NBCC Weekly News September 12, 2021
This Week’s News Items:
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2021 Club Championship - Winners
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Summer Open - Great success!
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What are the Odds?! - Winners
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Masks Mandatory
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Jan Cendrowski Quick Quads
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Oktoberfest 2021
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WMCA Tournaments
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Time to renew your membership
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Want to be a Chess Teacher?
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Training - Suhas
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Saturday Study Group - 5pm (Different Link)
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2021 Club Championship Winners
A tie for 1st place took place in both sections of the Club Championship. FM Nelson Castaneda and Joe Bihlmeyer shared 1st place with 5/6pts. With the same number of points, in the U1800 section, Eric Hilhorst and Bob Wooster shared 1st place. We had a tiebreaker (classical time control) to determine the champion in each section. In both games, the player with the black pieces - Nelson and Eric - won their games, clinching their respective section. Though all the players will be determined co-champions, the trophies and bragging rights go to the winners!
The trophies will be presented in a week and a half (9/21). Here is the full list of winners:
Championship: 1st - Nelson Castaneda; 2nd - Joe Bihlmeyer; 3rd - Doug Fiske, U1800: 1st - Eric Hilhorst, 2nd - Bob Wooster, 3rd - Norman Burtness, Top U1400 - Shritan Vijay, Top U1000 - Sumaanyu Jagtiani.
The following week - our club champion - FM Nelson Castaneda gave a clock simul. There were quite a few knicks against our club champion - a lot on time because of a lack of increment, which is something we will work on for next year.
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2021 NBCC Summer Open - Great Success!
We also had the postponed Summer Open take place on August 28th. It took place at the Armenian Church at NBCC. We had 50 players participating in three sections. Congrats to FM Rick Bauer and NM Derek Meredith for 1st in the Open; Carter Clayton and Lisa Smith for 1st in the U1621 section; and Zachary Lacava for 1st in the Scholastic section.
I want to thank all the folks who chipped in to help make this event possible. Norman Burtness helped organize and direct the tournament. And I can’t stress how big of an effort the organizing part of the event is. Norman took care of advertising, prizes, entry collection, and so much more. And we couldn’t have asked for a better tournament director. The rounds started without delay and I didn’t hear any complaints from anyone. Thank you Norman. The other big help came from Mario Guevara-Rodriguez. The lunch everyone enjoyed was planned and delivered by Mario. He purchased, prepared all the cold food, and grilled the burgers/hot dogs, so there is hot lunch available for all the participants. Thank you Mario.
I want to thank Jithu and DIG for providing us with the tents, so we were able to have the Summer Open outdoors. We also had quite a few people help us set up on the day of the event. Thanks to Carter and Jack Clayton, Dan Golda, George Himes, Anitha Ghali, Suhas Kodali and a few other newcomers whose names I didn’t catch to help setting up tents, chairs, sets, boards and clocks. Bob Cyr and George Himes also helped in serving food. And for closing up, thanks to everyone who cleared up after the end of the scholastic and U1621 sections. It made it easy for the rest of us whose games ended up running until after 5. I want to thank Dave Hersovici, Suhas Kodali and the Armenian Church for securing the NBCC venue after the hurricane. Lastly, I want to welcome all the newcomers to the 2021 Summer Open. There were so many new faces and I hope everyone had a great time! For some pictures and more information, please take a look at our historian’s additions to this year’s newsletter.
We will return next year on Sunday Aug 28, 2022 at Wickham Park for the next Summer Open.
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What are the Odds?! - Winners
Congrats to Carter Clayton and Nelson Castaneda for winning the What are the Odds?! Each scored a 7/8pts to clinch first place. In third place with 6/8pts were Suhas Kodali and Jack Clayton. For full standings, see here.
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Masks Mandatory
Hartford county is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases these past few days. The CDC tracker identified Hartford as having a “HIGH” level of community transmission. As such we ask all members to wear masks at the club.
