entry fees are available to several categories of players. Check tournament details for special discounts.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE masters Nelson Castaneda of New Britain, Connecticut and John Curdo of Auburn, Mass. tied for first place in the 44th Western Massachusetts Open, held Saturday, May 21, at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke. Both scored 2.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round. Brian Santiago of Springfield, Mass. and Robert Walton Jr. of New Hampshire tied for first place in the Under 1600 section. Both tallied 2.5-0.5 and drew each other in the last round. The two-section tournament drew 20 players (13 from Mass., 6 from Connecticut and 1 from New Hampshire) and was directed by MACA life member David Hall of Springfield for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association (WMCA).

George Mirijanian
MACA President

With only two low-rated masters in the field, Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton had little difficulty in winning the 19th annual New York State Open, held May 20-22, at the Tiki Resort in Lake George, New York. The 10-time Massachusetts state champion scored 4.5-0.5 to take home first prize. Finishing as runner-up with a 4-1 tally was expert Mike Lucente of Florida. The Seniors section saw a three-way tie for first place among Class A contestants Harold Stenger of New York and Walter Stephan Sr. of New Jersey, as well as Class B participant Michael Corrigan of Vermont. All three scored 4-1. The Under 1610 section saw a four-way tie for first place among Ansgarius Aylward, Brian Clark and Aanarian Stevens, all of New York, and Mario Russo of Connecticut. All four tallied 4-1. The three-section tournament drew 66 players and was directed by Steve Immitt for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Harrison B. Wheeler, a high school senior from Connecticut, won the Connecticut K-12 Schoiastic Championship on Saturday, May 21, at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. Wheeler, who is known in the World Chess Federation (FIDE) as Harry Broach Wheeler, posted a perfect score of 4-0. He is a three-time Greater Area Danbury High School champion and the winner of the 2008 Connecticut State High School Championship. He will be attending Columbia University in New York City in the fall. Three players finished behind Wheeler in the standings - all with scores of 3.5-0.5. They were FIDE master Daniel Rozovsky of West Hartford, Conn., expert Michael Finneran, a junior at Fairfield Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, Conn., and Class B player Timothy Lung, 14, of Lexington, Mass. According to the rules, the 2nd- and 3rd-place trophies were to be decided by a Game/60 playoff. All three players agreed to come on Sunday, May 22, for the playoff, but Rozovsky called in before the playoff to say that he was not coming. As a result, he was awarded 4th place. In the playoff, Lung defeated Finneran to win the 2nd-place trophy. Lung gained the most number of rating points in the tournament - more than 100. Among his games was an upset win over a master, a draw with an "A" player, and finally a win against an expert, who was the reigning Connecticut high school champion. The tournament drew 36 players - 30 from Connecticut and six from Massachusetts. Timothy Hartley, assisted by Kevin Zimmerman, directed the tournament for the sponsoring UConn Chess Club on behalf of the UConn School of Engineering.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Christopher Gu, a 12-year-old national master from Wakefield, Rhode Island, scored 3.5-0.5 to finish first in the BCF May $10 Open on Saturday, May 21, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose (who opted for a half-point bye in the final round), national master Avraam Pismennyy of Salem (who lost to Gu in round 2), and fellow NM Carey Theil of Arlington (who drew Winer in round 2 and Gu in the final round). Winner with a perfect 4-0 score in the Under 1800 section was Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester. The two-section tournament drew 42 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Peter Teodorescu, a 14-year-old MACA member from Marlborough, scored a perfect 4-0 to win the 8th annual Wacky May Scholastic Tournament on Saturday, May 21, at the Wells Memorial School in Harrisville, New Hampshire. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were Nashua N.H. students Coby O'Young (who lost to Teodorescu in round 3) and Anson O'Young (whom Teodorescu defeated in round 2). The Novice section ended in a two-way tie for first place between Granite State players Peter Walter and Andrew Plummer. Both finished with scores of 4-1, with Walter beating Plummer in round 3. The two-section tournament drew 16 players and was directed by Vincent Bradley Jr., assisted by Thomas Cassar, for the sponsoring Wells Memorial School Chess Club

George Mirijanian
MACA President

MACA member David Harris of Providence, Rhode Island reports that FIDE master David Griego of Providence took top honors in the Blackstone Spring Fling, held Satuday, May 21, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Griego won 9 out of 10 games to capture clear first. The event was a 6-player double round robin with a time control of game in 7 minutes. National master Sinclair Banks of Dighton and fellow NM Miro Reverby of Providence shared second place with a score of 7 wins and 3 losses. Banks took the only point from Griego, splitting the two games they played.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF senior life master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell and expert Todd Chase of Weston tallied 2-0 to tie for first place in the Waltham Chess Club's Mid-Spring Game/60 Tournament on Friday night, May 20, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Tying as runners-up with 1.5-0.5 results were FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose and Class A player Michael Gosselin of Needham, both of whom drew each other in the second round. The tournament drew 15 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Connecticut Open State Championship, held Saturday, May 14, at the Hopkins School in New Haven, was the strongest in the state's history. Among the 25 players in the Open section were five grandmasters, two international masters, two life masters and four national masters. Winning the event was Georgian GM Giorgi Kacheishvili, a resident of New York, who tallied 3.5-0.5. Tying as runners-up with scores of 3-1 were GM Aleksandr Lenderman of New York (who lost to Kacheishvili in round 3), GM Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott, Mass. (who lost to Kacheishvili in round 2), Georgian GM Mikheil Kekelidze of New York (who drew Kacheishvili in the final round), IM Justin Sarkar of New York (who lost to Lenderman in round 2), and Romanian-born IM Bogdan Vioreanu, a graduate student in mathematics at Yale University who netted the state championship title as the highest-scoring Connecticut player. In a 10-player Under 1600 section, an untitled FIDE-rated player from Turkmenistan now living in Connecticut was allowed to enter the section. Arslan Otchiyev, FIDE rated at 2373, captured first place with a perfect 4-0 score. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 result was another contestant playing in his first USCF event, Mihai Barbu of Connecticut, formerly of Romania. The 35-player tournament was directed by Jim Celone of Orange, Conn. for the sponsoring Educational Technologies CC on behalf of the Connecticut State Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Today, Wednesday, May 18, is the deadline for reserving hotel rooms at the chess rate for the 80th Massachusetts Open (State Championship) at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, 181 Boston Post Road West (Route 20), Marlborough. The room rate is $89 per night for a single or double room. One should phone the hotel at 508-460-0700 or 888-543-9500 and mention the chess tournament in reserving a room. The state championship is being held May 28-30 at the hotel. There are 3-day and 2-day schedules for the main 6-round tournament, as well as scholastic tournaments all three days (K-12 on May 28, K-3 on May 29, and K-6 on May 30). For complete details, see TLA in Chess Life or tournament flyers on MACA Website at http://masschess.org For questions, e-mail info@masschess.org

George Mirijanian
MACA President

 Through 8 events:

Steve Frymer
Assistant TD

Alan Sikarov, 9, of Newton posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win the Papa Gino's Open, held at the restaurant in Waltham on Sunday, May 8. Tying for second place with 3-1 tallies were Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough (who lost to Sikarov in round 2) and Uri Kreitner, 8, of Brookline (who lost to Sikarov in round 3). The tournament drew six players and was directed by Matthew Gosselin of Beverly for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Miro Rverby, a national master from Providence, Rhode Island, posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win the Pawtucket Open on Sunday, May 15, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Tying for second place with 2.5-1.5 results were expert David Harris of Providence, Class A contestant Philip Noll of Rhode Island (who lost to Reverby in round 2), fellow "A" player Dustin Huguenin of Gales Ferry, Connecticut (who drew Noll in the final round), and Class B participant John Terrall of Gales Ferry (who lost to Reverby in round 1). The Game/40 tournament drew 11 players and was directed by David Harris.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Varun Palnati won the 3rd Future Chess Champions Open on Sunday, May 15, at the Excelsior Learning Center in Malden. The 13-year-old MACA member from Westford chalked up a perfect score of 4-0 and in the process attained a USCF Class B rating for the first time in his tournament career. Runner-up with a a 3-1 score was fellow MACA member Nithin Kavi, 9, of Acton, who lost to Palnati in the second round. The event drew nine contestants, including one first-time player, and was directed by Kent Leung of Salem for the sponsoring International Chess Institute. Besides the players from Westford and Acton, participants came from Boston, Brookline, Charlestown, Cohassett, Marlborough, and Durham, New Hampshire.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton scored 3.5-0.5 to win the White River Open on Saturday, May 14, at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in White River Junction, Vermont. Capturing second place with a 3-1 tally was USCF senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, who played Ivanov to a draw in round 3. Tying for third place with 2.5-1.5 results were international master Danny Kopec of Merrick, New York (who drew Shmelov in round 2 and lost to Ivanov in round 4), national master Hal Terrie of Manchester, New Hampshire (who lost to Ivanov in round 2), and Class A contestant John Elmore of Stratham, N.H. (who lost to Shmelov in round 1 and drew Terrie in round 3). Elmore also finished as the highest-scoring player under 2000. Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, Vt.  posted a perfect 4-0 score to win first place in the Under 1750 section. Tying for second place with 3-1 tallies were fellow Vermont players Michael Corrigan and Doug Ryan as well as Aashish Welling of Nashua, N.H. The two-section tournament drew 23 players, with one additional entrant - assistant TD Nita Patel of Bedford, N.H. - playing two extra-rated games. Associate national TD Alex Relyea of Bedford, N.H. directed the event for the sponsoring Relyea Chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Jonathan Yedidia of Cambridge swept to victory on Saturday, May 14, winning the BCF Grand Prix #5 with a perfect score of 4-0 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 tally was national master Avraam Pismennyy of Salem, who lost to Yedidia in round 3. The Under 1800 section ended in a three-way tie for first place among Robert Holmgren of Wayland, Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester (who lost to Holmgren in round 3), and Lee Dailing of Manchester, New Hampshire, who beat Holmgren in the final round. All three scored 3-1. The two-section tournament drew 30 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Ilya Krasik of Newton tallied 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 2400 section of the CMC Saturday Action Tournament on May 14 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. Tying for second place with scores of 2.5-1.5 were fellow national masters Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass., Mauricio Ruiz of North Providence and Miro Reverby of Providence, as well as expert Daniil Mosiyenko of West Warwick, R.I., and Class A entrant Neil Fachon of East Greenwich, R.I. Harold Vander Reyl of Massachusetts won first place in the Under 1900 section with a perfect 4-0 performance. Dylan Humphries of Central Falls, R.I. was runner-up with a 3-1 result. Freddy Monteiro of Rhode Island also posted a perfect 4-0 score to win first place in the Under 1400 section. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were Daniel Shimberg of East Greenwich and Amy Jian Jie Ferreira of Massachusetts. The tournament drew 39 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 5th Battleship Cove Tournament, held Saturday, May 14, at Battleship Cove in Fall River, attracted only eight players. Winning the event with a score of 3.5-0.5 was Yang Ming Zou of Rhode Island. Tying for second place with 3-1 tallies were Peter Teodorescu of Marlborough, who drew Zou in round 1, and Alexander Berezovsky of Pawtucket, R.I., who lost to Teodorescu in the second round. Frank DelBonis directed the tournament for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association. The event was established in the preceding decade by the late New England chess organizer and director Gilbert F. "Gus" Gosselin (1926-2007) of Malden, formerly of New Bedford.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Class A player Steven Abrahams, a former student at Boston University, tallied 7-3 in a six-player double round robin to win the Portland Quick Chess Marathon on Saturday, May 14, at the campus center of Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. Tying for second place with scores of 6.5.3.5 were MACA life member Alan Schalk, an expert from Berwick, Maine, and Class A rival Matthew Fishbein of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Brett Parker of Cape Elizabeth scored 8-2 to win first place in the six-player double round-robin Under 1500 section. Runner-up with a 6.5-3.5 performance was William Bonney of Kennebunk, Maine. The two-section, Game/15 tournament was directed by Philip Lowell Jr. of Westbrook, Maine for the sponsoring Maine Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Waltham Chess Club's Triskaidekaphobia #9 Game/13 Tournament on Friday night, May 13, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham ended in a three-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 6-1 were USCF senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose and expert Todd Chase of Weston. In games among themselves, Chase beat Shmelov in round 3 but lost to Winer in round 4. Shmelov defeated Winer in round 5. The quick-rated event drew 20 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Massachusetts Chess Association released today a list of the state's highest-rated most active players who are current members of the U.S. Chess Federation. Players are listed with their official June USCF ratings. Included are only those masters who are registered as Massachusetts residents with the USCF and who have played in one or more events in the USA since Jan. 1, 2011. Rating points gained or lost from the previous rating list, i.e. May, are given in parentheses.

• 1. GM Larry Christiansen of Cambridge - 2648  (-15)
• 2. GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton - 2627  (+19)
• 3. GM Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott - 2594  (+17)
• 4. IM Marc Esserman of Somerville - 2541  (no change)
• 5. IM David Vigorito of Somerville - 2537  (+2)
• 6. Denys Shmelov of Pepperell - 2530  (no change)
• 7. IM Igor Foygel of Brookline - 2506  (-9)
• 8. FM Steven Winer of Melrose - 2437  (+2)
• 9. FM William Kelleher of Watertown - 2385  (+5)
• 10. FM Christopher Chase of Somerville - 2374  (-13)
• 11. FM Jacob Chudnovsky of Somerville - 2371  (no change)
• 12. IM James Rizzitano of Southborough - 2354  (+10)
• 13. FM Oliver Kniest of Boston - 2335  (no change)
• 14. WGM Anya Sun Corke of Wellesley - 2327  (no change)
• 15. Avraam Pismennyy of Salem - 2326  (-4)
• 16. Max Enkin of Peabody - 2309  (no change)
• 17. FM Paul MacIntyre of Malden - 2307  (no change)
• 18. Vadim Martirosov of Allston - 2303  (+34)
• 19. Alex Cherniack of Watertown - 2302  (no change)
• 20. FM John Curdo of Auburn - 2269  (+12)
• 21. Ilya Krasik of Newton - 2265  (+14)
• 22. Lawyer Times of Hyde Park - 2254  (+17)
• 23. Andrew Wang of Cambridge - 2250  (no change)
• 24. GM Arthur Bisguier of Wellesley - 2225  (+5)
• 25. Carey Theil of Arlington - 2208  (no change)

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Fitchburg Access Television (FATV), one of the leading PEG (public, educational and governmental) cable access TV stations in Massachusetts, released today on its Video on Demand the latest episode of "Chess Chat." The program, produced by members of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University, focuses on the upcoming 80th Massachusetts Open (state championship), which will be played May 28-30 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The show presents photos of some of the past and present state champions, including GM Alexander Ivanov, IM Igor Foygel, IM David Vigorito, senior master Denys Shmelov, and FM John Curdo. The program's hosts analyze a game that Ivanov played against Curdo from the 1990 New England Open in Worcester. The program can be accessed by visiting http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1659/Chess_Chat_May_2,_2011/

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Students from Massachusetts were among the prize winners in the 2011 National Elementary (K-6) Championship, held May 6-8 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Taking home trophies were three Bay State players. MACA member Andrew Liu, a sixth grader at the Mill Pond School in Westborough, tallied 6-1 to tie for second place and capture the 4th-place trophy on tiebreak points in a field of 166 players in the K-6 Championship section. Justin Paik, a fifth grader at the Cottage Street School in Sharon, scored 6-1 to finish in second place in the K-6 Unrated section, which had 79 players. MACA member Nithin Kavi, a third grader at the Conant School in Acton, chalked up a score of 5.5-1.5 to finish 12th on tiebreak in a field of 245 players in the K-3 Championship section. The Bay State was represented by 12 other players from four other schools in the state, including Milton Academy (7 players), Cabot Elementary in Newton (2 players), Littleton public schools (2 players), and Derby Academy in Hingham (1 player).

Addition from Eric Fauman:

Just an addition to George's note on the National Elementary Championship in Texas this weekend, Alex Fauman also picked up a trophy, for 30th place out 276 kids in the K-5 championship with a score of 5-2. 
http://www.alchess.com/chess/11/elem/?page=WINNERS&xsection=K5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Steven Winer chalked up another triumph at the Waltham Chess Club. The 30-year-old Melrose resident tallied 6.5-0.5 to win the Waltham First Friday Tournament #109 on May 6 at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Expert Sebastian Gueler of Natick, who drew Winer in round 5, finished second with a score of 6-1. Senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, who drew Gueler in round 3 but lost to Winer in round 4, ended up in third place with a 5.5-1.5 performance. The quick-rated Game/10 tournament drew 17 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF senior master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, a graduate student in actuarial science at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, chalked up a perfect score of 5-0 to win the UConn Chess Club Championship, played Thursday nights, March 31-April 28, at the university. Tying as runners-up with 3-2 tallies were national master Alex Fikiet (who lost to Shmelov in round 2) and Class A player Tom Hartmayer, both of Storrs, as well as fellow Class A contestant Joseph Dixon of Connecticut. The club championship had eight players and was directed by Tom Hartmayer.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton scored 3.5-0.5 to win the CMC Saturday Action Tournament on May 7 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. FIDE master William Kelleher of Watertown was runner-up with a 3-1 tally. Jonathan Poggi of Norton finished first in the Under 1900 section with a perfect score of 4-0. Runner-up with a 3-1 result was John Perrotta of Providence, who lost to Poggi in the second round. The Under 1400 section ended in a two-way tie for first place between Kaushik Nimmagadda of North Smithfield, R.I. and fellow Rhode Island player Cameron DiGiovanni. They tallied 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round. The Game/30 tournament drew 43 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Holbrook Community and Access Media (H-CAM), a commnity PEG (public, educational and governmental) access television station in Holbrook, Massachusetts is the latest TV station in the commonwealth that has started televising episodes of "Chess Chat." This program, produced at Fitchburg Access Television (FATV) by members of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University, is now seen five times a week on H-CAM on Channel 9: Sundays at 8 p.m., Mondays at 3 p.m., Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Thursdays at 10 a.m., and Fridays at 7 p.m. The latest episode focuses on the upcoming 80th Massachusetts Open (state championship), which will be played May 28-30 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough. The program's hosts discuss several past and present state champions, including GM Alexander Ivanov, IM Igor Foygel, IM David Vigorito, senior master Denys Shmelov and FM John Curdo.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Quads, held Saturday, May 7, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville drew 17 players in four sections. Winning Quad 1 with a 2-1 score was international master Jonathan Yedidia of Cambridge. Quad 2 ended in a three-way tie for first place among Class A player Joseph Dixon of Connecticut and Class B entrants Harold Dondis of Belmont and Mike Griffin of Quincy. The trio tallied 2-1. Jerry Williams of Douglas captured first place in Quad 3 with a 3-0 score. In a five-player Swiss section, Class C contestant Varun Palnati of Westford ended up first with a 3-0 result. Benardo Iglesias of Stoughton was the tournament director.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Experts Patrick Sciacca of Salem, New Hampshire and Arthur Nugent of Beverly tied for first place in the Billerica Chess Club's April Swiss, played Friday nights, April 1-May 6 at the senior center in Billerica. Both tallied 5-1, including a draw with one another in the penultimate round. Tying as runners-up with scores of 4-2 were Class A player Tim Bromley of Billerica and Class B contestant Meyer Billmers of Lexington. The tournament drew 21 players and was directed by Nathan Smith of Derry, N.H.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

A team of "MIddle Agers" scored three match wins to take first place in the Generations Team Tournament, played Tuesday nights, April 19-May 3, at the New Britain Chess Club at the Assyrian Club in New Britain, Connecticut. Posting perfect scores of 3-0 for the "Middle Agers" were FIDE master Richard Bauer of Wolcott, Conn., and Douglas Fiske and Laurent Lafosse, both of West Hartford, Conn. The tournament drew 24 players and was directed by Michael Pascetta of South Glatonbury, Conn.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Christopher Gu, a 12-year-old national master from Wakefield, Rhode Island, scored 4.5-0.5 to win the 2011 Rhode Island State Championship, held April 30-May 1 at Rhode Island College in Providence. National master Mauricio Ruiz of North Providence, who drew Gu in the fourth round and was celebrating his 31st birthday, finished second with a 3.5-1.5 tally. Fellow national master Miro Reverby, 41, of Providence ended up in third place with a 3-2 performance. He drew Ruiz in the final round. Winning first place in the Under 1900 section with a score of 4.5-0.5 was Philip Noll of Rhode Island. The two-section tournament drew 29 players, with two additional entrants playing side games, and was directed by Frank Vogel III for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Vermont vs. The Rest of the World event, held Saturday, April 30, at the Hampton Inn in Brattleboro, Vermont, drew 21 players - including the tournament director playing an extra-rated game - in two sections. Vermont contestants prevailed in both sections. Winning the six-player Open section wtih a score of 2.5-0.5 was Green Mountain State Class B player Michael Corrigan. Fellow "B" player Edward Harris of New Hampshire, who lost to Corrigan in the final round, finished second with a 2-1 tally. In the 14-player Under 1520 section, William Cheney of Pawlet, Vermont and Max Sewell of Peterborough, New Hampshire tied for first place with scores of 3--0. Vincent Bradley III of Massachusetts directed the tournament for the sponsoring Litchard Chess Society. Participants came from three New England states: Vermont (14), New Hampshire (5), and Massachusetts (2).

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are winners in top sections of USCF-rated tournaments held in April at various chess clubs in Massachusetts:

• MCC April Fools Swiss (MetroWest CC, Natick, 78 players): IM James Rizzitano, 3.5-0.5
• Wachusett CC Championship Prelims (Fitchburg, 29 players): Robert J. King, Bruce Felton, Trevor Bierig, 4-1
• BCF Spring Open (Boylston CC, Somerville, 25 players): Jesse Nicholas, 4-0
• Waltham Marathon Game/60 (Waltham CC, 23 players): FM Steven Winer, Simon Slutsky, 2-0
• BCF Tornado #106 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 22 players): NM Eric Godin, 3-1
• BCF Grand Prix Series 4 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 21 players): NM Avraam Pismennyy, 4-0
• BCF Quads (Boylston CC, Somerville, 21 players): Tony Blum, 2.5-0.5
• Billerica April Swiss (Billerica CC, 21 players): Patrick Sciacca, Arthur Nugent, 5-1
• Waltham First Friday #108 (Waltham CC, 20 players): FM Steven Winer, 7-0
• BCF Swiss #30 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 19 players): NM Eric Godin, 3.5-0.5
• Waltham Game/20 (Waltham CC, 17 players): FM Steven Winer, 4-0
• Absolutely Awesome April Open (Greater Worcester CC, 15 players): Muharrem Brahimaj, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Thursday Night Swiss (Boylston CC, Somerville, 12 players): NM Eric Godin, 3.5-0.5
• April Quick Chess (Gr. Worcester CC, 10 players): R. King, A. Ross, D. Alarie, H. Liu, T. Puhov, P. Lei, 2-2

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Avraam Pismennyy, a 73-year-old MACA member from Salem, chalked up a perfect 4-0 score to win the BCF Grand Prix Series 4 tournament on Saturday, April 30, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were Grant Perks of Columbus, Ohio and Steven Stepak of Cambridge. The event drew 21 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert Muharrem Brahimaj, a 71-year-old MACA member from Worcester, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Absolutely Awesome April Open, played Thursday nights, April 7-28, at the Greater Worcester Chess Club at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. FIDE master John Curdo, 79, of Auburn was second with a score of 3-1. Third place with a 2.5-1.5 result was captured by expert Robert J. King, 27, of Worcester, who drew Curdo in round 3 but lost to Brahimaj in the final round.  Worcester players dominated the second section. Louis Jacques was first with a 3.5-0.5 result. Mark Marshall was second with a 2.5-1.5 score. Gregory Przygoda, who lost to Jacques in round 2 and Marshall in the final round, finished third with a 2-2 performance. The two-section tournament drew 15 players and was directed by Donna Alarie of Rutland, assisted by Robert J. King,  for the sponsoring ChessPals affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

As part of its effort to bring more chess to the Green Mountain State, the Litchard Chess Society of Vermont is holding its Vermont vs. The Rest of the World competition on Saturday, April 30, at the Hampton Inn, 1378 Putney Road, in Brattleboro, Vermont (1/2 mile north of I-91 exit 3). The USCF-rated tournament consists of 3 rounds in two sections: Open and Under 1520. In both sections, each Vermonter will play one non-Vermonter twice and another non-Vermonter once. Surplus players will play in a mini-tourney "on the side." Merchandise prizes will be awarded to all. The door entry fee is $18 and registration at the site is 8:40-9:40 a.m. Rounds will be at 10 a.m., 1:50 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. Time control is Game/80. Tournament director is Parker Montgomery of Middlebury, Vermont, greenmonty@earthlink.net, 802-877-6336. Telephone number of playing site is 802-254-5700.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Standings through 8 events/17 April 2011:

• NIKITA ROLDAN-LEVCHENKO, 6, of Allston......................20.5          7
• PETER TEODORESCU, 14, of Marlborough.......................20.5          7
• JASON JIAXIN LIANG, 8, of Worcester...............................14.0          6
• DANIEL WANG, 6, of Lexington.........................................12.5          6
• ANSH JETLY, 12, of Shrewsbury.........................................9.5          4
• SHUVOM SADHUKA, 11, of Acton......................................8.0          2
• BEN CHEN, 8, of Weston...................................................7.0           3
• PRAKALYA CHANDRASEKAR, 12, of Ashland....................7.0           3
• MAXWELL WANG, 8, of Acton............................................6.5           2
• CHENEY ZHANG, 9, of Winchester......................................6.0           2
• JOSEPH WEINSTEIN, 9, of Sudbury....................................6.0           2
• BENJAMIN BO LU, 7, of Acton.............................................6.0          3
• SHRUNOTHRA SAN, 12, of Ashland.....................................6.0          3

Steve Frymer
Assistant TD

Expert David Harris, a 57-year-old MACA member from Providence, Rhode Island, scored 3.5-0.5 to win the Blackstone Spring Swiss, held Thursday nights, April 7-28, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 2.5-1.5 tallies were national master Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass. (who lost to Harris in the final round) and Class B entrant James Rush of Rhode Island. The tournament drew eight players and was directed by David Harris.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Eric Godin tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the BCF Thursday Night Swiss, played April 7-28 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying as runners-up with scores of 2.5-1.5 were Class B participants Seth Lieberman of Jamaica Plain and Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton. The tournament drew 12 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Wachusett Chess Club Championship is set to begin at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, at the McKay Campus School at Fitchburg State University. The "A" Division finals will be a 10-player round robin, with contestants coming from the club championship prelims that started March 30 and ended on April 27. Qualifying for the championship are the following players:

• 1st-3rd: Robert King of Worcester, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, Trevor Bierig of Sterling, 4-1
• 4th-7th: George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, Larry Gladding and Ken Gurge, both of Leominster, Michael Manisy of Otter River, 3-2
• 8th-10th: Martin Laine of Lunenburg, Leonard Arsenault of Leominster, George Miller of Ashburnham, 2.5-2.5

A total of 29 players competed in the prelims. Approximately 20 players are expected to take part in the club's "B" Division finals, which will be a nine-round Swiss starting on May 4. The club is honored to have the services of USCF-certified senior tournament director Robert Messenger of Nashua, New Hampshire as the chief TD of this year's club championship. Mr. Messenger holds the distinction of directing more tournaments  than any other certified TD in New England ih the past 20 years. He has been chief TD of nearly 250 tournaments and has directed more than 1700 sections in 355 events and has worked a total of more than 1800 sections in nearly 370 tournaments on the East Coast since January 1991.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Jim Rizzitano, a MACA life member from Southborough, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the MetroWest Chess Club's April Fools Swiss, held Tuesday nights, April 5-26, at the temporary senior center in Natick.  Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 3-1 scores were FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn (who drew Rizzitano in the final round) and national master Benjamin Goldberg of Cumberland, Rhode Island. Sharing 4th-6th place with 2.5-1.5 results were IM Igor Foygel of Brookline (who drew Goldberg in round 2), GM Arthur Bisguier of Wellesley (who drew Goldberg in round 3 and Foygel in the final round), and expert Jesse Nicholas of Newton (who lost to Curdo in round 3). MACA member Neil Cousin of Franklin and Ames Abbot of West Newton scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the Under 2000 section. MACA junior member Jason Tang, 8, of Belmont posted a perfect 4-0 score to win the Under 1700 section. Runner-up with a 3.5-0.5 tally was David W. Martin of Acton. Laura Brisbois, 15, of Framingham chalked up a score of 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 1400 section. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 results were Kenneth Brisbois of Framingham (who lost to Laura in the final round), Ruslan Shamayev (who was playing in his third MCC tournament since January), and Tim Iversen of Hopkinton. The four-section tournament drew 78 players and was directed by national TD Ken Ballou of Framingham, assisted by Matthew Phelps of Groton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Mark Neale, a Class C player from Middletown, Rhode Island, scored 3.5-0.5 to win the Cranston-Warwick Chess Club's April Tournament, held Tuesday nights, April 5-26, at the Garden City Center in Cranston, R.I. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were Class B entrant Richard Dusza of Riverside, R.I. (who lost to Neale in the final round), fellow Class B contestant Paul Gavlick of North Providence, and Class C participant John Magill of North Kingstown, R.I. The tournament drew 14 players and was directed by Mark Neale.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St.., Watertown, Mass. will hold a chess club on Saturday, April 30, from 3 to 4 p.m. in its children's room. Basic instruction will be given, along with snacks, to all participants. The instruction is designed for youngsters in kindergarten through grade 5, but students in upper grades are more than welcome to attend. Children who already know how to play chess are encouraged to participate. The event is free. Boards and sets will be provided by the library.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The CMC Monday Monthly Game/90 tournament, held April 4-25 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island ended in a five-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 3-1 were Class A players John Perrotta of Providence and Joseph Vygoder of Pawtucket, Class B entrant Vincent Decesaris of East Greenwich, and Class C contestants David Hernandez of Central Falls and Cory Silva of Fall River, Mass. The tournament drew 21 players, including one first-time player, and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert Jesse Nicholas, an 18-year-old MACA member from Newton, tallied a perfect 4-0 to win the BCF Spring Open, held April 23-24 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with scores of 2.5-1.5 were Class A players and fellow MACA members Jacob Fauman, 15, of Newton (who lost to Nicholas in round 3) and Darwin Ding, 15, of Lexington (who lost to Nicholas in round 2 and drew Fauman in the final round). The Under 1800 section ended in a four-way tie for first place among 15-year-old Chirantan Neogy and 10-year-old Allen Wang, both of Acton; Sean Barkowky, 39, of Hanson; and Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester. All scored 3-1. The two-section tournament drew 25 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Fellow MACA members and national masters Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. and Ilya Krasik of Newton, Mass.  posted scores of 3-1, including a a final-round draw with one another, to tie for first place in the Under 2400 section of the CMC Saturday Action Tournament on April 23 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. Tying for first place in the Under 1900 section with 3-1 tallies were Paul Gavlick of North Providence, R.I., and Dylan Humphries of Central Falls, R.I. (who defeated Gavlick in round 1). Eeron Spencer of Central Falls scored a perfect 4-0 to win the Under 1400 section. Runner-up with a 3-1 performance was Ansh Jetly of Shrewsbury, Mass. The three-section tournament drew 29 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert Alan Schalk, a 52-year-old MACA life member from Berwick, Maine, posted a perfect score of 5-0 to win the 2011 Maine State Championship, held April 9-10 at the University of Maine in Augusta. Capturing second place with a 4-1 tally was Class A player and former MACA junior member Matthew Fishbein, 13, of Cape Elizabeth, who lost to Schalk in the second round. Sharing 3rd- and 4th-place honors with scores of 3.5-1.5 were expert Ruben Babayan, 61, of Portland and Class A contestant and Chess Horizons subscriber Richard Judy, 50, of York Beach. The tournament drew 28 players, with two additional entrants playing side games, and was directed by Philip Lowell Jr. of Westbrook for the sponsoring Maine Chess Association. Schalk was state co-champion, along with Babayan and Judy, in 2009. Babayan was also co-champion in 2004 and outright champion in 2000 and 1997.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Robert J. King, a MACA member from Worcester, tallied a perfect 5-0 to win the Greater Worcester Chess Club's March Quick Chess Open, played Thursday nights, March 3-31, at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. Finishing as runner-up with a 4-1 score was fellow MACA member and Class A player Alonzo Ross of Shrewsbury, who lost to King in the third round. Rated nearly three weeks after it finished, the Game/29 event drew nine players and was directed by Donna Alarie of Rutland for the sponsoring ChessPals affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 20th Papa Gino's Tournament, held Sunday, April 17, in Waltham ended in a five-way tie for first place. Played in a single section, the Game/30 event saw the following MACA junior members share top honors with scores of 3-1: Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough; Gershon Gilman, 11, of Newton; Jason Jiaxin Liang, 8, of Worcester; Ethan Zhong, 8, of Acton; and Daniel Wang, 6, of Lexington. In games among themselves, Teodorescu lost to Liang (round 1) but beat Gilman (round 4). Gilman defeated Wang (round 1) and Zhong (round 2), while Zhong downed Liang (round 4). The tournament drew 14 players, including one first-time player, and was directed by Matthew Gosselin of Beverly for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate. As a result of this tournament, Teodorescu has now pulled even with Nikita Roldan-Levchenko of Allston for first place in the Papa Gino's and Burger King Grand Prix. Both now have a total of 20.5 points in seven events. Nikita tallied 2-2 in the Waltham tournament. Liang still remains in 3rd place with 14 points out of 6 events, while Wang has now moved into 4th place in the Grand Prix standings with 12.5 points out of 6 events.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

 This is the standing after 6 events, through 10 April 2011:

Steve Frymer
Assistant TD

As part of its April school vacation week activities, the Jacob Edwards Library, 236 Main St., Southbridge, is offering chess instruction to students free of charge on Wednesday, April 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. The class will be taught by MACA members Adam and Ben Piche of Woodstock, Connecticut. For more information, call the library at 508-764-5427.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master David Vigorito proved once again why he is one of the most successful tournament players in New England, winning the 21st Massachusetts Game/60 Championship on Sunday, April 17, at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Leominster. The 40-year-old Somerville resident tallied 3.5-0.5 in an Open section field of 18 players to capture first place. Tying for the 2nd- and 3rd-place prizes with 3-1 scores were FIDE master William Kelleher, 61, of Watertown (who lost to Vigorito in round 3), FIDE master John Curdo, 79, of Auburn, and national master Miro Reverby, 41, of Providence, Rhode Island (who drew Vigorito in the final round). Tying for the top Under 2150 prizes with scores of 2.5-1.5 were Yogesh Raghunathan of West Hartford, Connecticut and Andrew Liu, 12, of Westborough. The tournament drew 87 players, including two no-shows, in five sections, There was an expanded prize fund of more than $2000 - more than $400 in addition to the projected prize fund and more than $800 added to the minimum guaranteed prize fund. MACA clerk Brian Mottershead of Carlisle was the chief TD and was assisted by MACA treasurer and tournament committee chairman Robert Messenger of Nashua, New Hampshire. MACA president George Mirijanian of Fitchburg provided logistical support and assisted both TDs in their duties. Nearly 30 percent of the tournament entrants won prizes. Sectional prize winners were as follows:

• Under 2000 section (13 players, including one no-show)
• 1st-2nd: Max Valau of Hyannis and Armen Martirosyan of Lynn, 3.5-0.5
• 3rd: Neil Cousin of Franklin, 3-1
• Under 1800 section (22 players)
• 1st-3rd: Martin Laine of Lunenburg, George Duval of Sudbury, Varun Palnati of Westford, 3.5-0.5
• 4th: Robert Holmgren of Wayland, 3-1
• Top Under 1650: Chirantan Neogy and Allen Wang, both of Acton, 3-1
• Under 1500 section (18 players, including one no-show)
• 1st: Aashish Welling of Nashua, New Hampshire, 3.5-0.5
• 2nd: Sean Barkowsky of Hanson, 3-1
• 2nd/Under 1350: Siddhesh Kudtarkar of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, Brandon Wu of Littleton, Tal Puhov of Shrewsbury, 3-1
• 3rd/2nd Under 1350: Conway Xu of Lexington, 2.5-1.5
• Under 1200 section (16 players)
• 1st: Aram Martirosyan of Lynn, 4-0
• 2nd-3rd: Carissa Yip of Chelmsford and Matthew Manzo of Beverly, 3-1
• 1st Under 1000: Henry Liu of Northborough, 3-1

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Eric Godin tallied 3.5-0.5, including a requested half-point bye in the final round, to win the BCF Swiss #30 on Saturday, April 16, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 scores were expert James Lung of Lexington, Class A player and Boylston Chess Club president Jason Rihel of Cambridge, and Chirantan Neogy of Acton, who attained a Class A rating for the first time in his career by defeating, among others, Lung in the second round. The tournament drew 19 players and was directed by FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville, the current Boylston CC champion.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Ilya Krasik, a MACA member from Newton, scored 3-1 to win the CMC Saturday Action Tournament on April 16 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 2.5-1.5 tallies were fellow NM Miro Reverby of Providence (who lost to Krasik in round 1) and expert Carlos Avalos of Pawtucket, R.I. (who defeated Krasik in round 3). Finishing fourth with a 2-2 result was NM Sinclair Banks of Dighton, who drew Avalos (round 1) and Reverby (round 2) before losing to Krasik in the final round. John Perrotta of Providence tallied 3.5-0.3 to win first place in the Under 1900 section, where Paul Gavlick of North Providence ended up second with a 3-1 performance. First place with a perfect 4-0 score in the Under 1400 section went to Daniel Quinn of Massachusetts, who was playing only in his second  USCF-rated event. The three-section tournament drew 35 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Waltham Chess Club's Marathon Game/60 Tournament, held Friday night, April 15, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham drew 23 players in two sections. Tying for 1st-2nd place in the Open section with 2-0 scores were FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose and Class A contestant Simon Slutsky, a resident graduate assistant in the physics department at the University of Maryland, formerly of Natick. Tying for 3rd-4th place with 1.5-0.5 tallies were two experts: MACA life member Todd Chase of Weston and MACA junior member Andrew Liu of Westborough. They drew each other in the second round. The Under 1600 section ended in a three-way tie for first place among MACA junior members Akshay Saini of Weston and Eddie Wang of Acton as well as 28-year-old Andrew Luff of Wellesley, formerly of Natick. They all scored 2-0. Nicholas Sterling of Needham directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Edward McHugh of Simsbury, Connecticut scored a perfect 4-0 to win the John Baclawski Quick Chess Open on Tuesday night, April 12, at the New Britain Chess Club at the Assyrian Club in New Britain, Conn. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were expert Matthew Meredith of West Hartford, Conn. (who lost to McHugh in the final round), and Class A rivals Quentin Mason (who lost to McHugh in round 2), Joseph Hricko of Southington, Conn., and Joseph Mansigian of New Britain (who lost to McHugh in round 3), The Game/15, quick-rated tournament drew 23 players and was directed by MACA member Douglas Fiske of West Hartford.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Please contact Dan Taylor if you lost a blue & orange jacket vest at Hurvitz Cup. Dan's e-mail: TaylorD@mail.weston.org.

