CONSTITUTION STATE OPEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
is canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.
It was to take place on March 21 at "Mill Brook Place" in Coventry CT.
The Marshall Chess Club in New York City is shutting down completely for the next 30 days (from March 13 through April 12).
The U.S. Chess Federation is notified of these cancellations as reflected on the web.
This notice is being sent to 700 players via Connecticut Chess Magazine, and a few thousand via facebook.
NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB NEWS
Nelson Castaneda wins the NBCC Club Championship
Awards Ceremony and Club Champion Simul on Tuesday, March 10
Sergey Kudrin wins the CT Senior Open Championship
Jasmine Su wins the 1st CT Women’s Open Championship
Club Champion Simul on Tuesday
2-Week Unrated tournament 3/17 and 3/24
Training Class Tuesday, NM Nelson Castaneda will share
some of his games from the club championship tournament.
==================================
2020 NBCC Club Championship Report
Congratulations to Nelson Castaneda, the 2020 NBCC Club Champion.
This marks the 11th time that Mr. Castaneda has been Champion or co-champion. This is also the 40th long time control event he has won.
Now let’s see if a few of us can beat him at Tuesday’s Simul!
The 2020 Club Championship set a club record for the event with 53 players.
Suhas Kodali finished in 2nd place, and David Herscovici finished in 3rd.
In the U1800 section, Shriniket Sivakumar took 1st on tie-breaks over
Roger Bessette. Punvayrat Upadhyay finished in 3rd. U1400 1st place goes to Shaina Mezheritskiy, and 2nd to Rick Schnitzler. U1100 winner is
Nitish Heston on tie-breaks over 2nd place finisher Yogahari Jegadeeswaran.
U800 1st place is Mackenzie Furman, 2nd place is Nathan Mezheritskiy.
All these winners will receive a trophy at the Awards Ceremony at 7:00 on
Tuesday, before the simul begins. For a complete crosstable of results,
see the NBCC Club Championship USCF Crosstable A special thanks to
TD Mark Bourque for directing and getting the pairings and standings out each week..
==============================
CT Senior Open Championship report
On Saturday Feb 29, the NBCC hosted the CT Sr Open Championship.
Congratulations to FM Sergey Kudrin for winning the event with the only 3-0 score.
Finishing in 2nd place was Derek Meredith. Mario Guevara-Rodriguez
won the U2000 prize. 12 players competed in the 2nd edition of this event.
See the USCF Crosstable for complete results.
================================
CT Women’s Open Championship report
On Saturday Feb 29, the NBCC hosted also hosted the inaugural CT Women’s Open
Championship. Congratulations to rising star, 9 year old Jasmine Su for winning.
For those of you who do not know Jasmine, her current rating is nearly 1900.
She is in the top 20 for her age group in the country and is 3rd among girls.
The event was disappointing for its low turnout, only 5 players, but all women from the NBCC did play, and it was nice to see Ybelka Granger at the NBCC for the first time since having her child. Lisa Smith finished in 2nd place and
Mackenzie Furman won the U1100 prize.
See the USCF Crosstable for complete results.
============================
Norman Burtness, President
New Britain Chess Club
newbritainchessclub@gmail.com
www.newbritainchessclub.com
The New Britain Chess Club Record Holders
NBCC Member Standings - Regular Time Controls
List of members who have won or tied for first place in any section of at least three NBCC tournaments with a time control of at least thirty minutes.
