Sunday, December 31, 2017

Boylston Chess Club 2017 in photo review by Tony Cortizas, Jr.





by 

Tony Cortizas, Jr.



BCC Masters Sunday 2017. Alexander Katz, Carissa Yip, Farzad Abdi.  photo:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

 David Stoner, Chris Chase. BCC Harold Dondis Memorial 2017

Will Wisdom. BCC Harold Dondis Memorial 2017.


BCC Last Quads of 2017. Liam Henry Putnam.

BCC Masters Sunday 2017. The Analysis.


BCC Masters Sunday 2017. Bernardo Iglesias.

Sam and audience. Sam Shankland alone. BCC GM Sam Shankland Lecture May 19, 2017.

Chef Charles Slade, BCC GM Sam Shankland Lecture May 19, 2017.
BCC GM Nadezhda Kosintseva Lecture 2017.

Isabella Lai, Maya Figelman. Mass. Girls Championship 2017.

Nick Sterling,  BCC Greg Hager Memoria




BCC last Quads of 0f 2017 photos by Tony Cortizas, Jr.


banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.



Last Quads of 2017  
photographs

by

Tony Cortizas, Jr.




Hi all,

I couldn't resist getting some photos of the last local chess event of the 2017, BCC’s Last Quads of 2017. Quite a nice turnout. I did focus especially on Liam Henry Putnam from Long Island, NY. Liam — who is a BCC member! --  was clear first in the 4th grade section of the K-12 National Grade Championships held this month in Orlando, FL. And I see Liam won his Quad.

Thanks to Nicholas S. for directing.


Enjoy.

Liam Putnam   photo:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

Last Quads report by Nick Sterling, TD


banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.




Fellow BCF Players,

Commendations to all 30 players who joined us at BCF for the final weekend of 2017 despite bitterly cold temperatures outside. I am happy to report that I know now how to set up Quads as TD, and how to start them properly on time. All I need to work on now is getting them rated properly, and we'll be good.

It has been a rewarding and exciting year of TD work at BCF, and I look forward to many more fun years, one day as Senior TD and maybe even FIDE Arbiter. Thanks to everyone at BCF for all your great support this year, and especially to Tony for your outstanding gallery of photos.

Winners:

Quad #1: Brandon Wu
Quad #2: Joseph Perl
Quad #3: Liam Putnam
Quad #4: Joaquin Carlson
Quad #5: Thomas Ha
Quad #6: Robert Oresick
Small Swiss: Riya Kanury

Happy New Year, BCF! See you at the $15 Open.

Nicholas P. Sterling, Ph.D.
BCF, Local TD


Friday, December 29, 2017

2017 New England Chess Photo Archive by Tony Cortizas, Jr.

 
New England Chess archive 2017  by Tony Cortrizas, Jr.

 

2017 

New England Chess Photo Archive

 .
by 

Tony Cortrizas, Jr.



 
Here is a survey of my 2017 chess photos covering BCC, MACA and other events, starting with the BCC Herb Healy through November's Greg Hager Memorial tournament.  Feel free to forward the link to others. 


See you at the Jan. 1 BCC Herb Healy celebration where the 2018 photographic record begins!
.
..
.
.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Play chess at the Boylston in 2018



New Year's resolution for 2018:  

play more chess at the Boylston

(starting with the Herb Healy on January 1.)



In 2017, 
the BCC hosted  97 rated events 
and many lectures, seminars, and clinics.




 In 2018,
come play a game of chess with your friends.
(early and often.)







Happy New Year !

Herb Healy Open House, 2018


banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.


DateMonday, January 1, 2018
Event Format4SS
Time ControlG/40 d5
SectionsRated & Unrated
Entry Fee$35, $20 for BCF members, $5 more at door
PrizesBased on entries
Registration11:00am - 11:40am
Round Times11:45am, 1:40pm, 3:30pm, 5:10pm
DescriptionFree food and drinks all day for tournament players
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List



 ____________________________________


by Tony Cortizas, Jr.

