Progress Charts

Progress Charts for Fall of 2018

We've had a great start to the year - our 5th grade team easily won the first two team tournaments even without Lenny. Feb 23 is the Statewide Grade Level Championships and May4-5 is the Statewide K-6 Championships. Also May 10-12 is Nationals in Nashville, TN. Set aside those dates.

On Jan. 2 it will be possible to sign up for the next session on which start Jan 25 and ends in May

Read these charts from right to left:

 Group 1 - our top 8 players. It's hard to gain points when your at the top, but it looks like everyone made some progress. I think Michael has a little trouble in playing hard in club, but in tournaments he concentrates better.

Group 2 - The rising stars -very pleased with the progress of this group. All made steady and significant progress. 400 is when they are ready for tournament play (300 for 3rd grade and under) and could win some games. They undoubtedly benefitted from having some top-notch players to play against.

Group 3 - The beginners and younger players or those having some trouble catching on to the intricacies of the game. Some of these will be moving into the rising star group soon. Sometimes it's hard to get your rating much above 100 when competing against some of the best players in the state.

Final 2018 Ratings and Solutions

Place	Name	14-Dec
1	Lennox	1154
2	Michael	886
3	Suhaas	833
4	Anvith	663
5	Zachary	636
6	Thomas	615
7	Rishik	592
8	Sawyer	563
9	Dennis	545
10	Ashwin	431
11	Faith	400
12	Rowan	363
13	Nivrit	353
14	Courage	283
15	S.J.	267
16	Prithyaa	233
17	Douglas	183
18	Kunal	160
19	Pranya	157
20	Elsa	149
21	Theodore	148
22	Cassandra	146
23	William	132
24	Amaya	106

 Solution: 1. g6+ Kg8
                 2. Rd8+  Re8
                 3. Rxd8#

 Solution: 1. Ne7+ Kh8
                 2. Qxh7+ Kxh7
                 3. Rh1+ Qh5
                 4. Rxh5#

 Solution: 1. Rgxg7+ Kh8
                 2. Rxh7+  Kg8
                 3. Rbxg7# (blind pig mate)

 Solution: 1. Qxb6+ Kxb6
                 2. Qc5# (swallowtail mate)

 Solution: 1. Qxe5+ dxe5
                 2. Bxe5+ Qf6
                 3. Bxf6#

 Solution: 1. Qe8+ Qxe8
                 2. Nxe6#

 Solution: 1. Bc4 (to prevent f5) Ra6 (black is helpless)
                 2. Rd8+ Qxe8
                 3. Rxd8#

 Solution: 1. Rc8 Qxc8
                 2. Qg5# (swallowtail mate)

Solution: 1. Rd7+ Kg8
                2. Nc6+ (the rook is pinned) (not Nh6 which is guarded) Kh8
                3. Rh7# (or Rxf8#)

Tournament Results with Pictures

Ordering chess sets, bags, clocks from USChess - on sale this week 20% off by using coupon code BLOWOUT2018

Congratulations to the 5th grade team which took 1st place. Michael took 5th place and Suhaas and Zachary received awards for tying for 5th.
The 3rd grade team finished in second with 4 points from Rishik, 3 from Anvith, and 2 from Nivrit.
Aarav Salil took first place in the second grade section.

Name    1 2 3 4 5 Pt Chg Merit
Michael W W L W L 3  -11  22.5
Suhaas  W L W W L 3  -11  64
Zachary W L W L W 3  +20   4
Ashwin  L L L B W 2  -12   2
Rishik  D W W D W 4  +57  22.5
Anvith  W L W L W 3  -20  44.5
Nivrit  L W W L L 2   +1   4        
Aarav   W W W W L 4       20.5 
TOTAL W-23 L-15 D-2

Place	Name	8-Dec
1	Lennox	1137
2	Michael	868
3	Suhaas	823
4	Anvith	659
5	Thomas	620
6	Zachary	609
7	Rishik	587
8	Sawyer	556
9	Dennis	534
10	Faith	409
11	Ashwin	406
12	Nivrit	358
13	Rowan	343
14	Courage	283
15	Prithyaa	233
16	S.J.	227
17	Douglas	183
18	Pranya	159
19	Elsa	156
20	Kunal	152
21	Theodore	148
22	Cassandra	146
23	William	134
24	Amaya	106

Team Tournament Tomorrow

Sat Dec 8 at Metcalf M.S. Grade Level Team Tournament (need 3 in a grade - but players may play up to fill out a team) Quite a number are planning on coming! Join the fun. If your rating is 100 x your grade, you'll have a good chance of winning a game or 2. Everyone will play 5 games.
Sign up at the door before 8:30 Cost is $22 plus lunch. We'll be done around 2:00, or 3:00 if you need to stay for awards.

