UPCOMING GREATER BAYSTATE EVENTS
THE WESTFIELD SPRING CHESS CHALLENGE
St. John's Lutheran Church
60 Broad St
Westfield, MA 01085, MA
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2nd Greater Baystate Spring Classic
Northampton Center for the Arts
33 Hawley Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
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1st Greater Baystate Summer Open
Auburn/ Webster Elks Lodge
754 Southbridge St
Auburn, MA 01501
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1st Richard Zyra Memorial
St. John's Lutheran Church
60 Broad St
Westfield, MA 01085, MA
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1st Harvest Chess Fest
Florence Civic Center
90 Park S
Florence, MA
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2nd Mayflower Open
St. John's Lutheran Church
60 Broad St
Westfield, MA 01085, MA
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GREATER BAYSTATE CHESS CLUB
St. John's Lutheran Church
60 Broad St
Westfield, MA

The class on the Yusupov-Zukertort system was well received. It was very interactive, as we analyzed one of GM Yusupov's amazing wins with a Queen sacrifice on the King side. Congrats to Sophie Argetsinger for finding the solution; 18. Qh5!
(Yusupov A. - Scheeren P., Plovdiv 1983)
Thank you also to River and Gunnar, 2 of our star scholastic members for participating, and learning!
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The GBCC will not be meeting this coming week.
We plan on resuming the following Monday, March 31st. Stay tuned for an update on the lesson plan.
In the meantime, have a great week folks!



UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

04/12/25 3rd Senior Over Age 50 TLA MAP
04/13/25 Massachusetts G/60 Championship TLA MAP
04/26/25 - 04/27/25 Massachusetts Senior Open TLA MAP
05/11/25 13th WMCA Memorial MAP
06/06/25 - 06/08/25 Eastern Class Championships TLA MAP
06/21/25 1st Plus Score Cash Prize Open
06/27/25 - 06/29/25 World Open: Under 1200 & Under 1000 Sections MAP
07/02/25 - 07/06/25 World Open: Open Through Under 1400 Sections MAP
07/05/25 4th Iron Knights Amateur MAP
07/25/25 - 07/27/25 Bradley Open MAP
08/09/25 - 08/10/25 13th Western New England Open MAP
08/24/25 60th Annual Summer Open MAP
08/29/25 - 09/01/25 New York State Championship MAP
09/13/25 17th WMCA Free MAP
10/10/25 - 10/12/25 Hartford Open MAP
11/15/25 7th Pumpkin Pusher
12/13/25 5th WMCA Quick Chess

The Passing Of A Dear Friend

Mar 92024

 

Greetings,

    I am very sad to announce that my dear friend and chess mentor, Mr. Richard Zyra has passed away. He was 82 years young. I first met Richard at the Westfield (Mass) Chess Club in 2005. Here was a man of honor, respect, and integrity. He was the one of three US Chess rated players that taught me the fundamentals and rules of the game. (The other two being his brother, Michael Zyra, and my high school history teacher, Mr. Richard Pucko.) Richard Zyra gifted me my very first two chess books that I ever owned, " Basic Chess Openings" & "More Basic Chess Openings" by Hungarian GM Gábor Kállai. 

     He was a stern enforcer of applying the USCF rules of chess to every game, whether it be casual or rated, yet always the gentleman. Especially the "touch-move" rule! In this way he trained me to treat the game seriously and with respect so that I was prepared for formal competitions. I'm glad that he did. That's a painful rule that costed me several games. Mr. Zyra ingrained in me how to sit on my hands, be patient and think BEFORE I move a piece, which I struggled with because I always moved too fast, ending in many losses. I always looked forward to seeing him each week at the club on Wednesday nights, and later on, Monday nights at the Springfield Chess Club, in anticipation of what lessons he had for me next. 

    He not only taught me about chess, but also life itself. He put up with my bad attitude many times and adjusted it accordingly. He helped forge me into the chess player and man that I am today. I've now been running the Westfield Chess Club (now Greater Baystate Chess Club) that I met him at for the past 14 years. I've built it upon what he stood for and meant to me; unity and friendship. I will miss his laugh, his smile, our awesome chess games, and our phone conversations. Sometimes, I'd be down, especially after my car accident. Richard would lift me up and encourage to never give up. Now he's my chess angel. I can feel him giving me strength every game. I know it sounds strange, but 2 days after he left us, I swept an online tournament with a performance rating of 2295. I've never done that in my life! 

     He was a very good man, Richard Zyra. He is loved by many and will be sorely missed. I know he's in Heaven now, and I hope to see him there. And so, I only say Goodbye for now, Mr. Zyra. Rest in peace, sir. 

Here is the link to his obituary. Thank you for reading. 

 

https://obits.masslive.com/us/obituaries/masslive/name/richard-zyra-obituary?id=54567554&_gl=1*189xkx8*_gcl_au*MTg4NTE0MzkyNC4xNzExNjM5NTQw

 

By: Gaetano 

Student of Chess