Boston Blitz Management Changes

Effective immediately Jorge Sammour-Hasbun is now the Manager of the Boston Blitz. Jorge will handle all player personnel decisions henceforth, including team makeup and lineup determination. Jorge has been acting in this capacity unofficially since the 2008 playoffs started.

Matt Phelps will move to Assistant Manager and continue to take care of all the logistical and technical considerations. “I would like to thank Mark LaRocca, whom I’m replacing, for his time as Assistant Manager. His help with relaying, game analysis articles, etc. has been invaluable and I hope it continues. It was a great comfort to know he was around every week,” said Phelps. “I also would like to thank Chris Bird who volunteered countless hours running the most awesome website in the USCL, Boston-Blitz.com. And I can’t forget Phillip Nutzman, our official TD, ultra-reliable board two relayer and laptop lugging helper. Thanks Nut-man!”

“The Blitz also want to thank the USCL sponsors PokerStars.com, and the Massachusetts Chess Association for their generous team sponsorship. Many others contributed to the team; see the list of “Blitz Buddies” and “Blitz Backers” on the team’s home page. Most of all, thanks to all the fans who watched, blogged, critisized (!), and cheered us on.”

75th Greater Boston Open, October 26, 2008

The 75th Greater Boston Open, organized by the Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA), will take place on October 26, 2008, at the Kennedy Senior Center (MetroWest Chess Club) in Natick.

The tournament will be split into 4 sections, Open, Under 2000, Under 1700 and Under 1400, each of which will be a 4 round Swiss with rounds at 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:15 pm and 5:30 pm.  The time control for all games is G/60 minutes.

The prize fund for the tournament is guaranteed at $1700 and the entry fees are low at just $39 ($45 onsite, please see MACA tournament website for complete details) and there are discounts for unrated players, seniors and additional family members.  Onsite registration is between 8:30 am – 9:30 am.

For more details please contact George Mirijanian at (978) 345-5011 or visit the MACA tournament website.

Shmelov Ties for 1st at New England Open

Blitz player Denys Shmelov tied for 1st along with GM Alex Ivanov and Alex Cherniack in the 68th New England Open held this past holiday weekend in Boxborough, MA, from August 30-September 1.

Going into the last round Ivanov had pole position with 4½/5, having beaten Shmelov in round 4 and needing just a draw to clinch the title since Shmelov had requested a half-point bye.  However, Cherniack spoiled the party for the only GM in the field to ensure a three-way tie at the top.

Blitz alumni IM Igor Foygel and FM Paul MacIntyre finished tied for 4th-6th with 4/6 while current Blitz player IM David Vigorito finished in 7th-9th with 3½/6 having lost to team-mate Shmelov in round 2.

The event was sponsored by Blitz Benefactor, the Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA).

68th New England Open, Aug 30-Sep 1, 2008

The 68th New England Open will take place at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Massachusetts from August 30-September 1.

There will be 2 schedules to choose from, a 3-day and a 2-day, in each of the 4 sections available, Open, Under 2000, Under 1800 and Under 1600.  The 2-day schedule starts on August 31.

Entry for the tournament is just $49 if paid by August 28 or $60 onsite.  Registration for the 3-day is from 8:45 am-9:45 am on August 30 or for the 2-day from 8:30 am-9:30 am on August 31.

There will also be four other events: the New England Open Scholastic K-12 Grades to be held on August 30, the New England Open Scholastic K-3 Grades to be held on August 31 and the New England Open Scholastic K-6 Grades and the New England Open One Day which will both be held on September 1.

Complete details regarding these events, which are run by the Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA), can be found at the tournament website.

Massachusetts Chess Association Sponsors Blitz

The Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA) has become the Boston Blitz’s first ever Blitz Benefactor, sponsoring them for the 2008 USCL season.

MACA is an educational non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote chess in Massachusetts and this sponsorship deal fits well with MACA’s missions in that it has enabled the Blitz to attract some of the best players in the state to represent them for 2008, looking for that elusive first USCL Championship.

MACA’s sponsorship of the Blitz also leads by example for other state associations across the country and the effects of their sponsorship could potentially benefit every other team in the USCL if others decide to follow suit to help support their own professional chess players.

“We are all very excited about MACA’s sponsorship,” stated Matt Phelps, Manager of the Blitz, “it provided that extra incentive to allow us to retain the services of several key players from last year and to add David (Vigorito), Marc (Esserman) and Charles (Riordan) to an already explosive team.”  Matt went on to add “it is also a two-way street for us in terms of the exposure we can provide to MACA via our website and flyer initiatives that were launched last year.  We are also intending on live broadcasting every game we play this season via the Blitz website increasing the number of online spectators for all of our games.”

Prior to this sponsorship, most of the Blitz’s funds had come from the USCL’s sponsorship deal with Pokerstars.com and via personal donations made through the Blitz Buddy sponsorship initiative launched last year.  The Blitz continue to seek further sponsorship for the team and interested parties can visit the Blitz Sponsorship Page.

Blitz All-Star Wins State Scholastic Championship

Boston Blitz All-Star, Chris Williams, won the 2008 Massachusetts State Scholastic Championship (Spiegel Cup) held on February 10th, 2008.  Chris stormed through the field with a perfect 4/4, arguably sealing the title in the 3rd round with a win over 2nd seed Bennet Pellows.

Chris Williams

With the win, Chris qualifies to represent Massachusetts at the Denker Tournament of Champions, which will take place in August at the US Open in Dallas.  The full crosstable from the event can be found on the MACA website.