West Chester Chess Club News
To see all completed swiss and quad club events, visit this USCF page. Come play chess with us any Thursday you can make it!
Mar 7 - Club player rating distibution - Bob Flanagan
There were a total of 107 players who played at the club during the past year. USCF ratings ranged from 445 to 2175. Full details on who played who are found here.
- 19 were under 1000
- 40 were between 1000 and 1600
- 24 were between 1600 and 1800
- 17 were beteen 1800 and 2000
- 7 were over 2000
Mar 7 - Kickoff Swiss rd 3 - Donald Anderson
Lots of draws this round. Most notable:
- Jim Larsen (1923) v Noah Prewitt (1590)
- Abhishek Modak (1570) v Preston Ladson (1800)
- Todd Guay (1640) v Bob Flanagan (1439)
- Aritra Misra (1678) v Aidan McHutchison (1360)
Hannah Matlack (1273) upset Richard Neal (1600). Second straight tournament she's done it.
In the Under 1600, Robert Hermann (544) got close to his first WCCC win with a draw against Paul Tatlow (818).
Feb 28 - Kickoff Swiss rd 2 - Donald Anderson
Recent member Aidan MccHutchison (1360) collected a draw against Richard Neal (1600) last night.
Feb 21 - 2025 WCCC Championship - Ed Snyder
Joe Mucerino was presented with his 2025 WCCC CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY last night by Donald Anderson at the club.
And the race has begun for next year's champion.
Feb 21 - Kickoff Swiss round 1 results - Donald Anderson
The Kickoff Swiss went pretty much as expected for Round 1 except for one game. Hannah Matlack (1273) had a draw against John Helmbrecht (1835). Congrats to Hannah!
Feb 17 - 2025 Swiss Schedule - Donald Anderson
About the Club Championship:
In 2005, a rule was established that you had to play 12 games to qualify to play in the club championship. Over the years we modified it to limit the field to the top 8 Open Section players based upon the number of wins accumulated over the year.
We play 9 four round swiss tournaments for a maximum of 36 points (by attending each week and going undefeated). In 2024, Joe Mucerino was the top player with 23 points. It took only 15 ½ points to be in the top 8. Win only 43% of your games and you’re in.
The race to qualify for the 2026 Championship begins Thursday 2/20 as we get back to regular order with the Kickoff Swiss. Yeah, 43% sounds reasonable enough. But there are no easy games in the West Chester Chess Club.
Good luck to everyone. And have fun.
Feb 14 - WCCC Championship - Ed Snyder
The WCCC Championship is over for 2025. This could have gone three ways, Nate Bryans could have won outright, Joe Mucerino and Nate could have tied, or Joe could have won it all, which is what happened.
Congratulations, Joe.
Both Joe and Nate went undefeated which is amazing considering the field of players.
I'm always curious to see who will be in the Championship each year. We have some strong new players so who knows?
Feb 7 - Suber Bowl Random Swiss round 1 - Donald Anderson
The fireworks didn't disappoint last night. Noah Prewitt (1590) upset Jim Larsen (1964).
Some otherwise Under 1600 players who participated in the Open were richly rewarded. Hannah Matlack (1306) defeated Richard Neal (1600) and Karl Cossaboon (1144) defeated Bob Flanagan (1515).
Nice wins, guys.
Feb 4 - About the next Swiss - Donald Anderson
For the start of the next tournament this Thursday we will utilize the pairing software to make random pairings.
I am also encouraging the Under 1600 players to play in the Open. I promise not to pair you with anyone over 1700 in round 1.
You should play some of the stronger players in the club every now and then as a measure of how much of your chess you think has improved. Now would be a good time to do that before we go back to our regular order.