Members who tied for first place but lost on tie-breaks are still credited with a first-place tie. Please note that all qualifying, thematic, odds, team, and quad events are not included in this compilation.
| Rank | Member | # | Year First Achieved | Year Last Achieved | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkadijs Strazdins | ||||
| 2 | FM Nelson Castaneda | ||||
| 3 | FM Richard Bauer | ||||
| 4 | Robert Milardo | ||||
| 5 | NM Dennis Prawira | ||||
| 6 | Edmund Roman | ||||
| 7 | John Baclawski | ||||
| 8 | NM James Bolton | ||||
| 9 | Joseph Bihlmeyer |
GM S.P. Sethuraman (2641)-GM Boris Savchenko (2573)
2/26/20
2020 Aeroflot Open
1.e4 e6
2.d4 d5
3.Nc3 Bb4
4.e5 c5
5.a3 Bxc3+
6.bxc3 Qa5
7.Bd2 Qa4
8.Qg4 g6
9.Nf3 Nc6
10.Be2 c4
11.Ra2 Bd7
12.Qh4 h6
13.O-O b6
14.Bg5 Nce7
15.Rb1 Qa5
16.a4 Nf5
17.Qh3 Bxa4
18.Nd2 Kf8
19.Bf4 g5?! +1.82/23
19...Rc8 +0.82/21 20.Bg4 20. g4 Nfe7 21. Qe3 b5 22. Bg3 Qc7 23. f4 a5 24. Nf3 Qd7 25. h3 Kg7 26. Bh4 Nc6 27. Re1 +0.46 Stockfish 20...Nge7 21.Bg5 b5 22.Bf6 Rh7 23.Rba1 Qc7 24.Nf3 Kg8 25.Bxf5 Nxf5 26.Nh4 a5 27.Nxf5 exf5 28.Kh1 Qd7 29.f4 Qc6 30.Qh4 Qe6 31.Qg3 Rc6 32.Qh4 Rc8
20.Bxg5 hxg5?! +2.76/23
20...b5 +1.94/22 21.Bg4 Kg7 21...Ng7 22. Bf4 Rc8 23. Qe3 Qc7 24. Nf1 a5 25. Qc1 Rh7 +3.38 Stockfish 22.Be3 22. Bf4 Nge7 23. Bxf5 Nxf5 24. g4 Ne7 25. Nf1 +3.77 Stockfish 22...Nge7 23.Nf1 Kg8 24.Ng3 Nxg3 25.Qxg3 Rh7 26.Bf4 Kf8 27.Qh3 Qd8 28.Bxh6+ Ke8 29.Qe3 Qc7 30.Qf4 Kd7 31.Bg5 Rah8 32.Qf6 Ng6 33.h3
21.Qxh8 Qxc3
22.Nf3 g4?! +3.85/24
22...Bxc2 +2.79/22 23.Rc1 Nxd4 24.Nxd4 Qxd4 25.Raxc2 b5 25...a5 26. Bh5 Rc8 27. g3 g4 28. h3 gxh3 29. Kh2 Rc7 30. Rd2 +4.34 Stockfish 26.Bh5 a5 27.Rc3 27. Rd1 Qf4 28. g3 Qf5 29. Rc3 g4 30. Rd4 b4 31. Re3 b3 32. Rf4 b2 33. Re1 b1=Q 34. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 35. Kg2 +11.39 Stockfish 27...g4 28.Rg3 Qf4 29.Rb1 Qh6 30.Qxh6+ Nxh6 31.Rxb5 a4 32.Ra3 d4 33.Rc5 c3 34.Ra1 a3 35.Rc4 Rb8 36.h3 gxh3
23.Ng5 Nxd4
24.Bxg4 Bxc2
25.Rba1 a5
26.h4? +2.29/21
26.Bh5 +5.03/22 26...Nb3 27.Rf1 Ra7 28.Rxc2 Qxc2 29.Nh7+ Qxh7 30.Qxh7 Re7 31.h4 31. Bd1 f5 32. Qh8 Nd2 33. Re1 d4 34. Qh4 d3 35. Qf4 Nb3 36. Qxc4 Nc5 37. Qb5 Kg7 38. Qxb6 d2 39. Re3 Ne4 40. Qxa5 Nh6 41. f3 Ng5 42. Qd8 Ng8 43. Qxd2 +13.50 Stockfish 31...b5 32.Qh8 Rc7 33.Bd1 Nd2 34.h5
26...Bb3? +4.22/24
26...Bd3 +2.29/21 27.h5 27. Ra3 Qb2 28. Bh5 Ra7 29. Rxd3 cxd3 30. Rf1 Rc7 31. g3 Nc6 32. Nh7+ Ke7 33. Qxg8 Nxe5 34. Bxf7 Nxf7 35. Qf8+ Kd7 36. Qxf7+ Kc8 37. Qxe6+ Kb8 38. Ng5 d2 39. Qxd5 a4 40. Qd8+ Kb7 41. Ne4 Qc1 42. Nxd2 +6.57 Stockfish 27...Nc6 28.Nf3 Nd4 29.h6 Nxf3+ 30.Bxf3 Ke7 31.Bh5 Rf8 32.Rd1 Bf5 33.Re2 Qb3 34.Rde1
26...Nc6 27.Bxe6 Qxe5 28.Qxe5 Nxe5 29.Bxd5 Rd8 30.Bxf7 Bf5 31.Be6 Bd3 32.Rb2 Rb8 33.Rb5 +4.40 Stockfish
27.Ra3 Qd2?! +5.39/24
27...Qb4 +3.98/23 28.Bh5 Ke7 29.Bxf7 Kd7 30.Bxg8 Qf8 31.Qh7+ Qe7 32.Bf7 Rf8 33.Qg7 Bc2 34.g4 34. h5 Kc6 35. h6 Nf5 36. Qg6 Nd4 37. Qf6 Qxf6 38. exf6 Kd6 39. Re3 c3 40. Bxe6 Rxf6 41. Bg8 b5 42. h7 Bxh7 43. Bxh7 b4 44. Rxa5 +11.14 Stockfish 34...Bd3 35.Qf6 Qxf6 36.exf6 Ne2+ 37.Kh2 Kd6 38.Rd1 e5 39.h5 Nf4
27...Qc2 28.Bh5 Ke7 29.Bxf7 Kd7 30.Bxg8 Kc6 31.Qf6 Rxg8 32.Nxe6 Ne2+ 33.Kf1 Qg6 34.Nd4+ Kc5 35.Nxb3+ cxb3 36.Rxb3 Kc4 37.Qxb6 Qxb6 38.Rxb6 Nc3 39.Rxa5 Rh8 40.g3 Re8 41.e6 Re7 42.Kg2 +9.01 Stockfish
28.Bh5 Ke7
29.Bxf7 Qf4? +13.65/21
29...Ne2+ +12.73 30.Kf1 Nc1 31.Bh5 Kd7 32.Qg7+ Ne7 33.Qf6 Qd3+ 34.Kg1 Qf5 35.Rxc1 b5 36.Bf7 Qxf6 37.exf6 d4 38.Bxe6+ Kd6 39.Re1 Ng6 40.Bf5 Nh8 41.f7 Nxf7 42.Nxf7+ Kc5 43.Re5+ Kb4 44.Ra1 a4 45.h5 d3 46.Nd6 d2 47.Rxb5+ Kc3 48.Be4 Rh8 49.Bf3
30.Qh7 Kd7
31.Bxe6+ Kc6
32.Qd7+ Kc5
33.Qxd5+ Kb4
34.Ra4+ Kc3
35.Ne4+ Kd3
36.Rd1+ 36...Bd1 37.Qc4 Ke4 38.Qd4 # or 36...Kc2 37.Qd4 Ba4 38.Qc3 Kd1 39.Bg4 Qg4 40.Qd2# 1-0
https://beta.chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer/
Cut & Paste the code below, and LOAD into webpage above
[Event "2020 Aeroflot Open"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2020.02.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM S.P. Sethuraman"]
[Black "GM Boris Savchenko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2573"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2641"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.Qg4 g6
9.Nf3 Nc6 10.Be2 c4 11.Ra2 Bd7 12.Qh4 h6 13.O-O b6 14.Bg5 Nce7 15.Rb1 Qa5
16.a4 Nf5 17.Qh3 Bxa4 18.Nd2 Kf8 19.Bf4 g5 $6 { +1.82/23 } ( 19...Rc8
{ +0.82/21 } 20.Bg4
{ 20. g4 Nfe7 21. Qe3 b5 22. Bg3 Qc7 23. f4 a5 24. Nf3 Qd7 25. h3 Kg7 26.
