Friday, August 2, 2019

JIM CELONE's STROKE WAS ONE YEAR AGO

Hi my name is Linda Celone, I am Captain Jim’s wife.

On August 1, 2018, Jim suffered a major stroke.

He has been in and out of Yale Hospital, had several surgeries and quite honestly it was touch and go a few times. If you know Jim, he has overcome the ill effects of what seems to be a lifelong struggle with his health. Well, nothing holds him down... he somehow figures a way to handle these obstacles with a calm, quiet, focused vengeance. He always has plan B.

Today marks a year of an emotional rollercoaster for his family and friends both near and far. I am so proud of his accomplishments, today we played 2 full games (first time he has done this with no confusion), we split the wins in chess and dominoes...you can guess which way that went 😆.

I am hopeful that he will play chess on the boardwalk before summer’s end. Thank you all for the prayers, phone calls, visits and well wishes...they lift his spirits and brighten his outlook on life. He is not always up for visits, as he is not yet comfortable with his speech. It’s a long, bumpy road to recovery...I believe My Captain is up for the challenge!

His first mate, Linda

 

 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

BREAKING NEWS FROM CSCA WEBSITE

GM's Yaroslav Zherebukh and Alexander Ivanov tie for Bradley Open.

Visit CSCA website for section winners etc....

CT's Maximillian Lu wins U1600 Gold Medal at PanAm in Ecuador. 

CT's Top Jr., Hans Niemann, 15, tied for 6th at 2019 US Junior St Louis.

Visit CSCA website for details and photos etc....

 

 

CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE STATISTICS


Our website got 2,373 hits during July 2019.

Continuing at this same rate means we will

achieve 200,000 total website hits (since starting

May 2010) by May 2020, our 10 year anniversary.


Our focus is on tournament chess in Connecticut.

We get regular reports from New Britain Chess Club,

Coventry Chess Club, and Weston Chess Club.


Alan Lasser writes GAME OF THE WEEK column.

Bob Cyr, Connecticut's chess historian,

writes GOING BACK IN TIME column.


Norman Burtness and Suhas Kodali, report on

the New Britain Chess Club.  Rob Roy, newspaper

columnist from 1976 thru 2000, uploads an image

of an old column each week.


Subscribe to our Email Newsletter, it is free.

You can unsubscribe anytime.

 

 

Norman Burtness, President 

New Britain Chess Club

newbritainchessclub@gmail.com

www.newbritainchessclub.com

 
 
 
 

NEW  BRITAIN CHESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWS  Aug 2, 2019

 

 

Bughouse Tournament Results

The 1st bughouse tournament held in a number of years was a huge success.  While many of the stronger players took the week off, there were still 26 players that competed, with several new faces and nearly nearly half (12) the participants were kids!  The tournament also set a NBCC record for most females competing, with 5. After 6 rounds of play, Carter Clayton and Norman Burtness finished undefeated to win the tournament. Tied for 2nd place with 4 pts were Arijit and Kenzie, Sai and Mike, and Jithu and Jithya. 

Before the tournament, Michael Smith and Suhas Kodali explained the rules and had some  Bughouse puzzles the players to figure out. Michael Smith is one of the new TDs and ran a very efficient tournament.

 

Training Class 6:15-7:00

On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Expert Joe Bihlmeyer will have some useful chess puzzles to present.

 

Historical Report

NBCC Club Historian Bob Cyr has published the 6-month historical report for 2019.  Click on the link to view. 2019 6-month Historical Report

 

Norman Burtness, President 

New Britain Chess Club

newbritainchessclub@gmail.com

www.newbritainchessclub.com

 

 

 
 
Joe Bihlmeyer 
 

 

 

 

 


Coventry Chess Club
Most Faithful Players

28 Joe Bihlmeyer
16 Rob Roy
15 Derek Meredith
15 Art Nagel
14 Mark Bourque
11 Dan Smith
10 Hayes Goodman
10 Joshua Berkun
9   Larry Laffose
8   Suhas Kodali
8   Daniel Zhou

 

 

GOING BACK IN TIME  by Bob Cyr

We are going back in time to a very special era in our club. The summer of 1991. Are you ready, time travelers? Let's ramp up that DeLorean of ours to 88mph and set our destination time to August 26, 1991 at 8:00 a.m. when the Hartford Courant published the article below about one of the luminaries of the NBCC, SM Michael Casella. It was a well-written biography about this legendary chess player, who I believe resides in California now and has transitioned from being a chess master to a poker player. 
 
According to Arkadijs Strazdins, Casella was "one of the best student players in New England." 
 
I still remember my father giving a ride home to Casella from one of the New England Chess Championships because he had no way to get home. During our ride, Mike talked to my father, Reggie, and me about his rise in the chess world and his love for the game, its players, and the club. If anyone has Mike's e-mail address, please forward this article to him.
 
Enjoy the article. I return you to August 1, 2019 at 6:10 p.m.
 
