Rochester wins Club Championship

The Rochester Chess Center won the 2nd Annual Western New York Club Championship this past Saturday in a tournament held in Sardinia, NY. The Buffalo-Niagara team and the Southtowns Chess Club team finished tied for 2nd- 2 pts behind.

Ron Lohrman of Rochester also won the individual 1st prize by beating Marijan Procyk in the final game. Tom Warner and Pat Patterson tied Procyk for 2nd-4th.

Joining Lohrman from Rochester were Anthony Xia, Anthony Badamo, Meghesh Pansari, Daniel Johnston, and Ethan Yung. For Buffalo-Niagara fielded Procyk, Harish Srinivasan, Mike Mcduffie, Steve Baer, and Vic Bahl. Along with Warner and Patterson, the Southtowns club had Ryan Madden and Ryan and Nathan Palmisano.

Thanks to all-see you at the Marchand!

NEW! The CleveHill Chess Knights Club

Old School Chess Enterprises and Global Concepts Chess Club announce a new entity- The CleveHill Chess Knights. Whether you already enjoy playing chess or are willing to learn from an expert come and join a new kind of neighborhood club at St. Aloysius Parish on Cleveland Drive in Cheektowaga. Please join us on Saturdays and/or Sundays from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Enter through door F in the back of the St. Aloysius School on Highview Street or the back parking lot on Cleveland Drive corner of Century, LOOK FOR THE SIGNS. For more information contact Mr.Dubose at zugzwang92857@yahoo.com, Mr. Cirillo and Mr.Arana at cirillo.71@gmail.com First meeting is Sunday, April 5,2009 .

Club Championships this Saturday!

WESTERN NEW YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Sat March 21st At Sardinia Community Center (Town Offices) 12320 Savage Rd. Sardinia,NY 4SS, G/60, Rds: 10,12:30,2:30, 4:30

EF: $10 per person includes free lunch!

Prizes:Trophies for top 3 teams and individuals, also U1800 team and indiv. USCF membership required. Can join at Tournament.

No limit to number of players on team, but only top 4 scores will count for team total.Can have more than 1 team per club.

Pre-registration will help a lot!

Entries & Info: Tom Warner 496-5230 Warner689@roadrunner.com

FINAL RESULTS - BUFFALO MASTERS FIDE OPEN

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY! Welcome from the World Chess Federation!

The First Annual Buffalo Masters FIDE Open 2009, is now behind us. A grand total of 29 players participated over the weekend. I really appreciate the support to those who joined us and to those who had the desire but had other commitments. The 2009 Buffalo Masters FIDE Champion was NM Lionel L Davis of Buffalo, NY. Second place went to Joshua Guo of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, while third place was Rev. Marijan Procyk of Buffalo, NY.

Round Four had one upset. Joshua Guo, (Toronto Canada) def. Mark Clark, (Jamestown NY). Other individual matches went as follows, Lionel L Davis, def. Eric Grabowski, Thomas Warner def. David Miller, Harish Srinivasan def. David M. Biddle, and Francis Grabowski def. Michael Mc Duffie. Marijan Procyk - Bye due to religious obligations. THE FINALS: Round 5 Upsets were David Biddle def. David Miller, Marijan Procyk draw Lionel L Davis.

The full cross table is at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200903165311-13247130

Our next monthly Open Rated USCF Chess Tournament will be on Saturday, April 18, 2009. At the same time, Thomas Warner and Michael Mc Duffie, will be hosting the 1st Annual WNY Scholastic Team Championships, Main Place Mall, Upper Level, 390 Main Street, Buffalo NY. The Scholastic Championships will be Unrated, 5 Rounds, Swiss System for K - 6th and 7th - 12th Grades. Schools teams have no limit to the number of players for thier team, but only the top 4 scores will be added to the team score. For more information, please email to warner689@roadrunner.com or arcangel8chess@yahoo.com.

Entry fee is $10.00 or $15.00 after Saturday, April 4, 2009, please send in your Team Roster & School, with full payment, full name, Age, Grade and Section of play. IF players are USCF, please include the USCF ID Number, USCF Rating and expiration.

Gloria J Parks Community Center has on every Tuesdays, Family Chess Night from 6pm until 8pm. Beginners are welcomed and those who like a refresher, we can help make you a better chess player. Chess sets and Chess boards are provided.

