End of Session 1

CHESS TEAM
We have joined a chess league for Middle Schools where we can compete against other schools in the area. We name our five top players. In case one or more cannot attend on a particular day, we will use players 6-9 (or more) to fill the roster. Most games will be played at Heritage or Friendly Hills; some at Metcalf. Games will be played after school on Fridays.
I'll post more information as it becomes available.

Rank	Name	19-Dec
1	Maize	661
2	Chase	488
3	Silas	438
4	Boomer	426
5	Jackson	336
6	Johnny	309
7	Aidan G	255
8	Antonio	216
9	Myles	202
10	John	184
11	Dylan	181
12	Mark	169
13	Cole	165
14	Cooper	143
15	Drew	136
16	Martice	126
17	Xander	126
18	David	116

Latest Ratings

Today we went over the worksheet on batteries.
We had a lesson on undermining and did a worksheet on undermining
We also discussed the possibility of competing agains Friendly Hills for a travelling trophy.  The idea was well-received.

Grade	Rank	Name	12-Dec
5	1	Maize	650
5	2	Chase	497
7	3	Silas	391
8	4	Boomer	368
8	5	Jackson	352
6	6	Johnny	285
8	7	Aidan G	236
8	8	Antonio	211
6	9	Myles	202
8	10	Dylan	181
6	11	Cole	170
7	12	Mark	160
8	13	John	152
7	14	Cooper	138
6	15	Drew	136
8	16	Martice	121
7	17	David	115
8	18	Xander	109

Tournament Schedule Update

Tournament Schedule Has Changed
Changes marked in red. If you want to come to a tournament, just show up with about $30 at 8:15 at the school where the tournament is being held.

Jan 4  Sandburg M.S., Golden Valley (Special double-bug section)
Jan 18 Pilgrim Lane, Plymouth M.S.  (5 person team vs team)
Feb 8 Zachary Lane Elem. Plymouth
March 21 Grade Level Championships (Teams of 3) Pilgrim Lane M.S.
April 18 M.S. Championships Pilgrim Lane, Plymouth M.S.
May 2 Robbinsdale M.S. Elementary (K-6) Championships

Tournament Results

Name   1 2 3 4 5 Bef Aft Chg
Maize  W L L W L 646 624 -22
Chase  L W L W L 508 505  -3

Chase received a bronze medal for having 
won 10 games in tournament competition.

Tournament Saturdday

Tournament Saturday

WHEN: Saturday Dec 7, 2019 from 8:15 to about 3:00

WHERE: Metcalf M.S. in Burnsville

WHO: Anyone pre-school to 12th grade. You will play other children in your same grade.

HOW: To register show up before 8:30 with $22 and money for lunch.

WHY: Have fun, make new friends, earn awards.

Do I have to "make the team"? Nope, not in chess. You are automatically on the team.

If I lose do I go home? No, you'll play 5 games. 

What if I lose m first 3 games? You'll play against someone with the same record.
HOW MANY GAMES WILL I WIN? If it's your first tournament, your goal is to try to win 1 game.

For more information, look up www.schoolchess.org or call coach Bill at 651-451-8412

Ratings
(The list I had today was several weeks old)

Grade	Rank	Name	5-Dec
5	1	Maize	662
5	2	Chase	508
7	3	Silas	388
8	4	Boomer	320
8	5	Jackson	308
8	6	Aidan G	231
8	7	Antonio	217
6	8	Johnny	216
6	9	Cole	215
6	10	Myles	197
8	11	Dylan	176
7	12	Cooper	145
7	13	Mark	144
6	14	Drew	134
7	15	David	110
8	16	Xander	108
8	17	Martice	100

Mid-term Exams

Chess Sets
At this time of year, I usually put in a group order and order chess sets like the ones we use at chess club. I usually get a good discount by ordering bulk, frequent customer, split shipping, etc. Includes vinyl and cloth roll-up board, pieces with extra queens, large carrying case with handles, sleeve for board and zippered compartment for pieces. Cost is usually $12 to $14 which is better that the $20 if you ordered yourself or $40 at a store. Send me an e-mail at gemshein@hotmail.com if you'd like one.

