IM Dr.Regan featured on ChessBase

IM Dr.Regan has featured in an article on chessbase on the use of statistical models to prevent cheating in chess. The article has links to his own personal page as well. http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8014

NO MEETING! Urban Queens and Urban Knights Club

The Urban Queens and Urban Knights Chess Club will not meet on Wednesday, March 14th due to a prior commitment. We appologize for any interruptions in your schedules.

We will meet next wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 5:45pm until 7:45pm. Please bring your chess set, chess board and digital chess clock for tournament play.

Thanks for all your help and cooperation.

Reported by Mc Duffie, Chess Ambassador

IRISH SHAMROCKS GAME 50, Sat. March 17th

Hosted by Garnell W. Whitfield Jr., Buffalo Fire Commissioner and The Archangel 8 Chess Academy, on Saturday, March 17, 2012, Main Place Mall, Upper Level, 390 Main St, Buffalo, NY. USCF membership is required! NEW! ADVANCE ENTRY FEE is $15.00 or $25.00 Cash only at the door. PIZZA and Refreshements are provided! FREE Parking under the Mall. Food Court is Open during the tournament. After the tournament you can stay and watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade right down the street on Delaware Ave. Parking will be limited for the St Patrick's Day Parade!

Come wear your green and show your shamrocks then go to the parade. This is a Four games, Swiss, Game 50;d5, USCF Open Dual rated Tournament. This Irish tournament for those players who are preparing for the upcoming All Girls National Championships, USCF National Scholastic Elementary or High School Championships, The Marchand Open with a new venue site at the end of the month and those who seek competitive matches over the board.

All players must report by 9:30am, Games will start promptly at 9:45am. Please bring chess set, chess board and digital chess clock.

Sections of play are Open and U1500, Advance Entry Fee is $15 in advance or $25 Cash only at the door, Checks must be mailed, made payable and received by Thursday, March 15, 2012 with full name, uscf number, section, grade, school and telephone number to The Archangel 8 Chess Academy, 60F Guilford Lane, Buffalo, NY 14221. Team discounts are available with four or more players.

Scholastic Stars K-12 Section will play 4 games, Swiss, USCF rated, Game 30;d5, written notations and digital clock. Scholastic Players must report by 11am, Games start at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm, Awards Ceremony with Trophies to follow immediately! Trophies to the Top 5 winners! Advance entry fee is $10 or $15 Cash only at the door.

SAVE THE DATE; Saturday, June 2nd and 3rd, 2012, Buffalo International Championships, featuring International Master Kenneth W. Regan, Ph.D, 2011 Mayor's Cup Champion, a two day, Enhanced Grand Prix 10 points, FIDE and USCF Open Rated, Game 120;d5, Swiss, 5 Games will be hosted at the Old First Ward Community Center, 62 Republic Street, Buffalo, NY. Check your USCF TLA listing or arcangel8chess@yahoo.com for more details!

Tell and Friend, Bring a Friend! helps us continue to grow chess in the Buffalo Niagara Falls region. Home to NYS Scholastic 2012 State Champions Matthew C. Rzeznik, Bishop Timon and James W. Lyon, CONGRATULATIONS!

Submitted by Michael A. Mc Duffie, USCF Tournament Director

MARCH GAME 60 RESULTS 2012

Results from the March Game 60 Tournament held at the Main Place Mall on Saturday, March 10, 2012 included 17 players. NY State Scholastics were back at it with Alexis J. Schlaak, Matthew C. Schlaak, Laura Cohn and Kevin N. Roulhac. James W. Lyon sent his RSVP due to his participation in Syracuse Science Fair Competition next weekend in Syracuse, New York.

The Scholastic Stars were involved with not only playing over the board but also implemented written notations and digital clocks to continue their progress from the 45th NYS Scholastic Championships. New to tournamnt play was Aditya Krovi from the Stars of India Chess Club.

The March 30 Tournament Scholastic Champion was Shaka E. Davis, Performing Arts, also received a big hug and big smiles from father Lionel L. Davis, National Master. Second place and Top Female Award presented to Alexis J. Schlaak, Third place - Ashton A. William, Stars of India Chess Club, Fourth Place - Laura Cohn, Urban Queens Chess Club, Fifth Place - James Shippens, Olmsted Golden Knights Chess Club.

The March 60 Open Section was combined with ten players. Please WELCOME New comers as USCF members were Percy Barbour, Fables Library Chess Club, Joseph Biggie, Lockport Knights Chess Club and Tamal T. Biswas, University at Buffalo Chess Club.

The final results of the combined March 60 Open section was Undefeated Champion, Barry Davis, National Master, Second place Gary A. Boye and Third Place and Top Unrated - Percy Barbour, Top Collegiate - Tamal T. Biswas, Top High School - Kevin N. Roulhac and Top U1400 was Glenn P. Conlin.

Our next Chess Tournament will be on Sat, March 17th at the Main Place Mall, advance registrations are greatly appreciated with reply to arcangel8chess@yahoo.com by friday, March 16, 2012 with full name, section, uscf number and telephone. Advance entry fee is $15 or $25 Cash only at the door.

Reported by Michael A. Mc Duffie, USCF Tournament Director

CONGRATULATE! NYS CHAMPIONS - Game 60 March 10th Tournament, $15 Entry Fee!

Hosted by Garnell W. Whitfield Jr., Buffalo Fire Commissioner and The Archangel 8 Chess Academy will host a USCF Open Dual rated tournament, three games, Swiss, Game 60 with a 5 second delay. USCF membership is REQUIRED!

Come out and Conrgatulate NYS Scholastic 2012 Champions, James W. Lyon and Matthew Rzeznik, Bishop Timon finished 2nd Place, Pioneer Middle School finished 2nd and 3rd Place, Trevor Cohn, Laura Cohn, Primary Championship - Top Unrated, Kevin N. Roulhac, High School Championship - Top U1500, Ruby Soudant, Alexis Schlaak, Matthew Schlaak, Ashton William, Vinay Sharma, Ryan Madden and others show off their team trophies and awards at the 45th NYS Scholastic Championships on March 4th in Saratoga Springs, NY.

All players are to report to the Main Place Mall, 390 Main St, Buffalo, NY by 9:30am, please bring chess set, chess board and digital chess clock. None provided!

Three sections are Open, U1500 and Scholastics! The advance entry fee is $15 or $25, Cash only at the door. Online discount entry fee pre registrations can be sent to arcangel8chess@yahoo.com by Midnight, Friday, March 9, 2012 with full name, uscf id number, section and telephone number.

Scholastic players K-12 will play 4 games, Game 30 with 5 second delay, Swiss. Advance entry fee is $10 or $15 Cash at the door. Please bring chess set, chess board and digital chess clock. Limited supplies are available.

Please register in advance with full name, grade, school, and telephone number with reply to arcangel8chess@yahoo.com by midnight, March 9, 2012.

Submitted by Mc Duffie, USCF Tournament Director

Pioneer gets 2nd, two 3rds at states

The Pioneer chess team competed in four sections in the New York State Championships last weekend in Saratoga Springs. The Panthers fought hard and almost won a state title, taking 2nd place in the Middle School Reserve section, missing 1st by only 1/2 point! Zach Madden, Todd Thompson, Brad Schrock, Hunter Witt, and Mike Pinzel made up the team, and all played well, with Zach Madden finishing 6th individually.

The Jr High team came back from a slow start to get 3rd place in a tough division. The winner of this section, Intermediate School 318 from Brooklyn, is the defending national champion! Chris Darling, Ryan Palmisano, Nate Palmisano, Austin Kossow, Austin Will, Carl Raymore, and Max Peters are the team members.

In the High School reserve section Wes Darling led the team with 4 wins as they also took 3rd. Lucas Grisanti had 3 pts and Austin Harris had 2.

Ryan Madden had 3 wins and finished tied for 17th in the Open High school section, which had many masters and some of the best players in the country playing.

Also Congrats to James Lyon of Hamburg who won the Middle School Reserve individual championship with 5.5/6. Great tournament James!

Bishop Timon-St. Jude had a great tournamant also. They finished 2nd in the High School Reserve section. Matt Reznick won 1st place with a 6-0 record. Congratulations Coach Bowers and all the boys!

The cross table for the tournament is here: http://main.uschess.org/assets/msa_joomla/XtblMain.php?201203042772

NEW! BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA - MERIT BADGE COUNSELOR

The Boy Scouts of America in cooperation with the United States Chess Federation has now made chess available to the Boy Scouts to earn a Chess Badge. Part of the requirements are to play 3 games of chess with written notations under the supervision of a Merit Badge Counselor.

Please welcome and congratulate Michael A. Mc Duffie, Boy Scouts of America, the first African American Merit Badge Counselor for the Western New York region. Boy Scout Leaders and Boy Scout members must fulfill all the requirements to earn the Chess Badge, Beltloop and Chess Pin!

If you know of any Scout leaders, please have them contact arcangel8chess@yahoo.com to make arrangements. Boy Scouts must wear their uniform and bring their blue merit badge card for signature.

Saturday, March 10th and March 17th will be our next tournament, held in the Main Place Mall, Please note we have reduced the advance entry fee to $15 to help encourage others to join us. Advance entry fee deadline is midnight on Thursday, March 9th and for March 17th tournament, the deadline is Thursday, March 15th, all checks are to be mailed and made payable to The Archangel 8 Chess Academy, 60F Guilford Lane, Buffalo NY with full name, section, uscf number, grade and telephone. The Cash prizes are based on 22 players in the Open and U1500 sections are $75, $35 and $15.00 for each section. USCF annual memberships can be renewed on site or in advance with The Archangel 8 Chess Academy and USCF Affiliate.

Please see the Boy Scout of America and the US Chess Federation announcement from September 2011 in St Louis, MO.

Yours in Chess,

Mc Duffie, Boy Scout of America, Chess Merit Badge Counselor

WNY Undefeated Players - 45th NYS Championships 2012

Its almost 1am at the New York State Scholastic Championships and the only official results are from the Elementary Reserves, open to all in grades 5 and below, rated Under 800 or Unrated have completed three rounds. Alexis and Matthew Schlaak both score one point out of three games. Matthew performed well against higher competitors than his sister and has been listed at 42nd place out of 73 players. Alexis(uscf 459), has been listed at 53rd place and there has been a mutual decision to switch her to the Primary K-1 Championship section, open to all in grades 1 and below, where the highest rated player is 1082 from New York City. She will join the Primary K-1 Team with Ashton William(uscf unrated), there are 75 players as of March 1, 2012. The Primary K-1 Championship schedule start on sunday at 10am, Noon, 1:30pm, 3pm and 4:30pm with Awards ceremony at 5:45pm.

In the Primary Championships section, open to all in grades 3 and below, Laura Cohn(unrated) has been a champion just fighting off the 1400 rated players, 700 rated and she scored one half point in the first round but is listed at 92 out of 110 players the official total count of the section. Ruby Soudant scored a win and one point for the day by knocking off a higher rated player in round three. Ruby is currently listed 83rd place out of 110. Both are third graders and no changes were made they will complete their Championship sunday schedule with games starting at 9am, Noon and 2:30pm with the Awards at 5pm. Pictured are Ruby and Laura relaxing, playing a DS, having fun and are in good spirits!

Unofficial results have James Lyon(St Peter and Paul School, Hamburg, NY), Zach Madden(Pioneer), Matthew Rzeznik(Bishop Timon)and Benjamin Rummell(Homeschool) are undefeated with a perfect record three out of three games. More to follow, reports are to be posted around 3am.

"OFF THE RECORD" - Vender news is that there are no tshirts for the participants to purchase, unofficial news is that the vendor didnt show.

Reporting live from 45th NYS Championships, Saratoga Springs, NY

Mc Duffie, USCF Chess Coach

Day One - Advance Entries - 45th NYS Championships 2012

Pictured seated in the center is Ashton A. William, first grader from Heim Elementary, gets big hugs and well wishes from the Stars Of India Chess Club members before he travels to Saratoga Springs, NY. Ashton new USCF unrated, will be playing in the Primary K-1 Section, Sunday only, open to all in grades 1 and below, and as of March 1, 2012 there are 75 players with the highest USCF rated player is 1082.