Bh4 Nc6 27. Re1 +0.46 Stockfish } 20...Nge7 21.Bg5 b5 22.Bf6 Rh7 23.Rba1 Qc7
24.Nf3 Kg8 25.Bxf5 Nxf5 26.Nh4 a5 27.Nxf5 exf5 28.Kh1 Qd7 29.f4 Qc6 30.Qh4
Qe6 31.Qg3 Rc6 32.Qh4 Rc8 ) 20.Bxg5 hxg5 $6 { +2.76/23 } ( 20...b5
{ +1.94/22 } 21.Bg4 Kg7
{ 21...Ng7 22. Bf4 Rc8 23. Qe3 Qc7 24. Nf1 a5 25. Qc1 Rh7 +3.38 Stockfish }
22.Be3 { 22. Bf4 Nge7 23. Bxf5 Nxf5 24. g4 Ne7 25. Nf1 +3.77 Stockfish }
22...Nge7 23.Nf1 Kg8 24.Ng3 Nxg3 25.Qxg3 Rh7 26.Bf4 Kf8 27.Qh3 Qd8 28.Bxh6+
Ke8 29.Qe3 Qc7 30.Qf4 Kd7 31.Bg5 Rah8 32.Qf6 Ng6 33.h3 ) 21.Qxh8 Qxc3 22.Nf3
g4 $6 { +3.85/24 } ( 22...Bxc2 { +2.79/22 } 23.Rc1 Nxd4 24.Nxd4 Qxd4 25.Raxc2
b5
{ 25...a5 26. Bh5 Rc8 27. g3 g4 28. h3 gxh3 29. Kh2 Rc7 30. Rd2 +4.34
Stockfish } 26.Bh5 a5 27.Rc3
{ 27. Rd1 Qf4 28. g3 Qf5 29. Rc3 g4 30. Rd4 b4 31. Re3 b3 32. Rf4 b2 33.
Re1 b1=Q 34. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 35. Kg2 +11.39 Stockfish } 27...g4 28.Rg3 Qf4 29.Rb1
Qh6 30.Qxh6+ Nxh6 31.Rxb5 a4 32.Ra3 d4 33.Rc5 c3 34.Ra1 a3 35.Rc4 Rb8 36.h3
gxh3 ) 23.Ng5 Nxd4 24.Bxg4 Bxc2 25.Rba1 a5 26.h4 $2 { +2.29/21 } ( 26.Bh5
{ +5.03/22 } 26...Nb3 27.Rf1 Ra7 28.Rxc2 Qxc2 29.Nh7+ Qxh7 30.Qxh7 Re7 31.h4
{ 31. Bd1 f5 32. Qh8 Nd2 33. Re1 d4 34. Qh4 d3 35. Qf4 Nb3 36. Qxc4 Nc5 37.
Qb5 Kg7 38. Qxb6 d2 39. Re3 Ne4 40. Qxa5 Nh6 41. f3 Ng5 42. Qd8 Ng8 43.
