Open Section Winners

Trophy winners from the Open Section of Chess Mates' Holiday Scholastic, with Chess Mates owner Arthur Macaspac:

L-R: Ramneek Singh (1st place), Andrew Chen (2nd), Christopher Wall (3rd).

Not pictured: Spencer Stengle (4th place).

Congratulations to the 14 trophy winners.

Our next scholastic event is tentatively scheduled for March 30th, 2014.

U900 Section Winners

Trophy winners from the U1250 U900 Section of Chess Mates' Holiday Scholastic:

L-R: Daniel Girsh (2nd place), Naveen Balakrishnan (4th), Vincent Argent (3rd), Gregory Burton (1st).

U650 Section Winners

Trophy winners from the U750 U650 Section of Chess Mates' Holiday Scholastic:

Front row, L-R: Adavaith Kollipara (6th place), Tejas Rama (1st), Vikas Rama (2nd).

Back row: Gregory Wall (5th), Christopher Janas (3rd).

Not pictured: Dylan Finn (4th).

R. Singh, Burton, T. Rama Holiday Scholastic Winners

Ramneek Singh (1554), Gregory Burton (845) and Tejas Rama (649p in the December supplement) were section winners in Chess Mates Holiday Scholastic on 12/29.

Here are 2 photos taken at the start of round 3:

 Open Section

 

The U650 & U900 Sections.

The full list of trophy recipients and some additional photos will follow.

Macaspac Wins Sunday G/30

NM Arthur Macaspac won the Sunday Morning G/30, which was held for the last time this week.

In 2014, the Morning G/30 moves to Saturdays at 9:30.

E. Singh Wins Holiday Swiss

Errol Singh won Saturday's Holiday Quads Swiss. Ralph Warrick won the U1600 prize.

Holiday Scholastic Tomorrow

Tomorrow, from 1:30-6:30 p.m., Chess Mates is running its Holiday Scholastic.

For those of you new to us or the area...

- Parking in front of the building, across the street and around the corner is free on Sundays. You may also park in the Northfield Bank lot or on Elm Avenue.

- There are several eateries along on Irving Street and many others nearby, with choices including Chinese, Italian, Mexican food.

- Chess Mates has free WiFi, an area where parents can quietly work (in front of the tournament room) and a lounge where they can socialize.

Sunday Winners

Here is a quick recap of our recent Sunday tournaments:

NM Mauricio Camejo won the Sunday Morning G/30 on December 8. Thomas Elberling (2096) and Ramneek Singh (1487) tied for 2nd.

NM Dan Lapan was the G/30 winner on December 15th, ahead of Errol Singh (2114) and Thomas Elberling (2097).

FM Boris Privman took last week's morning G/30. Errol Singh (2115) and Christopher Snell (1993) tied for 2nd.

Also on 12/22, LM Stan Busygin won the afternoon G/45 ahead of FM Boris Privman and Brandon Jacobson (1986).

Saturday Winners

Here's a quick recap of our recent Saturday tournaments:

December 7th Quads Swiss

NM Arthur Macaspac won. LM James West was 2nd. Brandon Jacobson (1952) earned the U2200 prize. Michael O'Connor (1811) was tops among the U1850s.

Bobby DeMarco #1 (in the red shirt) plays the Alekhine against O'Connor while B. Jacobson watches another game.

Dr. Luzviminda Machan Open (December 14)

NM Sameer Mujumdar won by 1.5 points. Brandon Jabobson (1960) was 2nd.

3rd Saturday Swiss (December 21)

Kadhir Pillai (2168) won. Lev Zilbermintz (2102) was 2nd. The U2000 honors went to Brandon Jacobson (1984). Merric Hu (1622), John Cartier (1508) and Matt Pell (1480) split the U1700 prize.

Here are a couple of photos from round 2:

... and the final position from the Aaron Jacobson-Taran Idnani game.

4 Bishops and 4 Knights? Yes!!

Friday Blitz Winners

Earlier this month, Chess Mates began running USCF-rated blitz tournaments on Friday nights.

NM Mauricio Camejo won on December 6th. NM Maraj Daftani was the winner on December 13th and last night. Lev Zilbermintz took the December 20th event and, in the process, raised his blitz rating to 2236.

Zilbermintz Wins December G/90

Lev Zilbermintz won the Wednesday G/90 held December 4-18.

Leonardo Moreira was 2nd. Larry Williams earned the U1400 prize.

Here are 3 photos from the opening round:

Zilbertmintz plays the Alapin Gambit against L. Moreira's French.

Williams vs. Serge Adelson in an Anglo-Gruenfeld.