 ____________________________________

Herb Healy Open House 2018

  • Our annual kickoff tournament
  • Free food served to all players all day
  • Two sections: rated and non-rated
Please come to the annual BCC open house, 

see some old friends, 

make some new ones, 

play some chess (rated or unrated), 

and enjoy a free lunch. 

It's a great way to start the 2018 chess year.


 Registration isn't until 10:45,

so you can sleep in from your celebrating the night before.



............................................................................



Since 1974 Boston area chess players have started the new year with a tournament and open house at the Boylston Chess Club. 
In 1980 the open house was dedicated to Herb Healy, described below by Bernardo Iglesias.

 
............................................................................


Mike Griffin caters the affair as Irving Yaffee did before him.

Irving Yaffe, in Memoriam.
Irv catered the Herb Healy for years!
Passing the baton to

BCC Veteran chess player and member, Board of Directors ,
Mike Griffin high-lights one of his prime dogs at the deli table which he volunteered to organize and operate. Thank you Mike for your contribution!



............................................................................




Start 2018 out right.  



Come play chess with friends.


............................................................................
Bernardo did a sketch of the origination of the Herb Healy Open House:



Herbert E. Healy was born on July 13, 1885 and died on Wednesday, January 9, 1974 in Boston.  [Thanks to George Mirijanian for providing July 13 as his exact day of birth.]

He was 88 years old and one of the original Charter members of the Boylston Chess Club at its official organization in 1919.    He was Secretary Emeritus at his death.

“The Club was saddened by the death of Herbert Healy, Charter Member and Secretary Emeritus, on Wednesday night, January 9, 1974. This occurred only days after the Herbert Healy Appreciation Tournament (the 30-30 New Year’s Event) and Testimony was held in his honor. Wednesday had a 10”-12” snowfall, but Mr. Healy showed up at the Union and peeked into the Chess Quarters. [ He went to his home in the South End on Brookline Ave.] He died in his sleep. (Only Dave Hudnut, in the Providence Rhode Island area, remains as a Charter Club Member.)”

In 1980 the New Year's 30/30 was permanently dedicated to him as Herbert E. Healy Open House.  Herbert E. Healy along with Harry Lyman, Irvin Yaffee, Myer Edelstein and others customarily provided food to the participants of this event.



This information was taken from minutes of the club from January 27, 1974 and talking with Mr.Harry Lyman and William Lukowiak in past years. There are more testimonies about Mr. Healy that I am omitting.



Bemardo Iglesias
 December 2007



Sunday, December 24, 2017

Last Quads of 2017


banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.
DateSaturday, December 30, 2017
Event Format3RR
Time ControlG/65 d10
SectionsPlayers will be arranged into quads by rating
Entry Fee$35, $20 for BCF Members, $5 more if not registering online
Prizes$$80 First place in top quad, $$50 First place in each of the other quads
Registration9:15am - 9:45am; ABSOLUTELY NO ONSITE REGISTRATION AFTER 9:45AM
Round Times10:00am, 1:15pm, and 4:00pm
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List




Winter Game/80 report by Nick Sterling


banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

photo:  Nick Sterling



Fellow BCF players,

_Games of Thrones_: winter is coming.

Freezing rain happily did not stop 22 brave players from arriving at BCF and competing in the extensively timed Winter G/80 d10. We had a little trouble getting the U1800 paired by Swiss rules through three Rounds, but thankfully our visiting dad from Minnesota - yep, you read that right! - came to the rescue as house player.

Winter is coming.

Winners:
Open:
1st: Lawyer Times
2nd: Nithin Kavi
U1800:
1st: Robert Oresick
2nd Richard Kahn

Come on back next Saturday for the Last Quad of the Year!
And have a very Merry Christmas.

Nicholas P. Sterling, Ph.D.
BCF, Local TD














Liam Putnam v NM Nithin Kavi

 
NM Lawyer Times v NM Ramya Inapuri





Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Team Spirit: Rapid Team Tournament

Banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.




Saturday, Feb 10, 2018

6SS

G/25 d5

Open

$25; $30 if not registering online in advance

Prizes:  TBA

Registration:  9:15-9:45 a.m.

