In this time of crisis the Garden State Chess League stands at a crossroads. Some chess players have raised the possibility of suspending the season because of the coronavirus. They motivate this by saying that we need to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
To this I, Lev Zilbermintz [pictured], president of the Garden State Chess League, say: This season will continue!! Appropriate safety measures will be taken, but I will not allow the league to be suspended!! We might have to play some of our matches on-line, which is fine. However, the Garden State Chess League will continue. I will also undertake recruiting for the 2020-2021 GSCL season earlier.
We chess players are survivors. There have been world wars, 9/11, Spanish flu, AIDS, and who knows what else. Chess has survived these crises and improved. The United States Chess Federation was formed in 1939, just before World War II began. Its predecessors survived the Spanish American War, World War I, and other crises. We will survive the coronavirus!! Chess will continue!!
I will not allow the coronavirus to disrupt the Garden State Chess League. Please refer to my previous message about the measures taken to safeguard the health of chess players. These are the same measures that the West Orange Chess Club is using.
Our civilization rose from the ashes of imperial Rome and the difficult times of the Dark Ages to the heights it has now. We are exploring outer space, have major advances in medicine, culture, economy, technology, etc. We as humans and chess players must band together to fight the coronavirus and defeat it.
We must not allow ourselves to be scared, to freeze everything a civilization stands for. Yes, we must modify our lives to deal with the coronavirus. But we must always have the attitude that we will defeat this coronavirus the same way we defeated polio. Our scientists, our doctors, and we ourselves need to pull ourselves together to fight and win against the coronavirus.
United we stand. The Garden State Chess League will continue to hold its matches. It will implement all relevant safety measures as proposed by West Orange Chess Club president John Hagerty and adapted for GSCL by myself.
Stay safe.
Lev Zilbermintz
President of Garden State Chess League