Laura Cohn and Ruby Z Soudant, both unrated and new to USCF are registered in the Primary Championships, open to all in grades 3 and below, has 94 players with the highest USCF rating of 1612.

Alexis and Matthew Schlaak are both registered in the Elementary Reserves, open to all grades 5 and below rated Under 800 or Unrated, has 69 players where the highest rating is 771, Alexis is listed 28th and Matthew is listed at 49th.

The Elementary Championship section, open to all in grades 6 and below, has 65 players with the highest rating 1811.

The Middle School Reserves section,open to all in grades 8 and below, rated U1000 or Unrated has 52 players with the highest rated player with a rating of 992 is Zach Madden, Pioneer Middle and the second highest rated player is James W. Lyon with 968 and Benjamin Rummel is listed 21st with 784 rating.

The Junior High School Championship section, open to all in grades 9 and below has 46 players with the highest rated 2071 and Vinay Sharma rated 1342.

The High School Reserve section, open to all in grades 12 and below, rated Under 1200 or Unrated has 32 players and the 4th highest rated player is Trevor D. Cohn, Kenmore NY, 1157 USCF rated, 5th rated is Jacob Meloon(1149), Global Concepts, 6th - Bishop Timon, Matthew Leahy(1147), 7th - Alexander Campbell, Global Concepts, 9th - Bishop Timon, Matthew Rzeznik, 11th - Pioneer Wes Darling, 14th - Bishop Timon, Drew Johnson, 16th - Bishop Timon, Joshua Benham, 17th - Bishop Timon, Seii Kojo, 18th - Pioneer, Lucas Grisanti and 20th - Bishop Timon, Logan Smith.

Lastly, the High School Championship section, open to all in grades 12 and below has 35 players with the highest rating of 2317, Pioneer, Ryan Madden(1848)is listed at 18th place and Kevin N. Roulhac(1490) is listed at 31st place.

Games are scheduled to begin at 11am, 2pm and 5pm on Saturday, Sunday games are 9am, Noon and 2:30pm, Awards at 5pm., Primary K-1 Section games are only on sunday where they will start at 10am, Noon, 1:30pm, 3pm, 4:30pm with Awards at 5:45pm.

All are asleep and we wait for the sun to rise and brighten our paths! Stay in touch, thanks for all the comments, please spread the word, Western New York is well represented in many ways given the current listings. Individual trophies are awarded to the Top 15 players in each section. Team Trophies awarded to the Top 8. Good thing I brought the camera! Good Luck to all! Coaches Bowers, Cirillo and Warner and I have our work ahead, there are loads of New York City, Long Island, Brooklyn along with a few from Montreal, Quebec talents listed.

Im off to be at 2am. Reporting live from 45th Scholastic Championshps, Saratoga Springs, NY. Mc Duffie, USCF Coach!

45th NYS Scholastic Championships 2012 - 10 Archangel 8 Players

First timers Laura Cohn, Benjamin Rummel, Kevin Roulhac, Alexis Schlaak, Matthew Schlaak, Vinay Sharma Ruby Soudant and Ashton William, will be participating in their first New York State Scholastic Championships, held at the Saratoga Hilton, Saratoga Springs, New York over the March 3 and 4th weekend.

Returning for his second time will be Trevor Cohn, who earned a trophy and a 7th Place Scholastic Team trophy with teammate Sean in February 2010. Also returning is James Lyon who was one of the top scholastic players in his section. Ashton William is our youngest western new york scholastic talent who is a first grader at Heim Elementary, will play 5 games only on sunday. Laura, Alexis, Matthew and Ruby are playing in the K-3 sections, where they play 3 games on saturday and sunday, game 61, Benjamin will play in the U1000 section with 3 games, game 61 on sat and sunday. Kevin and Vinay will play in the High School section.

Please keep us and other wny students in your thoughts and prayers for a safe travel and fun, representing the Buffalo Niagara Falls region. I will provide updates from Saratoga Springs in upstate New York.

Reporting from the 45th annual NYS Scholastic Championships,

Mc Duffie, USCF Chess Coach