Welcome, Chess Enthusiasts!

The Other Shoe Drops!

A stunning image of the impact on the chess world of the scandal from a story in the Boston Globe from early reporting on the controversy [10/06/2022]; Niemann was banned from Chess.com and he brought a lawsuit against Carlsen, Chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura for $1M. The lawsuit was dismissed in June 2023. Chess.com just announced their decision to reinstate Hans Niemann [on August 28th].

August 31, 2023. Big news on the Magnus Carlsen-Hans Niemann controversy was announced recently; according to the New York Times, this is not necessarily the end of the story! If you want to refresh yourself on some of the details, check out the "Carlsen-Niemann Scandal" page under Frequently Accessed Pages. Hikaru was not mentioned in the statement by Chess.com; he made a short video expressing his views on the matter that is worth a glance [he reads from the report, then adds some remarks afterwards].

Meanwhile, in vacation news:

Dan DeLuca has recently started a new chess club in Lubec, Maine.

Maine is justifiably renowned for the beauty of its coastline; add a bit of chess and you have a nearly perfect situation (i.e., paradise)! You probably don't need an excuse to visit the downeast coast in the summer, but an opportunity to play chess also could weigh heavily in favor of a decision to make the trip. We just returned from about a week on Campobello (enjoying Roosevelt International Park, Tea with Eleanor, great food and the natural beauty of the island). And, to top it all off, I was invited to play chess at the Lubec Chess Club on Wednesday evening, the last evening of our vacation.

Dan has organized a chess tournament on the last Saturday in September in neighboring Trescott, Maine. Details will be forthcoming on his website chessmaine.net/events and on the Lubec Community Bulletin Board Facebook page.

Farmington Plans Chess Tournament!

Image and accouncement from a recent Farmington Chess Club weekly newsletter.
Click on the image above for the Farmington Chess Events Calendar.

August 6, 2023. Another month has passed. We are finally getting what we call "summer" here in Maine (i.e., sunny days that beg to be enjoyed outside, rather than buckets of rain and/or boiling heat). There is still plenty of time for chess, of course, inside or outside, daytime or night time.

Rise of Chess - PBS News Weekend with John Wang [7:19].

In case you missed it, John Yang interviewed Levy Rozman [Gotham Chess] about the renewed popularity of chess in recent times. We are pleased to mention a few new faces around the table (or across the table) in the past couple of weeks: Lunar, Josh W., Bradley, Stephen D., John C., Pam, Joslyn, Colleen, John P-S., Patrick, Nicholai, Amanda, Chris and Caesar. I hope I didn't forget anyone and I look forward to playing chess with you soon! Whatever your reasons for joining the club, you are most welcome.

Chesster is Our Virtual Mascot

July 9th, 2023.
We decided to save money on a mascot for the club. By adopting Chesster [a virtual cat], we saved a bundle on catfood and kitty litter.