Tiffany Wang
MACA Webmaster

The 2nd annual Hartford Open, held April 8-10 at the Sheraton Hotel at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, ended in a four-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 4-1 were GMs Sergey Kudrin of Stamford, Conn., Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass., Mikheil Kekelidze of New York, and IM Robert Hungaski of Milford, Conn. Finishing in fifth place and out of the prize money was GM Nick de Firmian of New York. In games among themselves, Kudrin defeated Hungaski (round 2) before drawing Kekelidze (round 3) and Ivanov (round 4). DeFirmian drew Kekelidze (round 4) and in the final round Ivanov, who needed a win to claim clear first place. The event drew 132 players in four sections and was directed by Steve Immitt of New York, assisted by Robert Messenger of Nashua, New Hampshire, for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association. Top prize winners in the other sections were as follows:

• Under 2010 section
• 1st: Avery Chen of Woodbridge, Conn., 5-0
• 2nd-5th: Andrew Liu of Westborough, Mass., Robert Campbell of Chicopee, Mass.,  Pedro Perdomo (NY), Michael Pascetta of South Glastonbury, Conn., 4-1
• Under 1710 section
• 1st-4th: Sydney Faria of East Windsor, Conn.,  Zubin Mukerjee (NY), Romain Popescu (NY), Colin Denniston (NY), 4-1
• Under 1410 section
• 1st: Parag Mujumdar of Westborough, Mass., 4.5-0.5
• 2nd-5th: George Eason of Norwalk, Conn., Joshua Chasen (NY), Michael Cebrik of Avon, Conn., Alan Kuusisto of Amherst, Mass., 4-1

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Isabella Shih, a MACA junior member from Andover, Mass., captured third place in the age 8 & Under section of the 8th annual All-Girls National Championship. The tournament, held April 8-10 at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Chicago, saw Shih score 5-1 in a field of 63 girls and tie for 2nd-4th place but awarded third place on tiebreak points. She is a third-grader at the West Elementary School in Andover and has been playing USCF-rated chess since August 2007, when she debuted in the 19th Chelmsford Burger King tournament. This year's All-Girls National Championship was presented by the Kasparov Chess Foundation, in association with the U.S. Chess Federation, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 57th Chelmsford Burger King Tournament, held Sunday, April 10, drew 15 players - including two first-time players - in three sections. Matthew Gosselin of Beverly directed the event for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate. Sectional winners were as follows:

• Section 1: Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough, 3-0
• Section 2: Ansh Jetly, 11, of Shrewsbury, 3.5-0.5
• Section 3: Uri Kreitner, 8, of Brookline, 3.5-0.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Tornado #106 played on Saturday, April 9, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville ended in victory for Eric Godin. The 50-year-old national master tallied 3-1 to take first place in the Open section. Chirantan Neogy, 15, of Acton finished first in the Under 1800 section with a score of 3.5-0.5. The two-section tournament drew 21 players, with one additional entrant playing an extra-rated game in a designated third section. FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose chalked up another tournament victory at the Waltham Chess Club, scoring a perfect 4-0 to win the Waltham Game/20 Tournament on Friday night, April 8, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham.  Tying for second place with 3-1 tallies were MACA life member Todd Chase of Weston (who lost to Winer in round 3) and 28-year-old ex-MACA member Andrew Luff of Wellesley, formerly of Natick. The quick-rated tournament drew 17 players and was directed by MACA life member Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Under 2400 section of the CMC Saturday Action Chess Tournament on April 9 at the Chess Masters Connection Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. Life master Mauricio Ruiz of North Providence, R.I., who lost to Martirosov in the third round, finished second with a 3-1 score. Fellow life master Miro Reverby of Providence captured third place with a 2.5-1.5 result. He lost to Martirosov in the final round. Finishing first in the Under 1900 section with a perfect 4-0 performance was Paul Gavlick of North Providence. The tournament drew 20 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Fitchburg Access Television (FATV), one of the leading PEG (public, educational and government) cable access channel TV stations in Massachusetts, released today on its "Video on Demand" the latest episode of Chess Chat. The program, produced by members of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University, focuses on the upcoming U.S. Chess Championship, which will be played April 13-28 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Three players from Massachusetts - GM Larry Christiansen of Cambridge, GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, and GM-elect Sam Shankland, a student at Brandeis University in Waltham - are among the 16 participants in the championship. The program hosts, George Mirijanian and Martin Laine, analyze the game Christiansen vs. Eugene Meyer, Lone Pine 1977 - the same year in which Christiansen was awarded the GM title by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The program can be accessed by visiting http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1562/Chess_Chat_April_4,_2011/

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Massachusetts State Scholastic Team Championships, better known as the Hurvitz Cup, drew a total of 150 players in four sections on Sunday, April 3, at the Holiday Inn Select in Woburn. Complete results will be published in the April-June issue of Chess Horizons. Sectional winners were as follows:

• Grade 9-12 section (34 players)
• 1st, Lexington High School; 2nd, Newton North High School; 3rd, Weston School Team 2
• Grade 6-9 section (21 players)
• 1st, Sage School Team A, Foxboro; 2nd, Jonas Clarke Middle School, Lexington; 3rd, R.J. Grey Junior High School, Acton 
• Grade K-6 section (62 players)
• 1st, Cabot School, Newton; 2nd, Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School Knights, Cambridge; 3rd, Gates School Dragons, Acton
• Grade K-3 section (32 players)
• 1st, Kings at Conant School, Acton; 2nd, Bridge School K-3 Team 1, Lexington; 3rd, Park School Team 1, Brookline

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass. scored 4-0 to win the CMC Saturday Action Chess Tournament on April 2 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were national master Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. (who lost to Ivanov in round 1) and USCF life master Lawyer Times of Hyde Park, Mass. (who lost to Ivanov in round 2). Jonathan Poggi of Norton, Mass. was the winner in the Under 1900 section with a score of 3.5-0.5 Cameron Pita of Central Falls, R.I. finished first in the Under 1400 section with a perfect 4-0 result. The Game/30 event drew 26 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master William Kelleher of Watertown, Mass. chalked up a score of 7.5-0.5 to win the New Hampshire Quick Chess Championship on Saturday, April 2, at the Comfort Inn in Manchester. Tying for second place with 6-2 tallies were international master David Vigorito of Somerville, Mass. (who lost to Kelleher in the penultimate round), USCF life master Avraam Pismennyy of Salem, Mass. (who drew Kelleher in round 6 and opted for a half-point bye in the final round), and expert Patrick Sciacca of Salem, N.H., who ended up as the highest-scoring Granite State player. Winning the top Under 2000 prize with a 5.5-2.5 result was Geoffrey Collins of Haverhill, Mass. Coby O'Young of Nashua, N.H. won the Under 1600 prize, scoring 4.5-3.5. The tournament drew 35 players and was directed by associate national TD F. Alexander Relyea of Bedford, N.H. for the sponsoring Relyea Chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Lawrence "Larry" Parr, former editor of Chess Life, died Saturday morning, April 2, in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - after a short illness. He was 64. Born Lawrence Arthur Collard Parr on May 21, 1946 in Seattle, Washington, he had lived in Bellevue, Wash. before working as a reporter for the Reuters news agency in Malaysia in the late 1970s to early 1980s. He studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history. While in college, he had the opportunity of playing in the 1966 U.S. Open when it was held at the Seattle World's Fair Grounds. Mr. Parr was editor of (39 issues of) Chess Life from January 1985 through March1988 when the U.S. Chess Federation headquarters was located in New Windsor, New York. An accomplished writer, he co-authored with Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan the book "Viktors Pupols: American Master," published in 1983. He went on to co-author a number of other chess books, including :The Bobby Fischer I Knew and Other Stories" with GM Arnold Denker, voted in 1996 as the "Best Chess Book of the Year" by the Chess Journalists of America and the Cramer Awards Committee. He also co-authored "Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters" with GM Lev Alburt.. In addition, he collaborated with Malaysian business tycoon Dato Tan Chin Nam in ghostwriting the latter's memoirs, "Never Say I Assume!" He returned to Malaysia in the late 1990s. Mr. Parr wrote numerous articles for Chess Life and other magazines. His last article for Chess Life was in March 2011, when he wrote about his very close friend, the late GM Larry Evans. Mr. Parr was an award-winning life member of the Chess Journalists of America. Known for his clever use of the English language, he wrote many a memorable phrase in chess literature. Referring to the great 19th century American player Paul Morphy, Parr said of him: "Morphy was an American Caissic F-16 in an era of European hot-air chess balloons." Mr. Parr is survived by his wife, Samboon Parr; a daughter, Christiana Parr; and a son, Ian Parr. A memorial service will be held Sunday, April 3, in Montfort Boys Town in Shah Alam, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. After cremation, his ashes will be flown back to Seattle for burial in his hometown. Letters of condolences may be sent to Mrs. Samboon Parr, The Nomad Sucasa All-Suite Hotel, 222 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 50450.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Quads, held Saturday, April 2, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville drew 20 players in four sections and one additional entrant playing a side game. Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton directed. Sectional winners were as follows:

• Quad 1: Expert Tony Blum of Connecticut, 2.5-0.5
• Quad 2: Class A player Natasha Christiansen of Cambridge, 2.5-0.5
• Quad 3: Class B players Harold Dondis of Belmont and Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester, 2-1 [Dondis beat DeMartino in final round.]
• Swiss section: Class C player David W. Martin of Acton, 3-0

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 18th Papa Gino's Tournament, held Sunday, March 20, in Waltham and rated by the USCF on April 2 drew 23 players in three sections. Matthew Gosselin of Beverly directed for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate. Sectional winners were as follows:

• Section 1: Prakalya Chandrasekar, 12, of Ashland, 4-0
• Section 2: Shuvom Sadhuka, 11, of Acton, 4-0
• Section 3: Nikita Roldan-Levchenko, 6, of Allston, 4-0

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn chalked up another tournament victory at the Greater Worcester Chess Club, scoring 3.5-0.5 to win the Mellow March Open, played Thursday nights, March 3-31 (excluding March 17) at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. Joshua Marcus of Worcester, who now sports an expert's rating for the first time in his career, was second with a 3-1 tally. Tying for third place with 2-2 results were Class A entrants Alonzo Ross of Shrewsbury, James Apiri of Worcester, and Donna Alarie of Rutland. Richard Marseglia, a Class B player from Worcester, finished first in Section 2 with a score of 3.5-0.5. Class C participant Marc Quevillon of Dayville, Connecticut was second with a 3-1 tally. The tournament drew 13 players and was directed by Donna Alarie, assisted by Robert King of Worcester.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

New Hampshire Class B player Edward Harris scored 4-1 to win the Knights Chess Club's Game/90 tournament, held Monday nights, Feb. 28 through March 28, at Langdon Place in Keene, N.H. Expert Clay Bradley of Marlow, N.H., who defeated Harris in the first round, was second with 2 points after playing only two rounds. Class C contestant Joseph Vigue of Hinsdale, N.H., who also played only two rounds, scored 1.5 points for third place. The tournament drew nine players and was directed by Thomas Cassar, assisted by Vincent Bradley Jr.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Simon Warfield, a USCF-rated expert from Brookline, notched a perfect 4-0 score to win the BCF Thursday Night Swiss, played March 10-31 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying for second place with 2.5-1.5 tallies were Class A contestant Terrence Fricker of Belmont and Class B entrant Thomas Sifter of Quincy. The tournament drew 10 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are winnners in top sections of rated tournaments held in March at various chess clubs in Massachusetts:

• MCC Vernal Equinox Swiss (MetroWest CC, Natick, 89 players): Ilya Krasik, Lawyer Times, 4-1
• BCF $10 Open (Boylston CC, Somerville, 44 players): FM Jacob Chudnovsky, Avraam Pismennyy, 3.5-0.5
• George O'Rourke Memorial (Wachusett CC, Fitchburg, 31 players): Paul Godin, 4.5-0.5
• March Grand Prix (Boylston CC, Somerville, 26 players): Jason Rihel, 3-1
• Waltham College Hoops G/60 (Waltham CC, 22 players): FM Steven Winer, Edward Astrachan, Nicholas Sterling, 2-0
• BCF Quads (Boylston CC, Somerville, 20 players): Daniel Grazian, Emmanuel Mevs, 2.5-0.5
• Billerica March Swiss (Billerica CC, 19 players): Patrick Sciacca, Arthur Nugent, John Vaughan, Tim Bromley, 3-1
• Lucky Shamrock Open (Sven Brask CC, Plainville, 18 players): Andrew Hoy, 4-1
• Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #105 (17 players): John Elmore, 4-1
• Carl Jaenisch Memorial (Boylston CC, Somerville, 16 players): FM Christopher Chase, Mika Brattain, 3.5-0.5
• Mellow March Open (Greater Worcester CC, 13 players): FM John Curdo, 3.5-0.5
• Waltham March G/20 (Waltham CC, 11 players): Todd Chase, Andrew Liu, Edward Astrachan, 3-1 
• Waltham First Friday #107 (Waltham CC, 8 players): Vitaliy Ryabinin, 4.5-0.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Massachusetts Chess Association released today a list of the highest-rated most active players in the state who are current members of the U.S. Chess Federation. Players are listed with their official USCF ratings as of April 1. Included are only those players who are registered as Massachusetts residents with the USCF and who have played in one or more events in the country within the past six months. Rating points gained or lost from previous official rating given in parentheses.

• 1. GM Larry Christiansen, 54, of Cambridge - 2663  (-2)  MACA member 
• 2. GM Alexander Ivanov, 54, of Newton - 2601  (+9)   MACA member 
• 3. GM Eugene Perelshteyn, 31, of Swampscott - 2588  (-6)  MACA member 
• 4. Denys Shmelov, 24, of Pepperell - 2541  (+21)  MACA member 
• 5. IM David Vigorito, 40, of Somerville - 2535  (+20)   non-MACA member 
• 6. IM Marc Esserman, 27, of Somerville - 2530  (+3)   MACA member 
• 7. IM Igor Foygel, 63, of Brookline - 2515  (+5)  non-MACA member 
• 8. FM Charles Riordan, 31, of Somerville - 2440  (+3)   non-MACA member 
• 9. FM Steven Winer, 30, of Melrose - 2433  (-13)  non-MACA member 
• 10. FM Christopher Chase, 54, of Somerville - 2398  (+7)  MACA life member 
• 11. FM William Kelleher, 61, of Watertown - 2378  (-15)  MACA member 
• 12. IM James Rizzitano, 50, of Southborough - 2361  (+2)  MACA life member 
• 13. WGM Anya Sun Corke, 20, of Wellesley - 2339  (+12)   non-MACA member 
• 14. FM Oliver Kniest, 35, of Boston - 2335  (-10)  non-MACA member 
• 15. Avraam Pismennyy, 73, of Salem - 2311  (+6)  MACA member 
• 16. Max Enkin, 21, of Peabody - 2309  (+4)  MACA member 
• 17. FM Paul MacIntyre, 48, of Malden - 2307  (-17)  MACA member 
• 18. Alex Cherniack, 46, of Watertown - 2293  (-18)  MACA member 
• 19. FM John Curdo, 79, of Auburn - 2288  (+4)   MACA life member 
• 20. Frank Sisto, 43, of Waltham - 2249  (+24)  non-MACA member 

