Headlines
Vigorito & Reverby top RI Open
Pawtucket RI, 2009/11/21 - David Vigorito
shut out the competition at the 2009
Rhode Island Open,
held at the Blackstone Chess Center The
RI Open title and trophy went to Miro Reverby,
who scored 2½/4. Chris Gu and
Jeff Hall tied for second place
with Reverby. Miro took the Rhode Island
Open title on tie-breaks. The RI Open Under
2100 title and trophy went to Chris Gu.
Jeff Hall won the RI Open Under 1900 title,
prize, and trophy.
David Coccio was top dog in the under 1700
section, taking first place, and the RI Open
Under 1700 title and trophy, with a score of 3½/4.
Second place was a tie between
Benjamin Swiszcz and
Cristian Estrada, each at 3/4.
The RI Open Under 1500 title and trophy went
to Benjamin Swiszcz.
This is one of two RI tournaments in which trophies
and titles are awarded. The RI State Championship
is held every Spring, while the Rhode Island Open
is usually held in the fall. These events are
organized and directed by Rhode Island Chess.
Many thanks to tournament directors
Frank Vogel and Eric Berkey.
Finney wins Malyuta Memorial
Pawtucket RI, 2009/10/17 - Stuart Finney
swept this year's
Max Malyuta Memorial tournament with
4 wins, and no losses. Read the
full report.
2009 Blackstone Chess Festival Champion Crowned
Pawtucket RI, 2009/8/29 - Zachary Weiner of NY won
the 2009 Festival Open, Aug, 29, with a perfect
4-0. Jorge Sammour won the Masters
Blitz by a whisker. IM Igor Foygel finished
second.
David Griego scored 12 wins and 2 draws
against 7 players in a simul Saturday Aug. 22.
Recent Results
Check out the
crosstables from recent events.
Goldberg Takes Pawtucket
Pawtucket, May 30 - Local Expert Ben Goldberg took the Pawtucket
Open after an upsetting National Master Sinclair Banks with a
nifty Zorro mate. Goldberg finished
with a score of 2.5-0.5. The event was a 3-round swiss, with a time
control of Game/55 and 5 second delay. Banks tied for second with
Andrew Tichenor at 2.0-1.0, who drew Goldberg in the final round.
Smirnov Wins Spring Swiss
Pawtucket, April 27 - The Blackstone Spring Swiss was won
by William Smirnov with a score of 2.5-0.5. This
event was 3-rounds, and took place on Monday April 13th,
20th, and 27th. Time control was Game/90 with a 5-second delay.
Sinclair Banks takes April Action
Pawtucket, April 25 - The Saturday Afternoon April
Action went to Sinclair Banks. Sinclair,
at 2.5-0.5, needed a win in the final round, to get past
David Harris, who was undefeated after 3 rounds.
Avalos, Ramirez Blitz Stoners
Pawtucket, April 16 - The Blackstone Thursday Night Blitz
was dominated by Carlos Avalos, and Tomas Ramirez, topping
the field with a score of 5-1. The format was a double swiss.
Both Tomas and Carlos split their match with David Harris,
who finished second with 4-2.
Vernal Victory Goes To Youth
Neil Fachon and Christopher Gu tied for
first place at the Vernal Rapids,
held Saturday March 28 at the Blackstone Chess Center.
After taking a "grandmaster draw" in
round 2, they both won their final
games to share first with a score of
2.5-0.5.
Gu upset expert David Harris
in the final round with the Black pieces.
Time control was Game/40 with a 5 second
delay.
Banks Holds Back Rapids
Sinclair Banks came out on top in the Tartakower
Rapids, February 21, held at the Center. Sinclair
finished with a score of 5-1, a half point ahead
of Gary Point, who claimed second place. The event
was a double round robin, with a time control of
Game/15.
Gareyev Rings Up Victory in Philly, and Pawtucket
January 19 -
Grandmaster Timur 'Gareyev', fresh from
his training matches at the Blackstone Chess
Center, finished clear first in the 41st Liberty Bell
Open held over the weekend. His critical win
over GM Kudrin in round 6 enabled him to coast
to victory with 5 wins and 2 draws. He cites
his training games in Pawtucket as key to
his success!
On Thursday, January 15, Gareyev won the Winter Blackstone
Chess Challenge, with a perfect score of 6-0. Jorge
Sammour-Hasbun finished second with 4-2. Timur won the
first of their two games in a time scramble, then took the
second game with the Black pieces after a questionable
opening choice by Jorge. The Challenge was a four player
double round-robin, with a time control of Game/15.
First prize was $125. Also competing were Massachusetts Champion
Denys Shmelov, and top Rhode Island youth Stuart Finney.
GM Gareyev [the way he prefers to spell his name!]
also took the Blackstone Blitz Monday, January 12,
with a perfect score of 6-0. This event was a
double swiss, Game/7. First prize was $50.
Games from the Quad
Jorge Sammour-Hasbun wins match with GM Timur Gareyev
January 10 -
In a surprise upset, local chess magician Jorge Sammour-Hasbun
defeated Grandmaster Timur Gareyev in a four game match at
the Blackstone Chess Center. The first two games took place
Thursday evening, leaving the score at 1-1. The match concluded
Saturday afternoon, with Jorge winning both games. The time
control was Game/30. This event produced some excellent games,
which were followed on the 'big screen'. Gareyev's single win
in the match was a very nice miniature.
We are very fortunate to have a player of Timur Gareyev's
caliber visit the center, and thankful for his appearance.
After the match, he took the defeat in stride, and played
a simultaneous exhibition against all challengers. Timur
won every game. GM Gareyev also played in our Monday night
pickup tournament, which he won, but not without getting
nicked by local expert, Carlos Avalos.