RESULTS -U1450 and Scholastic Sections FIDE MASTERS OPEN

Saturday, March 14, 2009 Gloria J. Parks Community Center Buffalo, NY 14214

1ST Annual Buffalo Masters - U1450 Section

1. Attorney James P. Davis, Buffalo Masters Undefeated Champion 2009
2. Brady D. Shannon
3. James J. Paul, MD
4. Charles L. Davis, Esq.
5. Michael P. Skok, Renewed USCF member.

David Evans Jr. Scholastic Section:

1. Austin Kossow, Pioneer Middle, Buffalo Masters, Scholastic Champion 2009.
2. Jacob Meloon, Global Concept Charter School
3. Nathan Palmisano, Pioneer Middle
4. Ryan Palmisano, Pioneer Middle
5. Chris Darling, Pioneer Middle
6. Willie J. Smith III, Urban Kinghts Chess Club.

Buffalo Masters FIDE OPEN: Round Two Upsets: Francis Grabowski (1509) def. Joshua M. Rofrano (1717), 208 pts.;Joshua Guo (2039) def. Eric Grabowski (OH) (2113), 74 pts;David S. Miller (1727) def. Harish Srinivasan (1744), 17 pts.

A special thanks for all the supportive parents, spectators, Kelly Allen, Vic Bahl, Thomas Callea, Barry Davis, Douglas Dubose and Glenn Westcott. Eddie Marks found! Eddie emailed me and said he had car trouble. Still MIA are Neal Goldberg and Vance Williams.

Regrets from Tony Kimbrough and Albert Patterson. Withdrawls: Joshua M Rofrano, Maryland.

FIDE RATED EVENT PLAYERS!

March 13, 14th, and 15th, 2009

Gloria J. Parks Community Center 3242 Main Street, Free Parking in Rear. Buffalo, NY 14214

ACT NOW! Let others know you will be part of the first Buffao Masters FIDE RATED OPEN. This is a great warm up for the upcoming Marchand Open, Rochester NY. Please email me at arcangel8chess@yahoo.com if you would like to have the advance entry fee of $40 vs. $50.00 Cash only on site. Please include full name, USCF ID number, USCF Rating and section of play. Here are some of the players committed for this weekend:

1. Lionel Davis - 2234, Buffalo
2. Eddie E Mark III - 2158, Maryland
3. Neal Goldberg -2152, Virginia
4. Eric Grabowski - 2113, Ohio
5. Vance Williams-2101 Buffalo
6. Rev. Marijan Procyk -2062 Buffalo
7. Mark J. Clark - 2004, Jamestown
8. Tony Kimbrough-1900, Buffalo
9. Harish Srinivasan - 1744, Buffalo
10. David S. Miller - 1727, Tonawanda
11. Joshua M. Rofrano - 1717, Maryland
12. David M. Biddle - 1568, Tonawanda
13. Francis A. Grabowski - 1509, Buffalo

There also are other sections including U1450, Scholastic, and Hal Payne UNRATED Scholastics. These sections will only play on Saturday ONLY, and will be Game/60 Swiss Event.

Thanks for all of your support. There is still time to ACT!

Mc Duffie, Chess Ambassador and fellow of WK Kellogg Foundation

Pioneer, GCCS Repeat at Jr Chess Olympics

For the second year in a row, Pioneer Middle School won the Grade 7-12 section while Genesee Community Charter School (GCCS) of Rochester won the K-6 at the 24th USA Jr Chess Olympics this past Saturday.

In the 7-12 Section, Pioneer held off a strong challenge by the Buffalo Urban Knights team. The outcome was in doubt until the last round when Pioneer's Wesley Darling won his game to clinch the trophy. Pioneer's Ryan Madden (1381) won all of his 5 games to win the individual Gold Medal. Losing only to Madden, William Deuschle (1134) of Buffalo won the Silver, and Morgan Beach (880) of Pioneer defeated Willie Smith (598)of Buffalo in a playoff to win the Bronze. Other players for Pioneer were Robert Becker, Randall Beach, Wes Darling, and Andrew Joslyn. The members of the Silver Place team from Buffalo were William Deuschle, Willie Smith, Dakaylah Winfield (the only girl and as a 5th grader played "up" a section), Shakyle Topps, and Daniel Wyatt.

