Ithaca Chess Club
… is open to everyone in Ithaca and Tompkins County (and visitors to Ithaca from anywhere), for all ages and all levels of skill from beginner to grandmaster.
The Ithaca Chess Club was founded on June 1, 2022 by National Master Michael Pastore.
Membership in the club is free, and will be free always.
For more information, go to our contact page, tell us about your chess level and interests, and leave us your email address.
We are looking forward to fun, and improving concentration, reasoning, creativity, and chess strategy and tactics.
— Mike Pastore
National Master
Founder and President
Ithaca Chess Club
Club Officers (all volunteers)
President and Founder: Michael (Mike) Pastore
Vice President: Eric Gervais
Director of Chess Education: Miro Reverby
Secretary: Lucas Wright
Coordinator of Focus Groups: Miranda Pagán
Organizational Advisor: Ann Warde
Treasurers: Avi Baumgold and Gary Williams
About the Chess Club Officers
Michael Pastore
Michael Pastore is a USCF National Master, who has played in the U.S. Junior invitational championship. After winning the Philadelphia High School Championship with a perfect score (5-0), he led his university to a national team victory in Atlantic City. In that era, he lectured about chess and played simultaneous exhibitions … After a decades-long break from the royal game, Pastore founded the Ithaca Chess Club in July 2022. His chess website is Chess Tonight.com, and his forthcoming chess YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@ChessTonight2024 .
Currently, he is writing chess books which will be published under his own imprint, Zorba Chess.
Eric Gervais
Eric Gervais took up chess as a hobby in 2020 during the pandemic, with little experience other than learning to play from his father. With a lot of time on his hands, he embarked on an ambitious course of study, including interacting with many live chess streamers. He soon became a Twitch moderator for over 20 chess channels, including grandmasters on 4 continents, and many other strong players from a dozen countries around the world. With their guidance and insight, Eric doubled his online ratings in about two years of play. Eric joined the Ithaca Chess Club soon after it started in the summer of 2022, and has remained dedicated to the cause ever since.
Miro Reverby
Miro Reverby is a USCF Certified Life Master, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and Dartmouth College. His Stuyvesant High School chess team won consecutive National High School team championships in 1984 and 1985. In 1985 Miro was the youngest member and the highest scorer on the team. Miro was the Rhode Island (individual) State Chess Champion in 2000, 2008 and 2014. Miro founded and directed a chess academy in Rhode Island for over a decade, and he was Chess Coach and Program Manager at the 2001 and 2006 World Scholar-Athlete Games. Miro received a citation from the Rhode Island Senate for his contributions to chess in the state. Miro’s critically acclaimed 1988 film ‘Men Who Would Be Kings’, about chess players in Washington Square Park and the Manhattan Chess Club, has been described as “poignant”, “a gem”, and “classic”.
Men Who Would Be Kings (Part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ggwlk4e_4
Men Who would Be Kings (Part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GniGv7KTLqA
Avi Baumgold
Gary Williams
