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• US Chess: Passing the BuckSeptember 18, 2023
  In the wake of the Ramirez scandal, which tarnished the reputation of the Saint Louis Chess Club, as well as the US Chess, it has become clear that neither organization intends to take any responsibility for their failures to protect women and girls from predators such as Alejandro Ramirez and Timur Gareyev – as have … Read more
• Dream Canceled as Passers Fall 6-10 to Team MGD1April 3, 2023
  After an impressive victory we found ourselves at an equally impressive defeat to the formidable Team MGD1. With GM Khotenashveli and GM Sevian both away at hotels for the EWCC and American Cup respectively we were cutting it close on getting our lineup finalized. At one point it looked like GM Sevian wasn’t available yet … Read more
• Dream Continues As Passers Win 9.5-6.5 Against California Unicorns!March 13, 2023
  After a tough week 3 loss to Chessbrahs, we found redemption in week 4! Unfortunately it came at the cost of knocking California Unicorns out and landing co-founder John in hot water with his daughter, a Unicorns fan, yet it was a do-or-die matchup that we needed to win. With GM Oleksandr Bortnyk hitting an … Read more
• Whelp, That’s Unfortunate: Chessbrahs 8.5-7.5 PassersMarch 5, 2023
  Big disappointment as we watched our match against Chessbrahs slip from our fingers. After a great first round start we were in the drivers seat looking to at least split the rest of the rounds. Round 2 continued along, although we did rely on some comebacks in those games. Unfortunately we then hit a brutal … Read more
• We Sail! Beat Maniac Shrimps 11-5!February 27, 2023
  After a tough lose to Levitov Chess Wizards we set out to bolster our middle boards and bolster them we did! Having lost 10-6 while attempting to play a top-heavy lineup we knew things needed to change for a more well balanced Spanish Maniac Shrimps team. Looking to meet them head-to-head we were fortunate to … Read more
• Introducing: GM Oleksandr Bortnyk!February 18, 2023
  One of the top bullet players in the world and a blitz expert, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk bas been brought on to help boost our line-ups. Rated 2604 in standard he’s positioned perfectly to play on board 2 or 3 depending on our roster of the week! Growing up in the Ukraine, GM Bortnyk was a … Read more
• Heartbreak In Levitov as Passers lose 10-6February 16, 2023
  What a match where the score line doesn’t really show how close it truly was. Levitov Chess Wizards were the favorites going in and a 10-6 result seemed very probable yet we fought hard with an outstanding 3.5/4 result from board one GM Sevian. Unfortunately he didn’t get the support needed on the other boards … Read more
• Introducing: WIM Trisha Kanyamarala!February 11, 2023
  Ireland’s first ever WIM, Trisha had achieved her last norm with 3 rounds to spare! Not only was that the final WIM norm Trisha needed it was also her first WGM norm and she became eligible for an FM title as well. Since then, Trish went on to represent Ireland with her country-women with a … Read more
• Introducing: WIM Meruert Kamalidenova!February 11, 2023
  We have another national champion joining our side with the WIM Meruert Kamalidenova! Recently just winning clear first in the 2022 Kazakhstan Women’s Championship at just the age of 17 we’re glad to have her join the team. Having achieved her WIM title in 2021, she then proceeded to follow up in 2022 adding her … Read more
• Introducing: GM Abhimanyu Mishra!February 11, 2023
  New on the pro chess scene, GM Abhimanyu Mishra is the youngest grandmaster in the world! To add to that, he’s a New Jersey native so it’s a perfect match having him on the Garden State Passers. At just 12 years, 4 months, 25 days he beat GM Sergey Karjakin‘s 20 year run as the … Read more
• Returning: IM Carissa Yip!February 10, 2023
  Another thrilling Soprano return is none other than IM Carissa Yip! Since last season, Carissa has gone on to earn her WGM title and shortly after her IM title in 2019. Her last norm came at the 2019 SPICE Cup, having scored 5/9, and making her the youngest American woman to achieve that feat! To … Read more
• Introducing: GM Bela Khotenashvili!February 10, 2023
  As another new comer, GM Bela Khotenashvili is a perfect addition to our team! This 2x Georgian Women’s Champion gives us a lot of options with our line-ups and will prove valuable as one of the world’s strongest women players not only in Pro Chess League yet in the world. Having achieved her GM title … Read more
• Returning: GM Gadir Guseinov!February 10, 2023
  The third returning player announcement is beloved GM Gadir Guseinov! Having played for the Sopranos he is back as a Passer and we’re expecting to see more great results this season. Gadir, like his teammate Alex, is both well versed in team and individual competitions. Personally winning several strong opens such as Dubai Open 2010, … Read more
• Returning: GM Aleksandr Lenderman!February 9, 2023
  One of our biggest roster announcements is the return of our Montclair Soprano VIP: GM Aleksandr Lenderman! Alex was a strong foundation for the Sopranos and we’re expecting nothing less as we battle on as the Passers now. Growing up in the Brooklyn area, Alex was surrounded by a strong chess community and was part … Read more
• Returning: GM Samuel Sevian!February 9, 2023
  We’re extremely excited to include GM Samuel Sevian to our roster! Starting his chess playing career at the age of 5 he went on to become the youngest USCF expect at 8 years and 2 months; breaking the previous record by 10 months. The record breaking didn’t stop there though as he went on to … Read more
• Introducing: FM James Canty III!February 8, 2023
  On his quest to GM our streaming captain and member FM James Canty III has been dominating the streaming world via his own channel (GMCanty) as well as commentary for Chess.com streams. Early on in his chess career, Canty had achieved the NM title at only 17 after winning the Harold Steen Memorial Cup, a … Read more
• Pro Chess League 2023February 7, 2023
  The league is back and so are we! No longer the Montclair Sopranos we’re now Garden State Passers and looking forward at our shot in the Pro Chess League. First match of the season will be February 14th, 2023 at 10:30am ET. Games will be live on: https://twitch.tv/PassersGG as well as https://twitch.tv/Chess with in-house commentary … Read more
• Presidents Cup: College Final Four official stream!April 3, 2021
  Once again we find ourselves covering one of the biggest events in US chess. This time we’re covering the Presidents Cup consisting of the 4 strongest college teams. Each team has 4 players plus 2 alternates to make a combined 24 player field. This field? We’re looking at 19 GMs, 4 IMs, and one FM … Read more
• Who Were the Montclair Sopranos? Who Are We?February 6, 2021
  If you’re involved in the online chess community, odds are you’ve heard of the Montclair Sopranos! Hailing out of New Jersey they were a pro team in the Chess.com backed PRO Chess League with a solid performance throughout. Only one season, 2018, did they miss out on a playoff breadth. Throughout their years, the team … Read more
• Playoffs: Away against MichiganNovember 1, 2020
  We find ourselves away to Michigan again! Unfortunately this time Michigan moves on in the case of a draw, the result that we had during the regular season. What were the chances that we’d draw again? Apparently rather high since that’s exactly what happened! Both teams came out with different line-ups compared to the first … Read more

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