Qxd2 +13.50 Stockfish } 31...b5 32.Qh8 Rc7 33.Bd1 Nd2 34.h5 ) 26...Bb3 $2
{ +4.22/24 } ( 26...Bd3 { +2.29/21 } 27.h5
{ 27. Ra3 Qb2 28. Bh5 Ra7 29. Rxd3 cxd3 30. Rf1 Rc7 31. g3 Nc6 32. Nh7+ Ke7
33. Qxg8 Nxe5 34. Bxf7 Nxf7 35. Qf8+ Kd7 36. Qxf7+ Kc8 37. Qxe6+ Kb8 38.
Ng5 d2 39. Qxd5 a4 40. Qd8+ Kb7 41. Ne4 Qc1 42. Nxd2 +6.57 Stockfish }
27...Nc6 28.Nf3 Nd4 29.h6 Nxf3+ 30.Bxf3 Ke7 31.Bh5 Rf8 32.Rd1 Bf5 33.Re2 Qb3
34.Rde1 ) ( 26...Nc6 27.Bxe6 Qxe5 28.Qxe5 Nxe5 29.Bxd5 Rd8 30.Bxf7 Bf5 31.Be6
Bd3 32.Rb2 Rb8 33.Rb5 { +4.40 Stockfish } ) 27.Ra3 Qd2 $6 { +5.39/24 } (
27...Qb4 { +3.98/23 } 28.Bh5 Ke7 29.Bxf7 Kd7 30.Bxg8 Qf8 31.Qh7+ Qe7 32.Bf7
Rf8 33.Qg7 Bc2 34.g4
{ 34. h5 Kc6 35. h6 Nf5 36. Qg6 Nd4 37. Qf6 Qxf6 38. exf6 Kd6 39. Re3 c3
40. Bxe6 Rxf6 41. Bg8 b5 42. h7 Bxh7 43. Bxh7 b4 44. Rxa5 +11.14 Stockfish
} 34...Bd3 35.Qf6 Qxf6 36.exf6 Ne2+ 37.Kh2 Kd6 38.Rd1 e5 39.h5 Nf4 ) (
27...Qc2 28.Bh5 Ke7 29.Bxf7 Kd7 30.Bxg8 Kc6 31.Qf6 Rxg8 32.Nxe6 Ne2+ 33.Kf1
Qg6 34.Nd4+ Kc5 35.Nxb3+ cxb3 36.Rxb3 Kc4 37.Qxb6 Qxb6 38.Rxb6 Nc3 39.Rxa5
Rh8 40.g3 Re8 41.e6 Re7 42.Kg2 { +9.01 Stockfish } ) 28.Bh5 Ke7 29.Bxf7 Qf4
$2 { +13.65/21 } ( 29...Ne2+ { +12.73 } 30.Kf1 Nc1 31.Bh5 Kd7 32.Qg7+ Ne7
33.Qf6 Qd3+ 34.Kg1 Qf5 35.Rxc1 b5 36.Bf7 Qxf6 37.exf6 d4 38.Bxe6+ Kd6 39.Re1
Ng6 40.Bf5 Nh8 41.f7 Nxf7 42.Nxf7+ Kc5 43.Re5+ Kb4 44.Ra1 a4 45.h5 d3 46.Nd6
d2 47.Rxb5+ Kc3 48.Be4 Rh8 49.Bf3 ) 30.Qh7 Kd7 31.Bxe6+ Kc6 32.Qd7+ Kc5
33.Qxd5+ Kb4 34.Ra4+ Kc3 35.Ne4+ Kd3 36.Rd1+
{ 36...Bd1 37.Qc4 Ke4 38.Qd4 # or 36...Kc2 37.Qd4 Ba4 38.Qc3 Kd1 39.Bg4
Qg4 40.Qd2# } 1-0
Joe Bihlmeyer wins 2020 Eastern Connecticut Chess Open
Grandmaster Sergey Kudrin wins 2020 Connecticut Senior
13 Teams from Connecticut at 2020 USA Amateur Team East
91 players at 2020 Connecticut State Grade Championships
State of the Club report by Rob Roy of Coventry Chess Club
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR UPDATES
ConnecticutChess@Gmail.Com
CSCA News
3/1
A total of 84 young players participated in the first Fairfield Regional Scholastic Championship held at Riverfield School in collaboration with the CSCA. Final standings of the Junior High, Elementary & Primary Open, Elementary Novice, and Primary Novice & First Grade - USCF rating crosstable.