Your chess friend in time,
 
Bob Cyr (formerly known as Bob Kozlowski)

 

 

GAME OF THE WEEK  by Alan Lasser

   I have been futilely trying to locate a picture of Nimzovitch standing on his head.  Even when I widened my internet search, I couldn't find photographs anywhere of dark-haired, bearded men standing upside down with their clothes on.  The internet only revealed a few photos of what looked to be gymnasts standing on their heads, people who had trained and knew the trick.   
    There are internet articles that say standing-on-your-head doses the brain cells with fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients, which increases your memory and concentration;  and there are other internet pages warning that the bones at that end of the spinal column are the weakest and they weren't designed to support your body weight.  After considering the risks and rewards of head-standing, most chess masters choose to think about the game exclusively right side up.  The official editorial position of GOTW is the safest, we recommend that chess players remain seated at all times.  

  The oldest player in at the Rosendale Chess Club is eighty-five year old Irv Polatsek.  The highlight of his chess career was probably his draw in a simul against Bent Larsen.  The Great Dane may have been surprised that someone had the nerve to play 1...b6 against him.
 
White Irv Polatsek
Black Alan Lasser
Event skittles
Site Rosendale Chess Club
Date 2013.03.20
Result 0-1
1 e4 Nc6
2 Nf3 d6
3 Bb5 . . .
(+0.31) +0.52 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e5 5. d5 Ne7 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Qd2 Nxe3 8. fxe3 a6 9. O- O-O c6 10. Be2 cxd5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5
3 . . . Bd7
4 Bxc6 . . .
(+0.14) +0.45 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 e5 7. d5 Nd4 8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Ne2 c5 10. dxc6EP bxc6 11. Nxd4 Be7 12. a4 Bg4 13. f3
4 . . . Bxc6
5 Nc3 Nf6
6 d3 Qd7
(-0.23) +0.02 6... a5 7. O-O
7 O-O O-O-O
8 Re1 e5
9 Bg5 . . .
(+0.21) +0.53 9. a4 a5 10. d4 Qe8 11. d5 Bd7 12. Qd3 Be7 13. h3 h6 14. Be3 Kb8 15. b3 b6 16. Nd2 g5 17. Qa6
9 . . . Be7
10 Bxf6 . . .
(+0.09) +0.29 10. a4 h6 11. Bd2 Qe6 12. h3 Bd7 13. Be3 a6 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Qc4 16. f3 g5 17. a5
10 . . . Bxf6
11 Rb1 g5
12 h3 . . .
(-0.43) -0.21 12. d4 b6 13. Nd5 Bg7
12 . . . g4
13 hxg4 Qxg4
14 Nh2 Qg7
15 Qg4+ Bd7
16 Qxg7 Bxg7
17 b4 f5
18 b5 h5
 
19 exf5 . . .
(-0.37) -0.09 19. Nd5 Rde8 20. Rb3 Rhf8 21. Nf3 Bh6 22. Reb1 Be6 23. c4 Bxd5
19 . . . Bxf5
20 Nd5 Rde8
21 Nf3 Be6
22 c4 Bf5
23 Red1 . . .
(-0.62) -0.02 23. Rb3 Bh6 24. Nh4 Bh7 25. Ra3 Bg5 26. Nf3 Bd8 27. Rxa7 Bxd3 28. Nd2 e4 29. Ra3 Kd7 30. Nc3 e3 31. Rxe3 Rxe3 32. fxe3
23 . . . e4
24 dxe4 Bxe4
25 Rb4 Bxf3
26 gxf3 Re2
27 a4 . . .
(-0.80) -0.53 27. Rb3 Rc2 28. Ra3 Kb8 29. Ne3 Re2 30. f4 h4 31. f5 h3 32. Ng4
27 . . . h4
28 Nf4 . . .
(-1.22) -0.80 28. f4 h3
28 . . . Rc2
29 Kg2 . . .
(-1.75) -1.25 29. Nd5 h3 30. Rbb1
29 . . . Be5
30 Nd3 h3+
31 Kh1 Bf6
32 Rf1 b6
(+1.44) +1.83 32... Rc3 33. Rd1 h2 34. Nf4 Rxf3 35. Nd5 Bh4 36. Rb2 Bxf2 37. Rf1 Rhf8 38. Re2 c6 39. bxc6 bxc6 40. Ne7 Kc7 41. Kxh2 Bg3
33 Nf4 . . .
(-1.70) -1.44 33. Rc1 Ra2 34. Rb3 Bd4 35. f4 Rxa4 36. Kh2 Ra2 37. Rh1 c5 38. bxc6EP Bxf2 39. Rb2 Rxb2 40. Nxb2 Bd4 41. Nd3 Kc7 42. Kg3
33 . . . Rh4
(+1.18) +1.70 33... Bd4 34. Rbb1 Rxc4 35. Rbe1 Rxa4 36. Re4 Rh4 37. Rg1 h2 38. Rd1 Ra1 39. Rxa1 Bxa1 40. Ne6 Rh6 41. f4 Bf6 42. Ra4 Kb7
34 Nd5 Bd4
35 Ne7+ . . .
(-1.40) -1.18 35. f4 Kd7
35 . . . Kd7
36 Nf5 Rf4
37 Nxd4 Rxd4
38 Kh2 Rcxc4
39 Rxc4 Rxc4
40 Kxh3 . . .
(-1.54) -1.26 40. Ra1 Rc3
40 . . . Rxa4
41 Rb1 a5
42 Kg3?? . . .
(-3.50) -1.62 42. bxa6EP Rxa6 43. f4 c5 44. f5 c4 45. Kg4 c3
42 . . . Rb4
43 Ra1 Rxb5
44 f4 Ke6
(+3.78) +3.99 44... c5 45. Kf3 c4
45 Kg4 Kf6
46 f3 . . .
(-4.14) -3.78 46. Ra3 Rc5 47. f3 Rc4 48. Re3 a4 49. Re8 d5 50. Rf8 Ke7 51. Ra8 d4 52. f5 d3 53. Kg5
46 . . . d5
47 Rc1 c5
48 Re1? . . .
(-6.37) -5.10 48. Ra1 c4 49. f5 c3
48 . . . a4
(+5.96) +6.37 48... c4
49 f5?? . . .
(-7.69) -5.96 49. Re5 a3
49 . . . a3
50 f4? . . .
(-8.95) -8.11 50. Ra1 Ra5
50 . . . a2
51 Re6+?? . . .
(-23.06) -12.50 51. Ra1 Rb2 52. Kf3 b5
51 . . . Kf7
52 Re1 Ra5??
(+13.62) +mate 9 52... Rb1 53. Rxb1 axb1=Q 54. Kg3 Qd3 55. Kf2 Qd2 56. Kg3 Qe3 57. Kh2 Qf2 58. Kh1 Qe1 59. Kg2
53 Ra1 b5
54 Kf3 b4
 
