Rochester Chess Club Blog

Monday, January 29, 2024

Special Youth Event on Sat. Feb. 3rd!

The Rochester Chess center will not be open for the regular Youth event from 10am-1pm on Saturday, Feb. 3rd, 2024. Kids and Parents should instead go to the chess tournament held at the India Community Center where Tournament Director Ken McBride will be running the chess event.

Please read the flyer below for details. Please note that registration is from 8:15am to 8:45am!

Weekly Chess Center Tournaments:

Mondays - League, G/90d5 at 7pm. Team vs Team.

Wednesdays - CCCR (Community Chess Club of Rochester) Chess Registration 6:30pm-7:15pm; G/80d5, Games begin at 7:30pm.

Saturdays - Youth tournament 10am-1pm, G/30d5. Prizes. Learn to play chess and gain experience. (but not on Feb. 3rd, 2024 - see flyer above)

Also Saturdays: 3-Rnd Swiss Tournament. Register before 1:45pm. G/60d5, Rnds: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm. Cash prizes.

Gates Library Chess

This club -- for kids under the age of 18 who know how to play chess -- meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. All chess players are welcome, from beginners to masters. Our club is informal. Kids can come and go at any time during club hours. Parents are welcome to watch the games. A Special thanks to Fred Mellender who has been running this event for decades (first at the Chili Library, and now at the Gates Library). Registration is requested. For more information & to register, follow the link here:

Events Calendar

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Upcoming Chess for 2024

Monday Night Chess League Forming Now

The Don Stubblebine Memorial League V

Monday Night Winter League starts on January 8, 2023

at 585-442-2430 for details, or sign-up at the Chess Center in person.

This league runs from 1/8/23 for 10 weeks plus a make-up week.

Games start at 7pm. 10 Rounds; Game in 90 min. w/ 5 sec. delay.

All games must be completed no later than 12/6/17 at the Chess Center.

Play every Monday.

Weekly Chess Center Tournaments:

Mondays - League, G/90d5 at 7pm. Team vs Team.

Wednesdays - CCCR (Community Chess Club of Rochester) Chess Registration 6:30pm-7:15pm; G/80d5, Games begin at 7:30pm.

Saturdays - Youth tournament 10am-1pm, G/30d5. Prizes. Learn to play chess and gain experience.

Also Saturdays: 3-Rnd Swiss Tournament. Register before 1:45pm. G/60d5, Rnds: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm. Cash prizes.

Gates Library Chess, Organized by Fred Mellender

This club -- for kids under the age of 18 who know how to play chess -- meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. All chess players are welcome, from beginners to masters. Our club is informal. Kids can come and go at any time during club hours. Parents are welcome to watch the games. Registration is requested. For more information & to register, follow the link here:

Events Calendar

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

2023 Community Chess Club Championship Results!

Congratulations to Toby Rizzo

The 2023 Chess Club Champion!

The 5th and final round of the 27th Annual Community Chess Club of Rochester's (CCCR) championship took place Wednesday night on November 2, 2023 at the Rochester Chess Center. On the top board, Toby Rizzo (USCF rating 2198 for Oct. 2023) won his game against David Lusignan (USCF rating 1968 for Oct. 2023). On Board #2, 2022's CCCR co-champion Ryan Beh (USCF rating 2076 for Oct. 2023) won his game against Quasar Pulluaim (USCF rating 1757 for Oct. 2023). Toby Rizzo and Ryan Beh both finished with a 4.5 score in five rounds.

With the win by tie-breaks, Toby Rizzo became the 2023 club champion. Ryan Beh finished in second place. David Lusignan finished in third place, followed by Jacob Snell in fourth place. With Toby's first place finish, he succeeds last year's CCCR co-champions Matt Slomski and Ryan Beh who had tied for 1st place last year with perfect 4.0 scores. The chief TD of the 2023 Community Chess Club Championship was Ken McBride. The assistant TD was Mike Lionti. Special thanks to John Strazzabosco for helping out as a volunteer.

