| Seasons Greetings, fellow chess friends throughout Connecticut and beyond:
On behalf of the entire membership of the New Britain Chess Club, it is with utmost pleasure to report to my fellow chess friends throughout the chess world that the 5th annual Christmas Party and the 2009 Connecticut State Open Blitz Chess Champ...ionship held at the NBCC on December 22 was an amazing success. A record fifty-nine (59) people attended this speculator evening of activities from 6:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. on December 23, making this the greatest party in NBCC history. It was so delightful to see the overwhelming support from the chess community for our awesome event and the NBCC sincerely appreciated the generosity of those people for their contributions to the party, the raffle, and the silent auction. For those who were unable to attend, it was indeed a star-studded, spectacular, and sensational evening at the “heart of Connecticut chess." This will be an evening that will be remembered for a very long time.
I also, on behalf of the membership, extend gratitude to Mr. James Celone, Connecticut State Chess Association President, and the CSCA Board of Directors, for giving the NBCC the distinguished honor of co-sponsoring the event with their association again this year. An impressive forty (40) players participated in the event and, after five hours of very spirited and lively competition, returning member and United States Chess Federation National Master Harris Appelman (better known to many as “Appel”) was crowned the 2009 CT Blitz Chess Champion. Congratulations, Harris!
It took many weeks to adequately plan and prepare for the NBCC’s year-end blockbuster celebration. The NBCC is truly blessed to have such wonderful support, not only from our members, but from the local chess community and beyond. Some players drove great distances to partake in the festivities at the NBCC this year. Some traveled from Queens, New York, Montpelier, Vermont, and Longmeadow, MA. Even in Connecticut, some of players made the one hour trip from Milford, Bethel, Danbury, Stafford Springs, and Seymour. It was such a lovely evening to see so many of our friends throughout the Northeast and to have an opportunity to see many new people. Overall, seeing some many friends of the NBCC of all ages, past and present, enriching the evening beyond expectation for all.
The following people deserve special recognition for their significant contributions to this incredible event.
ALL-STAR EXCUTIVE TEAM OF NBCC TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS
As always, our esteemed crew did a phenomenal and professional job managing the event.
Registration: Al Pinto, Randy Shane, and Emily Pond
Pairings: Chief NBCC TD Randy Shane
Floor TD: Emily Pond
Score Management: Al Pinto (his role was especially important!)
FOOD COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Serving on the food committee were the NBCC officers: Joe Mansigian, Marcus Komons, Andris Strazdins, and Bob Kozlowski.
Contributors to the party were Al Cabot, John and James Nitz, and Lisa, Quartette club bartender, who each brought a delicious side dish.
WINNERS OF THE ANNUAL NBCC SILENT AUCTION
Last month, member Bill Lindberg donated over 150 books in his collection to the NBCC. These books were auctioned off at our party. The following people bid the highest on their respective lots of books. All proceeds from the auction were donated to the club.
John NitzJerry Aiyathurai (he and his son, Jonathan, are newest NBCC members)
Bill Montross
Stuart Mushala
Arunas “Rooney” Simonaitis (also our newest NBCC member from Queens, NY)
Roy Beavers
Michael Cafiero
Doug Fiske (donated $50 for one lot of books, I think that is a club record!)
USCF NM Ted McHugh
Marcus Komons
WINNERS OF THE ANNUAL NBCC RAFFLE
This year, Bill Montross and Marcus Komons made donations to the annual NBCC raffle. Tickets for each prize were $3 each and Andris Strazdins was in charge of selling the tickets. The proceeds from the raffle were also donated to the club.
And the winners were,
John Nitz – he won an ornate mosaic-slate chess board donated by Bill Montross
Jozef Madej – he won a House of Staunton chess set donated by Marcus Komons
SPECIAL AUCTION
In addition to the silent auction and the raffle of chess books and equipment, Kevin “Z” Zimmerman held a separate silent auction for a beautiful decorated packaged fruit basket that he purchased. The highest bidder on his awesome prize was Brian Kosnoff ($45). “Z” donated $15 to the NBCC.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Brian Kosnoff was in charge of capturing some more memorable moment on camera. Incidentally, Brian is in the process of searching for new hosting sites for the NBCC website. Due to server problems, our current site is down.
