WELCOME TO FUN!

"You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player." - J.R. Capablanca

"The more you practice, the better you'll become. You should be ready to lose and learn from your mistakes." - Harry Jordan

Hi folks! Here at the Kingston Chess Club, we understand that our Junior Members represent our future. In sharing our love for chess, we are planting good seeds that will pay dividends for all of us. Studies show that young people who receive formal chess instruction consistently outperform nonchess playing students in math and problem solving in school. Just as important, the joy of playing chess tends to grow with us right into adulthood.

Take a little time to browse our instructional pages. We have puzzles, hints and tips to help make you an even better player.

sticky announcement:

The 2011 EASTERN ONTARIO CHESS CHALLENGE RESULTS ARE POSTED.

We congratulate all who competed in the event this year. Good luck to the medal winners who will be moving on to compete in the Provincial Qualifier to be held in Concord (Toronto) on April 17, 2011. Thank you to all the volunteers, the sponsors and to the tireless Organizer and Tournament Director Chris Hargreaves! at 613 389 8993.

Junior Coordinator Harry Jordan reports:

I would like to welcome some new players to the club. I know you will as well. This year promises to be a great season of chess.

The Junior club will operate from 6 - 7pm Monday nights starting September 13, 2010. The club will run until April 18, 2011

Important notice:

The junior players will need to be picked up no later then 7:10 pm.

If you can’t pick your child up by this time please let myself, Harry, know that you may be late.

The senior club will start at 7:15pm.

If your child would like to play in the senior club they may join, email me for the details.

As always there will be a trophy for the tournament winner and his/her name will be included on the BIG Trophy. Second and Third place will receive a medal.

We will start the season off with our Fall Classic Tournament. This tournament will run from Sept 20/10 until Oct 25/10 for 5 games

There is no junior chess club meeting on October 11/10. This is Thanksgiving Monday.

The next tournament will be the Crazy Mixed Up Tournament. This tournament will run from Nov 1 - 29/10 for 5 games. One prize for this tournament, first place only.

December 6 and 13 will be open nights. We are planning a blitz tournament, which will be played with the senior club members. I’m sure the kids will love to play in this tournament. Please plan on staying later both nights. Each player will have 10 minutes each on their clock.

December 20 The Party: I will have a list on the night of Dec 6 and would ask that everyone sign up to bring something to eat or drink, to make this a successful evening. Chess club will run until 7:30pm. Happy Holidays to one and all. Play safe and we’ll see you back on January 3, 2011

Welcome back to the second part of this the 2010-2011 chess season. Our Spring Classic will run from Jan 3 - 31. This will be a 5 game tournament.

Feb 7/11 will be an open chess night. I will plan something productive that I’m sure the kids will love.

There will be no Junior chess club meeting on Feb. 14 Valentines Day or Feb 21. Family Day.

Our Team Chess Tournament will start Feb. 28 and finish on April 4. This will be a 5 game tournament.

There will be no chess March 14 as this is March Break. I’m sure Dave and I will run the Chess Camp on Wednesday March 16. Details will follow.

April 11 -18 will be open nights. This will lead us through the eastern Ontario Championships. April 18 will also be our last meeting of the year and will be our pizza party night. The club will supply everything for this night.

I have some Kingston Chess Club T-Shirts. If you are interested these are $10.00 each.

I’d like to wish everyone Good Game and a great season of chess. If you have questions feel free to email me at harryjordann@hotmail.com (Subject “Chess” or I will not open the email) or just click here. Alternatively call: 613-634-3476 - Harry

Chess Terms That You May Hear

Casual Chess - play and just have fun

Simultaneous - One or more of the senior players will be playing the junior club all at the same time.

Tournament - Players will play 1- 6 games...Depending on time and event.

Rules and Regulation of the Kingston Junior Chess Club

I Would at this time like to ask you read this document. Please ask me questions on anything that you don't understand. As well, please explain these rules to your child /children and ask them if they have any questions. Again let me know if you or your child have any questions, I would like to clear anything up before we start the year.

Not all rules are listed. Nor do I know all the rules. If something comes up that I don't know the answer too, I will do my best to find the answer. This may include talking with one or more of the senior players. This may also include making a decision based on what make sense to me. I maybe wrong. Your child may lose a tournament because of the decision I make. I would ask you to understand that Ifm doing my best in the interest of all the junior players.

Chess is called a gentleman's game. Because of this I will ask you not to laugh at any questions or ideas that a player may have. We are all here to learn and have fun. I would ask that you help one another. We can all become stronger players by helping each other.

Before and after your game you should shake hands with your opponent. This shows good sportsmanship.

I would like to encourage everyone to come out to play the wonderful game of chess but, if you are not coming to the chess club to play chess please stay home. Other years I've had to deal with players running around, I will not be dealing with this issue any more, I will ask your parents to keep you home...

There are no refunds.

Do you have to play in the tournaments? No, but, please don't distract the people that are in the tournament.

Tournament play

If you are new to the club you will be starting with a rating of 1000 points.

We play TOUCH MOVE... this means you touch the piece you move it unless it's an illegal move.

Please show up each night. If you cannot show up please let Harry know in advance.

In the last 10 minutes of the evening you maybe place on a timer. each player will be given 5 minutes. You must push, not hit, your clocks button with the same hand you move with. The person playing black will determine which side the clock goes on.