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Steven Winer, a 30-year-old FIDE master from Melrose, chalked up a perfect 7-0 score to win the Waltham Chess Club's First Friday Tournament #108 on April 1 at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. MACA life member Nicholas Sterling of Needham finished second with a 5-2 tally. Tying for 3rd-4th place with 4.5-2.5 results were fellow MACA members Andrew Liu, 12, of Westborough and Alex Hu, 15, of Acton. The single-section, quick-rated Game/10 tournament drew 20 entrants, including one first-time player. Nicholas Sterling directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert David Harris, a MACA member from Providence, Rhode Island, scored 3.5-0.5 to win the Blackstone Fischer Swiss, held Thursday nights, March 10-31, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 tally was national master Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass., who lost to Harris in the second round. The tournament drew six players and was directed by David Harris.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Class A player John Elmore, a MACA life member from Stratham, New Hampshire, scored 4-1 to win the "Alpha" section of the Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #105, played Thursday nights, March 3-31, at Hope Community Church in Newburyport. Gerald Potorski of Danville, N.H. gained a Class A rating for the first time in his career by finishing second with a 3.5-1.5 tally, including a loss to Elmore in the second round. Class B participant Thomas Laaman of Madbury, N.H. was third with a score of 3-2, including a draw with Elmore in the first round but a loss to Potorski in the third round. The "Beta" section ended in a three-way tie for first place among Class B player Paul Staten of Haverhill, fellow "B" player and MACA life member Walter Whitmore of Newton, N.H., and first-time player Robert Lithgow of Ipswich. All three tallied 3.5-1.5. In games among themselves, Lithgow defeated Staten in round 2 and drew Whitmore in round 3, while Whitmore lost to Staten in the final round. The tournament drew 16 players, with one additional entrant playing a side game, and was directed by John Elmore.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Andrew Hoy, a USCF-rated expert from Manfield, tallied 4-1 to win the Sven Brask Chess Club's Lucky Shamrock Open, played Wednesday nights, March 2-30, at the United Methodist Church in Plainville. Tying as runners-up with scores of 3.5-1.5 were fellow expert and two-time club champion Jack Correia of Attleboro, Class A player Carl Hess of Sharon (who beat Hoy in the fourth round but lost to Correia in the final round), and fellow Class A participant Jeffrey Hall. The tournament drew 18 players and was directed by MACA member James Aspinall of Mansfield.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Ilya Krasik of Newton and USCF life master Lawyer Times of Hyde Park tallied 4-1 to tie for first place in the MetroWest Chess Club's Vernal Equinox Swiss, played Tuesday nights, March 1-29, at the temporary senior center in Natick. Finishing as runners-up with scores of 3.5-1.5 were national master Benjamin Goldberg of Cumberland, Rhode Island (who lost to Times in the final round) and Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier of Wellesley. MACA life member Calvin Hori of  Wellesley scored a perfect 5-0 to capture first place in the Under 2000 section. Tied for 2nd-4th place with 3.5-1.5 results were Neil Cousin of Franklin, Charlie Fauman of Newton, and Oleg Poliannikov of Brookline. MACA life member Walter Champion of Wellesley tallied 4.5-0.5 to finish first in the Under 1700 section. First-time player Vladimir Borisov was second with a score of 4-1. The Under 1400 section ended in a tie for first place between Kumsal Sezen of Waltham and Henry Liu of Northborough. Both posted 4-1 tallies. The four-section tournament drew 89 players and was directed by national TD Ken Ballou of Framingham, assisted by Matthew Phelps of Groton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The New Hampshire Scholastic Individual Championships, held Saturday, March 26, at Amherst Middle School, drew 74 players in four sections. The state championship, sponsored by the New Hampshire Chess Association, was directed by NHCA president John Elmore of Stratham, assisted by NHCA secretary Henry "Hal" Terrie of Manchester.  Sectional winners were as follows:

• High School (10 players): 1st-3rd, Kevin Ma, Harrison Fregeau, Liam Murphy, 3-1
• Junor High (21 players): 1st, Coby O'Young, 4-0
• Elementary (29 players): 1st-2nd, Arthur Tang, Anson O'Young, 4-0
• Primary (14 players): 1st, Finn Grenville Garside, 4-0

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The U.S. Chess Federation continues to improve in providing player statistics for its members. The following is a breakdown of the number of rated players in each New England state who are current or recent USCF members and have played in one or more events within the past year. Additional statistics regarding percentage of population (rated players per 100,000 people) provided by MACA treasurer Bob Messenger.

• 823 - Massachusetts   (6,349,097 population per 100,000 = 13%)
• 724 - Connecticut   (3,405,565 population per 100,000 = 21.3%)
• 344 - Maine  (1,274,923 population per 100,000 = 27%) 
• 215 - New Hampshire  (1,235,786 population per 100,000 = 17.4%) 
• 181 - Rhode Island  (1,048,319 population per 100,000 = 17.3%)
• 142 - Vermont  (608,827 population per 100,000 = 23.3%) 

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Andrew Wang of Cambridge, Mass. scored 3.5-0.5 to win the 113th Pawn Eater tournament on Sunday, March 27, at Rhode Island College in Providence. Expert Daniil Mosiyenko of West Warwick, R.I. was second with a 3-1 tally. Tying for 3rd place with 2.5-1.5 results were FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn, Mass. (who lost to Wang in the final round) and Class B participant Nicholas Plotkin of Sharon, Mass. David Malone of Rhode Island finished first in the Under 1500 section with a perfect 4-0 score. Fellow Ocean State player Clarke Nichols Jr. was second with a 3-1 performance, while David Elkin of Warwick, R.I. ended up in third place with a 2.5-1.5 result. The tournament drew 19 players, with one additional player contesting a side game, and was directed by Frank Vogel III for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Nelson Castaneda, a FIDE master from New Britain, Connecticut, tallied 4.5-0.5 to win the 22nd Vermont Resort Open tournament, held March 25-27 at Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont. Class A player Jesse Anderson of Williamsville, Vermont was second with a 4-1 tally. Class B contestant Gabriel Katz of Vermont was third with a 3.5-1.5 result. The Under 1650 section ended in a three-way tie for first place among Bruce Stone of Auburn, New Hampshire, fellow Granite Stater Thomas Cassar, and Ted Zilius of Morrisville, Vermont. The trio scored 4-1. The tournament drew 34 players and was directed by Steve Immitt of New York for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Billerica March Swiss tournament, played Friday nights, March 4-25, at the Billerica Senior Center ended in a four-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 3-1 were expert Patrick Sciacca of Salem, New Hamphire, fellow expert Arthur Nugent of Beverly (who drew Sciacca in the third round), and Class A contestants John Vaughan of Burlington (who lost to Sciacca in the final round) and Tim Bromley of Billerica (who drew Nugent in the second round). The tournament drew 19 players and was directed by Nathan Smith of Derry, New Hampshire.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The March Grand Prix Tournament at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville on Saturday, March 26, drew 26 players in two sections. Winning the six-player Open section with a perfect 4-0 score was Boylston CC president Jason Rihel, a Class A player from Cambridge. Tying as runners-up with 2.5-1.5 tallies were fellow "A" players Terrence Fricker of Belmont (who lost to Rihel in the third round) and Mike Bohigian of Watertown (whom Rihel defeated in the first round). Thomas DeMartino of Dorchester, who has only been playing in rated tournaments at the Boylston club since early February of this year, was the winner in the Under 1800 section with a 4-0 finish. Tying for second place with 3-1 results were MACA member Robert Holmgren of Wayland and former Chess Horizons photographer Steven Stepak of Brighton. FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville, the current BCC champion, directed the event for the sponsoring Boylston Chess Foundation.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Rhode Island Scholastic State Championships, held Saturday, March 26, at Rhode Island College in Providence, drew 134 players in four sections. The tournament attracted 43 players in a Grade K-4 section and 28 players in a Grade 5-6 section. Two 9-year-old MACA members from Massachusetts tied for 1st-2nd place in the Grade K-4 section with perfect scores of 4-0. They were Anton Barash of Brighton and Alan Sikarov of Newton. The highest-scoring Rhode Island participant was Ryan Sowa of North Kingstown, who tallied 3.5-0.5 to tie for third place with Justin Wu, 8, of Littleton, Mass. Jonathan Aiyathurai of West Simsbury, Connecticut posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win first place in the Grade 5-6 section. Six players were deadlocked in the runner-up spot with 3-1 results. They were Aidan Sowa of North Kingstown, R.I., Matthew Manzo of Beverly, Mass., Mitchell Zuberi of Lincoln, R.I., and first-time players Henry Hong-Yi Lin-David and Kishan Kolur, both of Massachusetts, and Alana McGuiness of Rhode Island. MACA member Adam Piche of Woodstock, Conn. won the 32-player Grade 7-8 section with a 4-0 score. Fellow MACA member Peter Teodorescu of Marlborough, Mass. was second with a 3.5-0.5 result. Tied for third place with 3-1 tallies were Vincent Decesaris, Kaushik Nimmagadda, Augustus Lee, Harrison Timperley, Yang Ming Zou and Cameron Pita, all of Rhode Island, and Benjamin Piche of Woodstock, Conn. MACA member Stuart Finney of Barrington, R.I. was the winner in the 31-player Grade 9-12 section, scoring 4-0. Tied for 2nd-9th place with 3-1 results were James Lung, Darwin Ding and Timothy Lung, all of Lexington, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island players Benjamin Swiszcz, Cristian Estrada, Dylan Humphries, Michael Zaslavsky and Eeron Spencer. Frank DelBonis directed for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Class A player Paul Godin, a MACA life member from Burlington, scored 4.5-0.5 to win the Wachusett Chess Club's George E. O'Rourke Memorial Tournament, held Wednesday nights, Feb. 23 through March 23, at the McKay Campus School at Fitchburg State University. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 4-1 tallies were fellow MACA members Martin Laine of Lunenburg and Kenneth Gurge of Leominster. George Mirijanian of Fitchburg was fourth with a score of 3.5-1.5. Tying for fifth place with 3-2 results were Larry Gladding of Leominster, Bruce Felton of Fitchburg, Geoff LePoer of Westford, Arthur Barlas of Chlemsford, Mark Daley of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, and Wayne Steadman of Lunenburg. The tournament drew 31 players and was directed by George Mirijanian, assisted by club webmaster Dave Couture of Westminster. The event honored the memory of Wachusett Chess Club member George E. O'Rourke (1929-2007) of Concord.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Adam Piche and his 14-year-old twin brother Benjamin Piche - both MACA members from Woodstock, Connecticut - tied for first place in the University of Connecticut Chess Club's K-8 Spring Scholastic Tournament on Sunday, March 20, in Storrs. Both tallied 3.5-0.5 in a field of 14 players and did not have to face each other in the process. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 scores were Aashish Welling of Nashua, New Hampshire (who drew both brothers in the final two rounds), and Simon Kubrynski and his brother Daniel Kubrynski of Wolcott, Conn. Tom Hartmayer of Storrs directed for the sponsoring UConn Chess Club.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

This is a yearlong event. Points are totaled from up to 10 scholastic events in the 2011 series. 

Through 13 March 2011 there have been five events. The leaders in Grand Prix are:

Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough........................14.5.....5
Nikita Roldan-Levchenko, 6, of Allston........................12.0.....4
Jason Jiaxin Liang, 8, of Worcester..............................8.0.....4
Ben Chen, 8, of Weston..............................................7.0.....3
Maxwell Wang, 8, of Acton..........................................6.5.....2
Cheney Zhang, 8, of Winchester...................................6.0.....2
Joseph Weinstein, 9, of Sudbury...................................6.0.....2
Anish Jetly, 11, of Shrewsbury......................................6.0.....3
Daniel Wang, 6, of Lexington........................................6.0......3

Steve Frymer
Assistant TD

The 9th Cumberland Burger King Tournament on Sunday, March 20, in Rhode Island ended in a four-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 3-1 were Eric Zuberi of Lincoln, R.I., Sam Adofo and Yang Ming Zou, both of Central Falls, R.I., and fellow Ocean State player Nathaniel Savage. Top-rated Zuberi defeated Zou and Savage in rounds 2 and 3 respectively before losing to Adofo in the final round. The tournament drew 10 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Nelson Castaneda, a FIDE master from New Britain, Connecticut, and Dennis Prawire, a national master from Oakville, Conn., scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for first place in the Planet Earth Championship, sponsored by the New Britain Chess Club and held Sunday, March 20, at the Hawks Landing Country Club in Southington, Conn. Jerry Aiyathurai of West Simsbury, Conn. and Christopher Lomeli of Glastonbury, Conn. shared top honors in the Under 1500 section, also with scores of 3.5-0.5. The Game/45 tournament drew 37 players and was directed by MACA life member Michael Pascetta of South Glastonbury, assisted by fellow MACA member Douglas Fiske of West Hartford, Conn.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn tallied 3-0 to win the 4th WMCA Memorial Open tournament on Saturday, March 19, at the Italian Fraternal Club in Westfield. Joseph Dixon of Connecticut was second with a score of 2.5-0.5. Tying for third place with 2-1 results were Class A player David Kochman of Swanzey, New Hampshire (who lost to Curdo in the final round), Class B contestant David Hall of Springfield, and Class C participants Alexander George of Amherst and Gaetano Bompastore of Greenfield. The tournament, originally scheduled for three sections, drew 15 players and was directed by David Hall for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 56th Chelmsford Burger King Tournament on Sunday, March 13, drew 15 players in three sections. Ryan West, 12, of Carlisle finished first in a four-player round-robin Section 1 with a score of 3-0. Tying as runners-up with 1.5-1.5 tallies were Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough and Graham Strong, 14, of Weston. Two players from Acton tied for first place in Section 2 with scores of 3-1. They were Maxwell Wang, 8, and Jonathan Yin, 9. Section 3 saw a tie for first place among Nikita Roldan-Levchenko, 6, of Allston, Andrew Gao, 8, of Carlisle, and Benjamin Chen, 8, of Weston. All three tallied 3-1. Matthew Gosselin of Beverly directed the tournament for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF $10 Open, held Saturday, March 19, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville drew 44 players in two sections. Tying for first place in the Open section with scores of 3.5-0.5 were Jacob Chudnovsky, a 30-year-old FIDE master from Somerville who had not played in a rated tournament in nearly two years, and USCF life master Avraam Pismennyy, 73, of Salem. Wallace Hannum of New Haven, Connecticut finished first in the Under 1800 section with a perfect 4-0 tally. Sharing the second prize with 3-1 results were Nicholas Zhang of Lexington, Andy Li of Acton and former MACA member David W. Martin. The two-section tournament was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton and Robert Oresick of Norton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Waltham Chess Club's College Hoops Game/60 tournament, held Friday night, March 18, in the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham, drew 22 players in two sections. Tying for first place in Section 1 with 2-0 scores were FIDE master Steven Winer of Melrose, expert Edward Astrachan of Waban, and Class B player Nicholas Sterling of Needgam. Sharing top honors in Section 2, also with 2-0 scores, were Class C players Akshay Saini and Alexander Kaye, both of Weston, and Class D participant Brandon Wu of Littleton. Nicholas Sterling directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Mauricio Ruiz, a 30-year-old USCF life master from North Providence, Rhode Island, scored 4-0 to win first place in the Under 2400 section of the CMC Friday Night Action Tournament on March 18 at the Chess Master Connections Academy in Providence. Tying for second place with 3-1 tallies were national master Stuart Finney, 16, of Barrington, R.I. and expert David Harris, 57, of Providence. Vincent Decesaris of East Greenwich, R.I. finished first in the Under 1900 section with a 4-0 score. Kevin Hu of Sharon, Mass. was second with a 2.5-1.5 result. Sam Adofo tallied 4-0 to finish first in the Under 1400 section. Second was Cameron Pita, who scored 3-1. Both players are from Central Falls, R.I. The three-section, Game/30 tournament drew 34 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF life master Miro Reverby of Providence, Rhode Island scored 2.5-0.5 to win the Blackstone March Melee Tournament on Saturday, March 12, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Tying for second place with 2-1 tallies were national master Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass. (who lost to Reverby in the second round) and Rhode Island's newest master, 12-year-old Christopher Gu (who lost to Banks in the first round). The tournament drew nine players and was directed by MACA member David Harris of Providence.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Vadim Martirosov, a MACA member from Allston, Mass., tallied 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 2400 section of the CMC Friday Action Tournament on March 11 at the Chess Master Connections Academy on Wayland Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island. Taking second place with a 3-1 score was fellow MACA member and national master Ilya Krasik of Newton, Mass., who lost to Martirosov in the third round. Winning the top Under 2100 prize with a 2-2 finish was expert Daniil Mosiyenko of West Warwick, R.I. R. Harold van den Keyl of Massachusetts, who had not played in a rated tournament in more than 20 years. captured first place in the Under 1900 section with a perfect 4-0 score. The two-section, Game/30 event drew 23 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

In accordance with the wishes of the U.S. Chess Federation, MACA urges all current USCF members who are eligible to vote in this year's USCF Executive Board election to register to vote by March 31, 2011. Only registered eligible voting members, who are 16 and older by June 30, 2011, will be sent a ballot. To check your status as a registered voting member, go to http://msa.uschess.org Click on Look Up a Member and enter your name or USCF ID number. To register as a voting member, go to http://secure2.uschess.org/voter-registration.php

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Fitchburg Access Television (FATV), one of the leading public access TV stations in Massachusetts, released today on video on demand its latest episode of Chess Chat. The program, produced by members of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University, focuses on Boston Globe chess columnist Harold B. Dondis, the Dean of New England Chess Journalists. Dondis, who has been writing the Globe chess column since 1964, defeated Bobby Fischer in a 56-player simultaneous exhibition in Fitchburg on March 2, 1964. The hosts present Dondis' win against Fischer from that simul. The program can be accessed by visiting http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1460/Chess_Chat_372011/

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Rye Scholastic Tournament on Saturday, March 12, at the Rye Public Library in New Hampshire drew 19 players in three sections. The three sectional winners all posted perfect scores of 3-0. Capturing first place in the Open (K-12) section was Harrison Fregeau. Taking first in the Reserve (K-8) section was Ethan McGregor. Finn Garside, a first-time player, finished first in the Novice (K-5) section. Michael Sullivan of Portsmouth, N.H., directed for the sponsoring Tales Told Tall Chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Quads, played Saturday, March 12, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville drew 20 players in five sections. Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton directed. Sectional winners were as follows:

• Quad 1: MIT student Daniel Grazian (2052) of Coronado, California and Emmanuel Mevs (1933), formerly of Florida, 2.5-0.5
• Quad 2: Boylston Chess Club president Jason Rihel (1914) of Cambridge, 2-1
• Quad 3: MIT student Eric Emer (1794) of Highland Park, Illinois, 3-0
• Quad 4: Mateos Sahakian (1602) of Medford, 3-0
• Quad 5: Andy Li (1487) of Acton, 2.5-0.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Todd Chase, a MACA life member from Weston, tied for first place with fellow MACA members Andrew Liu of Westborough and Edward Astrachan of Waban in the Waltham Chess Club's Game/20 tournament on Friday night, March 11, at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. All three tallied 3-1 in a field of 11 players. Among themselves, Chase lost to Astrachan in the second round but beat Liu in the final round, while Liu defeated Astrachan in the third round. Nicholas Sterling of Needham directed the quick-rated event.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Jeremy Gaige, one of this country's leading chess historians and archivists, died of emphysema on February 19 at his home in the Spring Garden section of Philadelphia. He was 83. Mr. Gaige was born on October 9, 1927 in Peekskill, New York, the adopted son of theatrical producer Crosby Gaige (ne Roscoe Conkling Gaige). He graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1945. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. After his discharge he earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University, graduating in 1951. In 1952 he began a career in journalism as a copyboy at the New York Times and contributed obituaries to the New York Herald Tribune. He joined the Syracuse Herald-Journal in 1953 as a general assignment reporter, feature writer, and radio/television columnist. His radio and TV column, "Looking and Listening," was one of the most popular columns in the Syracuse paper. In 1955 he joined the Toledo (Ohio) Blade as an editorial writer. In 1956 he returned to New York City, where he was a writer at Forbes magazine and later at the Wall Street Journal. He started working at the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in early 1959 and was a copy editor of the financial news section of the paper when it closed on Jan. 29, 1982.  While working at the Evening Bulletin during the 1960s, he started compiling detailed records of chess tournaments and published biographical data about players and chess journalists. He set up a printing press in his basement and hand-set type to produce six volumes of tournament crosstables between 1851 and 1980. He also self-published other books and booklets. In 1987, McFarland & Company Inc. published his "Chess Personalia: A Biobibliography," which contained about 14,000 chess personalities from around the world. A paperback reprint of his book appeared in 2005. During the 1970s and '80s, Mr. Gaige collaborated with chess journalists Stephen Dann and George Mirijanian of Massachusetts in collecting data on chess personalities in New England, the rest of the United States, and overseas. Mr. Gaige was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in August 2007 at the U.S. Open in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  He was one of the original honorary life members of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA), formerly known as the Association of U.S. Chess Journalists (AUSCJ). He was also a life member of the USCF, which presented him a Special Service Award in 1993. He is survived by his wife, Harriet Elizabeth (Oken) Gaige, whom he had married in February 1959 at City Hall in New York. He is also survived by a daughter, Monica Gaige-Rosenzweig, and a granddaughter.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The UConn Winter Swiss, held Thursday nights, Feb. 10-March 3, at the University of Connecticut at Storrs ended in a three-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 3-1 were USCF senior life master Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, Mass. (now a graduate student at UConn), national master Alex Fikiet of Storrs, and Class A player Joseph Dixon of Connecticut. In games played among them, Shemelov defeated Dixon in round 1 but lost to Fikiet in round 2. Fikiet lost to Dixon in the final round. The tournament drew 10 players and was directed by Tom Hartmayer of Storrs.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania scored 4-1 to win first place in the 23-player Masters section of the 20th annual Eastern Class Championships, held March 4-6 at the Host Hotel at Cedar Lake in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Shabalov's key win came in the final round, when he defeated GM-elect and Brandeis University student Sam Shankland. Scoring 3.5-1.5 and winning prize money as runners-up were GMs Sergey Kudrin of Stamford, Connecticut and Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass., and IMs Robert Hungaski of Storrs, Conn., Jacek Stopa of Texas and Marc Esserman of Somerville, Mass. Sharing the top Under 2300 prizes with 3-2 results were national master Alex Cherniack of Watertown, Mass. and expert Christopher Gu of Rhode Island. The following players were prize winners in other sections:

• Expert section: 1st, Jonathan Richman (NY), 4.5-0.5; 2nd, Martin Garcia (CT), 4-1; 3rd-4th, Matthew Meredith of West Hartford, Conn. and Hanon Russell of Milford, Conn., 3.5-1.5
• Class A section: 1st-2nd, Mark Bourque of Stafford Springs, Conn. and Armen Martirosyan of Lynn, Mass., 4.5-0.5; 3rd-4th. Andrew Liu of Westborough, Mass., Nigel Mitchell (PA) and Neil Fachon of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, 4-1
• Class B section: 1st-3rd, Daniel Zhu (NJ), James Asaro of Burlington, Vermont, and Robert Bagdasaryan of Cranston, R.I., 4.5-0.5; 4th, David Finnerman (NY), 4-1
• Class C section: 1st, Ian Lomeli (CT), 4.5-0.5; 2nd-3rd, Eduardo Valadares of Framingham, Mass. and Hyqmet Allushi of Waterbury, Conn., 4-1; 4th, Dilip Aaron (NY), Lee Dailing of Manchester, New Hampshire, Pawel Stopa (TX) and Richard Chang of South Windsor, Conn., 3.5-1.5
• Class D section: 1st-4th, Parag Suresh Mujumdar (MA), Benjamin and Adam Piche of Woodstock, Conn., and Keming Zhu (NJ), 4-1
• Class E section: 1st, Benjamin Marinelli (MA), 5-0; 2nd-3rd, Aram Martirosyan of Lynn, Mass. and Joseph Rocca (CT), 4-1; trophy winners: Jonathan Hagopian (MA), 4th; Steven Danko of Brooklyn, N.Y., 5th, Shuvom Sadhuka of Acton, Mass. 6th, and Walt Duncan of Nashua, N.H., 7th, all 3-2

The seven-section tournament drew 175 players - 23 contestants fewer than last year's event. Bill Goichberg, assisted by Bob Messenger, directed for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn tallied 7-1 to win the 7th annual Rufus Franklin Memorial tournament, played two rounds per Thursday night, Feb. 3-24, at the Greater Worcester Chess Club at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. Capturing second place with a 6-2 score was expert Robert J. King of Worcester, who lost to Curdo in the second round. Class A player Alonzo Ross of Shrewsbury, who drew Curdo in the fourth round,  posted a 5.5-2.5 result to fininish third. The tournament drew 10 players and was directed by Robert King, assisted by Donna Alarie, for the sponsoring ChessPals affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Gus Gosselin Grade Championships, also known as the Massachusetts Grade Championships, drew 102 players on Sunday, March 6, at the Holiday Inn-Select in Woburn. The MACA-sponsored scholastic state championship was directed by international arbiter Chris Bird of Melrose. His chief assistant TD was Brian Mottershead of Carlisle, MACA''s clerk and scholastic committee chairman as well as a club TD. Also assisting were MACA vice president Steven Frymer of Lexington and MACA president and national TD George Mirijanian of Fitchburg. The following players - listed with their post-tournament ratings - won trophies and medals in the various sections:

Grade 8 section (4 players): 1st, Peter Teodorescu (1208) of Marlborough, 2.5-1.5; 2nd, Varun Palnati (1402) of Westford, 2-2; 3rd, Husayn Karimi (755) of Cambridge, 2-2

Grade 7 section (7 players): David Todd (1596) of Boxford, 4-0; 2nd, Andy Li (1486) of Acton, 3-1; 3rd, James Zhou (1309) of Andover, 2-2; medal winners: David Yashgur (982) of Longmeadow, Prakalya Chandrasekar (709) of Ashland, Jenny Qiu (1245) of Acton, 2-2

Grade 6 section (6 players): 1st, Loring Lauretti (1365) of Cohassett, 4-0; 2nd, Matthew Manzo (1131) of Beverly, 2.5-1.5; 3rd, Arnav Ghosh (1321) of Winchester, 2-2

Grade 5 section (19 players): 1st, Michael Isakov (1447) of Sudbury, 4-0; 2nd, August Donovan (1013) of Franklin, 3-1; 3rd, Brandon Wu (1248) of Littleton, 3-1; medal winner: Lauren Smorgonsky (864) of Worcester, 3-1

Grade 4 section (20 players): 1st, Allen Wang (1421) of Acton, 4-0; 2nd, Alon Trogan (1179) of Needham, 3-1; 3rd, Evan Meyer (1464) of Newton, 3-1; medal winner: Jesse Sun (1206) of Sudbury, 3-1

Grade 3 section (21 players): 1st, Nithin Kavi (1503) of Acton, 4-0; 2nd, Justin Wu (932) of Littleton, 3.5-0.5; 3rd, Justin Lin (1042) of Lexington, 3-1; medal winners Cheney Zhang (849) of Winchester, Alexander Kohler (749/16) of South Hamilton, Alex Zhang (656/23) of Dover, 3-1

Grade 2 section (13 players): 1st, Carissa Yip (1150) of Chelmsford, 3.5-0.5; 2nd, Eddie Wang (956) of Acton, 3.5-0.5; 3rd, Shahab Kousheshi (334/7) of Newton Centre, 3-1

Combined Grade 1 (9 players) and K (3 players) section: 1st Grade 1, Nikita Roldan-Levchenko (827) of Allston, 4-0; 2nd, Alexander Chen (682/4) of Lexington,  3-1; 3rd, Tyler Saklad (726/12) of Sudbury, 3-1; medal winner: Benjamin Lu (565/21) of Acton, 3-1; 1st K, Benjamin Fauman (422) of Newton, 1-3; medal winner: Andrew Kaczka (146/12) of Waban, 1-3

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville and expert Mika Brattain of Lexington tied for first place in the Carl Jaensich Memorial tournament, held Saturday, March 5, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Both scored 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were expert James Lung of Lexington and Class B participant Greg Koch. The tournament drew 15 players, with one additional player contesting a side game, and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton. The event honored the memory of Russian chess theoretician and player Carl Friedrich Andreyevich von Jaenisch (1813-1872)..

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Three masters - USCF life master Mauricio Ruiz of Providence, Rhode Island and national masters Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. and Ilya Krasik of Newton, Mass. - tied for first place in the Under 2400 section of the CMC Friday Night Action Tournament on March 4 in Providence. All three tallied 3-1, with Ruiz defeating both Martirosov and Krasik. The Under 1900 section ended in a tie for first place between Paul Gavlick of North Providence and Jim Limperis of Seekonk, Mass. Both scored 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the third round. The event drew 23 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring CMC-LLC (Chess Master Connections) affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Vitaliy Ryabinin, 18, of Watertown scored 4.5-0.5 to win the Waltham Chess Club's First Friday Tournament #107 on March 4 at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Capturing second place with a 3.5-1.5 tally was Concord Academy student Max Chia-Hsin Lu, 15, of Lexington. Matthew Webber, 23 of North Andover finished third with a 3-2 result. The Game/10 tournament drew eight players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert Patrick Sciacca, a MACA member from Salem, New Hampshire, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Billerica Chess Club's February Swiss, held Friday nights, Feb. 4-25, at the Council on Aging Building, i.e. senior center, in Billerica. Tying as runners-up with scores of 2.5-1.5 were Class A players Raymond Paulson of Lowell (who lost to Sciacca in the third round) and MACA life member Paul Godin of Burlington, Class B contestant Paul Staten of Haverhill, and Class C participant Robert Babcock of Wakefield. The tournament drew 15 players and was directed by Nathan Smith of Dover, N.H.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Massachusetts Chess Association, the official governing body for chess in the commonwealth, released today its list of the highest-rated, most active players in the state who are current members of the U.S. Chess Federation. Players are listed with their official USCF ratings as of March 1. Included are only those players who are registered as Massachusetts residents with the USCF and who have seen a rating change since Jan. 1, 2011.

• 1. GM Larry Christiansen, 54, of Cambridge - 2665
• 2. GM Alexander Ivanov, 54, of Newton - 2592
• 3. GM Eugene Perelshteyn, 31, of Swampscott - 2588
• 4. Denys Shmelov, 24, of Pepperell - 2541
• 5. IM Marc Esserman, 27, of Somerville - 2527
• 6. IM Igor Foygel, 63, of Brookline - 2515
• 7. IM David Vigorito, 40, of Somerville - 2515
• 8. FM Charles Riordan, 31, of Somerville - 2437
• 9. FM William Kelleher, 61, of Watertown - 2393
• 10. FM Christopher Chase, 54, of Somerville - 2391
• 11. FM Oliver Kniest, 35, of Boston - 2345
• 12. FM Paul MacIntyre, 48, of Malden - 2324
• 13. Max Enkin, 21, of Peabody - 2309
• 14. Avraam Pismennyy, 73, of Salem - 2305
• 15. Alex Cherniack, 46, of Watertown - 2293
• 16. FM John Curdo, 79, of Auburn - 2284
• 17. Frank Sisto, 43, of Waltham - 2249
• 18. Kyaw Aung Lwin, 48, of Boston - 2243
• 19. Sinclair Banks, 51, of Dighton - 2240
• 20. Ilya Krasik, 31, of Newton - 2234

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The U.S. Amateur Team East Championship, aka World Amateur Team Championship, played Feb, 19-21 in Parsippany, New Jersey had a great number of players from Massachusetts on the 279 teams in the event. A total of 1,171 players competed. The following are the final point totals for Bay State players:

• 6 points: IM David Vigorito, Anatoly Levin
• 5.5 points: David Plotkin, Grant Xu, Elliot Strassman, Gabriel Frieden
• 5 points: Gregory Kaden, Danny Angermeier
• 4.5 points: GM Arthur Bisguier, Peter Chubinsky
• 4 points: Ilya Krasik, Carey Theil, Edward Epp, Reilly Nathans, William Michael, Mark Butler, Karl Hahn
• 3.5 points: FM William Kelleher, FM Oliver Kniest, Vadim Martirosov, Chris Williams, Derek Slater, Todd Chase, Tian Rossi, Mark Fins, Nicholas Plotkin, Kevin Hu
• 3 points: Winston Huang, Benjamin Smith, Matthew Phelps, Trevor Murphy, Robert Oresick
• 2.5 points: WGM Anya Corke, Jake Garbarino, Steve Chen, Lino Fabiani, Uri Feld, Eric Hu, Daniel Plotkin
• 2 points: FM Paul MacIntyre, Neil Cousin, WIM Vesna Dimitrijevic, Austin Collins, Kangping Hu, Barry Lai

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Class A player Robert Campbell, a MACA life member from Chicopee, scored a perfect 5-0 to win the 86th Western Massachusetts/Connecticut Valley Championship, held Feb. 26-27 at the Comfort Inn in Hadley. Tying as runners-up with 4-1 tallies were expert and fellow MACA life member Leonid Tkach of Amherst (who lost to Campbell in the final round) and Class A contestant Anthony Norris of New Jersey, who had won this event in 2010. Among trophy winners were Eric Strickland of Brattleboro, Vermont, 3.5-1.5, Class B, and Philip Aelfwald of Chicopee, 3-2, Class C. The tournament drew 27 players and was directed by Edward Kostreba of Ware, assisted by Richard Chang of South Windsor, Conn., for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association (WMCA)

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are winners in top sections of rated tournaments held in February at various chess clubs in Massachusetts:

• Reggie Boone Memorial (Wachusett CC, Fitchburg, 32 players): Robert King, George Mirijanian, Michael Manisy, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Tornado #105 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 27 players): IM Marc Esserman, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Winter Open (Boylston CC, Somerville, 25 players): FM Charles Riordan, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Quads (Boylston CC. Somerville, 24 players): FM Christopher Chase, 3-0
• BCF Grand Prix #2 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 22 players): James Lung, Andrew Liu, Embert Lin, 3-1
• Brask Invitational/Cook Memorial (Sven Brask CC, Plainville, 19 players): A. Hoy, C. Hess, 3.5-1.5/James Lemieux, 5-0
• BCF Thursday Night Swiss (Boylston CC, Somerville, 18 players): Vadim Martirosov, Elliot Strassman, 3.5-0.5
• Waltham Valentine's Day G/60 (Waltham CC, 18 players): Todd Chase, Tian Rossi, 2-0
• Newburyport CC Tournament #104 (Newburyport CC, 17 players): Richard Judy, 3.5-0.5
• Billerica February Swiss (Billerica CC, 15 players): Patrick Sciacca, 3.5-0.5
• Waltham First Friday #106 (Waltham CC, 12 players): Todd Chase, Yuriy Zhaurov, Andrew Liu, 6-1
• 7th Rufus Franklin Memorial (Greater Worcester CC, 10 players): FM John Curdo, 7-1
• February Quick Chess Tournament (Greater Worcester CC, 8 players): Robert J. King, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Super Bowl Octads (Boylston CC, Somerville, 6 players): FM Christopher Chase, Dr. Bernhard Seehaus, 2.5-0.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

MACA junior members dominated the field at the UConn K-8 Scholastic Championship Tune-Up, held Sunday, Feb. 27, at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. Adam Piche, a MACA member from Woodstock, Conn., captured first place in the K-8 Open section with a score of 3.5-0.5. His twin brother and fellow MACA member, Benjamin Piche, was second with a 3-1 tally. MACA member Loring Lauretti finished third with a 2.5-1.5 result. David Yashgur, a MACA member from Longmeadow, Mass. won the K-8 Under 900 section, scoring 3.5-0.5. Fellow MACA member James Cassidy of Westwood, Mass., tied for the runner-up position with Roosevelt Sowka of Woodstock, Conn. Both tallied 3-1. Henry Liu, a 9-year-old MACA member from Northborough, Mass. scored 3 wins and 1 loss in a three-player, double round-robin K-5 Open section to finish first in that section. William Dunion of Dudley, Mass. posted the tournament's only perfect 4-0 score, winning the K-5 Under 700 section. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were MACA member Siddharth Simon of Newton, Mass. and Sumanth Kondapalli of Milford, Conn. The four-section tournament drew 29 players and was directed by Tom Hartmayer, assisted by Alex Fikiet, for the sponsoring UConn Chess Club and the University of Connecticut School of Engineering.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Miro Reverby, a USCF life master from Providence, Rhode Island, swept the Pawtucket Rapids on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. The 41-year-old master scored a perfect 3-0 to claim first place. Tying as runners-up with 2-1 tallies in the seven-player Game/30 tournament were national master Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass. (who lost to Reverby in the final round), and experts Daniil Mosiyenko of West Warwick, R.I. (who lost to Banks in round 1) and David Harris of Providence (whom Reverby defeated in round 2). David Harris, the chess center's director, was the TD.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Grand Prix #2 tournament, held Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville ended in a tie for first place among three MACA junior members. Sharing top honors with scores of 3-1 were expert James Lung of Lexington and Class A rivals Andrew Liu of Westborough and Embert Lin of Acton. Lin drew Liu in round 3 and Lung in the final round. Mike Bohigian of Watertown tallied 3.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 1800 section. Taking second place with a 3-1 score was MACA member Robert Holmgren of Wayland. The two-section tournament drew 22 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Woman grandmaster Anya Sun Corke, a sophomore at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the CMC (Chess Master Connections) Friday Night Action Chess tournament on Feb. 25 in Providence, Rhode Island. Tying as runners-up in the Under 2400 section with scores of 3-1 were life master Miro Reverby of Providence (who drew Corke in round 1), national master Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass., and fellow national master Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. (who lost to Corke in the final round). Paul Gavlick, a Class B player from North Providence, swept the Under 1900 section with a perfect 4-0 performance. Tying for second place with 3-1 results were MACA member Cory Silva of Fall River, Mass. (who lost to Gavlick in round 3) and 13-year-old former MACA member Kaushik Nimmigadda of North Smithfield, R.I. The two-section, Game/30 tournament drew 27 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis of Riverside, R.I.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert David Harris of Providence, Rhode Island scored 3.5-0.5 to win the BCA Bronstein Swiss tournament, held Thursday nights, Feb. 3-24, at the Blackstone Chess Center, aka Blackstone Chess Academy (BCA), in Pawtucket, R.I. Runner-up with a 3-1 tally was fellow Providence resident Warren MacKenzie, a provisionally rated Class A player who has only been playing rated chess since late October 2010. The tournament drew eight players and was directed by Harris, the chess center's director.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Sven Brask Invitational and Howard Cook Memorial tournaments ended Wednesday night, Feb. 23, at the Sven Brask Chess Club at United Methodist Church in Plainville. The events, which started Jan. 5 and continued on Wednesdays with several postponed rounds due to snowstorms, saw eight players compete in the former tourney and 11 players in the latter. Tying for first place in the Invitational were expert Andrew Hoy of Mansfield and Class A player Carl Hess of Sharon. Both tallied 3.5-1.5, including a draw with one another in the second round. Runner-up with a 3-2 result was expert and 2010 club co-champion Lawrence Dean, a MACA member from Bourne. Class A contestant James Lemieux posted a perfect 5-0 score to win first place in the Memorial tournament. Tying for second place with 3-2 tallies were MACA member Gerald Plante of Blackstone and Chess Horizons subscriber Paul Gavlick of North Providence, Rhode Island. The 19-player dual event was directed by James Aspinall of Mansfield.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Class A player Richard Judy of York Beach, Maine tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #104, held Thursday nights, Feb. 3-24, at Hope Community Church in Newburyport. Tying for second place with 3-1 scores were fellow "A" players John Elmore of Stratham, New Hampshire, Raymond Paulson of Lowell (who drew Judy in the final round), Kerry McDermott of Dover, N.H., and Kenneth Straus of Lawrence. The tournament drew 17 players and was directed by John Elmore.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Vadim Martirosov, a 41-year-old MACA member from Allston, and fellow MACA member Elliot Strassman, an 18-year-old expert from Jamaica Plain, tied for first place in the BCF Thursday Night Swiss, held Feb. 3-24 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Both tallied 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the second round. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 score was Class A contestant Terrence Fricker of Belmont, who lost to Martirosov in the final round. The tournament drew 18 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Christian Jensen, a Class B player from Shelton, Connecticut scored 4-1 to win the New Britain Chess Club Reserve Tournament, held Tuesday nights, Jan. 25 through Feb. 22, at the Assyrian Club in New Britain, Conn. Tying as runners-up with 3.5-1.5 results were Class A contestants Mark Bourque of Stafford Springs, Conn. (who lost to Jensen in round 3), Robert McDaniel Jr. of Tariffville, Conn. (who lost to Jensen in round 4) and John Baclawski of New Britain (who drew Jensen in the final round), as well as Class B participant George Himes III of Vernon, Conn. (who drew Jensen in round 2). The tournament drew 24 players and was directed by MACA life member Michael Pascetta of South Glastonbury, Conn., assisted by Jozef Madej of Unionville, Conn.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

