Happy Holidays

The Garden State Chess League wishes its teams, players and their supporters the happiest of holidays.

Join us in Kenilworth on January 2nd, where the top 4 teams (Lehigh Valley, Kenilworth, Hamilton and Newark-McDonald's) will face-off!

Updated Standings

Enter round #4 and the new year, Kenilworth and Lehigh Valley head the GSCL Standings with 2.5 points.

5 of the 9 teams remain undefeated.  

Standings (as of December 24)

	Team	MP	W	L	D	Points
1.	Kenilworth	3	2	0	1	2.5
1.	Lehigh Valley	3	2	0	1	2.5
3.	Hamilton	3	2	1	0	2.0
4.	Newark-McDonald's	2	1	0	1	1.5
5.	Rutgers University	2	0	0	2	1.0
5.	Summit	2	0	0	2	1.0
7.	Chess Mates	3	0	2	1	0.5
7.	DOCA Knights	3	0	2	1	0.5
7.	West Orange	3	0	2	1	0.5

Page updates will be uploaded in a day or 2.

West Orange & Rutgers Tie 2-2

On December 17th in New Brunswick, West Orange and Rutgers played to a 2-2 tie.


Here are the board by board results:

1. (WO) Peter Redomskyj   1 - 0 Michael Goeller (RU)
2. (RU) Aleksey Vishnyakov 1 - 0 Jose Fernandez (WO)
3. (WO) Mike Rodriguez 1 - 0 Robert Forney (RU)
4. (RU) Will Talbot + - (WO forfeited)

Thanks to Alexey for the report.

Lehigh Valley 3 Chess Mates 1

On December 11th, in Rahway, Lehigh Valley beat Chess Mates 3-1.

After Evan Betzenberger staked LV to a 1-0 lead and Guido Kampel tied the score, the odd-numbered boards, where the visitors' NM Matthew O'Brien and the hosts' Michael O'Connor held advantages, became the focus.

Both of the aforementioned stumbled and lost exchanges, however. In the end, Chess Mates' Kevin Dresher lost a winning pawn ending that would have drawn the match while Bruce Davis secured the clincher.

Along the wall (from front to back): O'Brien, Kevin Santo, Davis and Betzenberger of Lehigh Valley. Center row: Dresher, O'Connor and Ralph Warrick of Chess Mates. On the right: December G/90 participants Gabe Moreira and Lev Zibermintz observe.

For 3 of the 4 games, visit Bruce Davis' post.

Kenilworth Downs DOCA 3-1

Kenilworth defeated the Dean Of Chess Academy last night 3-1.

Richard Davisson put DOCA up 1-0 but the visitors' rallied, as Geoff McAuliffe tied the score, Paul Gottleib provided a lead and Jackson Hueckel clinched the victory.

Here are a few pictures from the match:

 Marvin Shumowitz playing a Two Knights Tango vs. Hueckel.

 Pauly Walnuts Todd Jobson playing the Sicilian against McAuliffe.

Paul Gottleib playing an Accelerated Dragon against vs. Angelica Chin.

Post-mortems on boards 3 & 1.

Tuesday's Results

In Tuesday's Garden State League matches, Lehigh Valley defeated Hamilton and Newark-McDonald's defeated Chess Mates, by 3-1 counts.

Thanks to Bruce Davis, who posted lineups, games and photos from Hamilton-LVCA on his chess.com blog. You will also find coverage of the Summit-LVCA draw from 10/24 there.

Here are the current standings:

	Team	MP	W	L	D	Points
1.	Hamilton	3	2	1	0	2.0
2.	Kenilworth	2	1	0	1	1.5
2.	Lehigh Valley	2	1	0	1	1.5
2.	Newark-McDonald's	2	1	0	1	1.5
5.	Summit	2	0	0	2	1.0
6.	Rutgers University	1	0	0	1	0.5
6.	Chess Mates	2	0	1	1	0.5
6.	DOCA Knights	2	0	1	1	0.5
9.	West Orange	2	0	2	0	0.0

Site updates will follow on Friday.

LVCA-Chess Mates Postponed Again

Tomorrow's match between Lehigh Valley and Chess Mates has been postponed for the 2nd time.

Kenilworth-DOCA Re-scheduled

The December match between Kenilworth and the DOCA Knights has been re-scheduled.

It will take place on Thursday, December 5th, in Branchburg, at 8 p.m., instead of Tuesday 12/3.

