Locals Want Organized Chess Competitions in Otsego County

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
OTSEGO COUNTY

If you’re an Otsego County resident and have a hankering for competitive chess, your best bet is tournaments in Albany or Binghamton. A search of the history of rated tournaments in Oneonta or Cooperstown on the United States Chess Federation’s site yields zero results.

Some locals want to change that, reviving a history that includes a New York State Chess Association meeting held in Cooperstown in 1886.

Recent retiree Peter Mateunas has trekked the county in search of games.

It’s brought him to an over-50 community in Oneonta, The Gathering Place, Hartwick Fire Department Company #2, and the Connections program at Clark Sports Center.

“Ideally, if we can get six to eight people that are USCF members in the area, then we can potentially set up a tournament, whether that be quarterly or just annually,” Mateunas told AllOtsego.

Now, Connections has launched a weekly Thursday program for chess from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“I am grateful Pete wants Connections at CSC to be involved,” Carole Lachance, the program director, told AllOtsego. “I am eager to help him.”

Those interested in joining should e-mail connectionsatcsc@gmail.com.