The Blackstone Chess Club celebrated its fourth anniversary last year. The Fifth Blackstone Chess Festival ran the weekend of October 26-28 2012, and the Anniversary Championship, which celebrated the fourth anniversary of the dedicated chess center in Pawtucket (250 Main Street), took place Sunday November 11, 2012.
The highlights of the Club’s first four years were posted on their web site: blackstonechess.com — the best games, the most interesting positions, the notable upsets, theoretical novelties, photos, inside stories, and more.
The club has regular Thursday evening (7-11PM) and Saturday afternoon (1-5PM) meetings. Thursday rated games are G/90 with a 10 second increment. Games begin at 7:30pm. Rated and unrated games take place on Saturday. 2SS Quads and training games are offered when nothing else is on the calendar.
Drop-ins are welcome. The club has hot and cold beverages on site, snacks, WiFi, a comfortable skittles and waiting area, and free parking.
The club’s “Pawn Shoppe” carries a wide selection of chess books and gear at competitive prices -- at the club, online, and at select tournaments in New England.
During the past year, a series of Master Classes has been led by USCF Senior Master, FIDE Master, and 3-time New England Champion David Griego. Topics have included Analytical Skills, Strategic Planning, Positional Play, some “need to know” endings, and training games with post-mortem analysis. All analysis was interactive, without the use of computer engines, and presented on the “big screen” -- projected on the wall.
Tournaments were held in a variety of formats each weekend, with at least one feature tournament each month, usually on a Sunday. Here are some of the results of the feature events at the club in the first half of 2012:
Jan. 21 New Year Open: GM Alexander Ivanov 3-0 (G/45).
Feb. 25 Winter Rapids: Ivanov 3-0, IM Jim Rizzitano 2/3 (G/45).
Mar. 17 RI Fall Quads (run by RI Chess): Quad 1 William Smirnov 2.5/3, Quad 2 Kenneth Straus/Earl Salisbury 2/3, Quad 3 Eric Zuberi/Louis Giarrusso 2/3 (G/45).
Mar. 25 Spring Open: Tim Sage 3-0, Boris Zhevelyuk 2.5/3 (G/45).
Apr. 29 Pawtucket Open: David Harris 3-0 (G/45),
May 20 Blackstone Rapids: NM Sinclair Banks 4-0, David Harris 3/4 (G/25+10s inc.).
June 17 Greater Providence Open: Ivanov 3-0, Farzad Abdi 2/3 (G/55). U1800 Johnny Recinos/Sarah Renshaw 2.5/3.
July 1 Summer Knockout Quads: Quad 1 David Harris 2-0, Quad 2, Edmund (Ned) Staples 2-0 2SS (G/60).
July 22 Lime Rock Open: David Harris 3-0, U1800 Alan Sutton 2/3 (G/50).
Noteworthy upsets: David Harris (2151) defeated Robert Perez (2487), Sarah Renshaw (1563) defeated David Harris (2119).
You can visit the Blackstone Chess Club at 250 Main Street, Suite B3, Pawtucket, RI. Like “Blackstone Chess Club” on Facebook to get up to the minute postings on upcoming activities, live reports, and events.
Events are posted on our calendar, blackstonechess.com/calendar, and at masschess.org. |