ENTERTAINMENT
Our club’s entertainment was provided by the illustrious and magnificent Andris Strazdins, who put everyone in a festive and joyous mood by playing Christmas carols on his harmonica. Unfortunately, I have to admit to you fine people that, in my haste in cleaning up at 12:30 a.m., I accidentally broke one of Andy’s harmonicas. Oh, shoot! There goes my membership! Oh, not to fret folks, Andy assured me that his harmonica was already broken and that he has two more in his musical collection.
RESULTS OF THE 2009 CT STATE OPEN BLITZ CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
Before announcing the winners, I do want to recognize USCF NM Zimel Livshits for his outstanding performance of 8-1 in the preliminaries. However, because of a headache, Mr. Livshits was unable to participate in the second half of the tournament. However, the NBCC sincerely thanks him participating. I also wish to thank our friends from the UConn Chess Club, Tom Hartmeyer and John Fikiet, who each made a generous $10 contribution the prize fund. Thanks, guys!
Whew, without further ado, here were the winners of the Blitz event.
CHAMPIONSHIP
1ST PLACE AND 2009 CT BLITZ CHESS CHAMPION
USCF NM Harris Appelman
Won 8 out of 9, $100, and an engraved trophy (which was donated by Bill Montross)
2ND PLACE AND 2008 CT BLITZ CHESS CHAMPION
USCF NM Ted McHugh
Won 7.5 out of 9 and $60
3RD PLACE
FM Nelson Castaneda
Won 7 out of 9 and $40
4TH PLACE TIE
USCF NM Dennis Prawira and FM Danny Rozovsky
They each scored 5.5 out of 9 and won $10
RESERVE SECTION 1
1ST PLACE TIE
Jason Lenore and Expert James Nitz
Each scored 4 out of 5 and won $10
RESERVE SECTION 2
1ST PLACE
Marcus Komons
Won 5.5 out of 6 and won $20
RESERVE SECTION 3
1ST PLACE
Dennis Himes
Won 3 out of 4 and won $20
A total of $400 was collected for the tournament. 10 percent, or $40, of the fees was remitted to the NBCC and 20 percent, or $80, will be remitted to the CSCA. The Holland System was used to group players in preliminary sections and the assignment of players into each qualifying section was based on each player’s Quick Chess rating. The time control for this event was G/5, 2.
Sadly, this will be my final e-mail of 2009. The 2009 Newsletter is complete and, once our club website is up, Brian informed that he will post it on www.newbritainchessclub.com. I did distribute a few copies of the huge twenty-eight (28) page report at the party. In the meantime, I feel that it is most appropriate to end this e-mail by including what I wrote in my year-end commentary in the annual NBCC newsletter.Until we meet again at the club, on-line, at Borders, at a tournament, or at some NBCC function, I extend my holiday wishes for health and happiness to you and your family. May the New Year bring peace and prosperity to all.
Your friend in chess,
Robert Kozlowski
====================================================
TAKEN FROM 2009 NBCC NEWSLETTER
BOB KOZLOWSKI’S COMMENTARY
It goes almost without saying that 2009 will go down in the Connecticut chess history books as one of the greatest years at the NBCC. It ceases to amaze me what our club accomplished this year, let alone in the last five. More milestones occurred this year than in any other in our club’s very-long established history. Before closing this chapter in NBCC history, I want to briefly recap on our club’s milestones of 2009. In addition, I am also concluding by sharing a few of my ideas that I think could benefit our club in its continued growth.
Here were the NBCC’s major highlights or milestones that occurred in 2009:
1. The NBCC made its first appearance on television, because of the efforts of Rob Roy, for a new series on PBS titled “All Things Connecticut”.
2. A club record twenty-four past or present members participated in the 2009 USATE. Making national chess history, three of our six teams won a prize, one for Top Connecticut Team, one for Top U2000 Team, and one for Top Team Name.
3. On a picture-perfect day on July 19, the 2009 New Britain Summer Open, held at the New Britain Quartette Club, attracted seventy-eight players throughout the Northeast, including a chess player visiting from Mexico City. This was without doubt the greatest event in NBCC history.
4. For the first time at the NBCC, the membership unanimously decided that, with the exception of Blitz Chess, all tournaments starting on or after July 1, 2009 would be sectioned in order to give our members a more pleasurable playing experience.
5. Because of the sectioning of club tournaments, more of our members had an opportunity to win first place in their section and, for the first time in NBCC history, ten of our members in a mere one year (Andres Montiel, Randy Shane, Leonid Stolov, Jozef Madej, Brian Kosnoff, Kevin Zimmerman, Angel Zayas-Garcia, Doug Pence, George Himes, and John Twombley) accomplished just that.