MACA junior members ended up as the top scorers in each of the three sections of the 18th Papa Gino's Open, held Sunday, Feb. 20, at the restaurant by the same name located on Lexington Street in Waltham. Ari Xuan, 9, of Boxborough captured first place in Section 1 with a perfect score of 4-0. Taking second place with a 3-1 tally was Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough, who lost to Xuan in the first round.  Alon Trogan, 9, of Needham and Maxwell Wang, 8, of Acton tied for first place in Section 2 with scores of 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round. Nikita Roldan-Levchenko, 6, of Allston posted a perfct 4-0 tally to win first place in Section 3. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 performance was Alex Zhang, 8, of Dover, who lost to Nikita in the first round. The tournament drew 28 players and was directed by Matthew Gosselin of Beverly for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Students from Central Falls, Rhode Island finished as top scorers in the 1st Fall River Burger King Tournament, held Saturday, Feb. 19, at the restaurant on Plymouth Avenue in Fall River, Mass. Sam Adofo, a seventh-grader, posted a perfect score of 4-0 to capture first place. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were Yang Ming Zou (who lost to Adofo in round 2) and Cameron Pita (who lost to Adofo in round 3). The tournament drew seven players and was directed by Frank DelBonis for the sponsoring Rhode island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Charles Riordan of Somerville tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the BCF Winter Open on Saturday, February 19, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 3-1 scores were fellow FM Christopher Chase of Somerville (who lost to Riordan in the third round) and expert Christopher Gu of Rhode Island (who drew Riordan in the final round). The Under 1800 section ended in a three-way tie for first place among Tony Cortizas of Cambridge, Matthew Lee of East Walpole (who took a half-point bye in the final round), and Mark Limperis of Seekonk (who beat Cortizas in the first round). All three scored 3-1. The two-section tournament drew 25 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 112th Pawn Eater tournament, held Saturday, February 19, at Rhode island College in Providence, RI, ended in a three-way tie for first place. Sharing top honors with scores of 3.5-0.5 were FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn, Mass., life master Miro Reverby of Providence (who drew Curdo in the final round), and Class A player William Smirnov of East Wareham (who took a half-point bye in round 1). The Under 1500 section ended in a tie for first place between Clarke Nichols Jr. of Rhode Island and Sean Barkowsky of Hanson, Mass. (who lost to Nichols in the first round). Both tallied 3-1. The two-section tournament drew 32 players and was directed by John Magill, assisted by Mark Neale, for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

John Gaspar, a Class A player from North Berwick, Maine, scored 3.5-0.5 to win the UNH Open, held Saturday, February 19, in the Memorial Union Building at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. Tying as runners-up in the "Gold Section" were expert Alan Schalk of Berwick, Maine (who lost to Gaspar in the final round), and New Hampshire players Erin Dame (who drew Gaspar in the third round) and Tim Chevalier (who lost to Schalk in the first round). Jason Shuster of New Hampshire tallied a perfect 4-0 to win first place in the "Silver Section." The two-section tournament drew 25 players and was directed by Michael Sullivan of Portsmouth, N.H. for the sponsoring Tales Told Tall Chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Knights Chess Club, one of only four USCF-affiliated clubs in the state of New Hampshire, announces it recent move to Langdon Place, 136 A Arch St., in Keene, New Hampshire. In the hope of encouraging players to come and see its new beautiful playing site, the club is holding a grand reopening tournament on Monday evening, Feb. 21. The event, the 5th Greasy Speed 6-Game 10s, is open to all players. There are no entry fees or membership requirements. Contestants will play six 10-minute games in a Swiss System format. Cash prizes will be awarded in three categories: Open $25, Under 1600 $10, Junior (under 18) $5. Refreshments will be served. Players can register at the club between 6:30 and 7 p.m. First round will be at 7:10 p.m. For more information, visit www.knightschessclub.org

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Reggie Boone Memorial tournament, held Wednesday nights, January 5 through February 16, at the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University ended in a tie for first place among three of the club's highest-rated players. Sharing top honors with scores of 3.5-0.5 were expert Robert King of Worcester and Class A rivals George Mirijanian of Fitchburg and Michael Manisy of Otter River. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 tallies were Class B contestant Ken Gurge of Leominster and provisionally rated Class C participant Trevor Bierig of Clinton, who gained 319 (!) rating points as a result of his performance. The tournament, which drew 32 players, was cut short by a round because of snowstorms that canceled play on three Wednesday evenings. The event honored the memory of longtime club member Reginald "Reggie" Boone (1926-2008) of Gardner.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The CMC (Chess Master Connections) Friday Action Tournament drew 24 players in two sections on February 11 in Providence, Rhode Island.  Winning the 8-player Section 1 with a score of 3.5-0.5 was Class B player Paul Gavlick of North Providence, R.I. Finishing second with a 3-1 tally was MACA member Cory Silva of Fall River, Mass. Woman grandmaster Anya Sun Corke, a student at Wellesley College, captured first place in Section 2 with a 3.5-0.5 score. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 results were life master Miro Reverby of Providence and national masters Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass. and Vadim Martirosov of Allston, Mass. Frank DelBonis of Riverside, R.I. directed the event for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

GMs Larry Christiansen of Cambridge and Alexander Ivanov of Newton, as well as GM-elect Sam Shankland, a freshman at Brandeis University in Waltham, are among the invited participants in the 2011 U.S. Championship, which will be held April 13-28 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL). A field of 16 players will compete in this year's national championship. Two invitational spots remain to be determined for the event and they will be filled by the winner and runner-up in the 10-player round-robin Saint Louis Invitational tournament that will be held at the CCSCSL March 4-9. Among those competing is GM Eugene Perelshteyn of Swampscott, Mass. If all goes well, this year's U.S. Championship could possibly have a quarter of the field from the Bay State.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Larry Christiansen of Cambridge, Mass. captured first place in the 2011 Bermuda International Open, held February 11-13 at the Fairmont Southampton Resort & Country Club. Christiansen gained the championship title by winning a tiebreak playoff against fellow GM Pascal Charbonneau of New York. The tournament ended in a five-way tie for first place among Christiansen, Charbonneau, GMs Nick DeFirmian and Alexander Ivanov of Newton, Mass., as well as IM Dmitry Schneider of New York. All five tallied 4-1 in a field of 46 players.  Four other players from Massachusetts competed in the event: FM Charles Riordan of Somerville, woman's international master Esther Epstein of Newton, MACA life member Robert Harvey of Lexington and Natasha Christiansen of Cambridge. In a blitz tournament held Thursday night, Feb. 10, Ivanov finished first with a score of 9-1. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 8-2 tallies were Christiansen and Charbonneau. [Donna Reis photo of Natasha Christiansen and Larry Christiansen at 2010 Bermuda International Open]

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Yang Ming Zou, an elementry school student from Central Falls, Rhode Island, scored 3.5-0.5 win the 17th Central Falls Burger King tournament on Saturday, February 5. Zou, who only started playing rated chess in March 2010, was nicked for a draw in the second round by MACA junior member Ansh Jetly of Shrewsbury, Mass., who was the only Massachusetts contestant in the eight-player tournament. Frank DelBonis of Riverside, R.I. directed for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Per Section 7.2 of the MACA bylaws, the Massachusetts Chess Association is seeking nominations for president, vice president, treasurer, clerk, and directors of the MACA Executive Board for the term 2011-2012. Nominations for all offices and directors shall be submitted by February 15, 2011 either by e-mail at election2011@masschess.org by letter to the MACA Elections Commission, c/o Ken Belt, 619 Old Bedford Road, Concord, MA 01742. All nominees must be corporate members of MACA, and the length of the nominee's membership must include the entire term of office for which the nominee is a candidate. Nominees must be members through at least June 15, 2012 or make provisions to extend their membership to that date or beyond before having one's name placed on the official ballot.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 55th Chelmsford Burger King Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 13, drew 12 players in two sections. Winning section 1 with a perfect score of 4-0 was Peter Teodorescu, 14, of Marlborough. Runner-up wiht a 3-1 tally was Christopher Menz, 9, of Newton, who lost to Teodorescu in the third round. Section 2 saw a tie for first place between Nikita Roldan-Levchenko, 6, of Allston and Eric Zhang, 6, of Dover. Both posted 2-1 results, with Zhang defeating Roldan-Levchenko. Matthew Gosselin of Beverly directed for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Marc Esserman, a MACA member from Somerville, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the BCF Tornado #105 on Saturday, February 12, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Tying for second place with 3-1 scores were FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville (who lost to Esserman in the final round), life master Avraam Pismennyy of Salem (who lost to Chase in the third round), and fellow life master Lawyer Times of Hyde Park (who lost ot Pismennyy in the second round). Joseph Dixon of Connecticut and Bowen Wang of South Easton tied for first place in the Under 1800 section with scores of 3.5-0.5, including a draw with one another in the final round.  The two-section tournament drew 27 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Waltham Valentine's Day Game/60 tournament drew 18 players in two sections on Friday night, February 11, at the Waltham Chess Club, and was played in the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Tying for first place in the Open section with 2-0 scores were MACA life member Todd Chase of Weston and Tian Rossi of West Newton. Both are USCF-rated experts. Stephen Carlin of Waltham and Justin Wu of Littleton were co-winners in the Under 1500 section, also with scores of 2-0. The section saw the participation of three first-time USCF members, all from the same family. The two-section tournament was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Jack Peters of Los Angeles, a three-time Massachusetts state and three-time New England  champion, celebrates his 60th birthday today. Born Feb. 10, 1951 in Boston, Peters burst onto the New England chess scene in the late 1960s, tying for first place in the 1969 Massachusetts Open with Ed Formanek. He won the state championship outright in 1974. And in 1975 he again tied for the state title, this time with FIDE master John Curdo. He won the New England Open championship in 1971, 1974 and 1975. He played in several U.S. Championships, the first one being in 1975. He won the American Open in 1977 and repeated as champion in three additional years. He won his first Southern Californial Invitational Championship in 1977 and repeated as state champion more than six times thereafter up through 2000. In 1978, he became president of the Professional Chess Association. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) awarded him the IM title in 1979. With many wins against grandmasters to his credit, Peters is one of the strongest American IMs never to be awarded the GM title. During the mid-1970s, he was the games editor for MACA's award-winning Chess Horizons magazine. His game annotations were considered among the best by a top-notch U.S. player. After moving to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, Peters became a well-respected chess teacher and a chess columnist for the Los Angeles Times. His first column ran on Sept. 19, 1982 and ran faithfully every week until it was canceled by the newspaper in late 2010. MACA wishes Massachusetts native Jack Peters a happy 60th birthday.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Russian grandmaster Yuri Averbakh, the world's oldest living GM, will lecture Wednesday evening, February 9, at the Chess Club of Fairfield County, 710 West Ave., Norwalk, Connecticut. Averbakh, who turns 89 today, is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the endgame. His books on the endgame are viewed as indispensable classics in chess literature. GM Averbakh will lecture on the endgame and his own games, starting at 7:30 p.m., and will take questions from the audience thereafter. For more information or to register for a spot for the lecture, e-mail DLowinger@Fairfieldcountychess.com Participants must be at least 12 years of age to attend.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The MetroWest Chess Club, the largest chess club in New England, has canceled its Groundhog Day Swiss tournament for this month. The club, which meets Tuesday nights at the temporary site of the senior center at 90 Oak St. in Natick, announced today that due to snow accumulation there is a severe lack of parking at the facility. Snow removal is expected to be remedied by the start of the March tournament.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Peter J. Zito Jr. of Billerica (Nutting Lake), formerly of Waltham, died December 27, 2010 at age 65. He played for many years at the Billerica Chess Club up until early April 2010. He also competed frequently more than five years ago at the former Nashoba Chess Club in Westford. Back in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 90s, he was a frequent participant in tournaments organzed by Stephen Dann of Worcester for the sponsoring Chess Organizers of New England (CONE). In his final CONE event, he tied for first place in the Under 1450 section of the 1993 Newton Open in Watertown. Mr. Zito was a longtime USCF member and a former longtime MACA member. He was born on September 23, 1945, the son of Peter J. Zito Sr. and Mae Belle (Peters) Zito. Besides his mother, he is survived by his wife, Regis "Trish" (Ularich) Zito; aunts, uncles and cousins. Calling hours were held Saturday, January 1, at the Sweeney Memorial Funeral Home in Billerica. Burial was Monday, January 3, in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica, New York.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Andrew Wang, Grant Xu, Alex Fauman and Jason Tang are Massachusetts state scholastic chess champions for 2011. Each won first place in his respective section of the Spiegel Cup Invitational Championship, also known as the Massachusetts State Scholastic Singles Championship, held Sunday, February 6, at the Holiday Inn Select in Woburn. Wang, a national master from Cambridge, posted a perfect 4-0 score to win first place in the High School division. Tying for 2nd-4th place with 2.5-1.5 tallies were expert James Lung of Lexington (2nd-place trophy on tiebreak), fellow expert Winston Huang of Newton (3rd-place trophy), and expert Jesse Nicholas of Newton (4th-place medal). In individual encounters Wang beat Lung and Huang, while Lung defeated Nicholas and drew Huang. Expert Grant Xu of Shrewsbury chalked up a score of 3.5-0.5 to win first in the Age 14 & Under division. Class A player Michelle Chen of Concord was second with a 3-1 tally. Fellow Class A contestant Andrew Liu of Westborough and top-rated expert Mika Brattain of Lexington tied for 3rd-4th place with scores of 2.5-1.5. Liu gained the 3rd-place trophy on tiebreak points despite losing to Brattain in their head-to-head contest. Brattain won the 4th-place medal. Section winner Xu drew Liu and defeated both Chen and Brattain. Class B player Alex Fauman of Newton was the winner in the Age 11 & Under section with a perfect 4-0 score. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 2.5-1.5 results were Anton Barash of Brighton (2nd-place trophy on tiebreak) and Evan Meyer of Newton (3rd-place trophy). In the critical final round, Fauman beat Barash. Jason Tang, a Class C player from Belmont, captured first place in the Age 8 & Under section with a score of 3.5-0.5. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 3-1 tallies were Carissa Yip of Chelmsford (2nd-place trophy on tiebreak) and Samuel Qiu of Acton (3rd-place trophy). Section winner Tang beat both Yip and Qiu. Forty players (10 per section) participated in this year's state championship. Brian Mottershead of Carlisle, assisted by associate national TD Alex Relyea and his wife, Nita Patel, of Bedford, New Hampshire, as well as USCF senior TD Bob Messenger of Nashua, N.H. directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Super Bowl Octads, held on Super Bowl Sunday, February 6, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville did not meet expectations and turned into a Sextad instead.  FIDE master and current club champion Christopher Chase of Somerville tied for 1st-2nd place with German-born expert Dr. Bernhard Seehaus of Boston. Both tallied 2.5-1.5, including a draw with each other in the second round. The six-player tournament was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Miro Reverby, a 41-year-old life master from Providence, Rhode Island, tallied 3-0 to win the Blackstone Mid-Winter Open, held Saturday, February 5, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Tying for second place with 2-1 scores were 51-year-old national master Sinclair Banks of Dighton, Mass. (who lost to Reverby in round 2), 12-year-old expert Christopher Gu of Wakefield, R.I. (who lost to Reverby in the final round), and Class A contestant William Smirnov, a 43-year-old MACA member from East Wareham, Mass. The tournament drew eight players plus two additional players who contested a side game. MACA member David Harris of Providence directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Quads, held Saturday, February 5, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, drew 24 players in five sections. Winning Quad 1 with a 3-0 score was current club champion FM Christopher Chase of Somerville. Tying for first place in Quad 2 with 2-1 tallies were Class A players Jacob Fauman and Jesse Nicholas, both of Newton. Fauman defeated Nicholas in their individual encounter in round 1.  Boylston Chess Club president and fellow Class A player Jason Rihel of Cambridge finished first in Quad 3 with a 3-0 performance. Seth Lieberman, a Class B entrant from Jamaica Plain, captured first place in Quad 4 with a 2.5-1.5 result. Joseph Dixon, stationed with the U.S. Coast Guard in Connecticut, attained a Class A rating for the first time in his career by posting a 3-0 score to win first in an 8-player Swiss section. Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

