Bartell Simul Postponed to May 29th

Just a quick note to pass along the news that FIDE Master Tommy Bartell has postponed his planned simultaneous exhibition at the Kenilworth Chess Club (see my previous post) until May 29, 2008. (He is going to play in a North America FIDE master invitational event which will take him out of town on the 15th.) I plan on attending and I hope to see some of the West Orange regulars there! I will get an update on the ongoing quads from TD Charlie Hart and see if I can post a mid-point, or "half-time" report on this double round robin event this weekend. If anyone has games or commentary on the event please let me know.

Best regards,

Glen Hart

Tommy Bartell Plans Kenilworth Simul

FIDE Master and two-time New Jersey State Champion Tommy Bartell will give a simul at the Kenilworth Chess Club on Thursday, May 15th. Here are the details from John Moldovan's e-mail...hope you can make it!

The Kenilworth Chess Club is very pleased to announce that FIDE Master Thomas Bartell will be giving a simultaneous exhibition on May 15th.
Tom, who won the N.J. State Championship in 2004 (= 1st) & 2005, will take Black on half the boards.

Here are the full details :

Simultaneous Exhibition
by FM Thomas Bartell
May 15th, 2008
8:30 p.m.

Kenilworth Community Center
575 Boulevard
Kenilworth, NJ 07033

$10 entry fee
If you beat Tom, you'll get your money back!

Non-members welcome!

Please arrive early (the club opens at 8 p.m.) so we can have everyone seated and ready to go at starting time.

2008 WOCC Championship Games

Here are three games played by the top finishers in this year's edition of the club championship. Bryan Cohen submitted his 5th round victory over the always dangerous Bob West and Victor Rosas - our new club champion - submitted his win over Bryan, who finished in second place, and his draw with defending club champion Peter Radomskyj from the final round, enabling him to secure sole possession of first place. I will endeavor to format these in the on-line chess game viewer later this week. I am presently experiencing some technical difficulties with my high speed internet connection at home and only have access from the office. Thanks for your patience and enjoy the games.

West, Robert (1746) – Cohen, Bryan (1858)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. c5 Bg7 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Nf3 c6 7. b4 Qc7 8. Bd3 e5 9. de Nxe5 10. Be2 Nxf3+ 11. Bxf3 Ne4 12. Bb2 Nxc3 13. Qb3 d4 14. 0-0 Be6 15. Qc2 Nd5
16. Bxd5 Bxd5 17. Qd3 0-0 18. e4 Be6 19. f4 b5 20. Rf2 Rad8 21. f5 Bc4 22. Qh3 Qe7 23. Rf4 Qg5 24. Bc1 Qh5 25. Qxh5 gxh5 26. Rh4 d3 27. Rxh5 d2? 28. Bxd2 Rxd2
29. Rg5 Kh8 30. Re1 Rfd8 31. e5 Rd1 32. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 33. Kf2 Rf1+ 34. Ke3 Bh6 0-1

Rosas,Victor - Cohen,Bryan [D71]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 d5 4.cxd5 Bg7 5.g3 Nxd5 6.Bg2 c5 7.e4 Nf6 8.d5 0-0 9.Nc3 Nfd7 10.0-0 h6 11.Be3 f5 12.Nh4 Kh7 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Qc2 Ne5 15.Bxc5 Na6 16.Bd4 Qe8 17.Rae1Nb4 18.Qb1 Ned3 19.Bxg7 Nxe1 20.Bxf8 Nxg2 21.Kxg2 Qxf8 22.Re1 Bd7 23.Re5 Qf6 24.f4
Rf8 25.a3 Na6 26.Qe1 Rf7 27.b4 Rg7 28.Kf2 Rf7 29.Qe3 b6 30.Ne2 Nc7 31.Nd4 Nb5
32. Ndxf5 Bxf5 33.Nxf5 Nd6 34.Nd4 Nc4 35.Qd3+ 1-0


