Thursday, July 29, 2021

Boylston Chess: Laurence L. Schmitt Memorial (OTB in club)

 

 

 

Laurence L. Schmitt Memorial

Dates
Friday - Sunday, August 6-8, 2021
Event Format
5SS
Time Control
40/90 SD/30, 30 sec increment from move 1
Sections
Open & U2000
Entry Fee
$45, $60 for non-BCF members
Prizes
$$3000 guaranteed: Open: $1200, $600, $300, U2300 $300; U2000 $400, $200
Round Times
7pm Friday, 11am & 5pm Sat & Sun
Description
Masks required for all players

Open to the first 56 players to register
Event Dates
Friday, August 6
Saturday, August 7
Sunday, August 8

Register Online Now

Entry List

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Boylston Chess: Reubens Landey U2200 Championship (OTB in club)

 


 

                                                       banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

 


  

 Reubens Landey  

 
Under 2200 championship
 
 
 
 
DateMondays, August 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30
Event Format4SS
Time ControlG/105 d10
Sections1800-2199
Entry Fee$25, BCF membership required
PrizesWinner(s) receive free entry to club championship
Registration6:30pm-6:55pm
Round Times7:00pm
DescriptionOver the board tournament

Tournament is open to all BCF players rated between 1800 and 2199 in the June or July 2021 supplement. This tournament is part of the BCF Championship Series. Winner(s) receive free entry to the club championship. Players rated 2200 or over will be directly invited to the championship in the fall.

Masks required.
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List
____________________________

 
 
 
Reubens Landey

Boylston U2200 Championship

The 2021 Reubens Landey begins Monday, August 2.  It is the second component of the club championship cycle.  The winner becomes the BCC U2200 champion and moves into the club championship to compete against club masters.  

This is a very special tournament - it is traditionally a very competitive, prestigious, yet friendly tournament. Only club members can enter, but if you aren't a member, this is the perfect excuse to join or renew.

If you are traveling for the holiday, you may request a 1/2 point, 1st round bye.                                        


Below is some context for this tournament: two biographical articles by Bernardo Iglesias. 

 _______________________

EMIL M. REUBENS 
by Bernardo Iglesias
"....Chess appeals to our emotions and brings us joys and sorrows."



Emil Reubens was born in a beautiful land very far away, in Yelisavetpol (Kirovabad) Russia, in 1886, on September 23 and, died in Massachusetts in Norwood Hospital in 1973, on August 29 after a brief illness. Emil Reubens was 86 years old when he died, an extraordinary man who believed that mankind could become rehabilitated through Chess. Chess is more than life and can change a person to benefit Society.
He was a chess master emeritus and one of the founding member of the United States Chess Federation, a member of the Boylston Chess Club, the Brockton Chess Club and his dear Sharon Chess Club. 

Reubens received his formal education at the University of Prague. In 1906 he immigrated to the United States and worked for a time in steel mills in Detroit. Eventually he moved to Boston and graduated from Boston University in 1922 with a degree in business administration. Much later, in June of 1973 he received his Master's degree in business administration, he was the oldest person in the university's history to obtain such a degree at 86.
He lived in Sharon, Mass. for many years. Emil Reubens was a U.S.C.F. life director and authored a wonderful book on chess play, entitled Chess - Trick and Treat in 1965. This book is a treasure, a precious jewel for any novice player. At the end of the book he recommends that every young player should “Join a chess club. Meet chess players of differing skill and style. Subscribe to a periodical that will keep you abreast of the important events in Chess world." 

In 1964, he helped to bring the U.S. Open to Boston. He was an honorary Chairman of the Committee, along with a lot of the great chess organizers of the time: Robert Goodspeed (Brockton C.C), Harold Dondis (Johnson C.C.), Eleanor Goodspeed, Eleanor Terry, Frank Ferdinand (Harvard C.C.), James Burgess (Boylston C.C. ),Harry Goober (Clarendon C.C.), Beverly Jarnigan and Joseph Hurvitz (Boylston C.C.). That year, the U.S.C.F. was celebrating the silver anniversary of its foundation, in which Emil Reubens had been a strong force in promoting chess in this country. 

