The Scholastic Championships have been canceled:

May 12, 2021
Good Evening,

Covid has caused a lot of changes. Because of Covid, lack of registrations, and the time of year where families are celebrating graduations and other events, we are cancelling the tournament. I will refund any entry fees that are received. I apologize for the short notice.

In years past, the top-performing players in the section would be nominated to attend various invitational tournaments. This year, we will reach out to the top-rated players in each grade group to see if they would like to attend the invitational tournaments.

It is my hope that next school year, things will get back to normal and we able to host a league and play more tournaments.

Best Regards, Stay safe and healthy.

–Craig Timmons

Hello, all. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen or talked with any of you. I wanted to make sure everyone knows about some of the chess activity that is beginning to happen. The state scholastic events will be held over 2 Saturdays: May 15, and May 22. An unrated event is being held in Fayetteville on May 23. The Charleston Club is meeting at the Elkview Baptist Church on Tuesdays at 6pm. The Bridgeport Club is meeting on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 6pm at the Benedum Center. And while things are starting to return to normal, please continue to stay safe out there!

From Mike Baker:

I am happy to announce the Bridgeport Chess club will start back up again in April. We will start out slowly and meet the first and third Thursdays of each month from 6pm-8pm.

Masks, social distancing between the boards, and limited number of participants will be allowed in the room. It will be the same room on the 2nd floor.

I will be there in April, but May not so much due to work.

Thanks,
Mike

The Meeting Minutes of the WVCA Annual Business Meeting are available here: 2020 WVCA Business Meeting Minutes. All members who were active as of 1/1/2020 have received a free one-year extension to their WVCA membership.

The Parkersburg Homecoming for 2020 has been cancelled.

The WV Action Championship on May 2 has been cancelled. We are looking at options for hosting the event at a later date.

WV Governor Justice has strongly urged groups to cancel events that involve large gatherings. He aimed this comment initially at extra-curricular activities and Friday, March 13 closed secondary schools indefinitely. Subsequently the State Superintendent of Schools banned all scholastic extra-curricular activity until at least April 10.

Therefore, I am postponing the 51st WV State Scholastic Chess Championship that was scheduled for March 28 in Bridgeport, WV. Here is the contingency plan:

(1) If able, we will reschedule by May.

(2) If we cannot hold the event, we will consider holding it in conjunction with the Clarksburg Open on June 6.

(3) If that is not possible, we will hold an invitational event with the top-rated players for each section, K-12, K-8, and K-5.

(4) If that is not possible, we will select participants based on rating and number of events participated in this year to determine the invites to the US Chess invitationals (Denker, Barber, Haring, and Rockefeller) in August.

I am sorry for the inconvenience, but the safety and health of our youth chess players is important. Those who have registered will remain registered, if you would like to withdraw and reregister later please email the TD (greerlaw@aol.com) and request your refund of the entry fee.

Bob Greer

It is with sadness that I announce Tom Bergquist, Secretary-Treasurer of the WVCA for 53 years, passed away early last year. Tom was first elected President of the WVCA in 1959. He moved to the Secretary-Treasurer position in 1960, which he held until 2013. Tom was 90 years old.

Tom, fourth from left, at a reunion dinner in 1996.

Robert Canary won the 2020 Winter Open, held in St. Albans, on January 18, 2020. 25 players competed in the 4-round open event.

USCF Crosstable

Here is the announcement for the 2019 WV Scholastic Chess League. Team play is on January 19 and 26. The individual tournament is on February 9.

There will be an announcement forthcoming for the 50th WV Scholastic Chess Championships on March 24 once the details are finalized.