Gr	Place	Name	7-Dec
5	1	Lennox	1137
5	2	Michael	879
5	3	Suhaas	834
3	4	Anvith	679
5	5	Thomas	620
4	6	Zachary	589
5	7	Sawyer	556
4	8	Dennis	534
3	9	Rishik	530
4	10	Ashwin	418
4	11	Faith	409
3	12	Nivrit	357
5	13	Rowan	343
5	14	Courage	283
3	15	Prithyaa	233
2	16	S.J.	227
5	17	Douglas	183
4	18	Pranya	159
2	19	Elsa	156
3	20	143	152
3	21	Theodore	148
5	22	Cassandra	146
3	23	William	134
4	24	Amaya	106

Order Chess Euipment Tonight!

If you need chess sets, bags, clocks, etc, order through the USChess.org website
Go to Sales and select what you want. At some point it will ask for a coupon code -
use BLACK2018 for a %20 discount. Good only through Sun Nov 25 - today!

Tournament Results and Remaining Tournament Schedule

Name    1 2 3 4 5  Bef  Aft Chg
OPEN SECTION
Lennox  W D W L W 1146 1115 -31
Michael W D L L W  888  856 -32
RATED SECTION
Suhaas  W L L B    837  815 -22
Anvith  B L L W    643  658 +15
Total 9-7-2
No one changed their rank

SCHEDULE
Dec 8 Metcalf Grade Level Team Tournament
Dec 14 Friday last chess lesson of this session
Jan  5 Team vs Team - we need 5 of our top players
Jan 19 (good time to play rated to get a rating for Nat'ls)
Jan 25 Friday first day of Spring chess session
Feb  2 Open or doubles (again play rated for Nat'ls)
Feb 23 Statewide Grade Level - let's have a big turnout)
Mar  9 Junior High Championship - let's play up
May  3 Last day of Spring Session
May 4-5 Statewide championships
May 10-12 National K-6 championships Nashville, TN

Tournament Tomorrow
Who: anyone who wants to play. This one has a section just for girls. Also good for 3rd graders.
Where: Metcalf M.S. in Burnsville - 35E s. to Diffley w. to Cedar
When: Register on-line if you're a member or register at the door by 8:30. Done at about 2:00.
How much? $20-22 plus lunch
Why? To have fun, make new friends, earn awards

Today we went went over the idea of the discovered attack again. This time half the class solved all 8 problems! You're catching on! (I think a lot of you were working together, which is OK.)

Gr	Place	Name	16-Nov
5	1	Lennox	1146
5	2	Michael	888
5	3	Suhaas	837
3	4	Anvith	643
5	5	Thomas	595
4	6	Zachary	590
5	7	Sawyer	522
4	8	Dennis	520
3	9	Rishik	511
4	10	Ashwin	399
4	11	Faith	392
5	12	Rowan	330
3	13	Nivrit	329
5	14	Courage	248
2	15	S.J.	230
3	16	Prithyaa	225
5	17	Douglas	171
2	18	Elsa	156
5	19	Cassandra	151
4	20	Pranya	143
3	21	Kunal	139
3	22	Theodore	136
3	23	William	120
4	24	Amaya	106

I'm taking orders for chess sets

I can get good deals if we have lots of orders. Price listed is maximum - probably will be $1 less

All chess sets include pieces (extra Q's), vinyl board, and a case with handles and a place for a board, comes in black, blue, green, or red.