Emil had a long time interest in prison reform and was instrumental in assisting many prisoners get back into society. In his book, mentioned above, he thought that “When I was drafted into becoming a "leader" in youth clubs, I employed chess and chocolate bars to lead the youth into the paths of righteousness. There are no available data to estimate the effect of chess on juvenile delinquency, nor are there statistics to gauge the collateral effects of chocolate bars freely rewarded for chess merits." 

Reubens combined a lifelong interest in better prisons, rehabilitation and parole systems with chess activities. He organized many teams of players who visited several penal institutions to play against teams of inmates, or just to play simultaneous exhibitions against the inmates. On one occasion, he took Steve FrymerJohn Curdo, and R. Gleason to Norfolk Prison, delighting one inmate in particular so much that he became an active player and organizer in Norfolk area.
Emil Reubens loved the youth, kids of all ages, -- they are our future joys and sorrows in life. The second Brockton Open, on September 25 & 26, 1971 in Brockton, Mass.William Lombardy, former World Junior Champion, had agreed to participate in the selection and awarding of a special Lombardy - Reubens “best played game” trophy to some player under the age of 21 (Harry Lyman was present in this ceremony). The winner of the award trophy was won by the young John Peters. The third Brockton Open, on September 23 & 24,1972, the Lombardy-Reubens award trophy was won byJohn Stopa. For the Boylston C.C. member’s information, at this event Alex Slive and Andrew Anisimov, two new youngsters showed up in the chess arena. After this event, it seems that such award stopped being awarded by the Brockton Chess Club, since he became sick and died shortly.
The "MASS STATE JUNIOR CHESS CHALLENGE TROPHY PRESENTED BY EMIL M. REUBENS " is a silver trophy cup at the Boylston Chess Club to preserve his memory for future generations. In 1988, William Lukowiak, treasurer of the Boylston Chess Club and long time an officer on the board of MACA, introduced a motion to the Executive Board of MACA that the winner’s name of the Junior Scholastic Champion from Massachusetts be inscribed in this trophy and that MACA will help to pay for traveling expenses to the National Championship whenever it was to be held. The MACA board turned down this motion, and denied youngsters of this State such an honor. 

After his death, the Mass State Chess Association, organized a one time "the Emil Reubens Memorial" at the Massachusetts Open at the new Brockton High School in 1974. The winner of this event was John Peters.
Emil founded the Steinberg-Reubens Educational Foundation. The Boylston Chess Club Board of Directors decided that in 1986 to pay tribute to Emil Reubens and Ben Landey by naming a qualifier cycle of the B.C.C. championship qualifier in their honor, for players rated 1800 to 2199. The winners of the Reubens/Landy move on to play against the club’s masters for the club championship.

_______________________


BENJAMIN LANDEY 

by Bernardo Iglesias

Benjamin Landey was born in 1912 and died on January 20, 1981 in Quincy. From his high school days he worked for the Sharon Bolt and Screw Company founded by Emil Reubens, reaching the position of board chairman, which he held at his death. According to Harry LymanBenjamin married Reubens’ daughter. 

For many years, he was the ceremonial chess leader of New England: Landey was President of the MSCA, the Boylston Chess Club, the Boston Metropolitan Chess League, the New England Chess Association, and the USCF Regional Vice-President.
He was a truly regional chess entrepreneur, a notable chess organizer, a man of remarkable poise and intelligence, a master of parliamentary procedure and a skillful politician, that is, a leader among leaders in the region. He worked for long hours at his job and then spend evenings and weekends on numerous chess projects and clubs. 

While Ben Landey was a tournament director for M.S.C.A., he brought to Boston the U.S. Open in 1970 and the U.S. Junior Open in 1965 and 1969, held at Northeastern University. Ben Landey's most active years were from 1965 to 1970; after this year his health impeded more time in his passion for the royal game of chess. Despite his failing health, he was an extremely successful teacher of chess for beginners, though he himself was rated only about 1500 during most of his over the board career; he also, worked with the Massachusetts Association for Retarded Citizens and several local groups.
Along with Emil Reubens, Landey was a major sponsor of prison chess programs, and the two of them sought the parole of a number of inmates who were avid chess players. In addition to being a regular tournament player, Ben Landey was very active in postal chess with the Nights of the Square Table (NOST). 

Landey was the first person to compete with a computer in chess at a U.S. Chess Federation rated tournament. He lost. 

Landey’s most glorious moment in the spotlight as an organizer was winning the bid for the 1970 US Open for Boston. It was Ben Landey’s rhetoric that easily won the bid at the 1969 U.S.C.F. meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was unfortunate that the then M.S.C.A. was not ready to host such a major event. The host site, Boston's Parker House, was a less than welcoming host, and a great number of participants complained about the space designated for the playing room, that the light was not good enough for many, etc. Also, Ben Landey got sick a few months before the event along with his co-organizer Lewis Icenogle. It was not Landey's shining hour. ` 

Ben was treasurer of the Greater Boston Committee of the U.S. Peace Council, past President of the South Shore Assn. for Retarded Citizens. He was the President of the Boylston Chess Club at the time of his death. 

After his death in 1981, M.A.C.A. organized a memorial tournament at the Mass. Open in April; the winner of this tournament was the young James Rizzitano in North Darmouth. 

The Boylston Chess Club has honored Ben Landey since 1986, when the Board of Directors dedicated a qualifier tournament to those members of the club rated 1800 to 2199 plus the winners of the Weaver Adam's; the winner to participate in the fall championship. His memory will endure for ever at the Boylston Chess Club along with that of Emil Reubens.

_______________________

































































                

Boylston Chess: Late Summer Tuesday Night Swiss Online

 


 

 

 
 
 
 
DateTuesday, August 3
Tuesday, August 10
Tuesday, August 17
Tuesday, August 24
Tuesday, August 31
 
Event Format6SS, 1 lichess game per Tuesday night set up by individual challenge
Time ControlOpen: G/60 + 10 sec, U1900: G/45 + 5 sec
SectionsOpen & U1900 (Unrated); accelerated pairings may be used
Entry Fee$40, $25 for BCF members
PrizesOpen: $120-$80 based on 10 players; U1900: Trophy to 1st Place
DescriptionNOTE: NO Chess Meeting on Tuesday 9/7 (Rosh Hashanah)

Contact info: TD Nick Sterling. E-mail: boylstonchess@gmail.com. Text/cell: 781-733-0849.

If I do not have your e-mail and cell phone # already, please send those to me in case we have to contact each other.

If I do not have your lichess Username, please send that to me or include it in the comments in your Registration.

For Round 1, Pairings will be posted on Tuesday just after 6 PM on the Boylston CC website. The cutoff time for registration in time to play a Round is Tuesday at 6 PM. Any players who register subsequent to 6 PM will be skipped until the following week's Round. Each Round begins at 6:30 PM except for games whose start times were agreed in advance to be changed.

Rating with USCF will be delayed by 72 hours after the completion of the tournament to give lichess time to ensure Fair Play was observed in all games.

Players must join Zoom and Share their Screens or show their play areas in their camera views. The link will be sent to players by e-mail. Players with scores of at least +2, or in contention for a prize may, at the TD's discretion, be required to provide at least two separate camera views on Zoom.

Players must be current Members of USCF for the OPEN SECTION ONLY, not the U1900.
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Boylston Chess: Weaver Adams U1800 Championship 2021

 

Boylston Chess

Weaver Adams U1800 Championship 2021

  

Andrew Bernal  won the 2021 Weaver Adams Qualifer 

and is the U1800 Boylston Champion.

He is eligible to play in the upcoming Reubens Landy U2200 club championship.

 

Banner:  Tony Cortrizas, Jr

Weaver Adams 2021

U1800 Boylston Chess Club Championship 

(Bernardo Iglesias was the TD.)

 

The Weaver Adams U1800 Championship begins the annual club championship cycle. It is followed by the Reubens-Landey U2200 Championship, the winner of which is seeded into the club championship - a round robin tournament of Boylston masters.

