Hello Chess Fans! Over the board (OTB) tournaments are on hold until further notice. The close proximity of the opponents in a chess game and tournament make it very difficult to be safe. All OTB tournaments in Minnesota and the nation (maybe the world?) have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. The annual Rochester Open originally scheduled for the first weekend in June has been cancelled. We will try again next year.

Something New: Rochester Chess will be hosting an unrated online chess tournament on Lichess beginning on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Lichess.org is free. Among the 11 respondents to the March survey about online tournaments, 6 indicated that they would play G/30 + 30 and 5 indicated they would play G/60 + 30. Allowing the majority of the respondents to rule, this first tournament will be G/30 + 30. The format will be a 4-round Swiss event. I prefer all of the games to be played on Tuesday evenings at the regular club meeting time (6:30 – 9:30 PM). Alternate times can be negotiated. To participate, you must send me an email by Sunday, May 31.

MSCA Online Chess Tournaments: MSCA will host Online Swiss #3 on Sunday, May 31st. Currently, 70 players have signed up for the tournament, including 2 GMs, 2 IMs, and 2 FMs! Tuesday (today!) is the last day to register and receive the early entry, so sign up at https://onlineregistration.cc/MSCA/OnlineSwiss3!