Jim Mennella (1948-2026)

Jim Mennella was born in 1948 and grew up in Brooklyn. In the mid-1970s he joined the US Chess Federation and his bank’s corporate team. He eventually became team captain, then president of the Bankers Athletic chess league. That’s where Jim and I met, and we often traveled together to tournaments all over the Northeast. He peaked at expert level.

Mennella at the 125th U.S. Open in 2025. (Photo by David Llada)

In 1979, he played in his first U.S. Open. He liked the idea of playing in a large one-section tournament, and it became an annual habit. His first game was against GM Arthur Bisguier, and even though he lost, he was so excited that he mailed me the game on the back of a postcard, because he was so excited to have reached his goal of putting up a good fight while on the stage.

In 1982, Jim attended his first US Chess Delegates Meeting, partially at my urging. He was bored and claimed he would never do it again, but he attended the next year and every year since. Years later he added the Ethics Committee to his responsibilities.

In 1998 he married Betsy Brigantti, and they relocated several times to pursue her educational and career aspirations — to New Jersey, Maryland, and California, where they finally settled down. Whichever state he lived in, he was always able to find a spot as a delegate.

Jim was nominated as a Delegate-at-Large to the most recent U.S. Open, in Grand Rapids, Mich. It was his 47th in a row, second only to Bisguier’s 51.

My last conversation with Jim was Aug. 8 after the meetings, when he told me he planned to play in the Open in 2027. It was not to be; he passed away Aug. 27 and I will miss him. He is survived by Betsy; his stepdaughter, Kristen; his sister, Andrea; her husband, and nieces.