Ken Cohen vs. Gabe Moreira in a Closed Sicilian.

Happy Holidays

Chess Mates Corporation wishes its members and patrons the happiest of holidays.

We will be closed Christmas Day. Our next event will be the Friday Night Blitz on December 27th.

G/45 Quads are scheduled for Saturday. On Sunday, we are running G/30 Quads in the morning and our Holiday Scholastic in the afternoon.

3rd Saturday Swiss + Pizza

On Saturday 12/21, Chess Mates will be serving pizza to those playing in the 3rd Saturday Swiss, which begins at 1:30 p.m.

Participants may bring other food and refreshments, if they desire.

Camejo Receives National Masters Certificate

Mauricio Camejo received his USCF National Master Certificate on Wednesday night. Here are 2 videos celebrating the occasion.

A toast to the new NM!

The new NM with his certificate.

December Calendar

Events of interest at Chess Mates this month include our Holiday Camp, which will run December 23-27, and our Holiday Scholastic tournament on Sunday, December 29th.

Please note that...

• The December G/90 will only have 3 rounds because Christmas falls on a Wednesday.
• Blitz tournaments are replacing the Friday skittles.
• After school lessons have been shelved until Arthur's stint at Fort Drum ends sometime in January.
• Our hours of operation have changed accordingly.

Also in 2014, every Sunday will be devoted to Lessons and Scholastic Quads, as the morning tournament shifts to Saturdays.

Privman, Macaspac, T. Rama G/30 Winners

FM Boris Privman & NM Arthur Macaspac tied for first in the top section of our Sunday G/30.

The bottom section was run in Scheveningen format, with the Ramas+Ramneek defeating the Calandri Family 5.5-3.5. Tejas Rama (791 p) was the top scorer in the match, with 2.5/3. Sante Calandri (1324) led his team with 2.0.

Yesterday's G/30 & Calendar

Yesterday's G/30 results will be uploaded to the USCF TD/Affiliate area later tonight.

The December calendar will be e-mailed later tonight or tomorrow morning. It's online if you need it right away.

Thanks for your patience.

Privman, Cartier Winners In G/60 Quads

FM Boris Privman (2315) and John Cartier (1550) were section winners in yesterday's G/60 Quads.

Here are a few photos taken at the start of round 2:

 NM Mauricio Camejo (r) turns Privman's Pirc into a Philidor Defense.

Ari Minkov vs. LM Vladimir Polyakin

Sandeep Alampalli and Cartier in an Alapin Sicilian sideline. With 4...e6 the game transposed into an Advanced French.

Gabriel Calandri vs. Dan Kominicky.

Garcia Wins November G/90

Ramon Garcia won the G/90 held November 6-27. NM Mauricio Camejo and Ken Cohen tied for 2nd.

Here are a handful of photos and 2 interesting games from the event:

Round 1: Ken Thoms vs. Camejo.

 

Garcia vs. Leo Moreira, in round 1.

Garcia vs. Gabe Moreira, in round 2.

 

Cohen vs. Serge Adelson, in round 3.

Cohen (1250) 1-0 John Moldovan (1826)
C04 French Defense
Guimard Variation

Incredibly, there wasn't a pawn exchange in this one until move 54!! After a bad opening From an inferior position, Black out-maneuvers his opponent but, in time-pressure, he misses 64...Nxc3! (64...Rxb4! is also good) 65.Rxc3 Bxd4 -/+ and the idea of 66.Bd2? Rxb4 which threatens 67...Rb2, 68...Rxa2+ 69.Kxa2 Qb2#

Moldovan (1833) 1-0 G. Moreira (830)
E18 Queen's Indian Defense
(by transposition)

White experiments with a Catalan and wins a pawn in the opening. Black defends well, for a time, and is only slightly worse after move 21 but he erroneously trades dark-squared Bishops with 22...Bd4? and overloads his Queen and Rook with 24...Qc4?? The final position deserves a diagram photo.

Camejo, Elberling & E. Singh Tie In Sunday G/30

NM Mauricio Camejo, Thomas Elberling and Errol Singh tied for 1st in Sunday's G/30.

Polyakin Wins Varneckas Memorial

LM Vladimir Polyakin was the Open Section winner in yesterday's Donatas Varneckas Memorial.

NM Arthur Macaspac was 2nd. NM Mauricio Camejo, Lev Zilbermintz and Errol Singh tied for 3rd.

In the U1800 section, Mina Awad was the victor.

Thanks to the 17 participants for turning-out on short notice and honoring our good friend.

Here are a two photos from the event:

Round 1: Singh vs. Sikata Sengupta & Gabe Moreira (b) against Awad.

 Camejo (b) and Polyakin, in the last-round battle for 1st place.

E. Singh Wins Sunday G/30 (Nov. 17)

Errol Singh won last Sunday's G/30. Mauricio Camejo finished 2nd and secured his long-sought National Master title.

Varneckas Memorial

Today Chess Mates will be hosting a tournament in memory of its late friend Don Varneckas.

Date & Time:
Saturday, November 23, 2013
1:30 p.m.

Site:

Chess Mates

1531 Irving St.

Rahway, NJ 07065

Format: 3 Round Swiss, G/50;d5

3 Sections: Open, U1800, U1400

Entry Fees: $25 for Chess Mates members, $30 for non-members

Prize Fund & Prizes, per section:

70% of EF Returned.

1st place: minimum $75.

2nd & class prizes will be added, based on the number of participants in each section.

Registration: On-site 12:35-1:25 p.m.

Rounds: 1:30, 3:35, 5:40 p.m.

Byes: 1 bye available.

Note: Sections will be combined if there are less than 4 players in a section.

Privman, Camejo Saturday Swiss Winners

FM Boris Privman and Mauricio Camejo won yesterday's G/60 swiss.

Maanav Ganthapodi and John Moldovan split the U1900 prize. There was a 3-way tie among U1600s Christopher Giordano, Dan Komunicky and Ken Cohen.

Privman Wins Sunday G/30 (Nov. 10)

FM Boris Privman won last Sunday's G/30.

Mauricio Camejo and David Zhurbinsky tied for 2nd.

Camejo, 4 Others Saturday Quad Winners

Expert Mauricio Camejo was the top-section winner in our Nov. 9th Saturday Quads.

The was a 4-way tie for 1st in the 2nd group among Colin Kneucker, Robert Ruggiero, John Cartier and Luke Drennan.

Here are a few photos from the event:

 NM Arthur Macaspac and LM Vladimir Polyakin getting ready in round 1.

Drennan awaits Ruggiero's 1st move while LM Jim West sneaks-in some last-minute preparation.

 

Cartier vs. Knuecker underway.

In round 3, West and Macaspac (top) drew while Camejo lost to Polyakin (bottom).

Chris Mulvaney looks at the camera while Ruggiero ponders his 6th move in an Advance French.

Macaspac Wins Sunday G/30 (Nov. 3)

NM Arthur Macaspac won the Sunday G/30 held on November 3rd.

NM Ted Belanoff and NM Alexander Crump tied for 2nd.

Privman Wins Dr. Machan 28

FM Boris Privman won the 28th Dr. Luzviminda Machan Open held on November 2nd.

Aaron Jacobson and Brandon Jacobson tied for 2nd.

Vladimir Polyakin earned the U2200 prize while John Moldovan, Colin Kneucker and Christopher Giordano split the U1900/U1600 pool.

Here are a few photos from the event:

 

Privman (b) vs. B. Jacobson and Polyakin-A. Jacobson in round 2.

Michael O'Connor essays the Smith-Morra Gambit against Christopher Giordano's Sicilian (foreground) while Michael Giordano plays the Steinitz Variation against Kneucker's French.

Round 3: M. Giordano (b) vs. O'Connor (another Smith-Morra?) and Mina Awad-C. Giordano.

Mujumdar Wins Fall Blitz

NM Sameer Mujumdar won tonight's blitz tournament at Chess Mates.

Thomas Elberling was 2nd. Lev Zilbermintz took 3rd. Class prizes went to Juan Tica (U2100) and Jeffrey Siu (U1900).

Quick ratings were used for pairing-order and prize determinations.

Here are some photos from the event:

Jennifer Acon vs. Mujumdar in a 3rd round Sicilian.

Tica goes-over his round 3 loss with Zilbermintz.

Javier Rivera, Leo Moreira, Gabe Moreira (obscured), Ralph Warrick and Jens Elberling watch the 4th round action.

Round 5's Siu-Mujumdar started with an Advance French, was marred by an argument and ended in a first place-clinching victory for Black.

Thomas Elberling (b) vs. Rivera in the 6th round.

Post updated at 10/31/2013 at 2:41 a.m. EDT.

Blitz Tourney Tonight

Tonight, Chess Mates will be running a rated Blitz tournament. The first round will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Macaspac, Elberling & E. Singh Tie In Sunday G/30

NM Arthur Macaspac, Thomas Elberling and Errol Singh tied for 1st in our Sunday G/30.

Macaspac & B. Jacobson Win Saturday G/60

NM Arthur Macaspac and Brandon Jacobson won the G/60 tournament held on 10/26.

Mina Awad and Nikhil Kalyanraman split the U1800 prize.

Here are some photos taken at the start of round 3:

The 2 winners facing-off.

 Aaron Jacobson vs. LM Jim West.

LM Vladimir Polyakin vs. Awad.

Tica, Garcia Win October G/90

NM Juan Tica and Ramon Garcia won the October G/90 which ran from 10/2 thru 10/23.

Alberto Martinez and Lou Sturniolo split the U1950 prize while Leonardo Moreira and Ken Cohen divided the U1400 prize.



4th Round Pairings:

Martinez 0-1 Tica
Garcia 1-0 Adelson
Sturniolo 1-0 L. Moreira

1/2 point bye: Camejo
1 point bye: Cohen

Extra game: G. Moreira 1-0 Cohen


Final Standings:

= 1-2. Tica, Garcia 3.5
3. Camejo 2.5
= 4-5. Martinez, Sturniolo 2.0
6. Adelson 1.5
= 7-8. L. Moreira, Cohen 1.0
9. G. Moreira (filler) 0.0


Our next G/90 will run as a 2-section swiss, from November 6-27.

West, Graif, Drennan, McEnroe, M. Giordano Saturday Swiss Winners

LM Jim West and William Graif won the Open Section of today's Swiss at Chess Mates.

NM Arthur Macaspac, Jorge Ruiz-Montes, Aaron Jacobson and Henry Kingsmore split the U2200 prize.

In the U1800 Section... Joshua McEnroe, Luke Drennan and Michael Giordano tied for 1st.

Here are a couple of photos from early in round 3:

Along the wall, from L-R: West vs. Macaspac, A. Jacobson (b) vs. Boris Privman, Jorge Ruis-Montes vs. Mauricio Camejo. Right foreground: Christopher Giordano.

From the top: Kingsmore (b) vs. Vrithik Umapathy (obscurred), McEnroe vs. Ken Cohen (w), M. Giordano awaiting his opponent, C. Giordano vs. Mina Awad.

October G/90 - 4th Round Pairings

Here are the projected pairings for the Wednesday G/90's final round, on October 23rd:

1. Martinez - Tica
2. Garcia - Adelson
3. Sturniolo - L. Moreira

1/2 point bye: Camejo
1 point bye: Cohen

October G/90 - Round 3

NM Juan Tica and Ramon Garcia lead the Wednesday G/90 entering the last round. Mauricio Camejo and Alberto Martinez trail by a half-point.

Round 3:

Tica 1-0 Camejo
L. Moreira 0-1 Garcia
Adelson 0-1 Martinez
Cohen 0-1 Sturniolo

 In the foreground, Leonardo Moreira plays the Queen's Gambit against Garcia and in the backround...

... Serge Adelson does the same against Martinez.

 Lou Sturniolo and Ken Cohen in a Closed Sicilian.

Standings after 3 rounds of 4:

= 1-2. Tica, Garcia 2.5
= 3-4. Camejo, Martinez 2.0
5. Adelson 1.5
= 6-7. Sturniolo, L. Moreira 1.0
= 8-9. Cohen, G. Moreira 0.0

Garcia's games are provisional.
G. Moreira is playing as a filler.

The Tica-Camejo post-mortem.

Belanoff Wins Sunday Afternoon Swiss

NM Ted Belanoff won the Sunday Afternoon Swiss.

Leonardo Moreira and Gabriel Moreira split the U1300 prize.

Belanoff, Camejo Win Sunday Morning Quad

NM Ted Belanoff and Mauricio Camejo won the Sunday Morning Quad with 2.0/3.

Privman Wins Dr. Machan Open

FM Boris Privman won the 27th Dr. Machan Open on Saturday.

LM James West and NM Arthur Macaspac tied for 2nd.

The U2200 and U1900 prizes were pooled and split 4 ways, among LM Vladimir Polyakin, Howard Weiss, Jorge Ruiz-Montes and Henry Kingsmore.

The U1600 was divided among Kevin Corrigan, Colin Kneucker, John Cartier and Robert Ruggiero. Corrigan also notched the biggest upset by beating Weiss in the opening round.

Wednesday G/90 - Rounds 1 & 2

Mauricio Camejo leads the Wednesday G/90 at its halfway point. NM Juan Tica, Ramon Garcia and Serge Adelson are a half-point back.

Late joins will be accepted until the start of tomorrow's 3rd round.


Round 1:

Tica 1-0 Lou Sturniolo
Ken Cohen 0-1 Camejo
Alberto Martinez 1-0 Leonardo Moreira
Gabriel Moreira 0-1 Garcia

Adelson: 1/2 point bye.