Feb 3 - Remaining Championship Matches - Bob Flanagan
| White | Black | |
| Kline | Nolan | |
| Kline | Christofides | |
| Kline | Biscoe | |
| Nolan | Mucerino | |
| Markov | Christofides | |
| Markov | Ladson | |
| Murcerino | Christofides | |
| Ladson | Bryans | |
| Biscoe | Bryans |
| Player | Points | To Play | ||
| Murcerino | 4.5 points | Christofides | ||
| Bryans | 3.5 points | Ladson, Biscoe | ||
| Nolan | 3 points | Kline, Murcerino | ||
| Biscoe | 2.5 points | Kline, Bryans | ||
| Christofides | 2 points | Kline, Markov, Murcerino | ||
| Markov | 2 points | Christofides, Ladson | ||
| Kline | 1.5 points | Nolan, Christofides, and Biscoe | ||
| Ladson | 0 points | Bryans |
Feb 3 - Member Matches and Ratings - Bob Flanagan
The table of matches between members has been updated for the Reserve Swiss
Feb 3 - Random Swiss this coming Thursday - Donald Anderson
SwissSys has a random pairing option. I've tested it on a dummy tournament and it gives some unpredictable match ups. So, we're having a Random Swiss.
Jan 25 - Reserve Swiss Results Donald Anderson
The Reserve Swiss has been posted to the USCF site. The following club players had big rating gains!
| Jim Larsen | +72 |
| Ed Snyder | +105 |
| Hannah Matlack | +113 |
| Lou Gotlib | +92 |
Jan 25 - Latest Championship Results - Ed Snyder and Jim Larsen
Here are the results and standings for Round 5. As always some very interesting games and as usual all were tough. Several players are out of contention and with only two games remaining could certainly spoil the chances for those still in the running.
Jan 24 - Reserve Round 4 results - Donald Anderson
We will be having a 5th round in this event so it will not be scored with the USCF until next week
Jan 24 - Championship Round 4 results - Ed Snyder and Jim Larsen
Here are last night's results. All four games ended late, around or after 11:00pm. All interesting and hard fought.
Denis Markov, last year's champion, won his first game. I find it interesting that there are no ties in the standings, eight players and eight positions.
Jan 24 - Almost perfect London by Both sides - Bob Flanagan
This London game from last night was played with 95% accuracy, no blunders, mistakes or inaccuracies (by LiChess). WCCC players who wish free access to www.chesspractice.com please send an email to bobflanagan1 @ gmail.com
Jan 24 - Reserve round 4 results - Bob Flanagan
Last night's results. I'll replace with Donald's detail once I receive it.
Jan 17 - Championship Results - Ed Snyder and Jim Larsen
All four of these games were hard fought and difficult. Of course, to me, these games always look difficult. Nate Bryans and Denis Markov were the last game to finish at 11:15. Denis had two seconds remaining and I believe Nate had about eighteen. Nate won by checkmate! I made the comment that it is a wonder we don't have more heart attacks during these games, and someone else said, including "the spectators."
The standings (attached) are close and next week the two games to watch are MUCERINO/BISCOE both with two and a half, and NOLAN/BRYANS with two each.
It was great to see Trooper Drew Fleming paying us a visit. He had a tough game with Dirk Troltenier and managed to squeeze out a victory.
Hope to see everyone next week.
Round 3 results and standings:
Jan 17 - Round 3 Reserve Swiss Results
Several upsets as usual :)
Jan 9 - WCCC Championship results - Jim Larsen
Jan 9 - Reserve Swiss Round 2 Results - Donald Anderson
The following are the results of round 2 of the Reserve Swiss. There were 9 upsets out of 13 matches! Kritarth Acharya is on the way to a large rating gain (124 points) with a draw in round 1 against Bill Moyer and a victory in round 2 over Samar Mahood.
Jan 3 - WCCC 2025 Club Championship - Jim Larson
The WCCC Championship is off and running. Here are the results and standings.
Jan 3 - Reserve Swiss Results and Club Dues - Donald Anderson
Reminder: Jim Larsen is now collecting club dues of $20 for 2025. Cash is the primary way to pay.
I have 3 Tap n Set clocks in our bookcase that's set for G90;d5 if you need to use one.
Please notify the director if you are going to be later than the 7:30 start time. Text me, Aaron Biscoe or Ed Snyder. It’s annoying the have to re-pair because of a late attendee. We know some of you come from work or a long distance so I'm putting you on notice. Expect that you may not be paired if you arrive late.
Correction on the last paragraph in the note below. Accelerated pairing will be after the Reserve which started last night. Here are round 1 results:
