Keep in Shape

Play chess. Go on-line. Try kid chess.com

Solve chess puzzless. 

Practice checkmate with a king and queen vs king.

Practice checkmate with a king and rook vs king.

Play in a tournament - click on School Chess Association to the right to see when the next tournament is.

Next Session will start on March 9. (Mar 9, thru May 11 - no class Mar 30)

Final standings

Dean	350
Ben	298
Leo	242
Evan	203
Owen	200
Warren	196
Luke	184
Elliot	180
J.R.	180
Liam	171
Justin	154
John	138
Judah	138
Atticus	129
Joshua	121
Sincere	110
Adam	100

 

Here's a position in game 6 of the world championship. In the longest game ever in a world championship, Magnus Carlson played move 133. e6! Why can't his opponent just take the rook?

ANSWER: Because after 133. Qxf5 134. Ng7+ Ke7 Nxf5

After 8 games the defending world champion Magnus Carlson of Norway leads challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia by a score of 5 to 3 with 6 games to go.

 Tournament Results

Three students from Heritage attended a School Chess Association tournament in Plymouth on Saturday.

The result were pretty much as expected. No one gained or lost more than 20 points, so the ratings you had were pretty accurate predictors of how you would do. Teamwise we came in last of 6 teams, but no school ran away with it (a perfect score would be 10). We have our work cut out for us. But May is still a ways away, so we have time to improve. I think the tournaments before January are more difficult because most of the players are experienced players whereas in January there will be more newer players and we'll have a better chance at getting more wins.

6th Grade Team Results

Plymouth Middle School . . 8
Nicolette Middle School. . 7.5
Little Canada Elementary . 5.5
Highlands Elem. Edina. . . 4
Providence Academy . . . . 2
Heritage STEM. . . . . . . 1

Gr Name W L D Old Chg New

 5 Evan 1 3 0 204  -1 203

 6 Ben  1 3 0 273  +6 279

 6 Owen 0 4 0 196 -17 179

 

Chess Tournament this Saturday

Who can come? Anyone who wants to have fun playing chess.

When is it? Saturday Dec, 4 register at the door before 8:00 a.m. If you are late you may miss round 1

Where is it? Plymouth Middle School - about 32 minutes from Heritage

Who would I play? Other students from around the Twin Cities in your same grade

If I lose my first game, am I done? No, you'll play four or five games. Each can take up to an hour..

How good are they? Some are super good and have been playing for years. Others are new to chess this year just like you. Each round you'll play someone with the same record as you.

How do I know what to do? There's a meeting in the gym before it starts where they'll explain it all. And I'll be there to help you.

Are there awards? Yes, there are individual and team trophies. There are also merit points which they'll explain. If we have 2 or more students in the same grade, they total the top 3 to determine the winner.

How much does it cost? It's $24 or $26 if this is your first tournament.

How long does it last? Until about 1:30 or 2:00

Will this affect my rating? Yes. You'll probably go up unless you lose every game.

What do I do for lunch? They sell pizza, chips, fruit, pop etc. there, or you can bring your own lunch.

What do I need to bring? A mask and a chess set (optional - Mr. Heinemann will bring several sets.)

There are several people from Heritage already planning on going!

I was hoping to make up for the class we missed but we will not be able to meet on Dec 15 because the cafeteria is in use. 

PUZZLE OF THE DAY

Here's a problem from game 4 played Nov 30, 2021 in the world chess championship between the reigning champion Magnus Carlson of Norway against his challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia.  It is Carlson's turn as White. Should he take the pawn on d5 with his queen? Why or why not?

Answer: No! Carlson would lose his queen after Bxh2+! Kxh2 Qxd5

RATINGS

Don't forget to do the challenges (for example King and Queen checkmate) each is worth 10-15 points.

	Dean	377
RR, KQ	Ben	273
	Leo	215
RR	Warren	205
	Evan	204
	Owen	196
RR, KQ	J.R.	191
RR	Luke	184
RR, KQ	Elliot	180
	Liam	166
RR	Justin	135
	John	133
	Judah	132
	Atticus	129
	Sincere	109
	Adam	100
	Joshua	100

Progress Reports

If you want to move up, pay close attention in class - I've taught several state and national championship teams, and several state and national individual champions. Take time on your worksheets. Play lots of chess outside of class preferably with someone who can beat you - eventually you'll be beating them. Play hard every game.

Read these charts from right to left!

Dean is more than holding his own at the top which is hard to do

Ben quickly soared to the top of the new students

Leo has really moved up since he has been coming regularly

Evan, Warren and Owen have made pretty steady progress especially with the worksheets 

This group works hard but probably had not played chess as much as the top group

JR has made steady progress

Liam was making great progress til he missed class on Nov 10

Elliot has made good progress with a little blip when he missed class Nov 3

Luke was ahead of the pack until last week, but he'll be back

John has really done well the last two weeks.

In chess, someone has to lose (usually) and it often takes a while for beginners to get much over 100. I often tell about a player I coached who lost his first 15 tournament games but went on to win the  national U1600 championship years later. So just stick with it til things click.

Judah - now that attendance is regular, you are starting to rise

Justin - after a fast start, you lost two games one day, but you work hard and it will pay off

Atticus - after a fast start, you started playing some good players and that's the best way to improve

Joshua - you need to focus in class when I'm teaching so you have a chance to win some games

Sincere - you started well. I am not worried - you are improving and will win some games

Adam  - you need to focus more during class. Chess will be good for you.