 




Our region's chess tournaments
happen near these cities:

New Britain CT
Coventry CT
Windsor Locks CT
Springfield MA
Sturbridge MA
Worcester MA
Boston MA
Providence RI
Norwalk CT
Stamford CT

 

 

Hi Rob,

    I used to be an active chess player when I first started in Hartford Connecticut. I thought you might be interested in seeing my games from the Connecticut State Championship in 1950.

I currently publish the the Florida State Chess Magazine, floridaCHESS. PDFs of the magazine are available on www.floridachess.org

Harvey

 

(4) Lerman,Harvey (1950) - Hand (New Haven) [D00]

Connecticut Championship (1), 03.03.1957

1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 d5 3.Bd3 c5 4.c3 c4 5.Bc2 Nc6 6.f4 Bg4 7.Nf3 Ne4 8.Nbd2 f5 9.0–0 e6 10.Qe1 Be7 11.Nxe4 fxe4 This was one of my favorite openings and Black misplays it leading to a quick win for me. 12.Ne5 Diagram 

XIIIIIIIIY
8r+-wqk+-tr0
7zpp+-vl-zpp0
6-+n+p+-+0
5+-+psN-+-0
4-+pzPpzPl+0
3+-zP-zP-+-0
2PzPL+-+PzP0
1tR-vL-wQRmK-0
xabcdefghy

12...Nxe5? 13.fxe5 Bh4?? 14.Ba4+ Ke7 15.Qxh4+ This was the 1st game to finish in this Championship tournament and took only 45 minutes. This was a good start for me. 1–0

 

(5) Edelbaum (2100) - Lerman,Harvey (1950) [A03]

Connecticut Championship (2), 03.03.1957

1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Be2 g6 5.0–0 Bg7 6.Ne5 0–0 7.g4 Bd7 8.Qe1 Nc6 9.Nxc6 Bxc6 10.d3 e6 11.Nd2 Qe7 12.Qh4 Edelbaum was the defending state champion, so I expected this game would be a challenge for me. 12...d4 13.e4 Diagram 

 

XIIIIIIIIY
8r+-+-trk+0
7zppzp-wqpvlp0
6-+l+psnp+0
5+-+-+-+-0
4-+-zpPzPPwQ0
3+-+P+-+-0
2PzPPsNL+-zP0
1tR-vL-+RmK-0
xabcdefghy

13...Nd5 14.g5?! Ne3 15.Rf3 f5 16.Rh3 Bh8 17.b3 Nxc2 18.Rb1 Rf7 19.Bb2 fxe4 20.dxe4 Raf8 21.Rf3 Qd6 22.Nc4 Diagram 

 

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+-trkvl0
7zppzp-+r+p0
6-+lwqp+p+0
5+-+-+-zP-0
4-+NzpPzP-wQ0
3+P+-+R+-0
2PvLn+L+-zP0
1+R+-+-mK-0
xabcdefghy

22...Rxf4 23.Nxd6 Rxh4 24.Rxf8+ Kxf8 25.Rf1+ Kg8 26.Bc4 Rg4+ 27.Kh1 Bxe4+ 28.Nxe4 Being 3 pawns ahead, I should be able to pull off this upset, so I need to be careful! 28...Rxe4 Diagram 

 

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+-+kvl0
7zppzp-+-+p0
6-+-+p+p+0
5+-+-+-zP-0
4-+Lzpr+-+0
3+P+-+-+-0
2PvLn+-+-zP0
1+-+-+R+K0
xabcdefghy