Rosas,Victor - Radomskyj,Peter [A45]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.f3 Nf6 5.d5 Qb6 6.Bc1 e6 7.e4 d6 8.c4 Be7 9.Bd3 0-0
10.Ne2 Nbd7 11.b3 exd5 12.exd5 Ne5 13.Bc2 Nh5 14.0-0 f5 15.Nbc3 Bd7 16.f4 Ng6 17.Qd3 Nf6 18.Ng3 Nh4 19.Re1 Rae8 20.Bb2 Bd8 21.Qf1 Ng4 22.Qd3 Bf6 23.Na4 Qa5 24.Bc3 Bxa4
25.Bxa5 Bd4+ 26.Qxd4 cxd4 27.bxa4 Ne3 28.Re2 Nxc4 29.Rxe8 Rxe8 30.Re1 Ne3 31.Re2 Rc8 32.Bd3 g6 33.Bd2 Nxd5 34.Re6 Rc6 35.Re8+ Kg7 36.Ne2 Rb6 37.Nxd4 Rb2 38.Nb3 Nxg2
39.Kxg2 Nxf4+ 40.Kg3 Nxd3 41.Re7+ Kg8 42.Bh6 f4+ 43.Bxf4 Nxf4 44.Kxf4 Rxa2 45.a5 b6 46.Rxa7 bxa5 47.Nxa5 Rxh2 48.Kg5 Rh5+ 49.Kf6 Rf5+ 50.Ke6 Rf8 51.Nc6 ½-½



Oh, and by the way, here are some scores that I neglected to post from the final make-up rounds of the championship. As you can see from the games above, Rosas v. Radomskyj was drawn and Victor Rosas beat Bryan Cohen. Also, John Hagerty defeated Nicholas Kant, Harvey Susswein defeated Ken Ganning, Paul Corcoran beat Harry Katz and I drew with Leon Hariton. Other reports: Victor Rosas defeated Bob West and Charles Kirck defeated Nicholas Kant. That should bring the reporting up to date. Thanks.

Victor Rosas is 2008 Club Champion!

It's official...Victor Rosas is the new club champion after drawing in his final game with defending club champion Peter Radomskyj to finish with a strong 4 1/2 out of 5 points. Bryan Cohen and Harvey Susswein both had fine tournament performances and finished tied for second with 4 points each. Peter Radomskyj came third at 3 1/2.
Please join me in extending hearty congratulations to Victor and the other strong finishers who made this year's event a memorable one. Full results, some games and the detailed announcement for our next event (double round robin quads to be run by Mr. Charles Hart, tentatively set to start on April 22nd) will be posted this weekend. Thank you.

West Orange C.C. Make-up and Round 5 Results

Following are the missing results from earlier rounds:

Davenport, Rodney v. Ellsman, Mark 1/2-1/2
Rosas, Victor v. Cohen, Bryan Postponed
Burn, Murray v. West, Robert 0-1
Leffew, Richard v. Volpe, John 1-0
Hagerty, John v. Kant, Nicholas Postponed

Following are the available Round 5 results:

Rosas, Victor - Radomskyj, Peter Postponed
West, Robert - Cohen, Bryan 0-1
Susswein, Harvey - Ganning, Ken Postponed
Leffew, Richard - Stephan, Walter 1-0
Katz, Harry - Corcoran, Paul Postponed
Hariton, Leon - Hart, Glen Postponed
Trieste, Ed - Ellsman, Mark 1/2-1/2
Fortunato, Joe - Nayak, Mohan 0-1
Kant, Nicholas - Kirck, Charles Postponed
Paris, Shea - Hagerty, John 1/2-1/2
Levanda, Mark - Davenport, Rodney 1/2-1/2

John Volpe had the full point bye.

Please contact me with any questions or leave a comment.

Best regards,

Glen Hart

WOCC Championship Make-up Results and Round 5 Pairings

The results from the last two weeks of make-ups are as follows:

Ken Ganning - Leon Hariton 1-0
Nicholas Kant - Mark Ellsman 1/2 - 1/2
West, Robert v. Rosas, Victor Postponed
Stephan, Walter, v. Katz, Harry 1/2 - 1/2
Hagerty, John v. Hart, Glen 1/2 - 1/2

I am not sure of the following results, but will post them tomorrow night:

Davenport, Rodney v. Ellsman, Mark Postponed
Rosas, Victor v. Cohen, Bryan Postponed
Burn, Murray v. West, Robert Adjourned
Leffew, Richard v. Volpe, John Postponed
Hagerty, John v. Kant, Nicholas Postponed

Following are the Round 5 pairings for tomorrow evening (Tuesday, March 18th). The first player has the white pieces:

Rosas, Victor - Radomskyj, Peter
West, Robert - Cohen, Bryan
Susswein, Harvey - Ganning, Ken
Leffew, Richard - Stephan, Walter
Katz, Harry - Corcoran, Paul
Hariton, Leon - Hart, Glen
Trieste, Ed - Ellsman, Mark
Fortunato, Joe - Nayak, Mohan
Kant, Nicholas - Kirck, Charles
Paris, Shea - Hagerty, John
Levanda, Mark - Davenport, Rodney

John Volpe has the full point bye.