DOCA has also requested that its other home matches, in March vs. Lehigh Valley and in June vs. Summit, be moved from Tuesdays to Thursdays.

This Week's Results

In Garden State League action this week...

• Hamilton defeated the DOCA Knights 2.5-1.5
• Chess Mates and DOCA finished their suspended match, by tying 2-2
• Kenilworth edged West Orange 2.5-1.5

Updated standings & crosstables

LVCA-Chess Mates Postponed

Friday's match between Lehigh Valley and Chess Mates has been postponed.

Chess Mates-DOCA Update

There have been some developments regarding the postponed Chess Mates-DOCA Knights match since Thursday afternoon:

1. At 7:57 p.m., I proposed that Chess Mates forfeit board 4, because it sent just 3 players to Branchburg on October 8th, and suggested that the match be played at a neutral site.

2. At 8:20, DOCA captain Kevin Chen relayed that Chess Mates' board 2, Jennifer Acon had shown-up to play.

3. After learning that DOCA's corresponding player (a 1428-rated) was not present, I suggested that Kevin C. (1956) substitute, so as to not waste Jennifer's 2nd trip to Branchburg. He agreed to play.

4.  The Board 2 result was Chen 0-1 Acon.

5. The current match score, pending league affirmation, is Chess Mates 1 DOCA Knights 1, with boards 1 and 3 to be played at a later date.

Lehigh Valley Ties Summit In Debut

Lehigh Valley made its GSCL debut tonight in Branchburg and tied Summit 2-2.

Here are the lineups & results, courtesy of Kevin Chen.

Chess Mates-DOCA Postponed

Tonight's Chess Mates-DOCA Knights match has been postponed.

Summit vs. Lehigh Valley remains scheduled.

Matches Re-scheduled For October 24th

Last Tuesday's matches in Branchburg were postponed because the facility was unavailable.

Chess Mates vs. the DOCA Knights and Summit vs. Lehigh Valley will take place on Thursday, October 24th. (not the previously posted 10/22 & 10/29)

Kenilworth & Rutgers Tie 2-2

The Kenilworth CC and Rutgers U. played to a 2-2 tie last night in New Brunswick.

Jackson Hueckel and Dr. Geoff McAuliffe won for Kenilworth while Rutgers received victories from Robert Forney and Aleksey Vishnyakov.

Here are some photos from the start of the match and afterward:

Early action on boards 1 and 3: Michael Goeller, Hueckel, Forney, Greg Tomkovich

 Board 2: Vishnyakov versus Donald Carrelli getting underway.

 Hueckel and Goeller discuss their game.

McAuliffe and Shai Horowitz examine the 4th board battle.

Rutgers' Home Site & Dates

Site for Rutgers' home matches:
Plangere Writing Center
College Avenue Campus
Murray Hall
Room 304
510 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Dates:
October 15 vs. Kenilworth, 8 p.m.
December 17 vs. West Orange, 8 p.m.
February 11 vs. DOCA Knights, 8 p.m.

The April match vs. Lehigh Valley remains unscheduled.

Hamilton 3 West Orange 1

Hamilton opened its bid for a 5th straight GSCL title with a 3-1 win over West Orange on Tuesday night.

LM Dragan Milovanovic and Charles Miller won with White while John Chladnicek and Ed Sytnik held with Black.

Hamilton will host the DOCA Knights on November 4th while West Orange's next match will be at Kenilworth, on November 7th.

3 LVCA Home Matches Re-scheduled

Lehigh Valley's home matches in Stewartsville, NJ have been changed from Wednesday nights to Tuesday nights. New dates are listed below.

Tuesday, December 3
Hamilton vs. LVCA

Tuesday, February 4
West Orange vs. LVCA

Tuesday, May 6
Newark-McDonald's vs. LVCA

2012-13 Board Scoring Leaders

The Board Scoring Leaders for 2012-13 were:

Board 1
1. LM Dragan Milovanovic, Hamilton (2267) 7.0
2. Praveen Balakrisnan, DOCA (2131) 3.5
3. NM Arthur Macaspac, Chess Mates (2135) 3.0
3. John Moldovan, Kenilworth Kortchnois (1821) 3.0

Board 2
1. Nathan Napper, Newark-McDonald's (1991) 5.5
2. Kevin Chen, DOCA (1888) 4.0
3. Greg Tomkovich, Kenilworth Kortchnois (1635) 3.5

Board 3
1. John Chladnicek, Hamilton (1775) 5.5
2. Doran Race, West Orange (1914) 4.5
3. Pierre Damis, Newark-McDonald's (1676) 4.0

Board 4
1. Ed Sytnik, Hamilton (1700) 6.0
2. Doug Pecota, DOCA (1268) 4.0
3. Guido Rodriguez, West Orange (1628) 3.0
3. Greg Shaw, Newark-McDonald's (unrated) 3.0

Click on the links to download crosstables in .xls format.