Tournament
Chase and Boomer each gained some rating points at the last tournament and won some games.
Let's put together an 8th grade team: Silas (playing up a grade), Jackson and Boomer. Those 3 are rising to the top. I'm not sure how well the rest of you would do, but if you enjoy playin and don't mind losing, you might have a good time at a tournament and it's one of the best ways to improve.
When Dec 16 Register on-line or at the door by 8:30 Awards around 3:00
Where: Metcalf M.S. Burnsville 35E to Diffley west to Cedar
How much: $22 (only $20 if you're already a member) plus lunch or lunch money
Why? Have fun, earn awards, make friends
See www.schoolchess.org for more details.

Test Results
Everyone outscored their ratings except Maize who had the highest rating.
the way I scored it was 50 points per problem with partial credit on some problems for good, but not the best, answers. Since everyone starts at 100, I added 100 to your test score. Your rating moved 10% closer to your exam score.
Top scores: Boomer, Silas, Jackson, Chase and Maize.
Top gains: Boomer, Silas, Jackson, Dylan, and Drew

1	Maize	646
2	Chase	494
3	Silas	380
4	Jackson	288
5	Boomer	269
6	Antonio	208
7	Johnny	207
8	Aidan G	198
9	Myles	197
10	Cole	197
11	Dylan	158
12	Cooper	137
13	Drew	136
14	Mark	131
15	John	119
16	David	115
17	Xander	114
18	Martice	104

Tournament Results

Name   W L D Bef Aft Chg Merit
Chase  2 2 1 469 491 +22  12    Chase earned his bronze medal
Boomer 1 4 0 190 213 +23   1

PINS

Today awe went over the worksheet on hurdles and skewers.
Then we learned about pins and worked on a worksheet.

Chase on his way to 2.5 points out of 5.

Next tournaments Nov 16 and Dec 2 - both at Metcalf Middle School in Burnsville.

Grade	Rank	Name	7-Nov
5	1	Maize	639
5	2	Chase	449
7	3	Silas	240
8	4	Jackson	209
8	5	Antonio	206
6	6	Myles	184
8	7	Boomer	162
6	8	Cole	155
8	9	Dylan	151
8	10	Aidan G	147
6	11	Johnny	147
8	12	Xander	120
8	13	John	119
7	14	David	115
7	15	Mark	113
6	16	Drew	101
7	17	Cooper	100
	18	Martice	100

Tournament Results

5th grader Chase Tressler had 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses to finish in 19th  place out of 30 competitors.
Chase raised his rating by 33 points to 430.

End of October

Today we went over the fork problems
We learned about hurdles and skewer and worked on 8 problems.
Highest score on worksheet was 9 by Boomer, Dylan, Jackson, Maize
Not very good - we need to pay attention when we go over the answers next week
Two big pieces on a line?
Look out! It's hurdle time!

TOURNAMENT Saturday Nov 2 
Where? Highview Middle School, New Brighton
When? Register at 8:15 Be done around 2:30
How much? $20 (+ $2 for a membership good thru 12th grade) Pack a lunch or bring $5-8. 
Who: Anyone K-12
Why: To have fun, earn awards.
For more info call me at 651-451-8412 or www.schoolchess.org 

Next Tournaments
Nov 16
Dec  2 - Grade Level Let's try to field a team even if someone has to play up a grade.
Jan 4
Jan 18 - Team vs Team (we need 5 players for a team)
Jr High Chess League (we need 5+ players for a team)  weekdays after school

