The New Britain Chess Club is currently postponing indoor play until further notice. Online club play is resumed. The club is tentatively reopening indoor play in early 2021.
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It is with profound sadness that I pass along a message from FM Nelson Castaneda about the passing of former honorary New Britain Chess Club member Gildardo Garcia. Mr. Garcia left this world on the morning of January 15 in the city of Medellin, Colombia, after a long battle with the coronavirus. He is survived by his wife, Marta Rendon, and his daughters, Vanessa and Melissa. He died at the young age of 66.
Gildardo was one of the most pleasant chess players to grace our community during the early 2000s. According to Professor Castaneda, the GM “shared many good moments of chess with some members of our community.”
The GM had quite an impressive chess resume. First and foremost, he was one of the highest-ranked chess players in Colombia, becoming, in 2008, the country’s second grandmaster. His highest chess rating was 2540, which he achieved in July 1994, and he was ranked fourteenth in Colombia at the time of his death. Early in his chess career, in 1974, he won the inaugural Pan American Junior Chess Championship. Next, he won the 1989 World Open Chess Championship. Mr. Garcia also won the Colombian Chess Championship ten times and played for the Olympiads for Columbia in 2006.
While in Connecticut, Gildardo gave a few simultaneous chess exhibitions at the University of Connecticut Chess Club and at the NBCC. He also played in a few NBCC team matches with the Springfield, MA, Chess Club. According to the Connecticut State Chess Association records, Mr. Garcia took home first place in the 2009 Connecticut State Open Chess Championship.
I, like those who knew the GM well, had very fond memories of him. He was a caring man who exhibited kindness to all of his chess friends. His last days on this earth were a struggle, but his fighting spirit was strong until the end.
On behalf of the entire NBCC and Connecticut chess community, let us take this time to reflect on the wonderful legacy and life of one of the greatest chess legends in our state’s history. Let us pray for peace for Mr. Garcia’s family as they deal with their loss, and may GM Gildardo Garcia rest in peace for all eternity.
Jithu Sajeevan, a marketing student at the University of Connecticut and a DIG chess coach, recently attained the level of USCF expert, with his recent win in a quad at the Fairfield County Chess Club. He is a bright young man, and we extend congratulations to him for his amazing achievement.
OKTOBERFEST 2020 WINNERS From left to right - Bill Graham, Rick Schnitzler, Abhijit Mondal, Suhas Kodali, and Mario Guevara-Rodriguez
