New England Sports Academy, or NESA, in Westwood is one of the foremost sports and recreation facilities in Massachusetts, having served the community in its current location at University Avenue since 2003. Two years ago I was invited to join NESA to start a new program teaching academic subjects and chess, to complement its curriculum that to date had emphasized mostly physical education. I am happy to report that the chess program has fl ourished, with over 40 students having taken lessons with me and other chess instructors in that two-year period.
Regular chess at three different levels forms the mainstay of class time, with each hour divided between casual play and lessons on the demo board. But without Bughouse, no NESA Chess hour would be complete. Even more addictive is Vampire Chess (my own creation) and Vampire Bughouse (which is Bughouse with Vampire rules added in). If you want to know the rules of Vampire Chess (Bughouse), send me an e-mail at nsterling@nesacademy.com. It’s absolutely crazy.
Our biggest success so far, however, aside from the classes and Vampire Chess, is our fi rst USCF-rated tournament (12-round G/20) that was held last August over three Monday nights with 4 rounds per night. We had 18 Scholastic players and 2 adults in one Open section. A fi rst place prize went to the top player each night, and a fi rst and second grand prize were awarded to the top two players for the entire event. The winners were as follows:
First Place on 8/15/11: Max Stone
First Place on 8/22/11: Alvin Tan & Michael Ostrovskiy (tied)
First Place on 8/29/11: Alvin Tan
First & Second Grand Prizes: Alvin Tan & Michael Ostrovskiy (tied)
It was outstanding to have such a high turnout at our fi rst tournament, and we look forward to many future events. Eventually we should have some teams going too. I am really excited at the prospects of expanding chess instruction and USCF/MACA events at NESA.
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