New HV club battle 10/1

If you haven’t joined lichess and the Vassar-Chadwick club yet, welcome back to the world as you must have been living under a rock for the last couple months! If you do want to join now – please, please, give your real name in the request, so I know who you are. We want to limit membership to those who have attended or plan to attend (once we can again) our real-life club.

Although for some reason the latest tournament is not showing up on our team page, so here it is – we need at least 10 members to join (and able to play) to have a reasonable chance at winning:
https://lichess.org/tournament/kaRhjeKS

Online match with Westchester and Rockland set for Sept 3rd

The third Hudson Valley match is scheduled to take place on lichess.org. for 8pm on Thursday September 3rd.

If you haven’t joined lichess.org yet, please do so – it is entirely free. And once you do, head over to the Team page and request to join. Provide your real name in the request (only I and Ernie will see it), so we know you are an actual member of the club.

From the team page you will see a link to the upcoming tournament (as well as results from the previous matches).

Millerton Chess Open results

Bob Simmon’s brave experiment in bringing back over-the-board chess completed this weekend, and while only five people attended they all enjoyed the experience. Bob should be commended for trying to bring a semblance of normalcy to the game we all love.

Trevor Brooks won the event with a perfect score (3-0), defeating Sean Russell, Mark Courtney and Bob. The author of this article would surely love to see some games (hint, hint). Mark finished with 2-1, downing George Oliveras twice (that happens with 5 people in 3 round event).

Who knows the next time we will see another OTB event, but I am hearing rumors that maybe we will play rated tournaments online….we will keep you posted!

Next club battle this Thursday

The Westchester and Rockland chess clubs have invited us again for the monthly Hudson Valley Team Battle on lichess.org.

Reminder that you need to sign up at lichess – it is free – and then request to join the Vassar-Chadwick team page (when making your request to join please let me know your real name, so I can make sure you are a member).

Once you have joined both lichess and the Vassar-Chadwick team page, you will see the link to the tournament. For convenience, it is provided here: https://lichess.org/tournament/LIyEnVze

Hope to see you on Thursday!

Millerton Chess Open – OTB!

No, this is not a typo or an April Fool’s joke. The Millerton Chess Club is holding the 5th annual Millerton Chess Open, to be held outdoors at the Amenia Fish and Game club.

The tournament takes place August 16th, with registration starting at 9am. It is a three round G/75 Swiss, first round starting at 10am, then 1pm and 4pm for the final round. It is not rated.

The tournament director is Bob Simmons, who has provided more details:

We will require all to wear face masks, we will be taking your temperature on arrival and the tables will be 12′ apart and we will be sanitizing the pieces after each round. We will provide bug spray and have water on hand but no food. There are bathrooms and we will be playing under a pavilion so rain or shine we will be playing !! Its hot outside so dress accordingly !! Spread the word !! The tournament is not rated. All are welcome !! Trophies for 1st and 2nd and for 1st in the booster section. Thanks and hope to see you there !!

If you have more questions, please contact Bob at 845-867-0323

Next club match July 2nd

Reminder: Those interested in playing online as a club (not USCF rated), please join our team here: https://lichess.org/team/vassar-chadwick-chess-club (when you request to join, please share your real name so that we know you are a member).

The Westchester chess club has been running tournaments with neighboring clubs online, and last month invited us to our first one, which was well received – and our club put in a good showing, giving Westchester a run for their money. The next tournament is scheduled for July 2nd (8pm start, 10+5 games), and (once you join our online team) you can reserve your spot here:
https://lichess.org/tournament/nV8CPGFS

At the team page you will find a chat and forum feature, to ask questions and converse with your fellow Vassar-Chadwickians. Hope to see you at the tournament!

Note: The online event has some rules unlike those you may be familiar with in over the board tournament play. If you go to the tournament link above and scroll down, you will see a nice overview of the “arena” style tournament format, including the “beserk” mode.