Rounds:  10:00am, 11:15am, 1:15pm, 2:30pm, 3:45pm; 5:30pm

Team event for 3-person teams (plus an alternate, if desired) with an average rating below 2000, based on top 3 boards. Side games may be arranged for alternates, if desired. Players without teams will be assigned teams at the door.
Indicate your team name in the comments, when registering.

Current Pre-Registration List





Boylston Dec Scholastic report

Banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.




Nicholas Sterling added 31 photos to the album: BCF December Scholastic - 12-17-2017 in Bay State Chess Kings Facebook Group.
 


Fellow BCF chess players,

Steady by steady step, month by month, our BCF Scholastics are growing. On Sunday we fielded 24 players, a new record for attendance at a Scholastic. Because of the bump-up in 8 & Under attendance in particular, we had separate 14U and 8U Sections. Eventually we'll get the 8U attendance to rival the 14U!
This was a great event, and I thank everyone, players and parents, who came.


Winners:
14U
1st Place: Amit Piryatinksi
2nd Place: Evan Gao
3rd Place: Lidik Zavriyev
Medal: Sritan Devineni
8U
1st Place: Adriano Perola
2nd Place: Rami Klemencic


The next Scholastic, on 1/21/18, is a BIG DEAL. This will be the first ever Spiegel Cup Series hosted by BCF. There will be a separate 11U Section in addition to our normal 14U and 8U Sections, and we may have some top state competitors come in, so let's hope BCF Scholastics turn out in droves to give them some good games.

We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Thank you all for making BCF such a great success - we could not do it without you.

Nicholas P. Sterling, Ph.D.
BCF, Scholastics TD


Nick Sterling  photo:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.



Monday, December 18, 2017

Winter Game/80


Banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.



 
 
 
DateSaturday, December 23, 2017
Event Format3SS
Time ControlG/80 d10
SectionsOpen & U1800
Entry Fee$35, $20 for BCF Members, $5 more if not registering online
Prizes$240 based on 20 paid entries: Open $100 - $60, U1800 $50 - $30
Registration9:15am - 9:45am
Round Times10:00am, 1:45pm, and 5:00pm
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List

Monday, December 11, 2017

BCC LEGENDS OF CHESS: AKIBA RUBINSTEIN MEMORIAL: IM DENYS SHMELOV / 1ST OPEN // RUOHAN YIN / MICHAEL TANG / STEVE STEPAK / 1-3RD / U1800 / 28 PLAY // FIRST SNOW //

4SS GAME 60 5" DELAY
OPEN SECTION
IM Denys Shmelov, black vs Atul Kannan, Round 3.
Denys scored 3.5 points to take clear 1st place.
Atul scored 2.5 points to share 3-9th place!
Jake Garbarino plays black vs Logan Boucher, Round 3.
Jake scored 3 points to take clear 2nd place and a +15
rating hike to 2124, Bravo, Jake! Logan finished with 2.5
points to share 3-9th place.
Akiba Rubinstein vs cousin, pianist Arthur Rubinstein
(center, standing) nanny, and Arthur's sister Frania
[from autobiography of Arthur: My Young Years, 1973]
U1800 Section
1, 2, 3 . . . 
                                                                                   (photo: LD]
Michael Siyuan Tang, Steve Stepak, Ruohan Yin,
shared 1-3rd place, with 3 points each, 
in U1800 Section. [Scene from Round 1.]
CRITICAL GAME
Michael Tang, black vs Ruohan Yin, 3.
[I was sitting next to this match and saw, at one
point in the opening, Ruohan had a chance to 
collect 2 pieces for a rook, which certainly would 
have drawn the game in the long run.
Ironically, I had a chance to collect the total
pot had I been prepared to face Ruohan's
special defense to the King's Indian Attack
which I essayed, the game being played in
Round 2. Instead, I played a speculative 
sacrifice, 2 pawns for the piece in the opening
but failed to find a winning line, or even a
chance to draw. Ruohan played with his
usual accuracy to punish my experiment.]
Emanual Lasker, black vs Akiba Rubinstein,
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1909.
Match for the title of World Chess Champion, 1914, between the two,
never happened due to the disruption of World War 1.
SCENES FROM
AROUND THE HALL