Grade	Rank	Name	31-Oct
5	1	Maize	639
5	2	Chase	397
7	3	Silas	210
8	4	Antonio	183
6	5	Myles	177
8	6	Jackson	173
8	7	Boomer	158
6	8	Cole	139
8	9	Dylan	134
8	10	Aidan G	124
6	11	Johnny	120
7	12	Mark	118
7	13	David	112
6	14	Drew	112
8	15	Xander	107
7	16	Cooper	100
	17	Martice	100

Oct 24

Today our lesson was on forks.
Highest score on the worksheet was  a perfect 16 by Boomer
For more practice click here
or for really hard problems click here

Tournament coming up Nov 2 - more info next week Set aside that Saturday if you want to compete/ (8;15 to approx.  2:30)

Update: All 17 players are now properly registered. To register click here.

Grade	Rank	Name		24-Oct
5	1	Maize		625
5	2	Chase		384
7	3	Silas		210
8	4	Jackson		159
8	5	Antonio		158
6	6	Myles		153
8	7	Boomer		144
8	8	Dylan		136
6	9	Johnny		125
8	10	John		119
8	11	Xander		113
7	12	David		112
6	13	Cole		112
8	14	Aidan G		111
7	15	Mark		109
7	16	Cooper		100
6	17	Drew		100

Heritage Chess Club News

If you're not registered yet, please register now. To register click here.
(BOOMER and AIDEN S.)

If anyone is interested in trying a tournament, there is one this weekend at
Metcalf Middle School. Be there at 8:15 to register. You'll play 4 or 5 games against players from around the Twin Cities. There will be a section for 4th-6th grade and one for 7th-9th grade. Cost is $22 + lunch (pizza, hot dogs, chips, pop, juice, fruit, cookies, etc.) You'll be done around 2:30. For more info check out www.schoolchess.org or call Bill Heinemann at 651-451-8412.

We learned some general strategy for piece placement.
We learned how to notate a move.
We learned some checkmate positions and the difference between checkmate and stalemate.

 Note: on the previous post I had Maize and Chase's ratings switched.

Grade	Rank	Name	Rating
5	1	Maize	637
5	2	Chase	396
7	3	Silas	160
	4	Boomer	139
8	5	Dylan	135
	6	Jackson	123
	7	Myles	120
8	8	Antonio	116
	9	Aidan G	106
8	10	Beckham	105
	11	Aiden S	102
7	12	Cooper	100
	13	Drew	100
	14	Cole	100
	15	Johnny	100

2019-2020 CHESS CLUB

Chess Club will start on Thursday, October 3 Informational meeting and chess practice. This day is free and open to all.
But this club is being run thru community ed, so you'll have to register and pay to be a part of the club for 9 weeks. To register click here.
At this point it looks like there will be a winter session and a spring session as well.

We meet in room 163 at 3:25 every Thursday and we are done at 5:00
Arrange transportation, or take the activity bus when available.
I'll teach a lesson for 15-30 minutes.
Then we'll have either a drill or a worksheet to do.
Then we'll have almost an hour to play chess.

Rating system - you start at 100 or wherever you left off last year. You gain 5 pts for attendance, and 2 points per problem on worksheets. You gain 16 points for winning a game against a similarly rated player, more for winning against a stronger player, less against a weaker player. (Look up Harkness System if you want the details.)
By Jan I'll name our starting team (5 players and 3+ alternates)

TOURNAMENTS We participate in tournaments on Saturdays and a League on Fridays in Jan-Feb. Anyone can participate in the tournaments. There is no bus - students must arrange their own transportation.

FALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Oct 12 Metcalf Middle School, Burnsville
Nov 2 Highview Middle School, New Brighton
Nov 16 Metcalf
Dec 7 Metcalf
WINTER SCHEDULE (looking ahead)
Jan 4 Metcalf (need 5-player team)
Jan - Feb (Fridays TBA) Interscholastic league (Metcalf, Friendly Hills, Faithful Shepherd, et al.)

Meanwhile, start practicing. Find some good lessons on tactics on the internet.