They can be read with Microsoft Office or Open Office Calc.

Site Being Updated

This blog/site is in the process of being archived and updated. Some pages and files may be temporarily unavailable as they are moved about.

Schedule Released

The GSCL schedule for 2013-14 has been released.

Teams requesting day or venue changes for round 1 should contact the league promptly.

Please postpone other requests until October 10th, as there is much work to do over the next 2-3 weeks.

Post updated at 5:21 p.m. 

Season Starts October 1st

The 2013-14 Garden State League season will open on Tuesday, October 1st with Hamilton, the 4-time defending champions, visiting West Orange.

On October 8th, the Dean of Chess Academy will be hosting Chess Mates. Branchburg is also the scheduled venue for Summit-Lehigh Valley.

The date for Kenilworth at Rutgers is to be announced.

Newark-McDonald's gets the bye.

GSCL To Operate With 9 Teams In 2013-14

The Garden State Chess League will have 9 teams again in 2013-14.

We've lost one Kenilworth team but have added the Lehigh Valley Chess Association (LVCA) and Rutgers University is returning.

Final Standings

FINAL 2012-13 GSCL STANDINGS

	Team	MP	W	L	D	Points
1.	Hamilton	7	5	0	2	6.0
2.	West Orange	7	5	1	1	5.5
3.	DOCA Knights	7	4	2	1	4.5
4.	Newark-McDonald's	7	3	1	3	4.5
5.	Kenilworth Karpovs	7	2	3	2	3.0
6.	Kenilworth Kortchnois	7	1	4	2	2.0
7.	Summit	7	1	5	1	1.5
8.	Chess Mates	7	1	6	0	1.0
x	Rutgers University	0	0	0	0	0.0

Rutgers withdrew on Feb. 22nd. Their results were nulled because they did not finish half of their schedule.

If Rutgers results were included, West Orange would have finished 1st.

DOCA won the 3rd-place tiebreak by virtue of their forfeit win vs. Newark.

Final Round Results

The 2012-13 season wrapped-up last night with West Orange blanking Summit 4-0.

In other 9th round "action", the Kortchnois-Karpovs match was declared an un-played draw and DOCA was a forfeit winner over Chess Mates.

Kortchnois Tie Hamilton

On May 30, the Kortchnois rallied to tie League Champion Hamilton 2-2.

Greg Tomkovich and Joe Renna won to offset victories by Dragan Milovanovic and John Chladnicek.

Page Updates

The Standings, Crosstables, Results, Rosters, Schedule, Team Schedules and all the team pages have been updated.

Hamilton Wins 4th Straight Title

With the its opening round loss nulled, the Hamilton CC has won the GSCL Championship for the 4th straight season.

Rutgers Results Voided

After a rather lengthy discussion, the league voted to void all of Rutgers results, ruling that their 4th forfeit to the DOCA Knights did not constitute a played match.

The full summary of last night's meeting will be posted when time permits.

Meeting To Be Held On May 23rd

The Garden State Chess League will be holding a meeting at the Kenilworth Chess Club on Thursday, May 23rd.

Items on the agenda should include:

- A ruling or vote on whether Rutgers' results should count or not.
- An update on or inquiry into possible lineup fraud by Newark-McDonald's in its April 4th match.
- A request to allow an un-played draw between the 2 Kenilworth teams.
- Rule changes and amendments.
- The inclusion of the Lehigh Valley CC for the 2013-14 season.

The meeting will begin at 8 p.m.

Round 8 Results

Last Thursday, Hamilton blanked the Karpovs 4-0 (with 3 of the 4 wins coming via forfeit) and DOCA defeated Summit by the same count.

2 days ago, West Orange defeated the Kortchois 3.5-0.5.

The Standings and other pages still show results thru the March matches. They will be updated this weekend.

RIP Summit's Don Varneckas

Donatas Varneckas died yesterday, 23 days after suffering a stroke while playing at the Morris County Chess Club in Parsippany.

Don, a retired former butcher and retired accountant, was a member of the Summit squad from October 2011 until his passing. Our condolences to his teammates and many friends.