2/29
Grandmaster Sergey Kudrin has won the 2020 Connecticut Senior Championship with a score of 3-0 and will be the official state representative to the 3rd Annual National Tournament of Senior State Champions held August 8-11 in St. Charles, MO. In the last round, he beat second seed FM, Nelson Castaneda. Derek Meredith finished in second place and has qualified to the Championship section of the 2020 Connecticut State Championship on May 16 as Kudrin is already eligible as one of the top 12 players in the state. Top U2000 was won by Mario Guevera-Rodriguez.
The first Connecticut Women's championship was won by 9-year-old Jasmine Su who scored a perfect 3-0. Liz Smith finished in second place.
Crosstable CT Senior - Crosstable CT Women's.
Jasmine Su (left), one of the top 9-year-old players in the US won the first CT Women's Open.
Mario Guevara-Rodriguez vs Nelson Castaneda in front & Hanon Russell vs Sergey Kudrin behind.
COVENTRY CHESS CLUB
Top Frequent Players (after tnmt #47)
21 Rob Roy
18 Art Nagel
16 Mark Bourque
13 Dan Smith
10 Dan Zhou
2020 MILL BROOK PARK OPEN APR. 18
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED
NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB
“THE HEART OF CONNECTICUT CHESS”
IN CARE OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY RESURRECTION
1910 STANLEY STREET NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT 06053
WWW.NEWBRITAINCHESSCLUB.COM
2020 NBCC NEWSLETTER by Robert Cyr
THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
JANUARY
On January 10 and 11, the club welcomed back prominent Grandmaster Alexandr
Lenderman, one of the top chess players in America. On Friday, the GM began his
two-day visit to the club with a master training class. The intense and engaging
the three-hour session focused on the topic of making your opponents’ position more difficult. The next day, GM Lenderman began with a nice lecture about proper piece placement. The lecture was followed by a simultaneous chess exhibition, where twenty-three players from our community participated. Our competitors gave Mr. Lenderman a tough battle on the chessboard, with many challenging games, according to the GM. Despite our players’ attempts to slow him down, though, the GM emerged victorious on all boards (a perfect 23-0) in about three hours. This historic weekend in club history would not have been possible if it were not for member Mario Guevara-Rodriguez, who arranged the GM’s visit and
furthermore provided him with transportation to and from Milford.
FEBRUARY
Every Presidents Day weekend, for over a decade now, teams from the NBCC
have participated in the annual World/U.S. Amateur Team East Chess
Championship, more commonly known as USATE. This is the largest team chess
event in history. Here is a recap of our club’s results at this event in 2020 this
Presidents Day weekend.
On the first team, Connecticut’s Finest, we had the combined forces of USCF
Senior Master Arslan Otchiyev and USCF National Master Ian Harris from the
Chess Club of Fairfield County and Joe Bihlmeyer and Jithu Sajeevan from the
NBCC. This team ended up with a fine performance score of 5-1 and thus won the
Top Connecticut Team prize. The all-NBCC team (Illegal move in Ukraine), which
had Mario Guevara-Rodriguez, Norman Burtness, Mike Pascsetta, and Michael
Smith, ended up with a score of 3.5 out of six match points in spite of having lost a game that was played behind the ropes in round one. The next team from the club fell apart when FIDE Master Richard Bauer was unable to play due to illness. But the almost-NBCC team competed anyway. And this team (Pence Still on Board 2) consisted of USCF NM Ted McHugh, USCF NM Derek Meredith, Doug Fiske,
and a 1900-rated player from New Jersey who scored 5-1. This team ended up with four match points in spite of losing on board one in round two.
Incidentally, this team had to play the Ukraine team in round five of the
tournament, the first time that nearly two complete NBCC teams ever had to face
off in a tournament of this size like USATE. The Pence team won that match. I got
to experience the action at USATE this year with a brand-new team, Queen’s Bald
Eagles. On board one, we had a WFM from Nigeria. One of our teammates had
tailored made t-shirts with the Nigerian and American flags embroidered on them.
