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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

Brian Lafferty
MACA Board of Director

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

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

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

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

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

Open section (12 players):

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

Under 2000 section (29 players):

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

Under 1700 section (12 players):

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

Under 1400 section (19 players):

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

Kenneth Ballou
Chief TD

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

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

The tournament consisted of six sections:

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

Premier (1400+):

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

Classic (1200-1399):

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

Challenge (1000-1199):

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

Reserve (800-999):

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

Novice II (400-799):

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

Novice I (100-399):

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

Ken Ballou
Chief TD

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

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

Guest Book - Howard W. Cook

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

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

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

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

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

Tiffany Wang
Webmaster

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

Mark Donlan
Chess Horizons Editor

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

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

Grades 9-12

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

Grade 8:

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

Grade 7:

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

Grade 6:

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

Grade 5:

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

Grade 4:

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

Grade 3:

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

Grade 2:

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

Grade 1:

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

Grade K:

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

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

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

Mark Donlan
Chess Horizons Editor

Click here to read this story on AP.

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

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

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator