Boylston Chess: Events and Players in 2018

banners:  Tony Cortias, Jr.

Events and Players 

at the BCC in 2018

2018 was another active year at the Boylston.


There were 101 rated events plus many chess clinics and lectures
More than 508  different players competed in rated events.
Among these were about 32 masters, 5 IMs and GM Ivanov.

Name	State	Rating		Events
IM ALEXANDER KATZ	NJ	2549		3
IM DENYS SHMELOV	MA	2543		10
GM ALEXANDER IVANOV	MA	2540		3
IM HANS MOKE NIEMANN	CT	2517		1
IM YAACOV NOROWITZ	NJ	2480		1
FM STEVEN WINER	MA	2459		1
FM JACOB CHUDNOVSKY	MA	2453		4
DANIEL JOSEF CREMISI	NC	2420		1
IM DAVID VIGORITO	MA	2405		1
FM NATHAN SOLON	MA	2393		14
FM WFM CARISSA SHIWEN YIP	MA	2392		3
QIBIAO WANG	NY	2360		1
LAWYER TIMES	MA	2328		12
RYAN SOWA	RI	2321		3
FM EUGENE HUA	CAN	2317		1
BOJAN PANTIC	MA	2311		2
RAJESH SHANMUGASUNDARAM	MA	2302		7
FM WILLIAM KELLEHER	MA	2300		3
FARZAD ABDI	MA	2285		6
KASUN WAIDYARATNE	MA	2282		1
JOSUE VELAZQUEZ MARTINEZ	MA	2274		1
CHRIS WILLIAMS	MA	2270		6
BEILIN LI	CA	2256		1
ANDREW HOY	MA	2248		9
BRANDON DANTE WU	MA	2247		8
DR ALEJANDRO FELIX BOTTA	MA	2246		15
SHERIF KHATER	MA	2240		2
FM MAXIMILLIAN LU	CT	2238		2
WFM RAMYA INAPURI	MA	2235		2
DANIIL MOSIYENKO	MA	2233		1
NITHIN KAVI	MA	2215		20
FM NICHOLAS VETTESE	CAN	2212		1
JUAN CARLOS LIZARAZO	MA	2210		2
ALAN SONG	MA	2207		8
JAKE GARBARINO	MA	2202		7
SIDDHARTH ARUN	MA	2202		2
KLAUS A POHL	SC	2200		1
HENRY L TERRIE	NH	2200		3
LIAM HENRY PUTNAM	NY	2182		5

Mass Players at National K-12 Grade Championships

Mass Players at 

National K-12 Grade Championships

report by Boston Elite Chess

Holiday greetings to chess friends in Boston and New England area!

I wanted to pass some great news from Mass young players at Orlando. (Well, the news is about 10 days old. Let's blame the theme parks at Orlando for my delayed communication.) 

This year, there were 32 players from Mass, among 1692 players nationally. I think this is the largest delegation we have ever had in recent years. Mass ranked #9 in the number of participants from all states, significantly lower than the local host Florida (613), and New York (499) which has a strong tradition and tremendously successful chess-in-schools program. But we are now in same order of magnitude as other strong chess states, like NJ (50), IL (46), TX (45), etc. 

AL 7

AR 9

AZ 11

N-CAL 13

S-CAL 20

CO 10

CT 22

DC 9

FL 613

GA 34

HI 5

IA 2

ID 3

IL 46

IN 10

KS 4

KY 4

LA 12

MA 32

MD 16

MI 12

MN 4

MO 6

NC 61

NE 1

NH 7

NJ 50

NY 499

OH 11

OK 1

PA 19

SC 5

TERR 21

TN 7

TX 45

UT 1

VA 39

VT 1

WA 16

WI 4

More importantly, our young players did very well in this national competition. Among the 13 sections (K-12), we had four players fighting for the championship title in the last round on board one or two: Luke Ji (Grade 1), Ryan Wang (Grade 4), Max Chen (Grade 9), Nithin Kavi (Grade 11).  

In the end, Nithin Kavi brought the championship title back to MA with a win! 

•  Max Chen, 4th place  (Grade 9)  
•  Ryan Wang, 8th place  (Grade 4)  
•  Luke Ji, 3rd place  (Grade 1)  

There are many other trophies and notable achievements from Mass players that we should congratulate on (top 30):

• Kevin Hass, 7th place (grade 11)
• Suraj Ramanathan, 14th (grade 9)
• Mark Chudnovsky, 19th (grade 9)
• Alan Song, 8th place (grade 7)
• David Katsman 30th (grade 6)    
• Owen Ji, 16th place (grade 5)
• Alex Meng, 16th place (grade 4)
• Maya Figelman, 27th (grade 3)
• Sujay Kunamneni, 12th place (grade 2)
• Dattasai Kilari, 15th (grade 2)
• Siddharth Ajay Kurup, 17th (grade 2)
• Christine Nguyen, 9th (K)
• David Figelman, 13th (K)

In the Blitz event:

• Ryan Wang, 5th place (Blitz K-6)
• Lawrence Tu, 20th place (Blitz K-6)
• Mark Chudnovsky, 24th place (Blitz K-12) 

Detailed results can be found in http://www.uschess.org/results/2018/k12/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=11
Let's congratulate all the Mass participants for their hard work and achievement! 
Also their parents and coaches for the support! 
Attached are some pictures that you can share some of their joys. 
 

Yi Wang 
BostonEliteChess.org 
 
 

Boylston Chess: Herb Healy

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

Herb Healy 
Open House 

.
Register Online Now
.

Date	Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Event Format	4SS
Time Control	G/40 d5
Sections	Rated and Non-USCF
Entry Fee	$35, $20 for BCF members; $5 more if not registering online in advance.
Prizes	Based on entries
Registration	11:00am - 11:40am
Round Times	11:45am, 1:40pm, 3:30pm, 5:10pm
Description	Free food and drinks all day for tournament players, registration limited to the first 56 players, no refund of advanced entries. The Non-USCF section is open to all players (both rated and unrated players), and will not be rated by the USCF; thus, USCF membership is not required for the Non-USCF section
Entry List	Current Pre-Registration List

___________________________________

Herb Healy Open House 

• Our annual kickoff tournament
• Free food served to all players all day
• Two sections: rated and non-rated

photo:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

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!

photo:  Steve Stepak

Passing the baton to

BCC Veteran chess player and member, Board of Directors,
photo:  Steve Stepak

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 2019 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

Boylston Chess: Thursday Night Swiss

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

January Thursday Night Swiss 

 

Register Online Now

 

 

Date	Thursdays, Jan 3, 10, 17, 24, & 31
Event Format	5SS
Time Control	G/105 d10
Sections	Open & U1900
Entry Fee	$35, $20 for BCF members; $5 more if not registering online in advance. Club members rated 2200+ may play in the Thursday Night Swiss with no entry fee and no prize deductions.
Prizes	$300 based on paid 25 entries: 1st $125, 2nd $75; U1900 1st $60, 2nd $40
Registration	6:15pm - 6:45pm
Round Times	7:00pm
Description	Bye and withdrawal requests must be received by 6:45pm. Sections with fewer than 12 players may be merged.
Entry List	Current Pre-Registration List

Boylston Chess: Last Quads of 2018

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

Last Quads of 2018  

 

Register Online Now

 

 

Date	Saturday, December 29, 2018
Event Format	Players will be arranged into quads by rating
Time Control	G/65 d10
Sections	3RR
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	ABSOLUTELY NO ONSITE REGISTRATION AFTER 9:45AM ** No byes or withdrawals are allowed. All rounds must be played. **
Entry List	Current Pre-Registration List

Boylston Chess: Congrats to NM Nithin Kavi

Congrats to NM Nithin Kavi !

post by NM Tim Sage

Boylston Chess: Holiday Open

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

Holiday Open  

 .

.

Register Online Now

.

.

Date	Saturday, December 22, 2018
Event Format	4SS
Time Control	G/60 d5
Sections	Open & U1900
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	$$360 GUARANTEED: Open 1st $150, 2nd $90 U2000 1st $70, U1500 1st $50
Registration	9:15am - 9:45am
Round Times	10:00am, 1:00pm, 3:30pm, 6:00pm
Description	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.
Entry List	Current Pre-Registration List

Boylston Chess: re Boston Globe chess column cancellation

Boston Globe 

Chess Notes column cancellation

I recently became aware (through the three letters printed below) 
of the Boston Globe's decision to cancel its Chess column.

Boston has had a vibrant chess community since the mid-19th century, which continues to the present in the 21st century:  thousands of  Boston area adults and young people play actively in person at regional events and online worldwide (Boston and globally, so to speak.)  For most of the 20th century the Boston Globe has covered chess by the distinguished writing of Jim Burgess, Harold Dondis, GM Patrick Wolff, and now FM Chris Chase, all perceptive journalists and accomplished chess players.

Especially as Boston chess is as flourishing as ever and as we just watched  an American contend for the championship of world chess, It was disheartening to hear once again the the Globe has decided to drop its chess column. 

If you wish,
write a note with your thoughts to Brian McGrory at the Globe

McGrory@globe.com

Amici sumus,
Robert Oresick


________

Kate Gasser

Thu, Dec 6, 3:38 PM (6 days ago)

to mcgrory

Dear Mr. McGrory,

I was disappointed to see that Chris Chase's two weekly chess columns
have been cut.  I enjoy his columns very much, and look forward to
Monday mornings especially, when I bring my magnetic chess set to the table to play over the game he has annotated.
Chris is our connection to the greater world of chess, with appearances by the best Grandmasters as the tournaments go around the world every year.

Please bring him back.  I know I speak for hundreds of enthusiasts in
the Boston area.  We want Chris!

Sincerely,
Kate Gasser
"Oldest living active woman chess player in Massachusetts"

__________

Planned cancellation of Boston Globe's chess column

george mirijanian

Tue, Dec 11, 1:26 PM (20 hours ago)

to McGrory,

Dear Mr. McGrory,

As the program director of the Wachusett Chess Club at Fitchburg State University and a journalist (1969-2002) at the Sentinel & Enterprise in Fitchburg, I am very disappointed to hear of the planned cancellation of the Boston Globe's chess column, "Chess Notes," written by World Chess Federation Master Chris Chase of Somerville. I truly hope that this does not happen.

As my longtime friend, Tom Zuppa, the recently appointed senior editor of The Sun in Lowell and an avid and nationally rated chess player has been quoted as saying, "Newspapers are incredibly important to the fabric of a community." And so it is, I believe, with the Boston Globe. If the purpose of a newspaper is to inform, entertain, and yes, to educate, then the Globe has been doing that for more than a half-century with its chess column. To end it now would be a tragedy.

The Boston Globe chess column has a rich history, beginning in the early 1960s with chess columnist Jim Burgess. After his death in late July 1964, the column was taken over by longtime attorney, chess player and chess philanthropist Harold Dondis of Belmont. He ran the column for more than 50 years and experienced two cancellations during his tenure, but the column was reinstated by popular demand from the Globe's readers, who called, wrote and emailed to request that the column be brought back. And so it was.

Chess is viewed as an art, a science, and yes, a SPORT. It has been part of the fabric of our cultural life. It is a game played in every country of the world. Its international body, the World Chess Federation (FIDE), is the second largest sports organization in the world - second only to FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association).

The Globe has been ",masterful" in its longtime chess column. While other newspapers in Massachusetts, such as the Boston Herald, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Sentinel & Enterprise, Gardner News, Athol Daily News et al. ran weekly chess columns in the past - and some of them for many years, e.g. T&G (40-plus years), S&E (34 years) - the Globe has been loyal to its chess-playing readers by maintaining a chess column.

I beseech you and the powers that be at the Globe to keep the chess column. It has been good for the cultural life of our society.

Sincerely yours,

George Mirijanian

Fitchburg, Mass.

 ___________

  Beautifully written, David.

 I loved every word of your letter to Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory. I hope your well-written email and the email of others will convince the Globe not to cancel the chess column,

I appreciate very much your great help in this effort to keep the column alive.

George M

-----Original Message-----

 Michael David

From: Michael David 

 To: McGrory <McGrory@globe.com>

Sent: Tue, Dec 11, 2018 5:39 pm

Subject: Chess

Dear Mr. McGrory,

 I am sure the economic forces on the print media business are incredibly difficult to navigate in today’s environment. To learn that the Boston Globe has chosen to sacrifice the chess column is indeed disheartening. It fundamentally seems like a stark contradiction to Boston’s well-deserved reputation as an educational and cultural center.

I began playing tournament chess earlier this year. When I returned home my wife would ask if I won – much like she would do when I returned from a night of poker or billiards. I struggled to find the right answer until I finally reflected on my discomfort and realized that I did not feel that I had been simply playing a game that is defined by a win or a loss. I did not wish my opponent to fail and allow me to win the contest with ease. I wanted my opponent to give me their best - for both of us to play with an understanding of the history of the game and have insight to the art and science that has been forged by each generations brightest minds' contributions to chess’ highly evolved state. To “play” chess well requires inspiration. I do not reach out to move cheap plastic pieces. I reach out through the cosmos and hope, in my best moments, to brush the fingertips of a Paul Morphy, a Jose Raul Capablanca or a Bobby Fischer.

It is never the right time to consider trimming  the classical literature in our libraries, or to have the museums take down the art that has inspired viewers for centuries. Chess deserves its time-honored place in newsprint. Chess sits at the nexus of Big Data, Computer Simulation,  Artificial Intelligence and Optimization Modeling. All of our best technology is actively being employed in the pursuit of better chess. Chess has never been more relevant.

I challenge the Boston Globe to not eliminate their coverage of chess, but instead to creatively redesign the format to make it a compelling read. One has to look no further than Antonio Radic’s YouTube channel that has raced to 300,000 subscribers with his reviews of games that many have already done. His casual style, with his dog lounging in the background on the couch, is done with the right amount of review, historical context and efficient use of descriptive vocabulary. It's worth noting that Antonio does not have any chess title; he is not a great chess player. He succeeds in engaging others with a forthright passion for the game; he makes great chess content.

Boston deserves the very best chess content in newsprint, consistent with finding active chess clubs in Cambridge, Natick, Billerica and Fitchburg. Imagine the Boston Globe successfully reinvigorating the chess column. That just seems like the right answer for Boston.

Regards,

Michael David

Groton Massachussets

george mirijanian

__________
  

 ________
 

 ________
 

_________