Hi! Greetings for a joyful  Thanksgiving to all.  May all have abundant food, shelter and clothing.-Renee

Here are: Minutes from the meeting of the Board of Directors for New York City on Nov. 4 at Roberto Clemente State Park:

Present: Brother John McManus, Renee M Scorcia, Marilyn Scorcia, Yvonne Scorcia, Henry Scorcia; Excused- Alejandro B, John Doherty, Eliot Weiss

Old Business:

• Parking passes provided by the Park were used effectively and no parking on the circle was observed. Thanks all.  Remember to advise all drivers that they are not allowed to park on the circle.
• Progress at Riverbank State Park makes the new projected date for tournaments to return to Manhattan might be as early as March. The Right Move is most enthusiastic and energized in our temporary “home” at Roberto Clemente State Park.
• The charcoal grill can be used for cooking, as our first successful ‘hot dog cook outing’ proved on Sunday. The staff of Roberto Clemente State Park were most helpful in contributing to this success story.
• The June trophies were again available for pick up and those not claimed will be put aside for future use. Thanks to those who were forced to wait to pick them up.  Your gentleness throughout this period had been extraordinary.
• The level of noise in the tournament hall has become a problem, particularly in the later rounds. Respect for those finishing games (especially around 1:45 – 2:00) does not allow the necessary quiet for championship play. Go outside to celebrate, talk, or just work off energy. It is not fair to destroy all the good work by forgetting to respect those still playing. Staff alone can’t handle this!  The limitations of space require all to help keep indoors quiet until all games finish.

Reports:

1. The response to our “Reach Out 150” campaign to bring new members into supporting the USCF exceeded our 25 goal for November. We had 27 paid members join or renew.  Keep it up!
2. Expired memberships are not allowed to play in USCF tournaments. The “Reach Out 150” campaign of The Right Move attempts to assist players by making the yearly fee $9.   (Any expired memberships will be allowed so see Brother John to show proof of membership or to pay the renewal fee.  Only after that will they be placed into sections.  Expired memberships  are not allowed to play until renewed. This has almost become a problem so it ends here and now.)
3. Several players were given a yearly USCF membership by The Right Move so that the November tournament could be rated by USCF in a timely fashion. Payment of the $9 fee to The Right Move  will allow them to participate in future tournaments of The Right Move.
4. The ‘lost parent’ and ‘missing items’ area is located near the computer desk.
5. If your name is not on the list published on the Website to play in The Right Move tournament you must see Brother John. He will assign you to a section, and you will probably miss the first game.  No exceptions.   Please continue to allow the check-in staff to do their job timely & well.

New Business:

Preparations are being made to establish an end-of-the-year picnic honoring chessplayers at Roberto Clemente State Park during the third week in June.  A brochure will be prepared.  Free hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream will be available for all.  People may choose to bring other food items to share. A seven round non-rated blitz tournament might be offered.  Recognition for players and coaches could be presented in a relaxed setting. Is the staff doing all this?  Of course not!  Everyone must get involved to make this work.  (This has been an established custom from the Albany Chapter of The Right Move, dating since 2004, precisely because they have facility to run such an event.)  Now this opportunity arises in the Bronx precisely because Roberto Clemente State Park has such tremendous resources (Picnic grounds, benches, etc.)  Step up now.  Who will lead?  No response = no picnic.

The non-rated beginner’s section is not intended to be for players with experience.  New players are meant to be encouraged by joining the beginner’s section. Players who win a trophy in the beginners’ section are no longer considered ‘beginners’.  It is not fair to true beginners that they meet players who have lots of tournament experience. Trophy winners should join the uscf and play in a rated section against players of equal ability. Players start as non-rated and establish a rating playing against other rated players. .  The only reason The Right Move can do a 4-round tournament in one day is because of the USCF, and the programs on computer they helped develop  that aid our print-outs, pairing sheets and the rest.

The New York City Kasparov Scholastic Championships are being held at the Brooklyn Marriot on Jan 5-6. Good luck to all those players and teams hoping to become the next NYC Champions.  Sign up early and save $$$.  This is not a feature of The Right Move. It is not free.  Please go through CCA for entry into that event.

Don’t forget to give a nod to Fabricio Caruano and Magnus Carlson, our World Championship players. (Nov 9-28, 2018 in London.)

A final word of gratitude goes to our players, friends and volunteers.  Your cooperation in signing up, being on time for games and reporting results does make the day run smoothly and well.

Don’t forget. We have magnificent volunteers who continue to impress!  Thank you to so very many nameless people who accomplish many things in the blink of an eye, making chess so very possible and enjoyable.