In the K-6 section, Genesee Community Charter School led all the way to win the Gold. The Silver placing Pioneer Team tried hard, but in the end could not keep up with Webster Kehoe (1398) and Connor Wagner (1179)-the top 2 boards of GCCS, who both finished 5-0. Buffalo Urban Knights took the Team Bronze. To win the individual Gold Medal, it took Webster Kehoe 3 playoff games (the first 2 were draws) to finally best Connor Wagner. These two kids, who are both 4th graders, are excellent players and have a really bright future ahead of them in chess! Sam Cherin (828) of GCCS won the individual Bronze Medal after an exciting playoff series against Pioneers-Ryan Palmisano, Austin Kossow,and Carl Raymore.

Sam's brother Jason rounded out the Gold Medal GCCS team. For Pioneer, Ryan Palmisano, Austin Kossow, Carl Raymore, Nathan Palmisano, John Beyer, Trevor Owens, Chris Darling, Austin Will, Sam Tillinghast, Trevor Hodge, Orion Dolan, and Ravo Root competed. Miles James represented the Buffalo Urban Knights.

Thanks to all who helped keep this tournament running smoothly, including Mike Mcduffie (the Chess Ambassador), and the "Chess Moms" Angel Madden, Judy Darling , and Patty Palmisano for taking care of food and pictures. See you next year!

The full cross table is available at: http://main.uschess.org/assets/msa_joomla/XtblMain.php?200903073301

SAVE THE DATE! SATURDAY, May 16, 2009

Second Annual KLCC - H. MC CARTHY GIPSON GRAND PRIX 2009!

A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO THE VICTIMS OF FLIGHT #3407.

• Main Place Mall, 390 Main St, Buffalo NY 14201.
• Guaranteed $520 Cash Prizes for Grand Prix Section. 1st Place $250, 2nd Place $150, U1900 $120.00. Enhanced USCF Grand Prix Points.
• Advance Entry Fee $30 or $50 On Site. Mail and make checks payable to:Archangel 8 Chess Academy, "GIPSON", 60F Guilford Lane, Buffalo NY 14221. Postmarked no later than Tuesday, May 12, 2009.
• U1450 EF $25 or $35 on site. Cash prizes based upon 15 entries, 1st place $150, 2nd place $100 and 3rd place $60.
• Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Section: EF $25.00, UNRATED, Cash prizes based upon 15 entries. 1st Place $150, 2nd Place $100 and 3rd Place $60.
• Middle & High School Section: 5 Rds, Swiss, Game 30, EF$10, or EF $15 at the door. Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Games start at 10am.

SAVE THE DATE!

SECOND ANNUAL DAVID EVANS JR MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

• Saturday, April 18, 2009
• Main Place Mall, 390 Main Street, Buffalo NY 14201
• Games start at 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:15pm and 3pm.
• Four Round Swiss System, Game/45.
• Open Section Advance EF:$30 or $40 Cash only onsite. Cash prizes based upon 15 entries, 1st place $200, 2nd Place $100, 3rd Place $60, U1700 $50.00.
• U1450 Section, Advance EF:$25 or $35 Cash only onsite. Cash prizes based upon 15 entries, 1st Place $150, 2nd Place $100 and 3rd Place $50.00.
• Scholastic Section, 5 round swiss Game/30, EF$10.oo advance or $15.00 on site. Trophies for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place

For more information via email to: arcangel8chess@yahoo.com. Mail checks postmarked no later than tuesday, April 14, 2009. Mail and make checks payable to: Archangel 8 Chess Academy, "EVANS", 60F Guilford Lane, Buffalo NY 14221. Please include full name, USCF ID Number, USCF Rating and section of play.

BUFFALO CHESS MASTERS FIDE TOURNAMENT

For those attending The 31st Marchand Open, the following weekend of March 28 & 29th, 2009 at St John Fisher College, you may want to use this as a warm up. It's also FIDE Rated for those who want to get a FIDE rating in hopes of one day becoming a FIDE, International, or even a Grand Master.

Friday, March 13, Saturday March 14th, and Sunday March 15, 2009

Gloria J Parks Community Center, Free Parking in Rear.

3242 Main Street, Buffalo NY 14214 (Main & Heath)

5 round Swiss Format, GAME/120, AND FIDE RATED!

Check In on Friday, March 13, 2009 between 6pm and 7pm. Games will start at 7:15pm.

Schedule: Friday at 715pm, Saturday at 11am and 4pm, and Sunday 9am and 2pm.

Advance entry fee $40 or $50 Cash on site, Cash prizes based upon 25 entries, 1st Place $300, 2nd Place $200, 3rd Place $100, Class Prizes: U1900 and U1700 $75.00 each.

