#1104 New Staten Island CC Site

The Staten Island Chess Club is in the process of building a new web site.

Its template looks great! I've always liked that burnt set... may have to get one.

Hat tip to Ed Selling.

#1103 Local Clubs Update

I have added Chess Mates and the Garden State Chess League to my list of local chess clubs. I have deleted the defunct Summit club and Newark's Sleepless Knights.

Info for the Westfield, Kenilworth, West Orange, Roselle, Clark, Scotch Plains, Maplewood and Checkmate clubs have also been updated.


Addendum 4/12 @ 9:40 p.m. - The Checkmate CC now meets on Saturday nights, from 8:30 to 11:00 p.m.

Hat tip to Robert Vinson.

#1102 RIP Donatas (Don) Varneckas

Donatas Varneckas died yesterday, 23 days after suffering a stroke while playing at the Morris County Chess Club in Parsippany.

Don, a retired former butcher and retired accountant, was a friend and teammate to many. We played together in the USATE tournaments (2010, 2011) and in the Garden State Chess League (2010-11, 2011-12). I last saw him on March 9th, at Rahway's Chess Mates, just a few days before he was stricken.

For those who knew Don and would like to pay their respects, here is some information on his memorial services:

Wake
Sunday, April 7 from 2-6 pm
Doyle Funeral Home
106 Maple Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Funeral Mass
Monday, April 8 at 10 a.m.
Church Of The Assumption
91 Maple Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Entombment
Holy Rood Cemetery
61 Whippany Road
Morristown, NJ 07960

Those unable to attend may write a condolence message here or leave a comment to this post.

#1101 Springfield's Checkmate CC

With the Springfield Barnes and Noble now closing at 9 p.m. on Sundays and tables generally unavailable for chess until after 8 p.m., the Checkmate Club's future is in doubt.

Update 4/12 @ 9:40 p.m. - The Checkmate CC now meets on Saturday nights, from 8:30-11:00 p.m.

Hat tip to Robert Vinson.

#1100 Ellner Memorial Starts April 11th

6th Annual Irving Ellner Memorial

Kenilworth Chess Club

April 11th-May 16, 2013

• USCF-Rated
• 5-round Swiss
• Time Control: G/60 with 5 second per move increment.
• Rounds: 8:30 p.m. on April 11th, 8:20 p.m. on April 18th, 25th and May 9th, 16th. There is no game on May 2nd!
• Entry Fee: $10
• Prizes Fund: $150 b/16 entries. (100% of EF minus rating fee)
• Prizes: To be announced
• Register with TD Geoff McAuliffe before 8:25 p.m. on 4/11 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.
• Late-joins accepted. 2 byes allowed.

#1099 USATE PGN File

Today's MegaBase update (#11 for 2013) contains 302 games from last month's USATE. To download them, in zipped PGN, click here.

#1098 Stoyko To Lecture On The Semi-Slav

FIDE Master Steve Stoyko will be presenting part 1 of his Semi-Slav Defense lecture tomorrow night, at the Kenilworth Chess Club.

Anand's brilliant Tata Steel win over Aronian, the Latvian Variation and other lines will be covered during the 2-part series, which concludes March 28th.

Admission is $5.

#1097 My New Polish Chess Set

Back in December 2003, on my second visit the Scotch Plains Chess Club, I had the pleasure of playing 3 games, with Mark Doroba (who has since passed away), on an exquisite Polish chess set and have longed for one ever since.

Well, at last month's USATE in Parsippany, after a first round loss to NM Tod Chasin, I walked over to the equipment store and was very pleased to see a similar set for sale.

The board didn't have the dark-square and border engravings that Mark's set did but the pieces were exactly the same and that was good enough for me.

#1096 Norowitz Earns IM Title

2009 Kenilworth CC Champion Yaacov Norowitz earned his final IM norm today by tying for 3rd 4th place at the Reykjavik Open.

After starting out 1-1 (with a loss to an FM), Yaacov scored 6.5 over the last 8 rounds, including +3-0=2 vs. 5 GMs, to finish a half-point behind winners Pavel Eljanov, Wesley So and Amin Bassem.

To play-through all of the new IM-elect's games from the event, click here.

#1095 Local TD Certification

By scoring 95% on the USCF's Club TD exam and meeting its performance requirements, I am now a Local TD.

#1094 Chess Mates Closed Saturday

Chess Mates has canceled the Dr. Luzivminda Machan Open scheduled for Saturday, February 9 and will be closed that day due to expected blizzard conditions.

A decision about the Sunday G/30 and Lesson will made later today or tomorrow.

#1093 New Web Site For West Orange CC

The West Orange Chess Club's new web site is located at  http://westorangechess.webs.com/.

Hat tip to Leonardo Moreira.