A three-way tie for first place took place in the Waltham Chess Club's First Friday Tournament #106, played February 4 in the IBM Offiice Building cafeteria in Waltham. Sharing top honors with scores of 6-1 were MACA life member Todd Chase of Weston, Yuriy Zhaurov of Waltham, and Andrew Liu of Westborough. In individual encounters, Chase defeated Zhaurov but lost to Liu and Zhaurov beat Liu. The quick-rated Game/10 tournament drew 12 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Max Wiegand, a sixth grader from the Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, Mass., achieved one of the greatest tournament triumphs in his life by winning first place in the Elementary Varsity section of the 45th annual Greater New York Scholastic Championship, held January 29-30 at the The New Yorker Hotel in New York City. The 12-year-old MACA member scored a perfect 5-0 in a field of 65 rivals, mainly from New York and New Jersey. He was the sole Massachusetts entry in the Elementary Varsity section. The championship, which is sponsored by the Kasparov Chess Foundation, is the USCF's longest-running scholastic tournament and one of the toughest events for scholastic players in New York. Max played up in three of his five wins and four of his wins were against competitors who finished in the top 8. According to his mother, Beebe Wiegand, Max got to meet former world champion Garry Kasparov, who attended the tournament to sign autographs and make the ceremonial first move on board 1 in the third round. Kasparov specifically asked Max (who was playing on board 2 in that round) his name, which was pretty exciting for the Cambridge player. Also exciting for Max was his raising his USCF rating by nearly 150 points! The two-day championship drew a total of 672 players in 12 sections and was directed by renowned TD Steve Immitt of New York. His chief assistant was Sophia Rohde. Also assisting in the large event were TDs Joe Lux, Harold Stenzel, Walter Brown Jr., Polly Wright, Hector Rodriguez III, Steven Flores, Aaron Kiedes, Hal Sprechman and Jabari McGreen.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Alan Schalk, a MACA life member from Berwick, Maine, surprised the field at the 35th Queen City Open, held January 29-30 at the Comfort Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire. The 51-year-old expert tallied 3-1 to finish first among 11 rivals in the Championship section. Tying as runners-up with 2.5-1.5 scores were national master David Carter of South Burlington, Vermont; experts Sherif Khater of Nashua, N.H. and John Elmore of Stratham, N.H., as well as Class A contestant David McKee of New Hampshire, formerly of Peabody, Mass. John Gaspar of North Berwick, Maine scored 3.5-0.5 to finish first in the Under 1935 section. MACA life member Thomas Provost Sr. of Canterbury, N.H. took second with a 3-1 result. Tying for third place with 2.5-1.5 tallies were John Phythyon Sr. and Jon Buxton, both of Maine, and Eric Blatt of Hyde Park, Vermont. John Malev of Maine won the Under 1635 section with a score of 3.5-0.5. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 performances were Frank DiRenzo and Gabriel Noblesmith, both of Maine, and Lee Dailing of Manchester, N.H. Vincent Bradley III of Massachusetts posted the tournament's only perfect 4-0 score in winning the Under 1335 section. Alex Franke of New Hampshire was second with a 3-1 tally. Tying for third place with 2-2 results were New Hampshire players Liam Murphy, Mike Fiske, Daniel Kilgour and Charles Cremen. A total of 46 players competed in the four-section, two-day main event. In Sunday Swiss sections held on January 30, FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn, Mass. scored 2.5-0.5 to win Section 1. Tying as runners-up with 2-1 results were Alan Schalk (who was able to become a two-time prize winner by taking a half-point bye in the third round of the main event!) and Raymond Paulson of Lowell, Mass. Nicholas Parsons of Maine tallied 3-0 to win Section 2. Deadlocked as runners-up with 2-1 scores were Edward Harris of New Hampshire, Leroy Doucette of Maine, and Alexander Shih of Andover, Mass. A total of 60 players competed in the six-section event, which was directed by Henry "Hal" Terrie of Manchester for the sponsoring New Hampshire Chess Association. He was assisted by NHCA president John Elmore. Of the 60 players, 28 came from New Hampshire, 17 from Maine, 11 from Massachusetts, three from Vermont and one from Rhode Island.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

National master Alex Fikiet, a 16-year-old MACA member from Storrs, Connecticut, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the 11th Nick Stevens Memorial tournament, held Thursday nights, January 6-27, in the Castleman Building at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. Runner-up with a 3-1 score was Ryan Wantroba of Cheshire, Conn., the chief organizing officer of the UConn Chess Club. The tournament drew seven players and was directed by fellow MACA member Tom Hartmayer of Storrs, who won the 10th Nick Stevens Memorial in 2010 - with Fikiet finishing as runner-up. The event honored the memory of Nicholas "Nick" Stevens of Willimantic, Conn., who died June 21, 2000 at age 61. Stevens was an active organizer, tournament director and player in Connecticut during the 1970s, 1980s and '90s, and played at the UConn Chess Club right through mid-December 1997.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The following are winners in top sections of rated tournaments held in January at various chess clubs in Massachusetts:

• MCC New Year Swiss (MetroWest CC, Natick, 61 players): IM Igor Foygel, 3-0
• BCF $10 Open (Boylston CC, Somerville, 39 players): FM Christopher Chase, 3.5-0.5
• Herb Healy Open House (Boylston CC, Somerville, 39 players): FM Christopher Chase, 4-0
• BCF Grand Prix (Boylston CC, Somerville, 29 players): FM Christopher Chase, 4-0
• I.A. Horowitz Memorial (Boylston CC, 23 players): IM Marc Esserman, NM Andrew Wang, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Quads (Boylston CC, Somerville, 20 players): FM Christopher Chase, 3-0
• Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #103 (20 players): Arthur Nugent, 3.5-0.5
• Billerica January Swiss (Billerica CC, 19 players): John Vaughan, 3-0
• BCF January Thursday Night Swiss (Boylston CC, Somerville, 18 players): FM Oliver Kniest, 3.5-0.5
• Waltham MLK Game/60 (Waltham CC, 16 players): Yuriy Zhaurov, Peter Teodorescu, 2-0
• Waltham First Friday #103 (Waltham CC, 15 players): GM Alexander Ivanov, 7-0
• Waltham January Game/20 (Waltham CC, 12 players): GM Alexander Ivanov, 4-0
• Fresh Start Open (Greater Worcester CC, 12 players): FM John Curdo, Robert J. King, 3-1
• Monday Night Swiss (Boylston CC, 10 players): Natasha Christiansen, Brian Perez-Daple, 2.5-1.5
• January Quick Chess (Greater Worcester CC, 8 players): Alonzo Ross, 3.5-0.5

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Grand Prix, the first in a series of monthly tournaments for 2011 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, was held on Saturday, January 29. Once again the club's winningest player, club champion FM Christopher Chase of Somerville, finished first in the Open section with a perfect 4-0 score. Capturing second place with a 3.5-0.5 tally was expert Christopher Gu, 12, of Wakefield, Rhode Island (who opted for a half-point bye in the final round). Tying for third place with 3-1 results were fellow experts M. Derek Meredith, 49, of West Hartford, Connecticut (who lost to Chase in round 3) and Tian Rossi, 14, of West Newton (who lost to Chase in the first round). In the Under 1800 section three players tied for first place with scores of 3-1. They were MACA member Robert Holmgren, 61, of Wayland; fellow MACA member Bowen Wang, 13, of South Easton (who lost to Holmgren in the second round); and Vladlen Khachaturyan (who lost to Wang in round 1 but defeated Holmgren in the final round.) The two-section tournament drew 29 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF life master Miro Reverby of Providence, Rhode Island and Class A player Neil Fachon of East Greenwich, R.I. tallied 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the 111th Rhode Island Pawn Eater tournament on Saturday, January 29, in Donovan Cafeteria at Rhode Island College in Providence. Tying for 3rd-4th place with 3-1 scores were Class A contestant Thomas Hartmayer, a MACA member from Storrs, Connecticut, and Class B participant Joseph Dixon, stationed in Connecticut with the U.S. Coast Guard. The single-section tournament, originally planned for three sections, drew 25 players and was directed by Frank Vogel III for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association. He was assisted by MACA member Eric Berkey of Woonsocket, R.I.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn and Class A player Robert J. King of Worcester tied for first place in the Greater Worcester Chess Club's Fresh Start Open, played Thursday nights, January 6-27, at the Hibernian Cultural Centre in Worcester. Both tallied 3-1, including a draw with one another in the third round. King attained an expert's rating for the first time in his career. Finishing as runner-up in the Open section with a 2.5-1.5 result was Class A contestant Alonzo Ross of Shrewsbury, who lost to Curdo in the final round. There was a three-way tie for first place in a five-player Section 2. Sharing top honors with 3-1 results were Richard Marseglia, Peter Shtudiner and Alex Chand, all of Worcester. In individual results, Shtudiner lost to Marseglia in the second round before receiving a full-point bye in the final round. And Chand lost to Marseglia in the first round before receiving a full-point bye in the third round. Gregory Przygoda of Worcester, who was playing in his first USCF-rated event, was awarded the section's Under Mid-Section class prize with a score of 2-2. The two-section tournament drew 12 players, with one additional player contesting a side game. Robert King directed, assisted by Donna Alarie of Rutland, for the sponsoring ChessPals affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Expert Arthur Nugent, 69, of Beverly scored 3.5-0.5 to win the Newburyport Chess Club Tournament #103, played Thursday nights, January 6-27, at Hope Community Church in Newburyport. Finishing as runner-up with a 3-1 tally was Class A player David Ferreira, 61, of Haverhill. The tournament drew 19 players plus one player who contested three rated side games. MACA life member Johh Elmore of Stratham, New Hampshire directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Oliver Kniest of Boston chalked up a score of 3.5-0.5 to win the BCF Thursday Night Swiss, held January 6-27 at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. The German native, who started playing for the first time at the club in early September 2010, has won all three Thursday Night Swisses (October, November and now January) he's participated in and was the runner-up in the 2010 Boylston Chess Club Championship. Tying for 2nd-3rd place in this month's TNS with 3-1 tallies were national master Vadim Martirosov of Allston (who lost to Kniest in the final round) and Class A player Daniel Schmidt of Somerville (who lost to Martirosov in round 2.) The tournament drew 18 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton. 

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Rick Massimo, a 46-year-old former MACA member from Providence, Rhode Island, tallied 4-0 to win the first half of the Cranston-Warwick Chess Club Championship, played Tuesday nights, January 4-25, at the Garden City Center in Cranston, R.I.  Tying for second place with 3-1 scores were ex-MACA member Richard Dusza, 64, of Riverside, R.I. and fellow Ocean State resident Mark Neale. The tournament drew 14 players, with three additional players contesting side games, and was directed by Frank Vogel III.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Igor Foygel, 63, of Brookline tallied 3-0 to win a shortened version of the MetroWest Chess Club's New Year Swiss, held Tuesday nights, January 11-25, at the temporary Natick Senior Center at 90 Oak St.. in Natick. Finishing as runner-up with a score of 2.5-0.5 was FIDE master John Curdo, 79, of Auburn. Oleg Poliannikov of Brookline, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, scored 2.5-0.5 to win first place in the Under 2000 section. George Duval of Sudbury, who celebrated his 48th birthday four days after the first round, tallied 3-0 to finish first in the Under 1700 section. Laura Brisbois, 14, of Framingham also posted a score of 3-0 to win first place in the Under 1400 section. The four-section tournament drew 61 players and was directed by MACA life member and national TD Ken Ballou of Framingham, assisted by fellow MACA life member Matthew Phelps of Groton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Holiday Team Challenge, an annual MACA scholastic tournament open to school teams and non-school-based teams, was held on Sunday, January 23, at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough. A total of 23 teams (96 players including four alternates,18 of whom were playing in their first USCF-rated event), competed in the three-section, four-round tournament. There was also a bonus for 37 players, who were able to play extra-rated side games. Chief TD was MACA tournament coordinator and treasurer Bob Messenger, assisted by MACA clerk and scholastic committee chairman Brian Mottershead, MACA executive board members Stephen Dann and Steve Frymer, and MACA president George Mirijanian. Trophies were awarded to members of the three top-scoring teams in each section. Medals were also awarded to players on teams that tied for third place and to those scoring 3 points who did not win a trophy. Winners were as follows:

• K-12 Section (7 teams)
• 1st: Sage School, Foxboro "A" team (Nicholas Plotkin, Bary Lisak, Kevin Hu, Eric Hu), 4 match points
• 2nd (on tiebreak): Weston Wildcats #2 (Marcus Luzzi, Colin Luzzi, Graham Strong, Jae Yong Cho), 2.5 match points
• 3rd: Russian Knights (Michael Isakov, Anton Barash, Alan Sikarov, Tal Puhov), 2.5 match points
• Medal winners: Alexander Kaye, Peter Teodorescu, Eddy Zhong
•  
• K-6 Section (9 teams)
• 1st: Winchester Chess Club (Mateos Sahakian, Conway Xu, Christopher Wang, Justin Lin), 3.5 match points
• 2nd: Cabot School, Newton (Alex Fauman, Evan Meyer, Jack Vasu, Devin Coughlin), 3 match points
• 3rd (on tiebreak): ACLS Dragons K-6 (Eric Liu, Allen Wang, Ryan West, James West), 2.5 match points
• Medal winners: Jeremy Tang, Lauren Smorgonsky, David Maimon, Ansh Jetly, Henry Liu, Jusitn Lee, Aram Shajii, Kira Porter, Adam Maimon
•  
• K-3 Section (7 teams)
• 1st: Three Boys and a Girl (Carissa Yip, Rohan Krishnan, Matthew Ding, Maxwell Wang), 3.5 match points
• 2nd (on tiebreak): ACLS Dragons K-3 (Eric Feng, Eddie Wang, Alex Yu, Andrew Bistras), 2.5 match points
• 3rd: Buckingham, Browne & Nichols, Cambridge (Ben Wiegand, Nikhil Datta, William Keating, Amy Khoshbin), 2.5 match points
• Medal winners: Shivan Giroti, Adam Itani, Samuel Qiu, Daniel Wang, Jason Liang, Jelin Zhong

George Mirijanian
MACA President

International master Marc Esserman, 27, of Somerville  and national master Andrew Wang, 15, of Cambridge scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st-2nd place in the Israel Albert Horowitz Memorial tournament, held Saturday, January 22, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. Both took half-point byes in the first round. Tying for 3rd-4th place with 3-1 tallies were German-born expert Dr. Bernhard Seehaus, 48, of Boston and fellow expert Mika Brattain, 12, of Lexington. The single-section tournament, originally planned for two sections, drew 23 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton. The event honored the memory of Israel Albert "Al" Horowitz (1907-1973), one of the leading U.S. players during the 1930s and 1940s. Horowitz was U.S. Open champion in 1936, co-champion (with Isaac Kashdan) in 1938 when the event was held in Boston, and champion in 1943. Besides being an author of numerous chess books, he was owner and editor of Chess Review magazine from its inception in 1933 until 1969. He was also the first chess columnist for the New York Times, introducing a column for the Sunday edition of the Times on April 16, 1962 and running the column until 1972, when he was succeeded for a short time that year by GM Sam Reshevsky, who in turn was succeeded by GM Robert Byrne.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master John Curdo of Auburn tallied 2.5-0.5 to win the 20th Mid-Winter Classic tournament, held Saturday, January 22, at the Florence Congregational Church in Florence, Mass. Tying for second place with 2-1 scores were expert M. Derek Meredith of West Hartford, Connecticut (who lost to Curdo in the second round) and Class A player Michael Pascetta, a MACA life member from South Glastonbury, Conn. (who drew Curdo in the final round). Pascetta captured the top Under 2000 prize in an Open section field of six players. Ronald Gist of Amherst and Joseph Dixon with the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in Connecticut scored 2.5-0.5 to tie for first place in the Under 1800 section. They drew each other in the final round. Tying for the top Under 1600 prize with 2-1 results were Antonio Laudati of Florence and Gaetano Bompastore of Greenfield. Michael Smith of Virginia won the Under 1400 section with a score of 2.5-0.5. Tying for second place with 2-1 performances were tournament organizer Edward Kostreba of Ware and Timothy Grover of Taftville, Connecticut. Grover won the top Under 1200 prize, while the prize for top Unrated went unclaimed. The three-section tournament drew 22 players and was directed by MACA life member David Hall of Springfield for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association (WMCA).