  

 Today we went over the fork worksheet.

We learned in passing that if you are left with a bishop, pawn and king against just a king, you can queen the pawn unless the pawn is on a rook file (a-file or h-file) and the bishop is not on the same color square as the queening square.

Then we learned about hurdles and skewers. "Two big pieces on a line? Look out! It's hurdle time!" If the front piece is the king, it's a hurdle. If it's not the king, it's a skewer.

Here's nice problem. White's turn. You should be concerned about his pawn. What's the winning move?

	6	Dean	358
RR, KQ	6	Ben	232
	8	Leo	210
	5	Evan	191
RR	5	Warren	190
	6	Owen	183
RR, KQ	7	J.R.	173
	5	Liam	166
RR, KQ	7	Elliot	161
RR	6	Luke	157
	5	John	133
	6	Judah	127
RR	5	Justin	122
	6	Atticus	116
	5	Emilia	111
	6	Joshua	107
	7	Sincere	104
	6	Adam	100

Today we started on tactics. The "fork" was today's tactic. We learned that any piece can fork two of your opponent's pieces. But knights and pawns are the most common. When the board starts to get empty the queen is also capable of forking. "Two big pieces on the same color square? Keep on looking - there's a fork there!" 

 I think 9:00 pm today on channel, Maury's Stories features me and our chess club. 

This Saturday, if you're interested in a little competition, show up BEFORE 8:00 a.m. at Highview Middle School in New Brighton with $26 for entry fee and about $7 for lunch (pizza, chips, fruit, etc). Bring your chess set. Questions? call me at 651-451-8412. 

 

Skills	Gr	Name	Rating
	6	Dean	371
RR, KQ	6	Ben	232
	8	Leo	189
RR	6	Luke	168
	5	Liam	166
RR	5	Warren	162
RR, KQ	7	J.R.	155
	5	Evan	153
	6	Owen	150
RR, KQ	7	Elliot	128
RR	5	Justin	127
	6	Judah	122
	6	Atticus	118
	7	Sincere	114
	5	John	112
	5	Emilia	111
	6	Adam	100
	6	Joshua	100

Today we learned about the minimal material endgames. We learned how to force a checkmate when having a King and rook against just a King. We also had a visit from Maury Glover and channel 9. The segment will be aired next Wed. on channel 9 during the 9:00 news.

 

Next Tournament in Nov 6 at Highview Middle School in New Brighton. You will compete against only players in your same grade. Be there before 8:00 to register at the door. Bring a chess set. Cost $26 You will play 4 or 5 games. Let me know if you are coming and I'll be there. See schoolchess.org for more details.

Name	Rating
Dean	367
Ben	189
Luke	153
Leo	152
Evan	143
Atticus	139
J.R.	139
Liam	134
Warren	130
Elliot	128
Owen	126
Sincere	125
Justin	120
Emilia	111
Judah	101
Adam	100
John	100
Joshua	100

Today we went over rules for castling including a funny story. We also learned how to get a checkmate with just a K and Q. We learned what can hppen to a pawn that makes it across the board. Did you know you can have 9 queens on the board?

Skills	Name	Rating
	Dean	356
RR, KQ	Ben	155
	Evan	155
RR	Luke	148
	Leo	147
RR, KQ	Elliot	140
RR, KQ	J.R.	139
	Owen	136
RR	Warren	130
	Sincere	120
	Atticus	118
	Adam	112
	Liam	112
	Emilia	111
	Joshua	101
	Judah	101
	John	100
RR	Justin	100

  We counted possible moves on en empty board for B, R, N depending on where it is on the board. We learned that knights belong in the middle, bishops belong toward the middle, rooks are just as strong on the edge or corner as in the center. 

  We learned how to castle - the king moves 2 squares toward the rook and the rook moves to the square the king passed over. You can't castle if you've already moved the king or the involved rook. You can't castle if there is any piece between the king and rook. You can't castle into check, out of check, or thru check. 

   We practiced checkmating with two rooks. 

Tournament Saturday at Zachary Lane Elementary in Plymouth for those interested (grades 4-6 and 7-9). Show up before 8:30 with chess set and $26. See www.schoolchess.org for details.

 

Name	Rating
Dean	344
Leo	147
Benjamin	129
Luke	127
Warren	126
Elliot	125
Justin	125
J.R.	124
Evan	119
John	119
Owen	115
Sincere	115
Joshua	114
Adam	112
Liam	112
Emilia	111
Atticus	105
Judah	101

 Great start to chess club! We learned

1) how all the pieces move (including the tricky pawn move called en passant)

2) what piece never changes the color of square it's on

3) what piece always changes the color square it's on every time it moves

4) we learned some words - file, rank, orthogonal

5) a little about the origins and evolution of the game

6) stalemate and checkmate

No one got a perfect score of 18, but three came mighty close. Hey Justin - I didn't get a worksheet from you.

Grade	Name	Rating
	Dean	339
	Leo	147
6	Benjamin	114
5	John	114
5	Liam	114
5	Evan	113
5	Warren	113
6	Luke	112
5	Emilia	111
6	Joshua	111
7	Elliot	110
6	Owen	110
7	Sincere	110
6	Adam	109
7	J.R.	109
5	Justin	105
	Atticus	100
	Judah	100