Questions and\or issues will be dealt with as they arise. Please put your hand up if you have a question. Coming to me after the game is finished or after the player have a few more moves will not help me understand the problem, please get my attention right away so I can help with the problem right there and then.

Parents must wait on the side lines. There can be no hint of distraction to either player during a tournament game. Your child may lose the game if you cause any type of interference.

Tournament Points Scoring

3 points - for a win.

3 points - for showing up and not getting a game. The player with the lowest rating will be asked to sit out for one game if there is an uneven amount of players. If the same thing happens throughout the whole tournament, the following week, the next lowest rated player will not get a game. I will have something else planned for the player to do.

2 points - for a draw.

1 point - for a loss.

1/2 point - point for letting Harry know in advance that you will not make a game. 1/2 points are not allowed in the final 2 rounds.

0 points - for not showing up.

Unless you are both recording the game the 3 move repeated position will not count. If you feel that your opponent is just making the same move forcing you to make the same move let me know and I'll make a ruling on the game.

Because we use tournament rankings to determine who plays whom, it's fair to say that the winner of the Fall Classic will probably not have lost a game. Second place is always up for grabs, as this player may have only lost one game and someone else may have only lost one game, these players will be tied for second place. Third will work the same way and so on.

What happens if a game is draw?

This is a very good question and one that is not answered easily.

Because we must finish the tournament on time, the day its scheduled to end, it's important to note when the draw takes place. If the draw takes place the week before the last game then the draw will remove the two players from playing for the championship (in the week before we finish the tournament, we could have only 4 players that have won all the games, by removing the 2 players that drew it will leave only 2 players left, they would be playing for the championship a week before the final round). If the final game ends in a draw we could end up with a 3 or 4 way co-championship.

What if in the second last week we have only 3 undefeated players?

In the event that this happens I will bring in one player that has lost the least amount of games, this player will be the highest rated player available.

When playing on the clock you must try and win the game or I could declare the game a draw. You can not simply run your opponent out of time, you must show that you know how to win the game.

Have a great year! - Harry

Check Out Harry's Chess Shrine!

Junior Coordinator Harry Jordan has put together a wonderful collection of chess sets and memorabilia all gathered together into one dedicated room. Check these pics out. Awesome shrine, Harry!

In The Snooze!

Any late breaking KCC news will be posted here along with club tournament winners and non-club news items of interest to members and their parents.

October 28, 2010...

Harry sends the following report:

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2010 Junior Chess fall Classic:

First place: Arman Azroy

Second Place: Mark Dicker

Third Place Tied: Nik Kotsovolos, Alex Chan

Most Improved Player: Arman Azroy + 44

Fourth place: Alex Cann
Fifth place: Zoe
Sixth place tied: Andy and Rowan
Seventh place tied:raymond and Nicholas
Eighth place: Will

The next Tournament will start this coming Monday Nov 1. Good Luck to one and all. - Harry

October 24, 2010...

We have received the following tournament announcement:

ONTARIO HIGH SCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
44th Annual Tournament
May 13, 14, 15, 2011
Queen's University, Grant Hall, 35 University Ave, Kingston, Ontario

OHSCC WEBSITE: http://www.ohscc.on.ca Maps and travel information will be available.

Each year in the month of May, the OHSCC is held at a university in Ontario. It is a three day event that follows closely the style of CFC run tournaments in three sections: Beginner, Intermediate, and Championship. Accommodation (bed and breakfast at $50 per night) at the university is offered to competitors and their coaches/teachers/parents. For more information, please follow the link above.

NOTE: One need not attend high school to participate in this event. Please see the website above for more details.

We have received the following from CMA Executive Director Larry Bevand:

As you know, Jeff Coakley has written 3 excellent books for youngsters which are published by the Chess'n Math Association in Canada:

Winning Chess Strategy For Kids
Winning Chess Exercises for Kids
Winning Chess Puzzles for Kids.

He also writes a magazine for kids called "Scholar's Mate" which appears 5 times a year: Oct. 15, December 15, February 15, April 15 and June 15. We have decided to offer this magazine free online at the following address:

http://www.chess-math.org/scholarsmate/

Could you please mention this on your site.

Thanks,
Larry Bevand
Executive Director
Chess'n Math Association

Lightening Wins!

We have put together three pages of checkmate problems. Your job is to find the winning first move. In most (but not all!) positions you will have the white pieces with White playing from the bottom of the board. Start with Checkmate in 1 Move and work your way up to the more difficult tests:

WACy Annotates

Have you ever tried to play over games by more experienced players and didn't have a clue why some moves were made (or not made)? If so, then this section is for you. WACy plays through a game and explains what is going on in a way that hopefully will make sense to the less experienced player. So far we offer the following:

Coppin - Bekefi: Ruy Lopez, Cozio variation
Coppin - Creary: Queen's Gambit Declined- Exchange variation
Beatty - Coppin: Basmania- irregular opening
Coppin - N.N.: Hallowe'en Attack - very scary
"Cruz" - "WACy": Budapest Defence - internet correspondence game

Go to the WACY Annotates page

Tips and Hints

Here we will offer some practical advice for improving your game. We cannot stress enough how important it is that you learn how to record your own chess games. Learning the algebraic notation for recording chess games will also enable you to play over almost every game you can find on the Weave. We have put together the following outstanding articles:

Brief tutorial on Algebraic Notation
General Chess Advice
Chess Opening Advice
Visit the Great Pawn Hunter: Juniors and teachers! will benefit from this site!

Go to the Tips and Hints page