29.Bd3 Re1 30.Kg1 Rxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke1 c5 33.Bc1 Nd5 34.Bc4 Kf7 35.Kf2 Be5 36.h4 Ke7 37.Kf3 Kd6 38.Bd3 Nb4 39.Bb1 b5 40.Bd2 Nd5 41.Bd3 Nc3 42.Bxc3 Bishops of opposite colors sometimes is a problem to win against a strong player. 42...dxc3 Diagram 

 

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+-+-+0
7zp-+-+-+p0
6-+-mkp+p+0
5+pzp-vl-zP-0
4-+-+-+-zP0
3+PzpL+K+-0
2P+-+-+-+0
1+-+-+-+-0
xabcdefghy

43.h5 gxh5 44.Bxh7 Kd5 45.Bc2 Kd4 46.Ke2 Bg7 47.Bg6 h4 48.Bh5 a5 49.Be8 b4 50.Bf7 e5 51.Be6 e4 52.Bg4 Be5 53.g6 e3 54.Kd1 c4 55.Bd7 cxb3 56.axb3 Ke4 57.Be6 Kf3 58.Bc4 Yes, I see the winning move! 58...c2+ Diagram 

 

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+-+-+0
7+-+-+-+-0
6-+-+-+P+0
5zp-+-vl-+-0
4-zpL+-+-zp0
3+P+-zpk+-0
2-+p+-+-+0
1+-+K+-+-0
xabcdefghy


0–1

(6) Weil,William (2000) - Lerman,Harvey (1950) [A85]

Connecticut Championship (4), 17.03.1957

[Lerman,Harvey]

1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 0–0 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.0–0 d6 9.Re1 e5 10.e3 e4 11.Nd2 Kh8 12.f3 Qe7 13.Qc2 exf3 14.Bxf3 Bd7 15.Ba3 Rae8 16.c5 d5 17.c4 Qf7 18.cxd5 Nxd5 19.Nc4 Nf6 20.Rab1 Be6 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Ne5 Qh5 23.Nxc6 Bd5 24.Ne5 Diagram 

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+rtr-mk0
7zp-zp-+-zpp0
6-+-+-sn-+0
5+-zPlsNp+q0
4-+-zP-+-+0
3vL-+-zP-zP-0
2P+Q+-+-zP0
1+R+-tR-mK-0
xabcdefghy

24...Rxe5 [24...Be4] 25.dxe5 Qf3 26.e4 Nxe4 27.Rb3 Bxb3 28.axb3 Rd8 29.Bc1 Rd2= Diagram 

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+-+-mk0
7zp-zp-+-zpp0
6-+-+-+-+0
5+-zP-zPp+-0
4-+-+n+-+0
3+P+-+qzP-0
2-+Qtr-+-zP0
1+-vL-tR-mK-0
xabcdefghy

 If now 30.BxR Nf2. 31.h4 30.Bxd2 But not 30...Nf2 [30...Qf2+ Draws] 31.h4 Qxg3+ 32.Kf1+- ½–½



NBCC membership page and PayPal link

 

CHESS COLUMNS FROM THE PAST   by Rob Roy

1977 - 2000, Rob Roy wrote 1,300 Waterbury Sunday Republican chess columns.  The column helped his Waterbury Chess Club to become very successful.

Clerks at the newspaper office were the ones who re-typed hard-copy into the newspaper system, they made many typos with chess notation. All future editions of Connecticut Chess Magazine will feature a different column.

 

 

Posted by at

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

JOE BIHLMEYER WRITES A CHESS COLUMN

 
 
Joe Bihlmeyer 
 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

BREAKING NEWS FROM CSCA WEBSITE

GM's Yaroslav Zherebukh and Alexander Ivanov tie for Bradley Open.

Visit CSCA website for section winners etc....

CT's Maximillian Lu wins U1600 Gold Medal at PanAm in Ecuador. 

CT's Top Jr., Hans Niemann, 15, tied for 6th at 2019 US Junior St Louis.

Visit CSCA website for details and photos etc....

 

 

 

GAME OF THE WEEK  by Alan Lasser

This is the latest in the game that I have ever seen a “Benko-file”, which is what I call full files appearing in chess games because of the way they resemble similar arrangements in some Benko puzzles.  Here we have one on move twenty-six.

Khherdekar Sauravh(2235)-Orelvis Perez Mitjans(2416)
7/15/19
2019 Sant Marti Open
1.d4 e6 
4.g3 c5
 

CHESS COLUMNS FROM THE PAST   by Rob Roy

1977 - 2000, Rob Roy wrote 1,300 Waterbury Sunday Republican chess columns.  The column helped his Waterbury Chess Club to become very successful.

Clerks at the newspaper office were the ones who re-typed hard-copy into the newspaper system, they made many typos with chess notation. All future editions of Connecticut Chess Magazine will feature a different column.

 

 

 

Posted by at

Friday, July 26, 2019

LASSER ANALYZES LOSS TO WOODBURY

GAME OF THE WEEK   by Alan Lasser
 
  My loss in the recent Connecticut Yankee Open, hosted by the ever-active Rob Roy, was to the second place finisher Alex Woodbury, who will be a freshman at RPI next fall.  I lost my way in a complicated position where both kings were under attack.