6. Emily Pond became the first woman USCF Local Tournament Director in the history of the NBCC.
7. Incredibly, the all-time record for the current number of tournament directors at the NBCC rose from five to a staggering seven, when Doug Pence and Al Pinto eagerly joined our esteemed TD staff in 2009.
8. FM Nelson Castaneda became the first member in thirty-eight years to win three major tournaments at the NBCC in one year, for earning first place in the 2009 Oktoberfest Open, the 2009 NBCC Championship, and the 2009 New Britain Summer Games.
9. The club membership reached one of the highest in at least the last six years, if not since the 1990s, climbing to an astounding ninety-four in late August.
10. Nearly all members who participated in the annual Connecticut State Open (a non-club event) earned a place or class title, probably a NBCC first.
Despite all these amazing achievements, I believe that our club still has room for growth, especially in the areas of scholastic chess and club matches.
Historically, adults have been members of our organization. I know this for a fact because, for nearly fifteen years, I was its youngest member. Over the last five years, about ten of Connecticut’s chess youths, five of whom are currently under the age of twenty and are members (James Nitz, Danny Rozovsky, Max Krall, Leonid Stolov, and Danny Pascetta) have participated in tournaments at the club. In the last few years, Marcus Komons and I have frequently discussed the idea of arranging a scholastic tournament at the club. Since the NBCC really has no experience in organizing these complicated events, we sought the advice from David Aldi, Connecticut State Chess Association Scholastic Chess Director and an expert in the field of organizing scholastic chess tournaments, about ways to successfully manage and coordinate a youth chess event. Basically, Mr. Aldi told us that, in order to run a great scholastic chess event, there must be adequate planning and a constant line of communication between the directors, the students, and the parents. In short, the responsibilities can be overwhelming, much more than organizing non-scholastic chess events. Although our club has the staff and the facility to host and organize such an event, for the meantime, my fellow tournament directors will leave directing scholastic chess tournaments to the professionals.
Because of our club’s growth, which is not only measured by the number of members, but by their overall playing strength, our organization has maintained its status as Connecticut’s strongest for many decades. Unfortunately though, because of this, our club has not been able to hold a competitive match with other Connecticut chess clubs in many years. Over the last few years, some members have expressed interest in having a match with the Marshall Chess Club or the Boylston Chess Club, but nothing concrete has been planned yet. This year, there has been some conversation about organizing a match with the UConn CC. Because of our clubs close proximity, a match with their club is more likely. More recently, Bill Montross, a member of the Burlington, Vermont Chess Club and the NBCC, said that members of his club want to hold a match with ours sometime next year. As of the publication of this newsletter, our club is still in the planning stage. With hard work, the NBCC can make this match happen.
2009 will be remembered as one of the most exciting years in NBCC history. Though, there were certain times during the year where our administrative staff was extremely overloaded by having to deal with many complex club issues. Juggling these issues was even a more difficult task. I personally managed to stay afloat during those times, but there were many occasions where my fellow officers and I considered taking a sabbatical from club management for a few months.
From my observations, despite the somewhat heated debates about relocating the club, our members do deeply care about the welfare and future of our organization. Furthermore, I have come to the conclusion that no venue should ever determine a club’s existence and that a club is only as great as its members make it. Of course folks, we must be practical. Our members truly deserve a decent venue that has an atmosphere suitable to play chess. However, we must come to some agreement that we can not search indefinitely for sites that will have every amenity, because I surmise that the rent at these locations will far exceed what most people might be willing to pay in dues merely to play chess.
The bottom line is this: It is essential that the NBCC officers proceed with the process of relocating our club with special care, since any hasty decision could seriously affect the future of our organization. The more carefully our officers plan their approach in our club’s transition process, the more successful our treasured club and satisfied our members will be.
My esteemed team of club officers, directors, and our webmaster wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. They also thank you for supporting the NBCC.
President: Joseph Mansigian
Vice President: Robert Kozlowski
Treasurer: Major Andris Strazdins
Secretary: Marcus Komons
USCF Local TDs: Randy Shane, Emily Pond, Ed Scimia, Robert Kozlowski
USCF Club TDs: Doug Pence, Al Pinto, Marcus Komons
Webmaster: Brian Kosnoff
During these most uncertain economic times, I wish you and your family all the best of health and happiness. I also want to thank you for your friendship.
The membership currently stands at eighty-six.
Your friend in chess,
Robert Kozlowski (“Dr. K”) |