Round 2:

Garcia 1/2-1/2 Tica
Camejo 1-0 Martinez
Sturniolo 1-0 Adelson
L. Moreira 1-0 Cohen


Standings after 2 rounds of 4:

1. Camejo (2034) 2.0
= 2-4. Tica (2226), Garcia (1987), Adelson (1771) 1.5
= 5-6. Martinez (1941), L. Moreira (1283) 1.0
= 7-9. Sturniolo (1631), Cohen (1307), G. Moreira (712) 0.0

Garcia's games are provisional.
G. Moreira is playing as a filler.

Belanoff Wins Sunday G/30

NM Ted Belanoff won yesterday's G/30 at Chess Mates in Rahway.

LM James West and NM Arthur Macaspac tied for 2nd.

The crosstable should appear at www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201310074772 before 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Prilleltensky, Polyakin, Awad & Corrigan Saturday Quad Winners

NM Matan Prilleltensky (2281), LM Vladimir Polyakin (2148), Mina Awad (1491) & Kevin Corrigan (1499) were section winners in Saturday's G/45 Quads at Chess Mates in Rahway.

Prilleltensky had 2.5/3 in the all-Master top section. Chess Mates' owner, NM Arthur Macaspac, playing in his 1st U.S. tournament since January, garnered the 2nd place prize in the 6-player 2nd section, which featured 3 masters.

Awad & Corrigan tied in the 8-player bottom group.

New Hours Of Operation

Starting today, Chess Mates' hours of operations will be:

Sunday        10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday  4 - 10:30 p.m.
Friday          4 - 10:30 p.m.
Saturday      12:30 - 9 p.m.

Fridays will feature casual chess for our members.

Post corrected 10/3 @ 12:50 p.m.

West, Camejo Win Sunday G/30

LM James West and Mauricio Camejo won Sunday's G/30.

Polyakin, B. Jacobson, Neale Quad Winners

LM Vladimir Polyakin (2159), Brandon Jacobson (1954) & Mark Neale (1601) were section winners in today's Super Quads.

Robert Ruggiero (1503) and Ramneek Singh (1345) tied for 2nd in group 3.

September G/90 - Final Round

Serge Adelson defeated Mauricio Camejo to earn 2nd place in the September G/90.

Alberto Martinez captured the U1950 prize while the U1550 honors went to Ralph Warrick and Gabriel Moreira.

As we mentioned in our 3rd round report, Roger Pedersen won the event.

4th Round Results:

Camejo 0-1 Adelson
Tica 1-0 L. Moreira
Warrick 1-0 Cohen
G. Moreira +- Huff

Pedersen and Martinez took half-point byes.
Acon withdrew.

Final Standings:

1. Pedersen 3.5
2. Adelson 3.0
= 3-4. Tica, Martinez 2.5
= 5-8. Camejo, Acon, Warrick, G. Moreira 2.0

= 9-10. L. Moreira, Cohen 1.0
11. Huff 0.5

The next G/90 will begin October 2nd and run through October 23rd.

Privman Wins Sunday G/30

FM Boris Privman won the Sunday G/30 held on September 22nd.

Mauricio Camejo and Alex Draifinger tied for 2nd.

There was a 3-way tie for the U2000 prize, among Mark Neale, Piush Sarkar and Nikhil Kalyanraman.

Prilleltensky Wins Saturday Swiss

NM Matan Prilleltensky (2256) won today's Swiss with a 3-0 score.

Aaron Jacobson (1979) was 2nd, a half-point back.

Mauricio Camejo (2098), Howard Weiss (2090) and Brandon Jacobson (1971) split the U2100 prize while Michael O'Connor (1745) won the U1900 prize.

Mina Awad (1457) and Ken Cohen (1218) earned U1550 honors.

There was just 1 eighteen-player section because three of our U1800s decided to play up. 2 others late-joined.

Tomorrow's Tourney Starts At 1:05 P.M.

Tomorrow's Swiss will start at 1:05 p.m., not 1:30.

The September 28th, October 19th and October 26th tourneys will also begin at 1:05.

Lessons With NM Arthur Macaspac

Chess Lessons

With NM Arthur Macaspac

For players rated under 1500, all ages


Wednesdays and Fridays

4:30-6:30 p.m., on the following dates:

October 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30
November 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29
December 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20

January 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31 (2013)

$30 per day
4-month packages $800


Sundays

2:30-7:30 p.m., on the following dates:

October 6, 20
November 3, 17
December 1, 15

January 12, 26 (2013)

$60 per day
4-month lesson packages $450


GM Yudasin will continue giving lessons on 2 Sundays per month. Click here for his schedule and rates.