-Yvonne M Scorcia, Secretary

-Rene M Scorcia, President

The Right Move Board of Directors for NYC

Hi.  Renee again.  As President I invite you to our Board Meetings that take place after awards.  Here are the minutes for our first meeting of this new year, my very first, on Oct. 21, 2028, “Hard Work” at Roberto Clemente State Park:

October 21, 2018 Meeting of Corporation of the Board of The Right Move at Roberto Clemente State Park, New York, NY

Attendance:  Brother John McManus, Yvonne M. Scorcia, Marilyn C. Scorcia, Renée M. Scorcia, Henry J. Scorcia, Eliot Weiss (excused), Alex Beasley (excused)

Old Business:

Great big buckets of gratitude to all who volunteered, especially :  Carl Aridas and Nagareja Aeturi.  Your smiles amid all the hustle and bustle were terrific rewards for all to see.

Thank you to Carlos Luna and his family.  They provided fresh,  free hot dogs for all to enjoy!  Yes, that was very refreshing and thoughtful!

John Doherty and his staff were most helpful throughout the day, especially with the free parking passes that John was able to hand out.  Space is very limited so do not expect too much as conditions may change from time to time.

The tables and chairs will be combined into half the gym, putting the tournament section into a smaller area that will be marked out for players only.  Great quiet must be kept in the playing hall (all areas inside). Please use the area outside the gymnasium outside the green door for running, playing ball, etc. Continue to be on time for all games. (King and Queen sections will be in the classroom apart from the gym.  Pairings will be posted inside the room for these sections.)

We are most grateful to those champions from June who were able to pick up their June trophies on Oct 14 during the Blitz tournament and again on Oct 21 here at the State Park.  After Nov 4 we will no longer have them available for pick up.

Attendance at The Right Move is expected to grow in the coming months, so please keep being thoughtful and considerate for all. Report any problems or concerns quickly so as to resolve any situation. With the help of all making The Right Move(s) grand success and much happiness follows.

Reports:

• Due to the numbers of players in several sections it was necessary on Oct 21 to regroup players to provide games for their sections.  The King and Queen sections may have to be combined to get at least 12 people in each section. The lower section that has to play against higher rated players then need one less point to qualify for medals. When the Pawn section combined with the Bishop section 1.5 points becomes the new norm for a medal for the pawn section, since they were playing above their level.  The top 2 pawn players should still receive trophies. When there are less than 12 players in a section only two trophies are awarded.
• 11 people participated in Operation “Reach Out 150” to get 150 youth to join/renew uscf membership @ $9/year. (Our stated goal is 25 per month.) Quick Math 11/25 = 44% We did not reach our goal for October.
• Thanks to those who contributed $26.00 in donations and pencil sales
• 2 more players joined the pre-check-in list to avoid standing in the check-in line. This $5 is refundable and lasts all year at The Right Move tournaments, or until forfeited by failure to show up.

New Business:

We need your help.  We have purchased 300 memberships for the uscf so that we could lower the price for membership.  Our drive, titled  “Reach Out 150” urges all to get more players to benefit from the joys of chess.  Join with The Right Move as we begin operation “Reach Out” in a membership drive to support the USCF.  Our goal is to encourage 25 chess players to join or renew their membership each month. This reduced rate of $9.00 for the entire year is a tremendous saving and makes it possible for more to enjoy chess more fully.

The pictures taken and posted on the web from Oct 21 shows the real hard work done by all.  Keep it up, all.  Really good to see.  More creative work to come from our talented staff and friends.  Keep challenging us to improve.

Work on repairs to Riverbank State Park is progressing rapidly.  When we have more information we will let send out emails through mailchimp, our faithful companion, to keep you informed as well.

Thanks to all who made Sunday Oct. 21 so outrageously  outstanding.  It is a magnificent tribute to all our players, friends, and all dedicated to seeing youth grow through chess. Thank you to all our volunteers, most of whom choose to remain nameless. (We thank the two who signed up as Volunteers on the Registration list.  Simply report to Marilyn for assignment from 9:00 -12:00 or 12:00 – 2:30.)

Acknowledgement of our Champions for Oct. 21, 2018 Hard Work TRM#235

King Section:   Brendan Moran 3,  Logan Newby 3

Queen Section:  Alexsey Tashtanov 2, Naganikhil Aeturi 2, Taylor Ngo 2

Rook Section: Nathaniel Kuffour 3.5, Rafael Robinovitch 3, Max Berkson 3

kNight Section: Laaysa Mada 4, Ethan Torres 4, Jeffrey He 3.5

Bishop Section: Shawn Epelbaum 2.5, Immanuel Baah 2

Pawn2: Kayla Violenus 3, Zachary Kiselev 3

Pawn1: Connor Phillips 4, Adam Saban 4, Jordan Ray 3

Awe: Andreas Vlahos 4, Aditya Saurabh 2.5

—Submitted by Yvonne M. Scorcia, Secretary