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Jan Cendrowski Quick Quads
We started the quads last Tuesday. We have three quads and one six player round robin. The quick quads will wrap up next Tuesday. We expect everyone who signed up for the quads to come this Tuesday. Here is a brief biography of Jan Cendrowski from our historian - Bob Cyr:
Every year since 2011, the NBCC has held an annual tournament to memorialize a prominent figure in Connecticut chess history. This year, we honor Jan Cendrowski. Jan was the club's president in the 1960s and was a commander of the General Haller Post, where our club held its meetings in the 1960s and 1970s. It was Jan who was instrumental in securing this venue for our club for nearly two decades. Of historical note, Jan was the only member to have held all four officer positions at different times throughout his membership in the club. He was a steadfast leader and a strong advocate for chess in our club and in Connecticut. Tragically, he passed away in 1969 at the young age of sixty-two. He passed away while serving as club president. This was a complete shock to the NBCC community. He was such an important person and role model in our club, and it was sad to see him leave this world so soon. He made an indelible mark on our club, and his legacy will never be forgotten.
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Oktoberfest 2021
Our next upcoming event is a return to classical chess - Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest 2021 Tournament Details:
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Tuesday, Sep. 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12, 19 2020
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5-SS G/75;+30 (U1800 (TBD) - G/75;+30, scholastic players may opt for G/60;d5 in the lower section)
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2 sections: Open, U1800 (TBD)
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Entry Fee: $20 member ($35 non-member)
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Prizes: 70% Returned, 1st – 3rd , class
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USCF Regular rated (USCF membership is required)
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Registration: 6:45 – 7:15 P.M.
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Pairings will be made at 7:15. Arrivals after 7:15 will get a 1st Rd bye or be paired with each other.
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WMCA Tournaments
Our chess friends up north have upcoming tournaments in Western Mass. Each of the events is a one-day three/four game event. USCF TLAs and dates for the events are listed below.
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https://new.uschess.org/13th-
wmca-free-0 - 9/18/21 -
https://new.uschess.org/4th-
leaf-blower-open - 10/24/21 -
https://new.uschess.org/5th-
pumpkin-pusher - 11/20/21
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New Membership Year Starts in September! Please Renew your membership:
The success of the NBCC depends on the contributions and support of our chess community. Membership dues are needed to pay for the use of the facilities, to purchase equipment and to run the club.
Benefits of a NBCC Membership include:
Casual play every week
Reduced tournament entry fee
Support of chess in CT
Participation in member only events, such as our Club Championship
and Christmas Party
Membership dues for the 9/1 - 8/31 club year are:
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Regular $65
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Children and full time students: $50
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2nd family member: $35
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65+ yrs old or out of state college student: $35
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Special $35 in case of a Financial Hardship
You can pay with check or cash at the club or renew by PayPal on our website.
Please send the check to: Dave Herscovici - 231 Argyle Road, Cheshire CT, 06410-2625
NBCC membership page and PayPal link
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Want to be a Chess Teacher?
DIG is Looking for an energetic chess coach to teach our talented students in Fairfield County, CT. Please contact either the club at our email address or Jithu Sajeevan at digcoachjithu@gmail.com
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Should have experience with chess prior.
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Teaching will be in person all around Fairfield County at schools, libraries, houses and other locations.
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Punctuality is important.
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Will be background checked.
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Job type: Contract
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Pay: From $20.00 per hour
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In-person Lecture - NM Suhas Kodali - Tuesday 9/14 - 6:30pm
At 6:30pm, Suhas will start a series of lectures on common tactics resulting from specific openings. This Tuesday, the focus is the Philidor Defense. The lecture will run until 7:15, when we will start the remaining rounds of the Jan Cendrowski Quick Quads.
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Saturday Study Group at 5pm
The Saturday Study group will be experimenting with their schedule. It will start at 5pm and run for three hours. The first hour will be general, where one of the regulars will give a club-like demo. The second hour will be "practice games" or a "practice game." These are very informal and geared towards learning. We are experimenting with group games involving input from everyone for BOTH sides. The third hour will review games from participants, from the club, if and when we get them, the internet, or from history and their analysis.
Link to Zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 856 9749 6782
Passcode: NBCC
Cheers,
Suhas Kodali
President
New Britain Chess Club