Please contact me with any questions or leave a comment.

Best regards,

Glen Hart

WOCC Championship Round 4 Results and Revised Schedule

Here are the available Round 4 results from the ongoing 2008 club championship:

West, Robert v. Rosas, Victor Postponed
Cohen, Bryan v. Susswein, Harvey 1-0
Corcoran, Paul v. Burn, Murray 0-1
Nayak, Mohan v. Radomskyj, Peter 0-1
Ganning, Ken v. Hariton, Leon Postponed
Stephan, Walter, v. Katz, Harry Adjourned
Hart, Charles v. Kant, Nicholas 1-0
Hagerty, John v. Hart, Glen Postponed
Kirck, Charles v. Leffew, Richard 0-1
Volpe, John v. Paris, Shea 0-1
Fortunato, Joe v. Trieste, Ed 1-0
Davenport, Rodney v. Ellsman, Mark Postponed

Mark Levanda drew a full point bye

Please note the following changes in the schedule which have been necessitated by a couple of nights of inclement weather: Tuesday, March 4th is a make-up round; Tuesday, March 11th is a further make-up round and the fifth and final round will be held on Tuesday, March 18th.

As usual, please contact me with any questions...good luck, Glen Hart.

West Orange C.C. Added to NJSCF "Local Chess Blogs" List

I wanted to extend a special welcome to those of you who may have linked to our blog via the New Jersey State Chess Federation's (NJSCF) homepage. I want to thank Aaron Kiedes, the NJSCF website manager for linking us to their homepage. I expect that we'll garner a good deal more exposure for our club through this connection! I will post the results of our WOCC teams in the USATE event as well as the results from Round 4 of the club championship which was played this past Tuesday evening after I confer with John tonight. (I was absent during this round.) And by the way, if you are interested in joining us on Tuesday evenings please leave a comment (you can e-mail me at glen.hart@verizon.net too) and someone from the club will be sure to contact you.

Thank you...Glen Hart

Cohen - Hariton...the verdict from Fritz 11

Here is the game analysis in a quick run that I made through the Fritz 11 engine.

[Event "West Orange CC Championship"]
[Site "West Orange, NJ, USA"]
[Date "2008.01.29"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Bryan Cohen"]
[Black "Leon Hariton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B70"]
[WhiteElo "1858"]
[BlackElo "1707"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11 (15m)"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2008"]

{B70: Sicilian Dragon: 6 g3 and 6 Be2 (without a later Be3)} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 {last book move} 8. f3 {
Consolidates g4} O-O 9. Qd2 Nbd7 (9... Nc6 10. O-O +/=) 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Bh6 (
11. g4 Nb6 +/-) 11... Nb6 (11... Bxh6 !? {looks like a viable alternative} 12.
Qxh6 b5 =) 12. h4 Bd7 (12... d5 13. Nxd5 Nbxd5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7
16. h5 +/=) 13. h5 Nc4 (13... Bxh6 14. Qxh6 Rfc8 15. hxg6 fxg6 16. f4 +/-) 14.
Bxc4 +/- Qxc4 15. g4 Rfc8 ?? {shortens the misery for Black} (15... Kh8 +/-) 16. Bxg7 (16. hxg6 {might be the shorter path} fxg6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qh6+
Kf7 +/-) 16... Kxg7 17. hxg6 fxg6 (17... h5 {doesn't do any good} 18. gxh5 fxg6
19. Qg5 +/-) 18. Qh6+ Kf7 19. g5 e5 (19... Ng8 {praying for a miracle} 20.
Qxh7+ Ke8 +/-) 20. gxf6 exd4 21. Qg7+ (21. Qg7+ Ke8 22. Qe7#) 1-0

Call For Games

OK...the call for games has elicited the following submission, Bryan Cohen's fine attacking win on the white side of the Sicilian Dragon against Leon Hariton in the second round of our current 2008 West Orange club championship...enjoy!