That was cool! It was nice to make new friends. This was my ninth consecutive
USATE appearance, incidentally.
A very special thanks and shout out goes out to Mr. E. Steven Doyle, chief event
director, for the exemplary work that he did in organizing and directing this
incredible event. He and his professional staff did a marvelous job to ensure that
this tournament ran as smoothly as possible. They are the heart and soul of this
annual three-day retreat, where new and old friends have the opportunity to
connect or reconnect in the spirit of friendship. Kudos to them!
Our first member who the club honored in 2020 for his longevity with the club was
Matt Faille. Matt started going to the NBCC in the early-to-mid 2000s. His father,
Mark Faille, had introduced him to both the game and the NBCC. Mark Wilkin
and his friend Ilya Gofman, along with member Joe Hricko, were the first to take
turns beating on him over the chessboard. Until the NBCC, Matt had only been
limited to playing at the Barnes & Noble in Waterbury, at the library chess club in
Waterbury, and in the Townsend Cup at Wesleyan University in Middletown. A
few years after that, Matt met member Will Torres in high school, and then they
started going to New Britain together to maraud the countryside. It was not until
later that they had the same initial chess coach, Julius Fuster, for many years
without the knowledge of each other! The NBCC had been the single most
influential group of people in helping Matt improve his chess strength and giving
him a sense of brotherhood. He could not possibly mention all of the names of
chess players who meant so very much to him. At one point, USCF NM Derek
Meredith had allowed Matt to sit in with several of his studies at the mall and at
Panera Bread to formally improve his chess strength. In addition, Mark and Jimmy
Wilkin would always show Matt why unorthodox chess openings and aggressive
practical play were viable at almost all levels. Preparing for the NBCC's slow
tournaments week after week gave Matt insight into how to prepare for such things and absolutely garnered him a spike in opening preparation ability. Even though he currently resides in Rhode Island, if anyone asks him, USCF Expert Matt still calls the NBCC his home club. His fondest memory of tournaments at the club had to have been the team tournaments, where New Britain always did well.
All in all, Matt is extremely grateful to be part of such a wonderful club with a rich
history and dedicated officers. And we are so grateful to have Matt as our friend in
our thriving chess community. To make this tournament a friendly one for
students, Matt opted to have his tournament unrated with games of various time
controls gradually starting at G/15 and ending at G/1. A special prize (a club chess
set) was also awarded to the top-scoring student, which ended up being a member
Nakul Ramaswamy. FM and member Nelson Castaneda took home the gold with a
first-place score. Matt’s event was held on February 18.
On February 29, the NBCC hosted the annual Connecticut State Senior Open
Chess Championship and the inaugural Connecticut State Women’s Open Chess
Championship. The senior event was won by GM Sergey Kudrin, and the women’s
event was won by Jasmine Su, 9, the rating is class A. USCF NM
Derek Meredith took home second place in the senior event, and he will be
automatically seeded in the state championships to be held in May. Thanks to all
those who participated, and a special thanks to Normal Burtness for directing both
tournaments.
MARCH
The club held its most heritage tournament of the year, its annual championship
tournament, from mid-January through early March. A record 53 players
competed in this tournament. After many rounds of fierce competition, FM Nelson
Castaneda emerged victorious in the event. This marks Nelson’s fortieth win or ties
for first place in major (G/30 or longer) club tournaments. Winning the reserve
section of this major event was member Shriniket Sivakumar, his first win in a
major club event. Thanks to Mark Bourque for directing this significant club event.
He did a great job!
Keeping with club tradition, the reigning club champion of the year hosts a
simultaneous chess exhibition. This year, it was Nelson’s turn to host a simul.
Sixteen players competed in this event, with the participants all striving to tackle
and upset the master. After nearly three hours of competition, member Jozef Madej and Nilish Terance nicked a draw against the master. Thanks to Nelson for hosting this simul. He had a good performance overall. Prior to his simul, Nelson reviewed some games from the most recent club championship.
