Dear Team,

My name is Yury Barnakov. I am a scientist from the Mid-IR group (Simarano, Marlborough) and a USCF National Master.

First of all, I want to thank each of you for signing up to play in the 12th season of the NA Continental Corporate Chess League. I truly appreciate your willingness to sacrifice your spare time to represent our company in this exciting event.

Looking at the lineup of companies and players, I believe our realistic and ambitious target should be to win the Best High-Tech Company plaque. Thanks to the league’s rules and our strong team, we have a real shot at it.

Please stay focused during your games and try to minimize blunders and oversights. If you have any questions about openings or other technical aspects of chess, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Pablo and I are organizing the IPG Photonics Online Chess Club on Chess.com. The goal is to offer opportunities for casual play, training, and internal competitions among IPG members. If you haven’t joined the club yet, please do so.

We will also be hosting our first training tournament this Sunday, September 28th at PM EST, using the same game format as the league. This will be great practice for everyone.

Thank you again, and good luck in the tournament!

P.S. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Pablo Borgers.

Best regards,
Yury Barnakov

IPG Photonics Chess Club

Super Admins