WOCC Champ. - Rd. 3 Results, Rd. 4 Pairings

Here are the results that have been reported so far for Round Three:

Rosas, Victor v. Cohen, Bryan Postponed
Burn, Murray v. West, Robert Adjourned
Radomskyj, Peter v. Hart, Charles 1-0
Hart, Glen v. Ganning, Ken 0-1
Ellsman, Mark v. Stephan, Walter 0-1
Hariton, Leon v. Fortunato, Joe 1-0
Kirck, Charles v. Nayak, Mohan 0-1
Paris, Shea v. Levanda, Mark 1/2-1/2
Katz, Harry v. Davenport, Rodney 1-0
Leffew, Richard v. Volpe, John Postponed
Hagerty, John v. Kant, Nicholas Postponed

Ed Trieste had a full point bye

Here are the Round 4 pairings (for Tuesday, February 26th). As usual, the first name has the white pieces:

West, Robert v. Rosas, Victor
Cohen, Bryan v. Susswein, Harvey
Corcoran, Paul v. Burn, Murray
Nayak, Mohan v. Radomskyj, Peter
Ganning, Ken v. Hariton, Leon
Stephan, Walter, v. Katz, Harry
Hart, Charles v. Kant, Nicholas
Hagerty, John v. Hart, Glen
Kirck, Charles v. Leffew, Richard
Volpe, John v. Paris, Shea
Fortunato, Joe v. Trieste, Ed
Davenport, Rodney v. Ellsman, Mark

Mark Levanda draws the full point bye

If there are any questions please contact either John Hagerty, Victor Rosas or myself...(973.723.7250); glen.hart@skanska.com

Good Luck to all...Glen Hart

Hart to Hart - Round 1 2008 WOCC Championship

Here is a quick example of how a published game might look when posted to our blog (my first round draw in the club championship with Charlie Hart). This was generated through a web site called Chess Publisher using the PGN file I created. There are many other ways to publish games as well (such as using Chessbase and other software programs) which I'll use as I get a little more sophisticated. You can use the board right online to view the game. I'll add light notes at a later date.

Call For Games

All West Orange Chess Club members...please submit one of your games from a club event to me - preferably as a PGN file, but a clear and legible scoresheet is acceptable as well - and I will endeavor to post them to our blog site. See me on Tuesday evening for further details. We'll start with club events and then perhaps we can move to posting other best games of club members. Thanks...Glen Hart

West Orange Chess Club Championship 2008 Third Round Pairings

Following are the Round 3 Pairings for the 2008 edition of the West Orange Chess Club Championship. The round is scheduled for this coming Tuesday evening (February 12th) at 8:00 p.m. As usual, the first player has the white pieces and the second player has the black pieces.

Rosas, Victor v. Cohen, Bryan
Susswein, Harvey v. Corcoran, Paul
Burn, Murray v. West, Robert
Radomskyj, Peter v. Hart, Charles
Hart, Glen v. Ganning, Ken
Ellsman, Mark v. Stephan, Walter
Hariton, Leon v. Fortunato, Joe
Kirck, Charles v. Nayak, Mohan
Paris, Shea v. Levanda, Mark
Katz, Harry v. Davenport, Rodney
Leffew, Richard v. Volpe, John
Hagerty, John v. Kant, Nicholas

Ed Trieste draws the full point bye


If there are any questions please contact either John Hagerty, Victor Rosas or myself (973.723.7250; glen.hart@skanska.com ) Good Luck to all...Glen Hart

2008 WOCC Championship - First Makeup Round Results

In the first make-up round last evening (Tuesday, February 5th), the following results were reported:

Round 1 make-ups and adjournments:

Leffew, Richard - Fortunato, Joseph (Adjournment) 0 - 1
Corcoran, Paul - Levanda, Mark 1 - 0
Hariton, Leon - Trieste, Ed 1 - 0

Round 2 make-up:

Hart, Charles - Hagerty, John 1 - 0

If there are any questions please contact either John Hagerty, Victor Rosas or myself (973.723.7250; glen.hart@skanska.com ). The round three pairings will be posted as soon as they are available this weekend.

Regards...Glen Hart

WOCC Round 2 Results - First make-up Round

Round 2 Results:

Radomskyj, Peter v. Burn, Murray 0 - 1
Stephan, Walter v. Rosas, Victor 0 - 1
West, Robert v. Leffew, Richard 1 - 0
Ganning, Ken v. Corcoran, Paul 0 - 1
Fortunato, Joseph v. Susswein, Harvey Adjourned 0 - 1
Cohen, Bryan v. Hariton, Leon 1 - 0
Hart, Charles v. Hagerty, John Postponed
Levanda, Mark v. Hart, Glen 0 - 1
Nayak, Mohan v. Paris, Shea 1 - 0
Trieste, Ed v. Katz, Harry 0 - 1
Kant, Nicholas v. Ellsman, Mark Postponed
Volpe, John v. Kirck, Charles 0 - 1
Davenport, Rodney Full point bye