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Cameron Pita, a student from Central Falls, Rhode Island, tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the 6th Warwick Burger King Tournament in Rhode Island on Saturday, January 22. Tying as runners-up with 3-1 scores were fellow Central Falls students Yang Ming Zou and Sam Adofo as well as Nathaniel Savage. The tournament drew 14 players and was directed by Frank DelBonis of Providence for the sponsoring Rhode Island Chess Association.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton returned to the Waltham Chess Club on Friday night, January 21, and tallied 4-0 to win the Waltham January Game/20 Tournament at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. He had previously won the club's First Friday Tournament on January 7. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 3-1 scores were MACA life member Todd Chase of Weston (who lost to Ivanov in the third round), and Watertown High School senior Vitaliy Ryabinin, the club's Webmaster (whom Ivanov defeated in the second round). The event drew 12 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham, a member of the MACA executive board.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 43rd annual Liberty Bell Open, held January 14-17 at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in Philadelphia, drew 453 players in nine sections. Tying for first place in the Open section with scores of 5.5-1.5 were GMs Alexander Shabalov, 43, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Sergey Kudrin, 51, of Stamford, Connecticut, IM Marc Esserman, 27, of Somerville, Mass., and FIDE master Farai Mandizha, 25, of New York, originally from Zimbabwe. Going into the final round Esserman, a MACA member and also a member of the board of directors at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, was leading the field by a half point and needed only a draw to clinch clear first place. But a loss to Kudrin put him in a four-way tie for the top spot. Shabalov, who won the 2010 Liberty Bell Open, was awarded bonus money on the basis of superior tiebreak points. Mandizha was able to gain a share of the top prize money by taking a half-point bye in the final round. Finishing out of the prize money but posting a fine 4-3 result was MACA member Stuart Finney of Barrington, Rhode Island, who gained a master's rating in December and boosted his rating to 2242 in this event with a superb performance rating. Other players from New England who won prize money were 21-year-old David Plotkin of Newton, Mass., who tied for second place in the Under 2300 section' Brian Jordan of Connecticut, who won second place in the Under 1700 section and Blake Gendron of Greenland, New Hampshire, who tied for the 4th-5th prize in the same section; and David Coccio, 41, of Bristol, Rhode Island, who tied for the 4th-5th prize in the Under 1500 section. Directing the tournament for the sponsoring Continental Chess Association was Steve Immitt (chief TD), assisted by Sophia Rohde. Also assisting in the event were sectional directors Harold Stenzel, Ernest Schlich, Andrew Rea and Hector Rodriguez III.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Roque Napoleon Munoz Pena, a former member of the Dominican Republic's national chess team and president of the Dominican Chess Federation from 1966 to 1970, died Saturday, January 15, after a long battle with prostate cancer, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was 83. Mr. Munoz Pena was a member of the national chess team from 1962 to 1964. He was president of the Dominican Olympic Committee from 1974 to 1982 and then a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1983 to 2008. He was best known for helping introduce baseball as a medal sport at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Peter Teodorescu, a 14-year-old MACA member from Marlborough, posted a perfect score of 4-0 to win the 54th Chelmsford Burger King Tournament on Sunday, January 16. Tying as runners-up with 2.5-1.5 results were Kira Porter, 12, of Southborough (who lost to Teodorescu in the third round) and Daniel Wang, 6, of Lexington (who drew Porter in the final round). The tournament drew seven players and was directed by Matthew Gosselin for the sponsoring MARI chess affiliate.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov, 54, of Newton, Massachusetts scored 4.5-0.5 to win the FIDE-rated Open section of the Portsmouth Open, held January 15-16 at the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Tying for second place with 4-1 tallies were USCF life master Max Enkin, 21, of Peabody, Mass. (who drew Ivanov in the final round) and expert Sherif Khater, 25, of Nashua, N.H. (who lost to Ivanov in the second round). Khater won the top Under 2250 prize. Scoring 3.5-1.5 and winning the top U2000 prize was Matthew Fishbein, 13, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. George "Blunderprone" Duval of Sudbury, Mass. celebrated his 48th birthday on the first day of the tournament by capturing first place in the Under 1750 section with a score of 4.5-0.5. MACA life member Thomas Provost Sr., 69, of Canterbury, N.H. won second place with a 4-1 tally. Lee Dailing, 60, of Manchester, N.H. and Aashish Welling, a sixth-grader from Nashua, N.H. posted 3-2 results to share the top Under 1500 prize. Benjamin Hansel, 15, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine and Eric Heinecke, 53, of Rockport, Mass. tied for the top Under 1250 prize with scores of 2.5-2.5. The two-section tournament drew 38 players and was directed by national TD Ken Ballou of Framingham, Mass. for the sponsoring Relyea Chess affiliate. This was the third straight year that a tourney was organized in Portsmouth by New England chess promoter and associate national tournament director F. Alexander Relyea of Bedford, N.H

George Mirijanian
MACA President

FIDE master Christopher Chase proved once again why he is the dominant player at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville. The 54-year-old Somerville resident and current champion of the Boylston CC tallied 3.5-0.5 to win the BCF $10 Open on Saturday, January 15. Chase has notched more recent wins at the BCC than any other player, including victory at the Herb Healy Open House tournament on New Year's Day, in the top section of the BCF Quads in early January, and the Harry Lyman Memorial tourney in mid-December. He is currently ranked 12th in Massachusetts among active and current USCF members. Tying as runners-up in the $10 Open with 3-1 scores were USCF life master Avraam Pismennyy, 73, of Salem (who took a half-point bye in the final round); national master Vadim Martirosov, 41, of Allston; and fellow NM Carey Theil, 33, of Arlington. Timothy Lung, a 14-year-old MACA member from Lexington, scored 3.5-0.5 to capture first place in the Under 1800 section. Tying for second place with 3-1 results were Class B rival Robert Holmgren, 61, of Wayland and 53-year-old Class C contestant Thomas Milano from the Boston area, who had not played in a rated tournament in 13 years. The two-section event drew 39 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Yuriy Zhaurov, a Class A player from Waltham, and Peter Teodorescu, a 14-year-old MACA member from Marlborough, tallied 2-0 to tie for first place in the Waltham Chess Club's MLK Game/60 tournament, held Friday night, January 14, in the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Tying as runners-up with scores of 1.5-0.5 were expert Todd Chase of Weston, a MACA life member and winner of the 2010 MLK Game/60, and fellow expert Edward Astrachan, a MACA member from Waban. The tournament, which was held in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17, drew 16 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham, a member of the MACA executive board.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The Boylston Chess Club blog reports via MACA member Tomas Girnius of Quincy that ex-USCF and MACA member Edward Joseph Wyckoff, formerly of Quincy and Dorchester, Mass., died Monday, January 3, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a long illness. He was 52.  Ed was born on July 17, 1958, the son of Francis L. and J. Frances (Harmon) Wyckoff. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1975 and received a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1980. He later received a master's degree in history from the University of New Mexico in Alburquerque. During his student years at Boston Latin, Ed led the school's chess team as captain to four straight Massachusetts High School Team Championships (Hurvitz Cup) and to a couple of high finishes in the U.S. High School Team Championship. During the 1970s he was an active player at the Boylston Chess Club when the club was located in the Young Men's Christian Union (YMCU) building on Boylston Street in Boston. One of the last tournaments he competed in was the 1988 U.S. Open, held at the Lafayette Hotel in downtown Boston. One of his memorable opponents was IM Igor Ivanov (awarded GM title in 2005), against whom he essayed a Four Pawns Attack in the King's Indian Defense in the second round. When he stopped playing over-the-board rated chess more than 20 years ago, his rating stood at 2184. After moving to Albuquerque following graduation from Harvard, Ed eventually became a financial aid officer at the University of New Mexico - first in the undergraduate college and later at the medical school. Besides his mother in Quincy, he leaves his wife, Anne Wyckoff, and a son, Edward Francis Wyckoff, both of Albuquerque; a sister, Dr. Patricia Wyckoff of Mansfield, Mass.; and a brother, Francis Wyckoff. Another brother, Donald Wyckoff, predeceased him. His father died in July 2004.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

USCF senior life master Denys Shmelov gained a grandmaster norm at the Berkeley International Tournament, held January 2-8 at the Berkeley Chess School in Berkeley, California. The 24-year-old Pepperell, Mass. resident and 2008 Massachusetts state champion tallied 6.5-3.5 and tied for 1st Under 2500 in a field of 58 players. Among his victories were wins against IMs Robert Ris of the Netherlands and Sam Collins of Ireland, as well as GM Dejan Bojkov of Bulgaria. He drew GM Robert Hess of New York before defeating GM Sergey Erenburg of Israel in the penultimate round. In the final round, he faced tournament leader GM Loek van Wely of the Netherlands and lost. Van Wely finished first with a 8-2 score, while Erenburg took second place with a 7.5-2.5 tally. Third place with a 7-3 performance went to GM Magesh Panchanathan of India. Also scoring 6.5-3.5 and tying for 1st Under 2500 was IM Sam Shankland, a student at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. and a key member of the champion 2010 U.S. Chess League New England Nor''Easters team, who clinched his final GM norm. GM Josh Friedel, who was born and raised in Goffstown, New Hampshire also tallied 6.5-3.5 but finished out of the prize money. The tournament was organized by national master Arun Sharma and IM David Pruess. International master John Donaldson, a FIDE arbiter and a USCF-certified senior tournament director, was chief TD. He was assisted by Arun Sharma.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The 4th Spiegel Cup Qualifier, a qualifying tournament for the 2011 Massachusetts State Scholastic Championships, was held Sunday, January 9, at the Holiday Inn Select in Woburn. A total of 102 players in 6 sections competed. Qualifying for the state championship, which will be held February 6 at the same hotel, are the following players:

• High School: Elliot Strassman (1996) of Jamaica Plain, 2-1
• Age 14 & Under: Jesse Klimov (1590) of Waban, 3.5-0.5
• Age 11 & Under: Anton Barash (1278) of Brighton, 4-0
• Age 8 & Under: Rohan Krishnan (845) of Hopkinton, 3.5-0.5

Other trophy and medal winners in the qualifier were as follows:

• High School (3 players)
• 2nd place: Darwin Ding of Lexington, 1.5-1.5
• 3rd place: Jacob Fauman of Newton, 0.5-1.5
•  
• Age 14 & Under (23 players)
• 2nd place: Amanda Chen of Weston, 3.5-0.5
• 3rd place: Siddharth Arun of Medfield, 3-1
• Nicholas Plotkin of Sharon, 3-1
• Rohan Shankar of Sudbury, 3-1
• David Todd of Boxford, 3-1
•  
• Age 11 & Under (26 players)
• 2nd place: Sandeep Vadlamudi of Lexington, 3.5-0.5
• 3rd place: Conway Xu of Lexington, 3.5-0.5
• Jesse Sun of Sudbury, 3-1
• Alexander Shih of Andover, 3-1
• Alan Sikarov of Newton, 3-1
•  
• Age 8 & Under (13 players)
• 2nd place: Andrew The of Lexington, 3.5-0.5
• 3rd place: Matthew Ding of Westford, 3-1
• Eddie Wang of Acton, 3-1
•  
• Novice Under 800 (26 players) 
• 1st-2nd place: Gershon Gilman of Newton, 3.5-0.5
• 1st-2nd place: James Cassidy of Westwood, 3.5-0.5
• 3rd place: Ellis O'Donnell of Weston, 3-1
• Christopher Menz of Newton, 3-1
• William Goldberg of Milton, 3-1
• Joanthan Wuwong of Milton, 3-1
• Audrey Gaines of Shrewsbury, 3-1
• Dustin Yang of Andover, 3-1
•  
• Novice Under 400 (12 players)
• 1st place: Daniel Wang of Lexington, 3.5-0.5
• 2nd place: Daniel Linder (first-time player) of Newton, 3-1
• 3rd place: Nikhil Datta of West Newton, 3-1

Chief tournament director was Alex Relyea of Bedford, New Hampshire. Assistant TDs were Nita Patel of Bedford, N.H. and Bob Messenger of Nashua, N.H. Also assisting were MACA vice president Steve Frymer of Lexington, MACA scholastic committee chairman Brian Mottershead of Carlisle, and Beebe Wiegand of Cambridge.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

 Matt Gosselin and Dima Barash co-sponsored a scholastic grand prix at the Burger King and Papa Gino's scholastic tournaments during 2010. There were 23 tournaments. The sum of one's 10 best results from these events constituted the competition.

Top finishers were the following:

• Aashish Welling of Nashua NH.........................................................26.5 points.................10 events
• James Zhou of Andover MA..............................................................21.0.............................10
• Lauren Smorgonsky of Worcester MA..............................................20.0................................9
• Rohan Krishnan of Hopkinton MA.....................................................19.5................................7
• Anton Barash of Brighton MA...........................................................18.5...............................7
• Sean Ren-Shiuan Cheng of Westford MA.........................................18.0...............................9
• Leonardo Cheng of Westford MA.......................................................17.0...............................8
• Nikita Roldan-Levchenko of Allston MA.............................................17.0...............................9
• Rahul Krishnan of Hopkinton MA......................................................16.5...............................6
• Eric Feng of Sudbury MA.................................................................16.0................................6

Steve Frymer
Assistant TD

Miro Reverby, a 41-year-old USCF life master from Providence, Rhode island, tallied 3-0 to win the New Year Open tournament, held Saturday, January 8, at the Blackstone Chess Center in Pawtucket, R.I. Tying as runners-up with 2-1 scores were expert David Harris of Providence (who lost to Reverby in the second round), Class A contestant Neil Fachon of East Greenwich, R.I. (whom Reverby defeated in the final round), and Class C participant Antonio Martinez of Rhode Island (whom Reverby beat in the first round). The tournament drew nine players and was directed by David Harris for the sponsoring Blackstone Chess Center.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

The BCF Quads, held Saturday, January 8, at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville attracted 20 players in five sections. Winning Quad 1 with a 3-0 score was the current Boylston CC champion, FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville. Capturing first place in Quad 2 with a 2.5-0.5 tally was expert Mika Brattain, 12, of Lexington. Class A player Charlie Fauman, 12, of Newton was the winner in Quad 3 with a 2.5-0.5 result. Class B contestant Jerry Williams of Douglas finished on top in Quad 4 with a 3-0 performance, while Class C participant Evan Meyer, 9, of Newton took first place in Quad 5, also with a 3-0 score. Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton directed.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Aaron Schein, a Class A player from New York, scored 3-0 to win the Williams College Open, held Saturday, January 8, in Griffin Hall at Williams College in Williamstown. Tying as runners-up with 2-1 tallies were Class A players Jeff Brassard of North Adams and Jesse Anderson of Vermont as well as Class B entrant Trevor Murphy. The tournament drew 10 players and was directed by Trevor Murphy, the Williams College Chess Club adviser.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov of Newton chalked up a perfect score of 7-0 to win the Waltham Chess Club's First Friday Tournament #105, held January 7 at the IBM Office Building cafeteria in Waltham. Class A player Andrew Liu, 12, of Westborough finished second with a 5.5-1.5 tally. MACA life member Todd Chase of Weston ended up in third place with a 5-2 result. The quick-rated Game/10 tournament drew 15 players and was directed by Nicholas Sterling of Needham.

George Mirijanian
MACA President

Fitchburg Access Television (FATV), one of the leading PEG (public-education-government) access TV stations in Massachusetts, is making its monthly Chess Chat programs available for free on Video on Demand. The programs, which are produced by the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University, have been broadcast four times a week on FATV for the past five years. The following programs can be accessed by clicking on the link to FATV's Video on Demand:

• January 2011 - GM Paul Keres: The Crown Prince of Chess - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1267/Chess_Chat_1311/
• December 2010 - In Memoriam: GM Larry Evans (1932-2010) - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1234/Chess_Chat_120610/
• November 2010 - Chess Olympiads: Past and Present - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1120/Chess_Chat_110210/
• October 2010 - In Memoriam: GM Bent Larsen (1935-2010) - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/1113/Chess_Chat_100610/
• June 2010 - United States Chess Championship - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/852/Chess_Chat_61410/
• May 2010 - Massachusetts State Chess Champions - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/728/Chess_Chat_5510/
• April 2010 - GM Vasily Smyslov (1921-2010) - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/652/Chess_Chat_April_2010
• March 2010 - Alexander Alekhine: 4th World Champion - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/170/Chess_Chat_March_2010
• February 2010 - GM Magnus Carlsen: World's No. 1 Player - http://prometheus.fatv.org/media/171/Chess_Chat_February_2010/

George Mirijanian
MACA Board Member

Nelson Castaneda, a 52-year-old FIDE master from New Britain, Connecticut, tallied a perfect 4-0 to win the Bob Milardo Game/30 Tournament, held Sunday, January 2, at the New Britain Chess Club at the Assyrian Club in New Britain. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 3-1 scores were expert M. Derek Meredith of West Hartford, Conn. (who lost to Castaneda in the third round) and Class A player Gert Hilhorst of Simsbury, Conn. (whom Castaneda defeated in the final round). The tournament drew 13 players and was directed by MACA life member Michael Pascetta of South Glastonbury, Conn., assisted by M. Derek Meredith. The event honored Class A player Robert Milardo, former treasurer of the Connecticut State Chess Association, who played in the tournament after returning to rated chess after an absence of more than six years.

George Mirijanian
MACA Board Member

The following are winners in top sections of rated tournaments held in December at various chess clubs in Massachusetts:

• MCC Holiday Cheer Swiss (Metrowest CC, Natick, 67 players): Denys Shmelov, IM Igor Foygel, 3.5-0.5
• George Sturgis Memorial (Wachusett CC, Fitchburg, 30 players): Michael Manisy, Paul Godin, 4-1
• Harry Lyman Memorial (Boylston CC, Somerville, 22 players): FM Christopher Chase, 3.5-0.5
• Newburyport Tournament #102 (Newburyport CC, 20 players): Raymond Paulson, 5.5-0.5
• Waltham First Friday #104 (Waltham CC, 19 players): Denys Shmelov, 7-0
• Waltham Fireplace G/60 (Waltham CC, 18 players): Denys Shmelov, Todd Chase, Dan Shapiro, Nithin Kavi, 2-0
• BCF Quads 10-12 (Boylston CC, Somerville, 17 players): FM Christopher Chase, 3-0
• BCF Thursday Night Swiss (Boylston CC, 15 players): Alex Slive, Ted Cross, Khikmet Sadykov, 3-1
• Year End Open (Sven Brask CC, Plainville, 15 players): Andrew Hoy, 4.5-0.5
• Albert Hodges Memorial (Boylston CC, 14 players): Carey Theil, Dr. Bernhard Seehaus, 3-1
• Billerica December Swiss (Billerica CC, 13 players): Raymond Paulson, John Vaughan, 3-1
• Delectable December Open (Greater Worcester CC, 11 players): FM John Curdo, 3.5-0.5
• BCF Quick Chess (Boylston CC, Somerville, 6 players): GM Alexander Ivanov, 5-0

George Mirijanian
MACA Board Member

Mitchell Klausner, a provisionally rated Class B player from Sharon, tallied 3-0 to win the rated section of the Living Memorial Chess Fund Benefit Tournament on Sunday, January 2, in Sharon. The fundraising event, which was a bar mitzvah project of MACA junior member Jordan Shapiro of Sharon, was held at Temple Sinai. Klausner had not played rated chess in four years. Taking second place with a 2-1 score was first-time player Alec Hirsch. In addition to the four-player rated section, 16 other players competed in sections that were based on age and not USCF-rated. Former MACA president Ken Ballou of Framingham directed the charity event for the sponsoring Sudbury River Chess Association. A total of $472 in proceeds from the tournament was donated to MACA's Living Memorial Chess Fund.

George Mirijanian
MACA Board Member

FIDE master Christopher Chase of Somerville, the current champion of the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, tallied a perfect 4-0 to win first place in the rated section of the club's Herb Healy Open House Tournament on New Year's Day. Tying for 2nd-4th place with scores of 3.5-0.5 were international master Justin Sarkar of New York (who took a half-point bye in the first round), national master Carey Theil of Arlington, and expert Benedict Smail of Lexington. The rated Game/40 section drew 39 players, while a 13-player unrated section was won by USCF life master Alex Cherniack of Watertown with a score of 4-0.  Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton directed. The tournament honored the memory of Herbert E. Healy (1885-1974), who was an original charter member of the club when it was established in 1919 at the Young Men's Christian Union (YMCU) at the corner of Tremont and Boylston streets in Boston.

George Mirijanian
MACA Board Member