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.