Standard case $13
Superior case $15 (larger bag, longer sleeve)
Deluxe case  $27  (room for pieces, clock, and board) (comes in 25 colors, patterns)

If you're interested in more details or other options (e.g. clocks, scorebook, etc) go to USChessSales

World Championship and Salem Hills Results

World Championship

As I predicted, the game ended in a draw. To replay the game, click Caruana vs Carlsen
It's a 12-game match scheduled to end on Nov 28. first one to 6.5 points wins. If it ends in a tie, they will play tie-breaker games at faster and faster time control until one player wins. Carlsen it thought to be better at speed chess. This is the first time since 1990 that the world championship has featured the two top rated players in the world when Gary Kasparov played Anatoly Karpov. (I have a poster signed by Kasparov and a book signed by Karpov.)
Game 2 resulted in a draw.
Game 3 ended in a draw when Caruana stuck Carlsen with an h pawn and the wrong color Bishop!

Class

We went over pins and got introduced to discovered checks and double checks. Some of you did the "easy" worksheet (labeled "Week3") - but after I looked at it, I discovered it was even harder than week5. We'll go over both worksheets next week.

Place	Name	9-Nov
1	Lennox	1120
2	Michael	855
3	Suhaas	813
4	Anvith	621
5	Thomas	595
6	Zachary	589
7	Sawyer	513
8	Rishik	504
9	Dennis	449
10	Ashwin	380
11	Faith	369
12	Nivrit	334
13	Rowan	307
14	S.J.	216
15	Courage	204
16	Prithyaa	183
17	Douglas	171
18	Teddy	165
19	Elsa	156
20	Pranya	152
21	Cassandra	146
22	William	120
23	Kunal	109
24	Amaya	106

Tournament Results (with photos)

We had excellent results at the chess tournament on Saturday.
2nd grader Aarav is not in the chess club, but he is part of our school and team.
The 3rd grade team placed 4th - tied for 3rd place.
The 5th grade team cruised to an easy first place finish.
Lennox won the 3rd place trophy.
Michael received his bronze medal. Lennox received his silver medal.
Gr Name              Plc Bef  Aft Chg Merit
 2 Aarav   W W W W W  1                 8.5
 3 Anvith  L W W W L 11  597  602  +5  39  
 3 Rishik  L D W L W 12  497  487 -10  18.5
 3 Nivrit  B D L L D 26  332  319 -13   2
 5 Lennox  W W W W L  3 1079 1099 +20  30.5
 5 Michael W W W L L  6  844  853  +9  15
 5 Suhaas  W L W W L 10  798  794  -4  58.5
Total W/B=21, L=11, D=3
No one's rank changed.

Tournament Tomorrow
8:30-2:00  Highview M. S. (35E north to 694 west to Silver Lk Rd south 1 blk) $22 + Lunch$.
See previous post for details

Ratings

Gr	Place	Name	2-Nov
5	1	Lennox	1079
5	2	Michael	844
5	3	Suhaas	798
3	4	Anvith	597
5	5	Thomas	581
4	6	Zachary	576
5	7	Sawyer	519
3	8	Rishik	497
4	9	Dennis	424
4	10	Faith	358
4	11	Ashwin	348
3	12	Nivrit	332
5	13	Rowan	304
2	14	S.J.	205
5	15	Courage	189
3	16	Prithyaa	183
3	17	Teddy	159
2	18	Elsa	147
4	19	Pranya	145
5	20	Douglas	142
5	21	Cassandra	141
3	22	William	127
4	23	Amaya	106
3	24	Kunal	102

Tournament Next Saturday

TOURNAMENT
We have a tournament coming up next Saturday Nov 3 at Highview M.S. in New Brighton. Cost $22 ($20 if you've done this before) +Lunch or lunch money - hey serve pizza, hot dogs, chips etc. Register on-line, or at door by 8:30. See School Chess Association for more details.
It's a grade level tournament meaning you only play children in the same grade as you.
Also, it's a team tournament. If we have 3 or more in one grade,we'll have a team.
I'd encourage you to come if your rating is 400 or more, or if you are i 2nd or 3rd grade with a rating of at least 300.
Tournament Schedule:
Nov 3 Highview New Brighton, Grade Level and team
Nov 17 Metcalf Special All-girls section
Dec 8 Metcalf,  Grade Level and team
Jan 5 Metcalf, 5-player team
Jan 19 Metcalf
Feb 2 Zachary Lane Elem.
Feb 23 Metcalf, Statewide grade level Championships
Mar 9 Metcalf, Jr High Championships
May 4-5 Robbisdale M.S.,Statewide Team Championships
May 18 Zachary Lane

