Hello everybody,

It is most appropriate that I first point out Kudos for this week- I can honestly say that the cleanup help I received from all of the students after class on Wednesday was the best display of willing help I have ever had in a chess class. At the beginning of the class I shared with them the example of Dhruv from the previous week, and apparently all the students were inspired! So, thank you to every student who was eager and willing to help last week, that was wonderful.

Tournament games went really well again- the students are concerned about following the Tournament rules, which will especially help them when it comes time for their actual first tournament. I have started what is called a tournament ladder, which is where I track the tournament points and rank the kids based on how many tournament points they have received. Starting next week I will begin posting the ladder online.

1. The Watermelon group got started on learning about check today, and the ABC's of getting out of check. Here's what the ABC's of check are:

A: run your king Away out of check
B: Block the check with another piece
C: Capture the piece that is checking you

Also remember that when in check, we usually count our ABC's backward (there are always exceptions of course, but often the this is a good formula to use when trying to relieve yourself of check):

1.  First look and see if you can Capture the piece that is checking you.
2. If you cannot capture, see if you can safely Block the piece that is checking you
3. If you cannot capture, and if you cannot (or it is not safe to) Block, simply move your King out of check. It is especially important to use run Away as a last resort if your King has not castled- if the King has not castled and then you move it, you can no longer castle and protect your King.

I think put 6 position on the board and the students had to decide for each position which was the best way to get out of check. After discussing the ABC's of check, I introduced castling to the kids. Next week we will discuss castling in more detail, as well as Pawn Shields.

2. The Library group played their tournament games and then we went over our lesson. The lesson was essentially the same as the Watermelon group, however I also discussed Checkmate- when ABC's do not help you get out of check, and your King is trapped. I put 7 puzzles up on the board (harder puzzles than the Watermelon group), and the students had to first decide whether it was Checkmate or not, and if not they had to decide the best way to get out of check.

Both groups did an excellent job and grasped the ideas in the lesson very well.

See everybody Wednesday!
Coach Tyler

Hello everybody!

I'll first start by showing which students are in which group:

Coach Tyler

"Library" group is the more experienced group within my larger group of 20 kids:

Erika, Dhruv, Declan, Liam, Aidan, Matthew, Elijah, Ingrid, Benjamin H, Ezra, Mackenzie, Guy M, Logan, Ava, Guy P.

"Watermelon" group is the newer group of players within my larger group of 20 kids:

Yasmin, Isabella, Andrew, Cameron, Ria, Bella

Coach Tim

Benjamin B, Robert, Prahlad, James, Dagny, Michael, Jonathan, Daniel.

I will also mention that each chess class I have three "Special Leaders" who are in charge of different jobs. The three jobs are Class Leader, Pieces Leader, and Clean Leader.

1. The Class Leader is in charge of encouraging other students in the group, helping other students stay on task, and helping me with little "assistant" jobs that vary from week to week. 
2. The Pieces Leader is in charge of making sure all of the pieces and boards are collected into a neat pile at the end of chess class, and that there are no left-over pieces on the ground after class is over.
3. The Clean Leader is in charge of making sure chairs are pushed in, tables are in place, and that not trash is left on the floors.

Last week in my group was great! The kids were able to play their first game with tournament rules, which they were very excited about- I had talked about playing tournament games the previous two weeks. After their warm-up games, the kids came and sat down while I did attendance, and then I mentioned that we were going to do the first tournament games. The kids faces lit up, their eyes got wide, and they looked at each other excitedly. It was pleasing to see how excited the kids were to practice tournament play; there is nothing as motivating for a teacher as having interested and animated students!

Next, I explained to the kids the rules of tournament games which differ from regular play. The rules are as follows:

 Tournament Game Rules

1. Touch Move: If you purposefully touch a piece, you have to move the piece! Even if you purposefully touch it with a pencil (like you are thinking about moving the piece) you have to move it. Even if you are in outer space and you get a very long pole, and touch a piece on purpose with it, you have to move it! Exception: If you touch a piece, but moving it will result in an illegal move, you do not (and cannot!) move it. For example, if you touch a Knight, but after you move it your king will be in check, then touch move does not apply.
2. Touch Take: Same idea as touch move, only this rule involves touching your opponent's piece. If you touch your opponents purposefully and you can capture it (even if you have to give up your queen for a pawn!), you have to. Exception: Same as before, if you touch a piece that you cannot capture, then you don't have to!
3. MAGIC WORDS: "I Adjust." If you need to move a piece, such as back on its square if it falls down, simply say "I adjust" BEFORE  you touch the piece. If you say it after you touch the piece, then the Touch Move rule applies!
4. Quiet: Tournament games are naturally more serious than regular games, so it is extra important to not talk during your game, and to also keep quiet after your game is over so that you do not distract other players. Also remember to not talk to others about their game until after they are finished.
5. Tournament Points: In tournament games you receive points to determine who wins the tournament. If you win a game, you get 1 tournament point; if you draw a game you receive 1/2 a tournament point; if you lose a game you receive 0 tournament points. At the end of the tournament the points are totaled and whoever has the most wins! Also, in rated tournament you receive a "chess rating," which is basically a number you receive that corresponds to: how many games you have won and lost, and the strength of the opponents who you defeat and lose to. The more games you win, and the better opponents you defeat, the higher your rating. 
6. Respect: In tournament games, you often play people who you do not know, so it is extra important to be polite, shake your opponents hand before you start, wish them good luck, and tell them "good game" after the game is over.

After explaining the rules, the Library kids went and played their first tournament games! The Watermelon kids stayed with me and we commenced our lesson (which was slightly shorter than usual because half of the lesson was going over Tournament Rules).

Watermelon Lesson

1. Review movement of all of the pieces (particularly Knights, as there was still some uncertainty). Did a brief test with the kids to ensure that they all could move the pieces with very few mistakes.
2. The King in "Check." This was a brief lesson simply explaining to the kids that when the King is in danger he must move! I did not want to go into too much detail about this (for example, as I will next week), but I simply wanted to ensure this group had the most basic foundation for their tournament games. Furthermore, I wanted to introduce this topic for next weeks lesson, when we will discuss Castling and the ABC's of check!

The Watermelon group began their tournament games, and then after the Library group was finished they came over for a quick lesson as well.

Library Lesson

1. Review of Development from the previous week, where you get all of your "warriors" out of the house (Knights first and then Bishops), castle your King, and move your "guard dogs" (Rooks) into position.
2. Pawn Shield was the topic in the primary lesson. Pawn Shields are simply the three pawns who are directly in front of the King after he castles. The idea is that these pawns help protect the King, and thus they should not be moved; that would be like if you were in a battle and you picked up your shield and threw it at your enemy! Exception: it can be a good idea to move the pawn that is closest to the edge of the board 1 square forward (not 2 squares, because then it would be like ripping off the edge of your shield), as it acts as a "peep hole" for the king where he can peek out at the enemy if he needs to.

KUDOS

1. Dhruv volunteered - without me even asking for volunteers - to help the Special Leaders after class. He picked up sets and helped push in chairs. To me this was a great display of character- to help without being asked.
2. Rea and Isabella were helping each other and correcting each other during the game, so that their games was played without mistakes. This was an excellent display of sportsmanship, where both players were more concerned with playing correctly and having fun than winning.

I look forward to class this coming Wednesday, and I will post another one afterward!

Coach Tyler

First post

Hello all,

This is the first post on this blog. I would like to welcome everyone- parents, coaches, students- to this blog! I will be posting updates about what is going on in the various school chess classes, as well as other chess related information, such as upcoming tournaments.

Enjoy!