It was the sort of defeat that makes one feel good;  I first met my opponent three years ago at the Westerly Chess Club and he became a subscriber to my Game of the Week column, so now I get the torch-passing satisfaction.

 
Alex Woodbury (1364)-Alan Lasser (1995)
2019 Connecticut Yankee Open
7/13/19
 
 
1-0
 
 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

 

GOING BACK IN TIME  by Bob Cyr

 
We are getting ready to say goodbye to July and move onto August, here is a blast from the past. Enjoy this article. USCF NM (lifetime) James M. Bolton was one very strong player in during his day. He also ranks in the Top 10 players in all-time history, which includes Arkadijs Strazdins, FM Nelson Castaneda, FM Richard Bauer, Bob Milardo, NM Dennis Prawira, Edmund Roman (club president in the 40s and 50s), John Baclawski, USCF NM Derek Meredith, and now joining this elite group, fresh off his tie for first place in the July Swiss Tournament, Joseph Bilhmeyer. 
 
The article is below this chart. 
 
Safe travels,
 
Your friend in time,
 
Bob Cyr
NBCC Historian 
 
 
Rank Member # Year First Achieved Year Last Achieved Span
1 Arkadijs Strazdins
72
1952
1999
47
2 FM Nelson Castaneda
39
2002
2019
17
3 FM Richard Bauer
30
1987
2019
32
4 Robert Milardo
16
1972
2001
29
5 NM Dennis Prawira
13
2007
2017
10
6 Edmund Roman
12
1946
1951
5
7 John Baclawski
10
1979
2010
31
8 NM James Bolton
8
1975
1997
22
9 tie NM Derek Meredith
6
1981
2012
31
9 tie Joseph Bihlmeyer
6
2005
2019
14
 
 
 


 
 

CHESS COLUMNS FROM THE PAST   by Rob Roy

1977 - 2000, Rob Roy wrote 1,300 Waterbury Sunday Republican chess columns.  The column helped his Waterbury Chess Club to become very successful.

Clerks at the newspaper office were the ones who re-typed hard-copy into the newspaper system, they made many typos with chess notation. All future editions of Connecticut Chess Magazine will feature a different column.

 

 

Posted by at

Thursday, July 18, 2019

GOING BACK IN TIME by Bob Cyr

 

The New Britain Chess Club Historian

Robert "Bob" Cyr (formerly known as Robert Kozlowski) joined the New Britain Chess Club family on July 28, 1987, at the age of nine. His father, Reginald Cyr, taught him the game and brought him to the club for many years. As the club's youngest member, Bob literality grew up with his chess family, and he soon adopted a mentor, Arkadijs Strazdins, to emulate and learn from.

By the mid-1990s, Bob was so inspired and impressed by Mr. Strazdins' labor of love for the club that he decided to begin volunteering. Bob's early roles included setting up equipment and tables prior to meetings and providing support to the tournament directing staff. After learning from Mr. Strazdins about how to direct tournaments, Bob took on his first major role in the club as a USCF certified tournament director in 1998. To date, he has successfully directed over one-hundred events. In 1999, Bob became club librarian. His responsibility was to maintain a huge collection of chess books that were donated by a former member. At the turn the century, Bob created the club’s first e-mail distribution list and worked with Mr. Strazdins to convert all records to electronic format.

After many years of loyal service to the organization, Bob eagerly took on his next major role as vice president in 2003. While most people ask themselves what absolutely needs to be done to fulfill the roles that they have taken on, Bob asks how that role can be expanded to provide its maximum benefit. As club vice president, this meant taking on many of the tasks formerly assigned to the president. During this time, Bob also devoted his efforts to the preservation of the club archives, a job that Mr. Strazdins passionately performed for decades. In 2005, Bob pursued his own historic work for the club by writing the first newsletter, which he still publishes annually.

The years between 2007 and 2010 were a critical time for the club. Having to deal with both the loss of its strongest and longest leader and the need for a new location, the club’s future was hardly guaranteed. Bob’s experience in working with Mr. Strazdins proved key to ushering in new leadership and re-establishing a solid foundation for the future.

In 2010, after deciding not to continue as vice president, Bob created the new position of club historian. In 2011, Bob received a lifetime membership achievement award for his many years of service and loyalty to the club. In 2015, Bob created the book, "NBCC Highlights and History: 1900-2004," and wrote the NBCC story, both of which were published, along with most of the club's history, on the internet in 2016.

Even though Bob is not as active in club management today because of his massive responsibilities as historian, he continues to be one of the club’s most staunch advocates and contributors. In 2017, Bob submitted a story to the USCF for their contest on what chess means to people. Bob’s story focused on how the people of NBCC have been his guiding forces on and off the chess board and how this warm and welcoming community has truly enriched his life. Also that year, Bob hosted a party and tournament for the membership to celebrate his thirty years as a member of the NBCC. In 2018, Bob was presented with an engraved crystal plaque in recognition for his many years of service as NBCC historian.

Bob is a lead senior accountant at Women's Health Connecticut in Avon and is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University. 


