Oct 24

Today we went over the checkmate worksheet. We learned about forks and solved 8 problems.
Next tournament is Nov 3 at Highview M.S. in New Brighton. If we get 3 players we'll also have a team in contention. If you register on-line at schoolchess.org register for the grade you are in. I may move some of you up next Saturday so we have a team of 3 or more.

Rank	Name	RR	KQ	24-Oct
1	Luke	PASS	PASS	962
2	Owen	PASS	PASS	905
3	Miles	PASS	PASS	803
4	Graham	PASS	PASS	414
5	Tyler	PASS	PASS	365
6	Shanmuka		PASS	265
7	Billy	PASS		238
8	Zach			219
9	Leo	PASS	PASS	197
10	Justin	PASS	PASS	181
11	Audrey	PASS	PASS	156
12	Carlos	PASS		143
13	Braeden			142
14	Jack			140
15	Manogna		PASS	133
16	Sean			132
17	Joshua			119
18	Elijah			115
19	Sahasra			109
20	Winston			102
21	Adrien			100

Oct 17

Next Tournament is Nov 3 at Highview M.S. in New Brighton. It's a team tournament which means you total up the points from your top 3 players. I think our best shot is to have Owen, Luke, Miles and Graham all playing in the 8th grade section.
 
Chess League starts in January - we need 5 players (maybe Henry will be back soon) but we still will need alternates, so work hard and maybe you'll earn a spot on the team!

How to Improve  You can find chess lessons on-line. Or just go back to my older postings until you find some problems from last year's league play. Set up the position on your board and see if you can solve it. Then play it out.

Ratings
SCA Tournament Merit Points: Luke 14.75, Owen 8, Billy 1

Rank	Name	RR	KQ	17-Oct
1	Luke	PASS	PASS	943
2	Owen	PASS	PASS	905
3	Miles	PASS	PASS	780
4	Graham	PASS	PASS	439
5	Tyler	PASS	PASS	332
6	Zach			232
7	Shanmuka		PASS	224
8	Billy	PASS		211
9	Leo	PASS	PASS	178
10	Audrey	PASS	PASS	156
11	Justin	PASS	PASS	143
12	Braeden			142
13	Jack			131
14	Manogna		PASS	124
15	Sean			123
16	Joshua			116
16	Carlos			116
18	Sahasra			109
19	Elijah			100
19	Winston			100
19	Adrien			100

Oct 13 post-tournament update

Tournament Saturday
Who? Anyone who is a good sport and doesn't mind losing - usually I say wait til your rating is 400 if you want to be able to win a game, but if your rating has been going up steadily, you might be ready.
Where? At Metcalf Middle School (Diffley and Cedar)
When? 8:15 - approx. 2:00
How Much? $22 + lunch money (they serve pizza, hot dogs, pop, chips, cookies, fruit, etc.)
Why? To have fun! Make friends! Earn awards!

This week we tried to learn how to checkmate with just a king and queen
Tournament Results
Name  W L D bef aft chg
Billy 0 5 0 182 157 -25

Name	13-Oct
Luke	943
Owen	885
Miles	783
Graham	403
Tyler	332
Zach	215
Shanmuka	210
Leo	170
Billy	157
Braeden	142
Sean	134
Manogna	125
Audrey	118
Joshua	116
Adrien	116
Davis	110
Jack	110
Winston	100
Sahasra	100

Latest

Tournament
For those interested, there is a chess tournament Sat Oct 13 at Metcalf Middle School in Burnsville. Be there before 8:30 to register Cost $22 for first-timers, else $20. Bring lunch or money for lunch - they sell pizza and hot dogs there. You'll play 5 games against someone with your same record. You'll be done around 2:00.
Class
We went over check, checkmate and stalemate today.
Judging by the worksheet about half of you understand it.
We'll go over the worksheets next week and learn the KQ checkmate

Luke	921
Owen	864
Miles	772
Graham	395
Tyler	297
Zach	227
Shanmuka	182
Billy	171
Leo	170
Braeden	142
Audrey	126
Sean	121
Joshua	116
Davis	110
Winston	100
Sahasra	100
Jack	100
Adrien	100

Sep 26 Ratings

Today we learned about castling and en passant.
Next week we'll examine checkmate and stalemate.

Grade	Rank	Name	26-Sep
7	1	Luke	943
8	2	Owen	864
8	3	Miles	772
7	4	Graham	342
6	5	Tyler	334
6	6	Zach	238
5	7	Shanmuka	143
5	8	Braeden	142
5	9	Audrey	126
6	10	Leo	116
5	10	Billy	116
6	12	Davis	110
8	13	Winston	105
6	14	Sahasra	100
5	14	Jack	100
5	14	Sean	100
5	14	Joshua	100
5	14	Adrien	100

Sep 19 Ratings

Name	Rating
Luke	943
Owen	857
Miles	772
Tyler	321
Graham	304
Zach	226
Winston	107
Davis	110
Leo	100
Audrey	105
Braedel	105
Jack	105
Sean	105
Evangeline	100

Chess Club 2018-2019

If you'd like to join the chess club, just show up on Wednesday, Sept 19.

Chess Club/Team will meet Wednesdays after school from 3:25 to 5:00 starting Sep. 19 in Room 123. We typically have a lesson followed by a worksheet and then an hour to play chess. Games are rated - if you win your rating goes up by 1 to 32 points depending on the rating of your opponent. Your opponent's rating will go down by that same amount.

Why have ratings?
1) You can see your progress
2) You'll try hard every game
3) You'll know who will give you a good game
4) I'll know when you are ready for tournament play (400)
5) I'll know who to select for our league team and what board to place you at

If you've ever come to chess club at Friendly Hills, you have a rating. If you're new, your rating will be 100. We have 4 strong players returning, but we need 5 for our team, so that 5th spot is wide open. Who will step up this year? Will it be someone who has come before and this year makes a big effort to become better, or will it be someone new - maybe a 5th grader?
Here are the ratings of all students who have ever tried chess club:

Luke	937
Owen	849
Henry	804
Miles	765
Torben	491
Jackson	413
Jacob	364
Christian	355
Shakti	333
Tyler	310
Gere	301
James	254
Ellyanna	211
Zach	208
Kiera	193
Nolan	193
Derrick	190
Naomi	187
Isaac	182
Zeke	167
Matthew	160
Quinn	157
Catey	149
Patrick	147
Justin	135
Kiran	130
Luca	118
Ellie	118
Winston	115
Maria	115
Davis	105
Jesse	105
Hunter	100
Sahasra	100
Lilly	100
Max	100