More details of about the Community Chess Club of Rochester's 2023 Championship including game analysis will be added here soon.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Rochester Chess Center at 7:30pm on Nov. 29th and cake and coffee will be served. Regular G/80d5 games will follow the awards ceremony. We look forward to next year's annual CCCR Chess Simultaneous Exhibition when both Toby Rizzo and Ryan Beh will participate in a dual chess simultaneous event. Congratulations to Toby Rizzo on becoming the new club champion and to all our other prize winners!

Link to the US Chess Rating Report

Link to the Championship Photo Gallery

2023 Community Chess Club of Rochester Championship
Front left: Ryan Beh (2nd place), Toby Rizzo (1st place)

27th Annual Club Championship -- Open USCF Wall Chart, Page 1

Name/ID Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Rnd 5

1. Rizzo, Tobias |2198 | W 17 | B 10 | W 5 | B 2 | W 3

16084835 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.5

2. Beh, Ryan Mark |2076 | B 18 | W 9 | B 8 | W 1 | B 10

16870377 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.5

3. Lusignan, David |1968 | W 19 | B 12 | W 13 | B 5 | B 1

17109403 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5

12484800 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0

5. Snell, Jacob |1948 | B 20 | W 11 | B 1 | W 3 | B 13

15278548 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.5

6. Kharroubi, Clifton |1936 | W 21 | B 14 | ZERO | ZERO | B 23

12459755 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.5

7. Valenti, Oliver |1885 | B 22 | W 13 | B 15 | HALF | W 19

16560754 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.5

8. Weaver, Thomas J |1855 | W 23 | B 16 | W 2 | B 10 | W 27

16031957 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0

9. Phelps, David B |1838 | W 24 | B 2 | W 14 | B 13 | ZERO

12704446 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0

10. Pulluaim, Quasar |1757 | W 25 | W 1 | B 20 | W 8 | W 2

30543273 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0

11. Carr, David J |1710 | B 26 | B 5 | W 16 | B 19 | ---

30315361 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5

12. Rodriguez, Marco |1690 | W 27 | W 3 | B 23 | ZERO | W 26

11227171 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0

13. Green, Jonah D |1620 | B 28 | B 7 | B 3 | W 9 | W 5

15773508 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0

14. Pollifrone, Bill J |1600 | W 29 | W 6 | B 9 | B 24 | W 25

12474880 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0

15. Lizarraga, Karlo |1591 | HALF | B 17 | W 7 | W 16 | B 24

30715357 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.5

16. Attaya, James J |1507 | B 31 | W 8 | B 11 | B 15 | W 20

12210580 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5

17. Lionti, Michael P |1426 | B 1 | W 15 | W 29 | B 26 | W 28

12578256 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0

18. Strazzabosco, John |1400 | W 2 | B 24 | W 25 | W 23 | B 30

10136245 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0

19. Shaffer, Nathan |1384 | B 3 | W 25 | B 27 | W 11 | B 7

16744970 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5

20. Freeland, Luke |1370 | W 5 | B 26 | W 10 | B 25 | B 16

30653616 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5

21. Pike, Daniel J |1323 | B 6 | W 27 | --- | --- | ---

12496335 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0

22. Carr, David Bartholemew |1253 | W 7 | B 28 | ZERO | --- | ---

30533899 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5

23. Catlin, Ethan |1229 | B 8 | W 29 | W 12 | B 18 | W 6

31105623 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.5

24. Esterman, Jordan R |1184 | B 9 | W 18 | B 28 | W 14 | W 15

16771200 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5

25. Reed, Kai Jason |1086 | B 10 | B 19 | B 18 | W 20 | B 14

15331656 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5

26. Sula, Hasan |1057 | W 11 | W 20 | B 31 | W 17 | B 12

30920613 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0

27. Forbes, James Scott | 972 | B 12 | B 21 | W 19 | W 31 | B 8

30471607 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0

28. Sarratori, Joseph J | 849 | W 13 | W 22 | W 24 | ZERO | B 17

12498467 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5

29. Montgomery, Matt | 744 | B 14 | B 23 | B 17 | W 4 | W 31

31211283 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0

31390429 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0

31. Plizga, Walter | 461 | W 16 | B 32 | W 26 | B 27 | B 29

16496536 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0

31482726 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0