On Saturday there also will be a U1450 and Scholastic Section Tournament. 5 Rounds Swiss, Game/60 for U1450 and Scholastics Game/30. U1450 Schedule, Sat. 9:45am, Noon, 2:15pm, 4:30pm, and 7pm. Advance entry fee U1450 - $30 or $40 on site. Cash prizes based upon 20 entries; 1st Place $200, 2nd Place $100, 3rd Place $75.00. Flight #3407 Memorial Section Scholastics Entry fee is $8.00 with Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winners. Rounds start at 10am until 3pm.

Hotel rates: Boulevard Inn & Suites, (Main & Bailey), call 837-3344 or nancybajer@verizon.net. Restaurants near by are Subway, Wendy's, Mc Donalds and Tops Markets, within walking distance.

Please confirm your participation via email to arcangel8chess@yahoo.com, and make checks payable to Archangel 8 Chess Academy, "FIDE", 60F Guilford Lane, Buffalo NY 14221, postmarked no later than tuesday, March 10, 2009. Please include full name, USCF ID Number, USCF Rating and section of play.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication in growing the WNY Chess Community.

-Mc Duffie, Chess Ambassador and Fellow WK Kellogg Foundation

Interesting opposite color experiment !!

White to move. Play as black against your computer engine from this position a 5 min. game and with good play you should be able to draw. But there is a catch, this position is lost for black. Try and find the win for white. If trying with an engine, after you make the first few correct moves, then the engine will realize the win. I tried it with Fritz 9 and Rybka 2.3 and was able to draw as black.

USA Jr Chess Olympics This Saturday!

Attention Scholastic Coaches! Get your teams together and head down to the Pioneer Middle School this Saturday March 7th for the 24th USA Jr. Chess Olympics which is a premier scholastic tournament!

If you don't have a team, you can play as a team of one! Rochester, Niagara Falls, Bradford,Pa., along with host Pioneer will play. How about some teams from Buffalo?

The details are:

• 24TH USA JR. CHESS OLYMPICS
• Sat. March 7, 2009
• At Pioneer Middle School (cafeteria) 12132 Old Olean Rd., Yorkshire,NY 14173
• 5SS, G/30,
• EF $5 includes free pizza for lunch
• Rds. 10,11,12:30,1:30,2:30
• 2 Sections: K-6 and 7-12
• Prizes: Olympic style medals to 1st,2nd,and 3rd place winners to individuals and teams in each section
• USCF membership required,can join at tournament
• No limit to number of players on team, but only top 4 scores will count for team total. Can have more than 1 team per school.
• Entries & info: Tom Warner 496-5230 email : warner689@roadrunner.com

Chess on TV?!

Are you kidding me? No, this is no joke. I just received the following email from Mr Charles Ferraro: "If you have Time-Warner Cable-Westfield, (or an antenna ) tune in your TV or DVR to the Local Access Channel (Access Channel 5) this Saturday, March 7th, from 9:00-10:00am to catch the Senior Report With Reed Powers Show. I will be appearing on Reed's show which will feature the Westfield Chess Club and Chess topics. Reed is Jim Powers' dad and a Chess Master, so he has a wealth of chess knowledge to share. I will be bringing a chess set, clock, and board for demonstrations. Reed asked me to encourage you all to call in during the show!! The telephone number is: (716) 753-5225. This could be your chance to ask a Chess Master some interesting questions."

Buffalo April Swiss Tournament

Buffalo April Swiss

• Saturday, April 25, 2009
• Educational Opportunity Center 465 Washington St. Buffalo, NY 14203
• 4 round swiss system ,5 rounds in Scholastic section
• Game 30 (25 minutes with 5 second delay with digital clock)
• Entry fee: Open, Under 1700, and Under 1450 sections $15-Scholastic section $8. No checks or credit cards accepted on site-cash only.
• Cash Prizes based on entries in all sections -except Scholastic which will have trophies for 1ST, 2ND, & 3RD
• Rounds 9:45, 11:00, 12:15, 1:30
• Registration 9-9:15
• ½ point bye available if requested before the start of round 1. All entries after 9:45 will be forced to take ½ point bye.
• Convenient parking in front and sides of building
• Please e mail me with USCF ID#, rating and the section you wish to play in at zugzwang92857@yahoo.com or call (716)836-4364
• Send advanced entries to Old School Chess Enterprises c/o Douglas Dubose 3587 Harlem Rd. Cheektowaga, NY 14215