 


___________________________________________________________
 

Past winners of the Weaver Adams are:

2021   Andrew Bernal
2020   - pandemic -
2019   Bernardo Iglesias, Pitambar Dayal, Tony Cortizas, Jr.
2018   Bernardo Iglesian
2017   Joaquin Carlson, John Graf
2016   Jonathan Mark Lee, Vlad Jan Gaciu, Bernardo Iglesias
2015   Tom Medrek
2014   Timothy O'Malley
2013   Joel Bryan Wald, Brandon Wu 
2012   Brian Perez-Daple  
2011   Ken Ho, Mike Griffin, Khikmet Sadykov 
2010   Alexander Paphitis 
2009   Frank Frazier 
2008   Jonathan Lee, Adam Yedidia 
2007   Alexander Paphitis 
2006   Alexander Paphitis, Jonathan Lee, Lior Rozhansky
2005   Robert Oresick, Joshua Blanchfield 
2004   Mike Griffin 
2003   Robert Oresick 
2002   William MacLellan 
2001   Mike Griffin 
2000   Stephen E. Smith 
1999   Bryan Clark 
1998   Bryan Clark, Charles G. Alex 
1997   Walter A. Driscoll III 
1996   Hector Perez, Jared Becker
1995   Miguel A. Santana 
1994   Andrew L. Yerre 
1993   Charles G. Alex


___________________________________________________________ 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
    1 | ANDREW BERNAL                   |4.0  |W  10|W   3|W   7|W   4|
   MA | 16009740 / R: 1741   ->1771     |N:2  |B    |W    |W    |B    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    2 | MR. TOM MEDREK                  |2.5  |H    |D   8|D   6|X    |
   NH | 12585094 / R: 1673   ->1667     |     |     |B    |W    |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    3 | YUANZHE WANG                    |2.0  |W  11|L   1|H    |H    |
   MA | 14647174 / R: 1683   ->1675     |     |W    |B    |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    4 | JARED CARLSON                   |2.0  |H    |W   9|H    |L   1|
   MA | 15794595 / R: 1534   ->1536     |     |     |B    |     |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    5 | JERICHO CARLSON                 |2.0  |H    |L   7|W  11|H    |
   MA | 16096060 / R: 1530   ->1522     |     |     |B    |W    |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    6 | BERNARDO IGLESIAS               |1.5  |H    |H    |D   2|U    |
   MA | 12214270 / R: 1717   ->1714     |     |     |     |B    |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    7 | MEGHANA KUNAMNENI               |1.5  |H    |W   5|L   1|F    |
   MA | 16433976 / R: 1512   ->1526     |     |     |W    |B    |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    8 | ROBERT JOHN ORESICK             |1.5  |H    |D   2|H    |U    |
   MA | 12659519 / R: 1500   ->1510     |     |     |W    |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    9 | SUJAY KUNAMNENI                 |1.5  |H    |L   4|W  10|F    |
   MA | 16433982 / R: 1349   ->1349     |     |     |W    |B    |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
   10 | MICHAEL B WALSH                 |1.0  |L   1|W  11|L   9|F    |
   MA | 12696878 / R: 1117P19->1151P22  |     |W    |B    |W    |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
   11 | MR. WILL WISDOM                 |0.0  |L   3|L  10|L   5|U    |
   MA | 14976388 / R: 1460   ->1400     |     |B    |W    |B    |     




 
___________________________________________________________ 


 
about Weaver Adams:


WEAVER WARREN ADAMS 

(born Apr-28-1901, died Jan-06-1963) United States of America

 


Weaver Warren Adams was born on April 28, 1901 in Dedham Massachusetts. He was an American chess master. He participated in the U.S. Championship in 1936, 1940, 1944, 1946 and 1948. He won the Massachusetts State Championship in 1937, 1938, 1941 and 1945.


In 1939, he wrote a book entitled "White to Play and Win." After publication he played in the U.S. Open at Dallas. He did not win a single game as White (3 losses and 1 draw) and won all his games (4 games) as Black!


Weaver Adams won the 49th U.S. Open, held in Baltimore, in 1948. He also wrote "Simple Chess", "How to Play Chess", and "Absolute Chess."
.
In May, 1947, Weaver Adams, New England Champion, gave a 16-board simul in San Jose, winning all his games.