BATTLE LINES DRAWN!
Berlin, 1918: (Left to right) Emanuel Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein,
Karl Schlechter and Siegbert Tarrasch. (standing)
tournament organizer, Bernard Kagan.
Round 3
Bob Oresick, white vs Steve Keenan.  (background, center):
Daniel Lomartra. This is Daniel's 3rd USCF tournament
and the first visit to the BCC. Welcome, Daniel!
Efim Bogoljubov (1889-1952) plays Akiba Rubinstein,
Moscow 1925 grandmaster tournament.
Joy Cao defeats NM Farzad Abdi, Round 2, for a 
feeling of accomplishment and a +17 rating hike
to 1822. A girl of valor and determination, 
who is focused and consistent. Brava, Joy!
CONCENTRATION
Logan Boucher, black vs Kelsey Liu, Round 1.
Kelsey scored 1.5 points in the Open Section for a 
+17 to 1764 rating. Brava, Kelsey!

Akiba Rubinstein (center) with Jose Capablanca
(on his left), St. Petersburg, 1914. Capablanca
won the event by 1.5 points! Akiba was 6-7th
with Ossip Bernstein, drawing in his encounter
with Capablanca, but losing to Emanuel Lasker
and Alexander Alekhine.
Alexander Speicher vs Isaac Chen, Round 2.
This is Alexander's 6th USCF event and his first trip
to the BCC: Welcome Alexander!

Akiba Rubinstein vs Alexander Alekhine
Karlsbad,, 1911, Round 23 [ECO D15]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 Qb6 5.Qc2 Bg4 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.e3
Ne4 8.Bf4 e6 9.Bd3 Qa5 10.O-O Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 dxc4
13.Bxc4 Nb6 14.Qb3 Rd8 15.Be2 Bd6 16.Bg3 Bxg3 17.hxg3 O-O
18.f4 c5 19.Bf3 Rd7 20.a4 Nd5 21.Rfc1 g6 22.Qb5 Qxb5 23.axb5
cxd4 24.cxd4 b6 25.Rc4 f5 26.Rc6 Kf7 27.Bxd5 exd5 28.Rac1 Rfd8
29.Kf1 Ke7 30.Ke2 Rd6 31.R6c3 R6d7 32.Kd3 Ra8 33.Rc6 Rd6
34.Ke2 Rxc6 35.Rxc6 Kd7 36.f3 Re8 37.Kd3 Re7 38.g4 Re6 39.Rc1
Re7 40.Rh1 Ke6 41.Rc1 Kd7 42.Re1 Rf7 43.Ra1 Kd6 44.Rc1 Kd7
45.Rc6 Rf8 46.Ke2 Rf7 47.Kf2 Rf8 48.Kg3 Re8 49.Rc3 Re7 50.Kh4
h6 51.Kg3 h5 52.Kh4 Rh7 53.Kg5 fxg4 54.fxg4 hxg4 55.Kxg4 Rh1
56.Kg5 Rb1 57.Ra3 Rxb5 58.Rxa7+ Kd6 59.Kxg6 Rb3 60.f5 Rxe3
61.f6 Rg3+ 62.Kh7 Rf3 63.f7 Rf4 64.Kg7 Rg4+ 65.Kf6 Rf4+ 66.Kg5
Rf1 67.Kg6 Rg1+ 68.Kf6 Rf1+ 69.Kg7 Rg1+ 70.Kf8 Rd1 71.Ke8 Re1+
72.Kd8 Rf1 73.Rd7+ Kc6 74.Ke8 Rf4 75.Re7 Kb5 76.Rc7 1-0

THE FUTURE OF THE BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB
BCC prodigies: Maxwell Chen vs Kelsey Liu;
(upper) Joy Cao, black vs Jerry Li!
Dressed for the summer. What an optimist!
Dr. Nick Sterling, Chief event TD
Great Job!  Bravo, Nick!
CHIEF ASSISTANT TD:
NATASHA CHRISTIANSEN
ASSISTANT TD:
DAVID MILLIERN
PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK

For more photos of Akiba and his world:
Akiba Rubinstein: Chess History in Pictures