In the first make-up round this Tuesday, February 5th, the following games will be played:

Round 1 make-ups and adjournments:

Leffew, Richard - Fortunato, Joseph (Adjournment)
Corcoran, Paul - Levanda, Mark
Hariton, Leon - Trieste, Ed

Round 2 make-up:

Hart, Charles - Hagerty, John

If there are any questions please contact either John Hagerty, Victor Rosas or myself (973.723.7250; glen.hart@skanska.com ) Regards...Glen Hart

WOCC 2008 Club Championship - First Round Results and Second round Pairings

Following are the Round 1 results and the pairings for Round 2 of the 2008 edition of the West Orange Chess Club Championship (see the post below for the dates and times). As usual, the first player is white and the second player is black:

Round 1 Results:

Katz, Harry v. Radomskyj, Peter 0 - 1
Rosas, Victor v. Nayak, Mohan 1 - 0
Hart, Glen v. Hart, Charles 1/2 - 1/2
Leffew, Richard v. Fortunato, Joseph Adjourned
Ellsman, Mark v. Ganning, Ken 0 - 1
Susswein, Harvey v. Volpe, John 1 - 0
Paris, Shea v. Cohen, Bryan 0 - 1
Burn, Murray v. Kant, Nicholas 1 - 0
Kirck, Charles v. Stephan, Walter 0 - 1
Corcoran, Paul v. Levanda, Mark Postponed
Davenport, Rodney v. West, Robert 0 - 1
Hariton, Leon v. Trieste, Ed Postponed
Hagerty, John 1/2 point bye

Round 2 Pairings:

Radomskyj, Peter v. Burn, Murray
Stephan, Walter v. Rosas, Victor
West, Robert v. Leffew, Richard
Ganning, Ken v. Corcoran, Paul
Fortunato, Joseph v. Susswein, Harvey
Cohen, Bryan v. Hariton, Leon
Hart, Charles v. Hagerty, John
Levanda, Mark v. Hart, Glen
Nayak, Mohan v. Paris, Shea
Trieste, Ed v. Katz, Harry
Kant, Nicholas v. Ellsman, Mark
Volpe, John v. Kirck, Charles
Davenport, Rodney Full point bye

If there are any questions please contact either John Hagerty, Victor Rosas or myself (973.723.7250; glen.hart@skanska.com ) Regards...Glen Hart

West Orange Chess Club Championship 2008 First Round Pairings!

Following are the Round 1 Pairings for the 2008 edition of the West Orange Chess Club Championship, which gets underway this coming Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m.

As usual, the first player has the white pieces and the second player has the black pieces. Good luck to all the players!

Katz, Harry v. Radomskyj, Peter
Rosas, Victor v. Nayak, Mohan
Hart, Glen v. Hart, Charles
Leffew, Richard v. Fortunato, Joseph
Ellsman, Mark v. Ganning, Ken
Susswein. Harvey v. Volpe, John
Paris, Shea v. Cohen, Bryan
Burn, Murray v. Kant, Nicholas
Kirck, Charles v. Stephan, Walter
Corcoran, Paul v. Levanda, Mark
Davenport, Rodney v. Hariton, Leon
Trieste, Ed v. Hagerty, John

If there are any questions please contact either John Hagerty, Victor Rosas or myself (973.723.7250; glen.hart@skanska.com )

With best wishes for all...Glen Hart

West Orange Chess Club Championship 2008 Starts!

The USCF-rated 2008 West Orange CC Championship starts on January 22nd. It will be a five round Swiss format over eight weeks with the first time control period of 40 moves in 90 minutes, with each subsequent control at 30 moves in 60 minutes. Half point byes are available in any of the first four rounds. The entry fee is $15. The schedule is as follows:

January 22nd – Round 1

January 29th – Round 2

February 5th – First Postponements and Adjournments Session

February 12th – Round 3

February 19th – Second Postponements and Adjournments Session (Note: those playing in the USATE tournament on February 16th, 17th and 18th can reschedule)

February 26th – Round 4

March 4th – Third Postponements and Adjournments Session

March 11th – Round 5 (Final Round)

West Orange Chess Club meets Tuesday evenings 7 p.m. - 12 midnight at the Toby Katz Community Center, Degnan Park, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052

For entries contact club President and Tournament Director John Hagerty at 973-736-3433 (please call before 10 p.m.)

Assistant Tournament Directors are Victor Rosas (201.618.7248) and Glen Hart (glen.hart@skanska.com or 973.723.7250)


Thank you and good luck to all the entrants!

Glen Hart