Below is a photograph taken in Hastings on 28 December 1950. Lord Dunsany (standing on the right) is watching the first-round game between Alan Phillips and Weaver Adams.


__________________________________________________

Weaver W. Adams An Autobiography 
Massachusetts State Chess Association, 1949, Robert W. Reddy (Ed.) p. 6-8

I was born on April 28th, 1901 to Frank H. Adams, native of Dedham, Mass., salesman for many years for Bellantine Breweries and later (after prohibition) for Ceresota Flour, and Ethel Weaver Adams, native of Newmarket, NH and graduate of Wellesley College. I am not directly related to the Presidents, John and John Quincy Adams, although the Adams's in and about Massachusetts are mostly of the same family, deriving from a Henry Adams who landed in Braintree in 1644. The family is quite famous and boasts of many statesmen, writers, historians, judges, preachers, etc. Footing the list comes a national chess champion. In the old days he would have surely been branded as a black sheep for wasting his time at so idle a pastime, and perhaps by many even today.


My schooling was conventional, Dedham Public schools and Dedham High School, but then they tried to make an engineer out of me by sending me to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The result was not too good. During the first year a half dozen of us, after playing a few games at Walker Memorial in Cambridge, would regularly trek across the bridge to Ye Olde Boston Chess Club on Ashburton Place or to various dives in the West End, not the least attractive of which was the Lighted Lamp operated by Boston's famous Ambrose Gring.

Those were really the balmy days of chess in Boston. Well I remember listening to tales told many times over by John Barry, Will Miller, George Babbitt, and a host of others most of whom are no longer living. I seemed to have been a favorite with John Barry because I would talk chess and analyze with him until 4 A. M. in the morning after everybody else had either gone home or turned to a bridge game. At any rate I believe I learned most of my chess from Mr. Barry, and in 1922 attained to the club championship.

An autobiography is supposed to contain a statement as to when one learned chess, although it's not clear as to why this is so important. However, for the sake of the record, I began playing at the age of about twelve. An older brother of a friend next door taught the two of us to play, and would play us both simultaneously blindfold at Queen odds.

What I do think is important, however, is the time when he took us to Boston once to visit the Boston Chess Club which at that time was located in an alley off Boylston Street. I shall never forget the thrill it was to me to see for the first time the large club size pieces in action. Instinctively I seemed to feel that that was me. A friend of mine tells me that he had a similar experience on first visiting a stock exchange and seeing the ticker tapes in action. Curiously, all the rest of his life has .been spent in the stock market.

My chess activities , of course, did not have a good effect on my marks at M.I.T., and, due redness of my report card at the half year, I was politely asked to take a vacation. This I was quite agreeable too, since it afforded me additional time for chess playing. A year went by before my parents inveigled me into attending a military school in northern Vermont, and, six months later, re-entering my class at M.I.T. All knowledge is useful, and it is always futile to look back and say if we had done so and so, life would have been better. It is completely impossible to foresee the over all plan. We can live but a day at a time.

To continue my story, about 1924 Harold Morton had just won the championship of the Providence, R. I., chess club, and a purse was gotten up for a match to take place between Mr. Morton and myself for the championship of New England. Up to that time John Barry had been unofficially recognized as the strongest player in N. E., so, with his consent and approval it was logical that the winner of the match should hold that title. Thus, in 1924 I became the NE Champion and held the title until 1929 when Morton beat me in a succeeding match. Another match between us did not take place until about 1938 which Morton again won.

After his death in 1939 the title came under the control of the N. E. Chess Association and has been decided by an annual tournament (usually held over Labor Day weekend) ever since, which is all to the good, since I am strongly opposed to the awarding of titles through private matches. The tournament method is pre-eminently fair and much more attractive to both the players and the public.


Thereby closes the local chapter in my chess career. At this time – say 1936 - I think that both Morton and myself - I know I did - thought that we were pretty good chess players. We were in for a rude awakening. In that year (1936) was held the first tournament for the Chess Championship of the United States, due to the retirement of Frank J. Marshall.