Chess Camp for Kids

The following is being shared on behalf of NM Natan Prilleltensky, an invitation to participate in what looks to be an incredible chess camp experience:

I am working with some of the best-known coaches in the country to offer two sessions of online summer chess camp: The first session is August 3rd to 7th, the second is August 10th to 14th. The staffing of the camp makes this a unique learning opportunity.


The strongest students rated 1500+ will work with Grandmaster Alex Stripunsky.

Alex is former coach of the US Women’s National Team and personal coach to elite young players through the International Master level. Alex has won or tied for first in numerous world-class events, including the US Championship and the World Open. 


During the morning sessions, Alex will be teaching theoretical material, according to the lesson’s theme. Afternoon sessions will be dedicated to practice. Students will either solve exercises or play special training positions.

Students rated 1000-1500 will work with me and Elizabeth Spiegel.


I am a National Master with an academic background in Gifted and Talented Education. I have coached numerous students who qualified to represent the United States in the World Youth, and multiple school programs that won National Championships.


Elizabeth and I will focus on typical middlegame strategies students can apply in their own games, including but not limited to: * Open Files
* Opposite Colored Bishops * Bishop vs. Knight * Typical Pawn Structures * Attack on the King * Initiative * Sacrifice

Elizabeth is the famous many-time national championship winning coach of IS318k featured in the movie “Brooklyn Castle”. She is also an accomplished player who competed in multiple US Championships. 

Intermediate students will also have the opportunity to work with Grandmaster Alex Stripunsky. 

Students rated up to 1000 will work with Paul Swaney, a US Chess expert and superb classroom teacher whose school programs have won multiple state titles in Virginia. 

They will also have the opportunity to work with me and Elizabeth Spiegel.

The schedule for a typical day is as follows:
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Theoretical Instruction – tactics, typical middlegame themes, endgames, etc. Opportunities to practice will be included.

12:00 PM – 2:45 PM: Lunch Break – kids should go outside and step away from their screens to prepare to focus again.

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Practical Component – tournament games, analysis, etc.
The coaches will be able to challenge and instruct students of all levels.

Each student will receive individual recommendations for further study – our goal is for them to be inspired to continue their chess journey with renewed dedication. 

We are already accepting registrations by PayPal at mprilleltensky@gmail.com. The fee is $500 for one week of camp. Half-day (morning only) is also available for $375 for the week. Register by sending your child’s name, age and USCF rating to mprilleltensky@gmail.com


Coaches will be using original material for the second week, so returning campers will be learning new things every day.


I hope your child will come study with us! They can expect serious learning, but also serious fun.

Hudson Valley Online Tournament

We were recently invited to join a multi-club online tournament, and will be playing members of the Westchester and Rockland clubs on lichess.org. The tournament is scheduled for Thursday June 4th starting at 8pm.

Link to the tournament: https://lichess.org/tournament/1Q1JOwr1

If you have not joined lichess yet, please do so – and just as importantly, you need to request to join the Vassar-Chadwick team. Link here: https://lichess.org/team/vassar-chadwick-chess-club

When you request to join, PROVIDE YOUR NAME so that we know who you are (we want to keep invites to actual members of the club, past and current).

lichess team setup and club matches

If you are a current/former member of the Vassar-Chadwick club and you are interested in playing some online matches against some of the other clubs in our region (such as Westchester and Rockland), then please follow this process:

  1. Sign up at lichess.org (it is free)
  2. Go to our club page and request to join: https://lichess.org/team/vassar-chadwick-chess-club
  3. Important! before your request can be processed you have to solve the simple chess position that appears at the bottom of your request. This is to prove you are a human to lichess
  4. Important! before your request can be approved, you have to let us know what your lichess username is (so that we do not approve random people, but actual Vassar-Chadwick members). The easiest way to do this is go to our Facebook page and send a message: https://www.facebook.com/VassarChadwickChessClub/