Short History - Scholastic Chess (Albany)
This is a first attempt at a short history of scholastic chess in Albany. I am counting on the coaches, parents, and clubs in the area to add articles and details to fill in the gaps and to help publish our first (all-inclusive) edition.
2004 I will begin with the Right Move coming to Albany in September 2004 as Phil Ferguson invited Brother John McManus to serve as the scholastic coordinator. The Right Move held three free scholastic tournaments that school year, with the College of St Rose hosting two and the third at Giffen Elementary school. Trinity had held a rated tournament that year, and Kingston HS and St Joseph's MLK tournament were also offered in the Kingston area. In addition, the Capital District Championship was held in Coxsackie. A plan for a chess league was introduced, using the model of the Mid-Hudson League (Tom Neppl, with supervision and website by Larry King). The mid-February in 2005 meeting of parents, players and coaches helped define the first divisions, (High School, Junior High School, and Elementary) which began in October 2005. St Catherine of Siena (Becky Bell) hosted the playoffs and pizza celebration to conclude the Fall season, won by Shaker High School, Coxsackie Middle School and Trinity Elementary School.
2005 As the 2005-6 school year continued the Right Move had added four more tournaments, with new formats to include six sections. #6 was held on February 18, and #7 returned again to Giffen on March 4. At that time #8 introduced the New York State Library as a partner in a May 20, 2006 four-round tournament. The Winter League 2006 has ended with 16 teams in three divisions. Coxsackie won the HS/Junior HS section, Trinity won the rated Elementary section, and School 16 won the Fun Elementary section. Shaker HS hosted the rated Pre-Winter 3-man team tournament on January 21, 2006, with 9 games for each player, many previously unrated. The website at www.maketherightmove.org was established, with links to learning tools and information-gathering for parents, players and coaches. Kingston HS and St Joseph's MLK tournament were yet again offered in the Kingston area, keeping alive a very long tradition. The Capital District Championship continued to offer fine competition in Coxsackie. Many more schools joined our resources list, as having players in need of instruction/interaction/fun/ competition.
2006 Much work remained to be done. A first Coaches' dinner was held on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at Maggie's Restaurant in Albany at 6:00pm for coaches, parents and friends of chess, where 19 coaches and others attended. Eduardo Valverde-Salas was elected Coach of the Year, and Brendan Lee won Player of the Year as all ballots were tabulated on the spot. Br John McManus was nominated and seconded to continue as Scholastic Coordinator for the ENYCA, as many indicated they would help as needed. Plans for the summer league were discussed, as well as announcing finalizing the first draft of the Fall 2006 Scholastic Chess League by May 30, 2006. This lacked proper follow-up, and failed to get off the ground. The league now remains dormant, waiting for the next impetus to start up again as needed. Schools seem to get on board with tournaments, when possible.
In 2007 there was a growth in the number of tournaments, as the College of St Rose was joined by Menands School (2 tournaments), as well as the NY State Library, to continue to offer quality scholastic free tournaments to students in the ENYCA area. Doug Bellizzi (President, Marshall Chess Club in Manhattan, NYC) was the speaker at the NYS Library tournament in May. At the Awards Dinner held at Martel's Restaurant in Albany, Deepak Aaron won Player of the Year, while Dan Carroll of Menands won Coach of the Year.
The start of the 2007-8 year began the establishment of a FREE monthly scholastic tournament, the first time this has been tried in this area. The work of Ashok Aaron and the Schenectady Chess Community (City Mission, etc.) were able to provide a regular site for the first Saturday of each month at Proctor's. Publicity through two FREE public Simuls held at Proctor's, where GrandMaster Ronan Har-Zvi invited the public to compete, helped further show the attractions of chess. By January a monthly FREE Scholastic Chess Tournament at Proctors was the norm. Adult current USCF members were invited to compete in the Open section to provide impetus for our young developing players. NYS Library and Menands continue to host a tournament. Thanks to many players, parents, coaches and friends there is an abundance of opportunity.
Website development and organization are still being addressed. Your involvement is importantl. We are one vital link to many young chessplayers as they first find out about this great game.You can sign up to get more involved by email to brjohn@juno.com or by mail to Br John, 391 Western Ave, Albany, NY 12203. His cell phone is 212 729-7060 and voicemail is 518 242-4731x341.