MARCH UPDATE TO PARENTS

East Side Christian School Chess Club

Home of the TORNADOES !

BIG TOURNAMENT:  The South Carolina Scholastic Chess Championships were held in Columbia this past Saturday (March 6).  Of the 85 players in grades K-12 from across the state,  there were 22 elementary students who participated in their first ever US Chess Federation tournament.  South Carolina chess is BOOMING !    

Coach John Beckett and I drove (my daughters) Tara (9) and Avery (6) in my van to their first BIG tournament.  It was a great experience with no ‘bumps in the road’, although it was a long day.  We left Greenwood about 6am (in the dark), but shortened the trip by listening to audio CDs (“The Chronicles of Narnia”).  The weather was exceptional.  Between the 5 rounds of chess there were lots of kids playing outdoors and making more chess friends.  We arrived back in Greenwood about 7:30 (after dark) glad to be home, but with a day full of memories.

NEXT TOURNAMENT:  Saturday March 20 at Greenwood Dairy Queen.  The Greenwood (community) Chess Club will sponsor a 3 round (all grade) scholastic chess tournament called ‘Fun-n-Free’.  No advance notification is needed.  Players only need to be there before registration ends at 10:45 a.m. (doors open at 10:30).  Tournament will end no later than 2:00 p.m..  First time tournament players are encouraged and will be assisted.  I hope your young player(s) are able to attend and experience the fun.  Spectators welcome J

RATINGS:  Every player asks themselves (and me) ‘how good a chess player am I really’.  Chess rating formulas and calculations are used to measure chess players (similar to a batting average in baseball).  I’ve researched and found an inexpensive rating service (1 year for $7.00 per player) called Chess Express Rating (CXR).  It calculates a rating based on strength of an opponent and also provides statistics to help players decide what needs to be studied and practiced for further improvement.     

If interested contact me anytime (MGames@Yahoo.com or 864-389-1180).  CXR provides the following listed benefits from their web site http://www.cxrchess.com

• CXR ratings are highly responsive to current playing ability
• New ratings and percentages that isolate performance:
• • With the white pieces
  • With the black pieces
  • Against much stronger opponents
• Measure improvement via your folio of personal reports containing dozens of performance statistics!
• Review Game History in detail
• Premium Membership:
• • Login ID and password
  • Record detailed information about games
  • Record notes only you can see
  • Based on the extra data provided, get additional performance statistics
  • Annual dues just seven dollars!

Thank you for your support and knowing the value and benefits of playing chess.

Coach Mike