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