Shmelov Wins First Blackstone Blitz
Dec 4 -
Massachusetts Champion Denys Shmelov visited the
Blackstone Chess Center to play in the
December Blitz Thursday. He was rewarded
with a victory in the 3-round double swiss, with
a result of 5-1. His only loss was to local
expert Carlos Avalos. Second place went to
youth member Winston Jiang with a score of 4-2.
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Announcements
2010 Season
In the year 2010 we celebrate the two year
anniversary for Blackstone Chess.
One of our goals for the new year is to
make Thursday Night USCF rated games a
regular feature at the club, for both
weekly club tournaments, and players
seeking rated side games. You can help
by coming down for a game, so more and
more people in all rating brackets will
start making this a regular event. If you
can play 2 out of 3 weeks, sign up for the monthly
tournament!
We will continue the Masters and Experts
Invitational events, from Blitz to Rapids,
a variety of tournaments will be offered.
The Experts events will be primarily on
Saturdays, and include an under 2000 section.
If there are enough players in the under 2000,
we will add a lower section, under 1500 or under 1700
based on the ratings of the participants.
We plan to kick of Spring with a Spring Rapids
on Saturday March 20. The next major events
will be the Pawtucket Open in mid-May, the
Blackstone Rapids in mid June, and the annual
Blackstone Chess Festival in August.
Please visit our
online calendar
where the details of all the upcoming events will be posted.
2009 Announcements
Blackstone Chess Festival
Pawtucket, RI, August 6, 2009 - The 2009 Blacktone Chess
Festival opens with a simultaneous exhibition on Saturday,
August 22. Senior Master David Griego, will take on all
who dare to accept the challenge. Play starts at 2pm,
fee is $7. Club members can play for $5.
On Friday, August 28, David will be joined by Jorge Sammour,
Denys Shmelov, and other local masters in a Masters Blitz
invitational tournament. Play starts at 7:30pm. Time control
is Game in 7 minutes. Spectators are welcome.
The Festival is capped off by the Festival Open on Saturday,
August 29th. This is a 4-round USCF rated swiss. Time control
is Game/60 (Game 55 with 5 second delay). Entry fee is $25 on
site, $20 in advance. Play begins at 10:30am sharp, registration
ends at 10:25. Sections: Open, and Under 1700. Prizes: $400
based on 20 paid entries. IM/GM free entry.
Timur Gareev vists Blackstone Chess Center
Jan. 5 -
International Grandmaster Timur Gareev of Uzbekistan
graces us with his presence this week at
the Blackstone Chess Center. GM Gareev is
giving a simultaneous exhibition Saturday, January 10,
at 3pm. He is also playing a four game match with
two time Dos Hermanas ICC Blitz champion Jorge Sammour-Hasbun.
The fee to play in the simul is $10, or just $5 for Blackstone
Chess members.
The match begins Thursday, January 8, at 8pm. Players
will chose for colors in game 1. The time control is
Game in 30 minutes, with no time delay. Games 3 and 4
will be played on Saturday, January 10, at 12 noon.
Gareev finished second in the 2008 New England Masters,
on took first at the Blackstone Chess Festival Open.
his tie break playoff game with IM Justin Sarkar earned
him the title of Festival Champion for 2008.
Jorge Sammour-Hasbun won the grueling Dos Hermanas
ICC Blitz tournament in 2007, and then again in 2008.
Two additional players will be added for a Masters Quad
which is to take place Thursday, January 15, at 8pm. Denys
Shmelov, Massachusetts Champion, will be one of the participants.
Chess enhusiasts are invited to observe the events.
Blackstone Chess Center Opens Doors
Nov. 1 -
The Blackstone Chess Center opened for business
Saturday, November 1. The chess center is home
to the Blackstone Chess Academy. It is located
at 250 Main Street
(The Grant)
in the downtown Pawtucket Arts and Culture district.
The center will be open every Thursday evening starting
November 6, and Saturday afternoons, starting November 15.
Special events and other activities will take place on
other days, and will be posted to the calendar. A formal
opening ceremony is coming soon.
2008 Historical News
The following stories are from the first year
of the Blackstone Chess Academy, when we were
located up the street, at the historic To Kalon Club.
Erenburg, Gareev Top Festival Field
Aug. 18 -
GM Sergey Erenburg went undefeated to win the 2008
New England Masters with a score of 7.5/9. GM Timur
Gareev led the field after defeating local favorite
Jorge Sammour-Hasbun in round 4. But in the final
round Erenburg slipped ahead of Gareev by defeating
Parker Zhao, while Timur was held to a draw by IM Jacek
Stopa of Poland.
Parker Zhao and Victor Kaminski each earned their
first IM norm. A full report and links to ongoing
media coverage and photo galleries can be found
at the
New England Masters
web site.
The Blackstone Chess Festival Open ended in a three way
tie amongst Gareev, IM Justin Sarkar, and GM Keith Arkell.
Gareev defeated Sarkar in the blitz playoff, to earn the
tie-break bonus.
Full report, standings, and games from the event.
Media coverage
June Blitz Splits
June 27 - Sinclair Banks and Jim Dickson
shared first place in the BCA June Blitz.
It was a 4 round double-swiss,
game in 7 minutes. They each finished with a score
of 7 wins and one loss in a field of 14 players.
Jim Dickson Runs Blackstone Rapids
June 7 - Expert Jim Dickson prevailed at the
Blackstone Rapids to take 1st place, and $150,
with a score of 2.5-.5. Daniil Mosiyenko and David
Harris shared second, while Miro Reverby took third.
Gary Point claimed the under 2000 prize.
For older articles, see the
2008 News Archive.
For upcoming events, please visit our
Online Calendar.
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