Photo caption

1) 1987 - Robert Kozlowski and Hermann Zickfeld (left photo); Arkadijs Strazdins (right photo) - 1988 New Britain City Chess Championship Qualifier - Photo courtesy of the New Britain Herald
2) 1997 - Robert Kozlowski and his father Reginald Cyr - 1997 Townsend Cup (at the Holiday Inn in Southington) - Photo courtesy of Rob Roy
3) 2015 - Andris Strazdins, Luis Delgado, Robert Cyr, and Richard Lee - 65th annual New Britain Chess Club Championship - Photo courtesy of Luis Delgado 

 
 

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PAST ISSUES OF   CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE


Coventry Chess Club
Most Faithful Players

28 Joe Bihlmeyer
16 Rob Roy
15 Derek Meredith
15 Art Nagel
14 Mark Bourque
11 Dan Smith
10 Hayes Goodman
10 Joshua Berkun
9   Larry Laffose
8   Suhas Kodali
8   Daniel Zhou

 

 

GAME OF THE WEEK   by Alan Lasser
 
The tripled pawns win!  The tripled pawns win!  Long-time readers have seen this headline before(6/6/15, 1/28/17, 4/15/17, 12/16/17) when the Grandmasters Duda, Andreikin, Onischuk, and Caruana used the triplets to produce victories.  Now Boris Gelfand has joined the club, this time the pawns are part of the middlegame fight, appearing on the board on move 15, opening an important file, and lasting to the final combination.
 
GM Boris Gelfand(2703)-GM Hedinn Steingrimsson(2573)
9/26/18
2018 Chess Olympiad
Batumi, Georgia
2.c4 e6 


23.Ba6 -4.72/20 23...Re8 23... b5 24. Nd4 Qe5 25. Qxe5 fxe5 26. Nc6 Rd6 27. Bb7 Re8 28. Nxa7 Rd7 29. Bc6 Rxa7 30. Bxe8 Kxe8 31. Rxd5 f6 -7.32 Stockfish 24.Bb5 Rac8 25.Bxe8 Qxe8 26.Nd4
23.Bd3 Kg8 24.g3 Rac8 25.Kg2 Kh8 26.Rf1 Rg8 27.Rd1 Qe6 28.Nd4 Qe5 29.Qxe5 fxe5 30.Nf5 Rgd831.Ne7 Rc7 32.Bxe4 Rxe7 33.Kxf2 Kg7 34.Ke3 Red7 35.Bf5 Rd6 -5.10 Stockfish
23…Qe5
24.Qh6+ Kg8
25.Nc6?! -6.85/23
25.a4 -5.87/22 25...a6 25... Rac8 26. g3 Rc4 27. Nf3 Qf5 28. Kg2 Rb4 29. Bd3 Rxb2 30. Rf1 Rc8 31. Nd4 Qg4 32. Qf4 Qxf4 33. gxf4 Rd2 -7.49 Stockfish 26.Be2 Re8 27.g3 Kh8 28.Qh4 Rg8 29.b3 Nc330.Rd2 Rae8 31.Nf3 Qe3 32.Qxf6+ Rg7 33.Qd4 Nxe2 34.Qxe3 Rxe3 35.Kxf2 Nxg3 36.Kxe3 Nf1+37.Kd4 Nxd2 38.Nxd2 Rg1 39.Nf3 Rd1+ 40.Kc3 f5 41.Kc2 Rf1
25.Be2 Re8 26.g3 Kh8 27.Qh5 Rac8 28.Kg2 Rg8 29.Qxe5 fxe5 30.Nf3 Rc2 31.Bf1 f6 32.Rxd5 Rxb233.Rd1 Rc8 34.Nh4 Rb3 35.Ba6 Rc2 36.a4 Nd2 37.Bf1 Kg7 -7.02 Stockfish
25…Qxb2 
26.Nd4 Kh8 
27.Bc6? -13.63/24
27.Be2 -7.19/22 27...Qxa3 27... Re8 28. Qc1 Qxc1 29. Rxc1 Rac8 30. Ra1 Rc3 31. Bf3 Kg7 32. Bg4 Rd3 33. Bd7 Rd8 34. Nf5+ Kf8 35. Bb5 Rd2 -8.12 Stockfish 28.Bf3 Qa6+ 29.Be2 b5 30.g3 Rab8 31.Bd3 Qa432.Nc2 Rb6 33.Qh5 Rc6
27.Qc1 Qxc1 28.Rxc1 Rac8 29.Ra1 Rc3 30.Ba6 Rg8 31.g3 Rg4 32.Nf5 Rg5 33.Nd4 Re3 34.Nc2 Rb335.Nd4 Rb2 36.Be2 Re5 37.Rc1 Ra2 38.Kg2 Nc5 39.Bb5 Re1 40.Rc2 Rxc2 41.Nxc2 Ne4 -8.00 Stockfish
27…Rac8
28.Nf5 Rg8 
29.Bd7 Rxg2 0-1
Now if 30.Kg2 f1Q 31.Kf1 Qf2#

 

 


CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE - MOST RECENT POSTS


REPORT - 2019 CONNECTICUT YANKEE OPEN


MEMORIES OF PAUL'S CHESS STUDIO IN HARTFORD


RATED SPEED-CHESS WAS JOINT VENTURE, STRAZDINS AND ROB ROY


40 YEARS AGO - CSCA HOSTED NATIONAL EVENT


CHESS LECTURER CLEAR WINNER AT SUMMER OPEN


DR. ANTHONY YABLONSKI IS NOW LONGEST STANDING MEMBER, RECORD HELD BY STRAZDINS


REPORT - NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB

 

REPORT - 2019 CSCA RAPID


REPORT - 2019 CONSTITUTION STATE OPEN

 

REPORT - 2019 CONNECTICUT STATE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS BY NORMAN BURTNESS


CONNECTICUT CHESS TOURNAMENTS WITH ROB ROY TD


NEW CHESS COACH - DAN STARBUCK PELLETIER


THE LEGACY OF ARKADIJS STRAZDINS AND ANDRIS STRAZDINS


NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB ANNOUNCES WEEKLY TRAINING CLASSES


BOARD MEETING CONNECTICUT STATE CHESS ASSSOC


7TH RANK TACTICS BY EXPERT JOE BIHLMEYER


25 YEARS AGO - CONNECTICUT CHESS


20 YEARS AGO - CONNECTICUT CHESS


REPORT - 2019 NATHAN HALE OPEN


CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE - TOP STORIES

 

 

FROM 41 YEARS AGO - 1978

 

 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

 

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Monday, July 15, 2019

REPORT - 2019 CONNECTICUT YANKEE OPEN

 

Joe Bihlmeyer

 


REPORT - 2019 CONNECTICUT YANKEE OPEN  by Rob Roy

National Chess Expert Joseph Bihlmeyer won clear first place, $160, scoring three wins at the 2019 Connecticut Yankee Open held July 13 in Coventry.

Bihlmeyer (from Durham CT) defeated National Chess Expert Jose L. Castro in finals.

Alex Woodbury of RI won clear 2nd, $80, with two wins and a draw. Woodbury added 97 to his regular rating, and added 88 to to his quick rating.

In the 3-way tie for 3rd were Castro, Rick Schnitzler, and chess writer Al Lasser of the "Game of the Week" column.

Newcomers Daniel Tamburro earned a provisional rating of 1552, Punyavrat Upadhyay performance rating 1521, Haneesha Atkuri performance rating 1176.

Rob Roy, USCF Senior TD, filled in as houseman (so nobody gets a bye instead of playing a game) and ended up playing in each of the three rounds.

We had eleven players. A smaller crowd was expected because it was a gorgeous sunny day, and some choose outdoor activities rather than sedentary indoor events.

We are so thankful to Joe Bihlmeyer, who did many things for us. He set up tables and chairs, then put them away after we were done.  Bihlmeyer, using his cellphone, registered a new player to the USCF.  Bihlmeyer also donated $40 to us.

Bihlmeyer is instructor/lecturer (6:30 pm each Tues.) at New Britain Chess Club.

This was tournament #40 for the Coventry Chess Club. Bihlmeyer won clear 1st in 7 tournaments.  He tied for 1st 6 times.  He won clear 2nd twice, and tied for 2nd 5 times.

Our next event is  2019 Nutmeg State Open Chess Championships  to be held at Mill Brook Place in Coventry on Saturday, August 10.


2019 CONNECTICUT YANKEE OPEN - JULY 13 - Coventry Connecticut
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 Pair | Player Name                     |Total|Round|Round|Round| 
 Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)       | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  | 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    1 | JOSEPH BIHLMEYER                |3.0  |W   6|W   8|W   3|
   CT | 12686352 / R: 2094   ->2108     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1979   ->1993     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    2 | ALEX BENJAMIN WOODBURY          |2.5  |W   4|W  11|D   6|
   RI | 16606814 / R: 1364   ->1461     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1307   ->1395     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    3 | JOSE L CASTRO                   |2.0  |W   7|W  10|L   1|
   CT | 12397090 / R: 2076   ->2068     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1969   ->1958     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    4 | ALAN LASSER                     |2.0  |L   2|W   7|W   8|
   MA | 10089387 / R: 1995   ->1977     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1934   ->1910     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    5 | RICK SCHNITZLER                 |2.0  |L  10|W   9|W  11|
   CT | 14896892 / R: 1164   ->1165     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1075P17->1073P20  |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    6 | HAYES GOODMAN                   |1.5  |L   1|W  12|D   2|
   RI | 15207355 / R: 1754   ->1740     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1508   ->1500     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    7 | ARTHUR C NAGEL                  |1.0  |L   3|L   4|W  10|
   CT | 10264669 / R: 1724   ->1714     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1446   ->1443     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    8 | DANIEL TAMBURRO                 |1.0  |W  12|L   1|L   4|
   CT | 17092753 / R: Unrated->1552P3   |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: Unrated->1249P3   |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
    9 | ROB ROY                         |1.0  |L  11|L   5|W  12|
   CT | 10574790 / R: 1400   ->1400     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q: 1150   ->1079     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
   10 | PUNYAVRAT UPADHYAY              |1.0  |W   5|L   3|L   7|
   CT | 15975172 / R:  861   -> 932     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q:  917   -> 965     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
   11 | HANEESHA ATKURI                 |1.0  |W   9|L   2|L   5|
   CT | 16282828 / R:  660   -> 749     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q:  619   -> 702     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
   12 | WILLIAM GRAHAM                  |0.0  |L   8|L   6|L   9|
   CT | 16259493 / R: 1190   ->1168     |     |     |     |     |
      |            Q:  880P22-> 859P25  |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

