Chess Mates in the News

Kenilworth Chess Club Champion Arthur Macaspac, who expects to open his Chess Mates cafe soon, is featured in an article in Central New Jersey's Home News & Tribune titled "Chess lover opens cafe in Rahway."

Chess Mates Chess Club Opening Delayed

The Chess Mates Chess Club, located at 1523 Irving St. in Rahway, N.J. and owned/managed by 2010 Kenilworth Champion Arthur Macaspac, will have its Grand Opening at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 1st has postponed its grand opening due to construction delays caused by recent snow storms.  A new date should be announced soon. 

The facility, conveniently located near the Rahway train station, is expected to be open 7 days & 4 nights per week. Some 20 USCF-rated events will be run every month:

• Sundays 5-SS, G/45
• Mondays 4-SS, G/25 (1st & 2nd weeks of the month)
• Tuesdays 3-Round Quads, G/30
• Wednesdays 4-SS, G/30
• Friday 4-SS, 30 moves in 90 + SD/60 (one game per week)
• Saturday 4-SS, G/60 for U2400s

There will be monthly lessons & simuls by Yudasin, plus weekday afternoon skittles (Monday-Thursday) for seniors (12:30-2:15 p.m.) & children (2:30-4:15 p.m.).

For details about lessons, calendar, more detailed directions, membership, and other information visit the Chess Mates website.

Joe Renna's KCC Photos

Joe Renna has posted photos of the Kenilworth Chess Club in a very nice Picasa web album.

Kenilworth Chess Club Calendar Update

The Kenilworth Chess Club's Calendar for the remainder of 2009 has been updated on our site and at the KCC Minutes blog. Here are the highlights:

• September 24 - SY FISH MEMORIAL RATED TOURNAMENT, Rounds 1 and 2. USCF-rated, G/30, 3-SS, EF: TBD.
• October 1 - SY FISH MEMORIAL RATED TOURNAMENT, Rounds 3 and 4. USCF-rated, G/30, 3-SS, EF: TBD.
• October 8 - Garden State Chess League Match -- Karpovs vs. Korchnois
• October 29 - Lecture by NM Scott Massey on "How to Improve" ($5 for anyone).
 See also "To an Adult Chessplayer Who Wants to Improve" on our site.
• November 5 - Kenilworth Quads #2 -- 1st Round. USCF Rated, G/60, 3-RR, EF $10, Prizes $30 to 1st in each quad.
• November 12 -Kenilworth Quads #2 -- Round 2, G/60
• November 19 - Kenilworth Quads, Round 3, G/60
• November 26 - Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday.
• December 10 - Annual Business Meeting.
• December 17 - Annual Holiday Party
• December 24 - Closed for Christmas Eve
• December 31 -- New Year's Eve, club will be open only until 11:00 pm. Remember: no alcohol is allowed at the club.

All the King's Men

All the King's Men chess store and club is featured in an article from the Gloucester County Times today titled "Pitman chess store owner has all the right moves." The article talks about how owner Stephen Dick turned an online store into a bricks and mortar chess and games emporium. This is definitely a place to visit this summer (see map), perhaps in conjunction with playing in the 2nd Annual Greater Pitman Open Chess Championship, a 4-Round Game-60 Swiss tournament on August 15th, directed by Dick. According to Susan Polgar, among those confirmed to play in the Grand Prix event are GM-elect Alex Lenderman, GM Michael Rohde, IM Bryan Smith, NM Dr. Leroy Dubeck and "likely, but not confirmed players" IM Dean Ippolito, IM Kirill Kuderinov, FM Boris Privman, and FM Tommy Bartel. Lenderman will play a simul Friday, August 14^th at 7:30 p.m. at All the King's Men, with an entry fee of $20 and prizes of $50 for a win and $25 for a draw.

Hillside Library Seeks Chess Instructor

The Director at the Hillside Public Library is in search of a volunteer chess instructor or club manager to offer a chess program this summer. She writes: "Due to limited funds, we are looking for a volunteer, but the schedule could be as often or as infrequent as necessary and we can schedule evenings as well. I can offer you some very interested, responsive kids and great appreciation from the community!" If you are interested in helping out, contact:

Miriam Bein, Director
Hillside Public Library
Liberty & Hillside Avenues
Hillside NJ 07205
mbein@hillsidepl.org
www.hillsidepl.org
voice 973-923-4413 x408
fax 973-923-0506

West Orange vs. Kenilworth

Members of the Kenilworth CC Team

Members of the West Orange CC Team

The West Orange Chess Club visited the Kenilworth Chess Club on Thursday night for a friendly team match, which the home team won 6-4. The Chess Coroner did some "live" blogging during the event and has posted some of the games, and I have analyzed my own game against fellow Expert Crawford Daniels (see diagram below). Before the match started, there was some talk of organizing a club-based chess league, which was generally well received, though few would want to have to travel very far for the matches. Many of our members recall the successful Raritan Valley, North Jersey and Central Jersey Chess Leagues of the 70s-80s, which included club, college, and industrial teams meeting on a weekly basis. Someone should really put together a little history of the league and collect some of the games before it all fades from memory.

Goeller - Daniels
White to play.

East Brunswick Public Library Chess Club

A burgeoning chess club meets about twice a month on alternate Saturdays and Sundays from 1:30-3:00 p.m. at the East Brunswick Public Library in East Brunswick, NJ. Over 30 kids and their parents and a few adult players were in attendance when I visited recently. Kids ranged in age from 5- to 12-years-old, so I was amazed by the general order and quiet of the scene. But it was the library, after all, and this was chess! Future meetings are as follows:

• Sunday, December 9
• Saturday, January 12
• Sunday, January 20
• Saturday, February 2
• Sunday, February 17

Holmdel Chess Club

The chess class I teach is located very near the Holmdel Chess Club, which meets on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. - midnight in the Holmdel Senior Center at 4 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel, NJ (basically behind the Garden State Arts Center if you are looking on a map). The club has an excellent balance between older and younger members, including several youngsters ranked at the top of their age group in the U.S. It also has both strong masters (including a number of NMs and FMs in attendance) and beginners. It's a great club for my students, and I hope to get some of them at least to check it out. Club dues are $25 residents and $30 non-residents (but no one hassled me to pay anything during my visit.) Boards and pieces are provided. The club sponsors lectures and team matches, and I saw several informal lectures on my visit -- including one by an 8-year-old champ to some older beginners. Highly recommended.

West Orange Chess Club

The West Orange Chess Club meets Tuesday nights from 8:00 p.m. - 12 midnight in the Degnan Memorial Park's Field House, 650 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange (not far from Rt. 280). They have an excellent location overlooking a lake in a quiet corner of the park. It is a very nice club with lots of chances for casual play. Contact: John Hagerty (973-736-3433) for more information.

Here are two pictures from the Kenilworth Chess Club's visit to West Orange last Tuesday. I have annotated the games Massey-Radomskyj, Goeller-Rosas, and Demetrick-Corcoran in previous posts. We won the match 6.5-3.5 on ten boards, but all the games were closely contested.

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Kenilworth CC at West Orange