I recall that after the first few rounds I kept figuring that I might still win the tournament, provided I won all of the remainder of my games. In fact, this went on for several rounds, before I finally gave up hope of first prize. After nine rounds I was relatively proud of my score, since I had three wins and six losses, while Morton had nine goose eggs in a row. However, we finished in a tie for last place, since in the remaining six rounds Morton got six draws, and it was my turn for goose eggs. I mention this experience in order to caution the reader that unless he happens to play regularly in the chess clubs of New York City, he shouldn't put too much store by his showing in the chess clubs of other cities. There is really a difference.

In a considerable sense I feel that my serious chess playing did not begin until after 1936. Hundreds of hours I spent on opening analysis, with the result that there began forming in my mind the idea that by means of precise play White could perhaps emerge from the opening with just enough edge to win. Thus developed a small volume published in 1959 by the David McKay Co. of Philadelphia entitled "White to Play and Win", by Weaver W. Adams. Forthwith, in a tournament at Dallas, Texas in 1940 I proceeded to lose all of my games playing white and win all of my games playing black!


However, I still stick to my theory, and even under the handicap of bucking my own analysis (most writers sedulously avoid playing a move which they have recommended as best, because of fear of having to play against a line which their opponent has prepared against it) and despite the hours which I am advised that many of my opponents spend in trying to discover mistakes in my published variations in "Simple Chess," I nevertheless lost but a single half point with the white pieces in the Open Tournament at Baltimore in 1948. And it wasn't because the boys didn't try. There were my moves open for all to see in "Simple Chess." They could select any one of a hundred different opening variations and I would play the exact moves as published. Is this not just a little significant that white can win? And, if so, why is my favorite opening the Vienna, so damned by faint praise, and so shunned by all the celebrities? You answer that one. I can’t.


I don't wish to take up space by tournament records. All in all, they could be a lot better, except perhaps locally, inasmuch as I have won every City of Boston, Massachusetts State, end New England tournament in which I have taken part since 1956 - some dozen or more altogether. I will merely say that having played in eighteen national tournaments, including U. S. National, U. S. Open, Ventnor City, and the Pan American in Los Angeles in 1945, I feel that this experience should mean something, and I hope eventually to demonstrate that it is possible to play chess with consistent scientific accuracy.

The following is an example of such a game. It is one of five which I have thus far played with similar accuracy for the Log Cabin Chess Team of West Orange, New Jersey, of which I have recently become a member. It was played at Elizabethtown, New York, vs. a Montreal Team, and was part of the coast to coast 1949 match between Canada and the U. S.
Adams,W - Guze [B72]
US v Canada, 1940

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.h3 Bg7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 a6 9.g4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 0-0 11.0-0-0 b5 12.Bg2 Bb7 13.f4 Qc7 14.Rhe1 Rfd8 15.Qf2 Nd7 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 Nb6 19.f5 Nc4 20.g5 gxf5 21.Qxf5 Qd7 22.Qf4 Rac8 23.Be4 Rc5 24.b4 Rc7 25.Bf5 Qe8 26.Qd4+ Kg8 27.Qh4 e5 28.Qxh7+ Kf8 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qf6+ Kf8 31.Re4 1-0



Alex Cherniack has posted 8 games between Weaver Adams and Harry Lyman, where you can see Harry Lyman 's opinion of the forced win for white theory.


______________________________________________________________________

read this profile of Adams by 
Stephan Dann

Weaver Adams
 Chess Journalist, Historian, and Organizer.


Weaver Adams "started" writing "White to Play & Win" in 1935, and, an early edition of this "informal" publication was with Harlow Daly's papers, ledgers and scrapbooks that Harry Lyman & I obtained in 1975...


Adams continued "publishing" revisions to his "dogged" theories for some 25 years, the last editions of what he termed "Simple" and "Absolute" chess being "issued" about 1960, though the last year his health enabled him to "carry on" might have been 1959...


The greatest collection of Adams' material published was "edited" by Sam Sloan in 2007, but few know of the existence of this "limited" edition, published on demand book that would have had Harry Lyman "giggling" with delight, as it was about chess, and not about the tragic life of one of its players. 