For those who knew him and would like to pay their respects, here is some information on his memorial services:

Wake
Sunday, April 7 from 2-6 pm
Doyle Funeral Home
106 Maple Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960
 
Funeral Mass
Monday, April 8 at 10 a.m.
Church Of The Assumption
91 Maple Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Entombment
Holy Rood Cemetery
61 Whippany Road
Morristown, NJ 07960

Those unable to attend may write a condolence message here.

Newark-McDonald's Beats Karpovs

Newark-McDonald's defeated the Kenilworth Karpovs tonight 3.5-0.5.

Nathan Napper, Pierre Damis and newcomer Bobby DeMarco had victories on boards 2-4.

Don Carrelli's draw vs. expert Lev Zilbermintz was the home team's lone bright spot.

West Orange Edges DOCA

Last night in Branchburg, West Orange defeated the DOCA Knights 2.5-1.5.

Here are the Board by Board Results:

1. Fernandez (WO) 1/2-1/2 Kumar (DOCA)
2. Chen (DOCA) 1-0 Minkov (WO)

3. Race (WO) 1-0 Dewelde (DOCA)

4. Pecota (DOCA) 0-1 Rodriguez (WO)

Page Updates

The Standings, Crosstables, Results, Rosters, Schedule, Team Schedules and all the team pages have been updated.

Results From Thursday

In last Thursday's matches... Hamilton and Newark tied 2-2, DOCA defeated the Kortchnois 3.5-0.5 and the Karpovs edged Chess Mates 2.5-1.5.

Details to follow later today or tomorrow.

This Week's Matches

Round 6 is to be played this week. Here are the pairings, dates and times:

Tuesday 3/5
No match. W. Orange-Rutgers was canceled.

Thursday 3/7 at Branchburg, 8 p.m.
Kenilworth Kortchnois vs. DOCA Knights

Thursday 3/7 at Kenilworth, 8:15 p.m.
Kenilworth Karpovs (visitors) vs. Chess Mates (home team)
Hamilton (visitors) vs. Newark McDonald's (home team)

The visiting teams have white on boards 1 & 3.

Rutgers Withdraws

The Rutgers University CC has withdrawn, citing members' dwindling interest in the league.

GSCL officials need to determine if Rutgers' recent forfeit to the DOCA Knights, previous results and canceled matches will count in the standings.

Page Updates

The Standings, Crosstables, Results, Rosters, Schedule and Team Schedules pages have been updated.

Team pages will be updated sometime on Monday.

Schedule Changes

Kenilworth and Hamilton players please note the following schedule changes:

- The Hamilton-Kortchnois match, originally slated for April 4th, has been re-scheduled to May 30th.

- The Kortchnois-Karpovs match, originally scheduled for May 30th, has been postponed. The make-up date is to be announced.

Last Night's Results

In last night's action at the Kenilworth Chess Club, Newark-McDonald's defeated the Kortchnois 3-1, the Karpovs edged Summit 2.5-1.5 and the DOCA Knights were forfeit winners over Rutgers.

Hamilton 3.5 Chess Mates 0.5

Last night at Rahway, Hamilton defeated Chess Mates 3.5-0.5.

John Chladnicek and Ed Sytnik won on the bottom boards.

Ralph Warrick's draw against Charles Miller was the hosts' only bright spot.

West Orange 3 Karpovs 1

West Orange took sole possession of 2nd place on Tuesday, with a 3-1 win over the Kenilworth Karpovs.

Jose Fernandez, Ari Minkov and Guido Rodriguez had full points for the victors.

Standings Link Fixed

The Standings link, which apparently was broken for 3 months, has been repaired. Thanks to John C. for the tip.

The page will be updated when I get the results of last night's Karpovs-West Orange match.

Newark-McDonald's 3 Chess Mates 1

On Monday night in Rahway, Newark-McDonald's defeated Chess Mates 3-1.

Nathan Napper, Pierre Damis and Greg Shaw won on boards 2 thru 4 for the visitors.

Last Night's Scores

Last night, in 4th round action at Kenilworth, Hamilton edged Summit 2.5-1.5 and the Kortchnois defeated Rutgers U. 3.5-0.5.

Round 4 continues with Monday's Newark-McDonald's-Chess Mates match and concludes with Tuesday's Karpovs-West Orange.

Date Change For Chess Mates-Hamilton

The Chess Mates-Hamilton match has been switched, from Monday, February 4th to Wednesday, February 6th.