Gr	Place	Name	27-Oct
5	1	Lennox	1057
5	2	Michael	825
5	3	Suhaas	779
4	4	Zachary	575
3	5	Anvith	562
5	6	Thomas	553
5	7	Sawyer	518
3	8	Rishik	464
4	9	Dennis	414
4	10	Faith	343
4	11	Ashwin	315
3	12	Nivrit	298
5	13	Rowan	278
2	14	S.J.	208
3	15	Prithyaa	193
3	16	Teddy	171
?	17	Courage	140
5	18	Cassandra	140
5	19	Douglas	140
2	20	Elsa	132
4	21	Pranya	117
?	22	Kunal	107
3	23	William	102
4	24	Amaya	100

Tournament Results and Photos

Lennox won all 5 games and took home the first place trophy! He now has over 25 merit points and will receive his silver medal next tournament.
Suhaas and Bharath (in the chess club last year) received gold medals for having won 50 games.

Name   W L D Bef Aft  Chg
Lennox 5 0 0 958 1026 +68
Suhaas 3 2 0 729  728  -1
Rishik 3 2 0 418  423  +5
Anvith 2 3 0 590  554 -36

FORKS

Tournament Tomorow at Metcalf M.S. 8:30am $22+lunch
Today we reviewed the 3 objectives of the opening.
We learned about forks and had a worksheet on forks.

1	Lennox	958
2	Michael	862
3	Suhaas	729
4	Anvith	590
5	Thomas	553
6	Zachary	535
7	Sawyer	497
8	Rishik	418
9	Dennis	403
10	Faith	311
11	Ashwin	287
12	Rowan	265
13	Nivrit	259
14	S.J.	181
15	Prithyaa	152
16	Cassandra	151
17	Douglas	143
18	Courage	140
19	Pranya	136
19	Teddy	136
21	William	107
22	Kunal	100
22	Amaya	100
22	Elsa	100

Scores and Ratings

We learned how to castle and we went over checkmate and stalemate and had a worksheet.
There were two perfect scores on the worksheet -Faith and Lennox 
Several people missed only one - Anvith, Ashwin, Courage, Dennis, Michael, Nivrit, Rishik, S.J., Suhaas, Teddy, Thomas and  Zachary

Name	28-Sep
Lennox	940
Michael	833
Suhaas	699
Anvith	576
Thomas	533
Zachary	524
Sawyer	476
Rishik	393
Dennis	378
Faith	295
Rowan	264
Ashwin	258
Nivrit	229
S.J.	180
Prithyaa	129
Theodore	128
Courage	127
Pranya	127
Cassandra	126
Douglas	112
Amaya	105
Elsa	105
Kunal	103
William	100

Sept 21 Meeting

We had 23 at our first meeting. Went over how the club works. Reminders of the 3 main objectives in the opening and then played a lot of chess.

Name	21-Sep
Lennox	922
Michael	813
Suhaas	696
Anvith	591
Zachary	511
Thomas	506
Sawyer	486
Rishik	361
Dennis	335
Rowan	264
Faith	264
Ashwin	234
Nivrit	223
S.J.	184
Teddy	124
Cassandra				121
Pranya	121
Courage	119
Douglas	115
Prithyaa	105
William	103
Amaya	100
Elsa	100

Fall Session

The fall session is scheduled to begin Sept 21. Sign up if you haven't already done so.

Sept 21 - Evaluation of new players, End Game Drills, Castling, en passant, competition

Gr	Name	Rating
5	Lennox	943
5	Michael	795
5	Suhaas	729
3	Anvith	571
4	Zachary	512
5	Sawyer	479
5	Thomas	478
3	Rishik	364
4	Ashwin	243
3	Nivrit	209
3	William	145
5	Cassandra	100
5	Douglas	100
4	Pranya	100
3	Prithyaa	100
3	Theodore	100
2	Elsa	100