I posted copies of some crosstables from 1905 to 1939 at the Mass. Open in Leominster yesterday, including games from the 1964 U.S. Open.  It was an effort to "complete" the weekday/weeknight chess events in Massachusetts before 1940, but most of this would have been lost were it no for the dogged efforts of Harlow Daly to document them for his own records, to "index" his games...and you can view this & more today & on Monday in Leominster...

My work with John Donaldson and Andy Ansel (who attended yesterday in Leominster, driving up from Long Island with his daughter), focus on games as the real history, not the politics and "entertainment" that sometimes accompanies chess gatherings.  

Collecting games played by Weaver Adams, Harry Lyman and other past chess legends (you will see the many names in Daly's ledgers and scrapbooks from Abe Moses Sussmann--New England Champion at the dawn of the 20th century--to Putzman, Cabot, Gring, Morton, Sturgis, Welch, etc.) right at the Boylston CC in the box of 2,000 game cards, history that you can hold right in your hand.


The time has come to scan these cards, and, use them as the basis of the history of the club, history of Boston and Massachusetts chess, and as basis to do new promotional efforts for the game without borders on the Internet.  

E-books on Weaver Adams, Harlow Daly and the 1964 U.S. Open (as well as the 1964 Fischer Tour--also by John Donaldson) are not only possible, but are the next logical step in preserving the legacy of past chess giants and encouraging future educational and historical endeavors at the Boylston Chess Club, and the work of the Boylston Chess Foundation.

Weaver Adams' family is still alive and well in Dedham, and is confident that the chess community will continue to preserve his memory in the hearts and minds of future generations. Like Pillsbury, we will never forget his contributions to the Royal Game.

E-books may not in themselves help finance efforts to finance clubs or run tournaments, but these may validate the efforts of .org chess foundations to raise funds to carry out their missions. 

It's time for sharing the "wealth" of the 1975 donation from Harlow Daly beyond "75 years of affection for chess" and just 150 games. Just the typos in the hastily prepared 1975 volume would fill a page or two...and we owe it to the memory of Harry Lyman to do a much better job the second time around.  

You have my continued support in preserving the Boylston Chess Club as one of America's premier chess shrines.

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Boylston Chess: July Quads

 


 

 July Quads

Date
Saturday, July 31, 2021
Event Format
3RR
Time Control
G/65 d10
Entry Fee
$35, $20 for BCF members, $5 more if not registering online in advance. 
Free entry for BCF members rated 2300+, but entry fee deducted from won prize.
Prizes
$80 First place in top quad, $50 First place in each of the other quads
Registration
9:15am-9:45am
Round Times
10:00am, 1:15pm, 4:00pm
Description
Masks required if not fully vaccinated.

ABSOLUTELY NO ONSITE REGISTRATION AFTER 9:45AM.
** No byes or withdrawals are allowed. All rounds must be played. **
** A current USCF membership is required. **

Register Online Now

Entry List

Saturday, July 17, 2021

Boylston Chess: Milestones Sunday (OTB in club)

 


Milestones Sunday

Date
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Event Format
3SS
Time Control
G/45 d30
Sections
One section, accelerated pairings may be used
Entry Fee
$40, $25 for BCF members
Prizes
None; all proceeds will support the club
Registration
Online only - ends 9:30am July 18
Round Times
10:00am, 1:00pm, 3:30pm
Description
Over the board (OTB) event!

Limited to players born in 2000 or earlier, or college students.

Masks required. May be lenient with this if players are fully vaccinated.

Free parking on Sundays!
Event Dates
Sunday, July 18

Register Online Now

Entry List

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Boylston Chess: Summer Swiss - OTB in club

 


 

Summer Swiss

Date
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Event Format
4SS
Time Control
G/60 d10
Sections
Open & U1800
Entry Fee
$35, $20 for BCF members, $5 more if not registering online in advance.
Prizes
$$360 GUARANTEED: Open 1st $150, 2nd $90 U1800 1st $70, 2nd $50
Registration
9:15am-9:45am
Round Times
10:00am, 1:00pm, 3:30pm, 6:00pm
Description
OTB Event.

Masks required if not fully vaccinated.

In accordance with BCF policy, unrated players may play in any section. Rated players rated within 200 points of the lower section maximum may play up one section.

Register Online Now

Entry List