GOING BACK IN TIME  by Bob Cyr

 

We are on journey back in time once again. This time, we go back to 2008, when the NBCC held its annual Summer Open. The event was quite unique because we had a local band perform after the tournament, unprecedented in club history, perhaps U.S. chess history. The band, which was led by my cousin, Keith Little, drew mixed reviews. This would be the only time the club would do this again. 
 
Set your time machines to July 20, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.
 
51 players of all ages and playing levels in the Connecticut chess community competed in the 2008 New Britain Summer Open, almost breaking the club record of fifty-six set back in the 1970s. That was one of the greatest events in NBCC history. The club was overjoyed with all of the assistance for the event. Besides the officers and tournament directors, Kevin Zimmerman, member Roy Beavers, Doug Fiske, Derek Meredith, Bill Montross, and Mike and Michelle Pascetta served on the food and advertising committees. In addition to a free barbeque lunch, participants were treated to after-tournament entertainment by a local rock band, Accusing Society, yet another first in club history. Also another milestone for this event, David Gaston set a new record for winning three prizes in a NBCC tournament. David won trophies for the biggest upset, top junior, and first place in the U1600 section. We were blessed with fairly good weather. It was indeed a typical summer day in Southern New England, with temperatures in the 90s with relatively high dew points. The club also received contributions from a silent auction of chess books and videos. Thanks to Doug Fiske, David, Kevin, and member Andres Montiel for their contributions to the club from the auction.

 

 

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CLICK HERE UPCOMING CHESS TOURNAMENTS IN CONN

PAST ISSUES OF   CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE

GAME OF THE WEEK   by Alan Lasser
 
   One of the regular subjects of this column are the positions with more pieces than pawns.  It’s always good chess entertainment to look at those fiendishly complicated games from the safety of my computer.  You can’t help but have some sympathy for the players, they try their best, but take for example the position after move 31;  there are 54 possible moves for White, of which half a dozen are probably candidate moves.  Of course, during the game, you can’t spend ten minutes thinking about every move, so stuff is going to happen.
 
GM Andrei Belozerov (2533)-GM Pavel Ponkratov (2649)
7/4/19  2019 Russian Higher League
 
1.e4 c5 
6.f3 e6 
9.g4 h6 
 
 


Coventry Chess Club
Most Faithful Players

28 Joe Bihlmeyer
16 Rob Roy
15 Derek Meredith
15 Art Nagel
14 Mark Bourque
11 Dan Smith
10 Hayes Goodman
10 Joshua Berkun
9   Larry Laffose
8   Suhas Kodali
8   Daniel Zhou

 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 


CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE - MOST RECENT POSTS


REPORT - 2019 CONNECTICUT YANKEE OPEN


MEMORIES OF PAUL'S CHESS STUDIO IN HARTFORD


RATED SPEED-CHESS WAS JOINT VENTURE, STRAZDINS AND ROB ROY


40 YEARS AGO - CSCA HOSTED NATIONAL EVENT


CHESS LECTURER CLEAR WINNER AT SUMMER OPEN


DR. ANTHONY YABLONSKI IS NOW LONGEST STANDING MEMBER, RECORD HELD BY STRAZDINS


REPORT - NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB

 

REPORT - 2019 CSCA RAPID


REPORT - 2019 CONSTITUTION STATE OPEN

 

REPORT - 2019 CONNECTICUT STATE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS BY NORMAN BURTNESS


CONNECTICUT CHESS TOURNAMENTS WITH ROB ROY TD


NEW CHESS COACH - DAN STARBUCK PELLETIER


THE LEGACY OF ARKADIJS STRAZDINS AND ANDRIS STRAZDINS


NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB ANNOUNCES WEEKLY TRAINING CLASSES


BOARD MEETING CONNECTICUT STATE CHESS ASSSOC


7TH RANK TACTICS BY EXPERT JOE BIHLMEYER


25 YEARS AGO - CONNECTICUT CHESS


20 YEARS AGO - CONNECTICUT CHESS


REPORT - 2019 NATHAN HALE OPEN


CONNECTICUT CHESS MAGAZINE - TOP STORIES

 

CHESS COLUMNS FROM THE PAST   by Rob Roy

1977 - 2000, Rob Roy wrote 1,300 Waterbury Sunday Republican chess columns.  The column helped his Waterbury Chess Club to become very successful.

Clerks at the newspaper office were the ones who re-typed hard-copy into the newspaper system, they made many typos with chess notation. All future editions of Connecticut Chess Magazine will feature a different column.

 

 

 

 

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