Kasparov All-Girls Champioships

Dylan Porth, Yayee Tongsiri, and Carmen Pemsler represented Idaho at the prestigious Kasparov National All-Girls Championships held in Chicago, Illinois this past weekend.  Both Dylan and Yayee are students at Silver Creek High School and competed in the U16 section against 69 girls in their section.  Yayee’s and Dylan’s combined score allowed the Silver Creek High School students an opportunity to earn a large, national trophy.  The competition began last Friday, April 22 and included 6 rounds featuring games that could last up to 3 hours.  Dylan and Yayee also competed in Blitz, or fast chess, and also Bughouse, a team-oriented variation of chess.  Overall, the tournament contained 454 girls, K -12th grade.  Carmen is a senior in Eagle and without her mom’s support, the SCHS students would not have been able to go.  All the girls worked together and created a very memorable experience.  This is a tremendous feat for our little group.

Girls Only Registration

Online registration for the Girls Only Tournament

Adam,

Just wanted to wish you luck on the girls only tournament.  We went last year for our first time and our 2 girls absolutely loved it!  We will be out of town this coming weekend and our girls are really bummed they are missing it.  I hope you have a wonderful turnout!

Warm wishes,
Deonna Hollist

http://okgazette.com/2016/02/18/local-group-launches-women-and-girls-only-chess-club/

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/19/nyregion/chess-s-effort-to-attract-more-women-is-stalemated.html?pagewanted=all

https://www.chess.com/article/view/earnings-of-top-women-chess-players2

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/queen-may-rule-chess-board-women-players-get-second-class-treatment


https://aeon.co/essays/why-are-only-two-of-the-world-s-top-100-chess-players-women

Girls Chess

It is scheduled to happen on Sat April 16th on the Community Campus in Hailey. This is an awesome opportunity for girls to play chess.  

WHAT:  GIRLS ONLY CHESS TOURNAMENT
WHEN: APRIL 16, 11 am
WHERE: Community Campus, Hailey Idaho
COST: $10.00
FREE SIDE EVENTS: Movies Searching for Bobby Fischer” & “Knights of the Bronx” & “Brooklyn Castle”
INFORMATION:  Contact Adam Porth, 450-9048, email bcsdchessclub@gmail.com

or Alise Pemsler: abpemsler@gmail.com 

WHY:  

Boys outnumber girls by nearly 20-1 in the chess world. 

Research shows that playing chess dramatically improves student math and science. Some of the educational benefits of chess include: Improved IQ scores, problem solving ability, concentration, and critical thinking skills. Test scores improved by 17.3% for students regularly engaged in chess classes. 

Chess can seem to be a male sport, and some suggest females “shy away from math-oriented careers because of previous experiences with stereotypes threat in math-related situations.”

We encourage girls to play chess and create situations where they are not isolated in a group of boys. According to Chess Power: “Girls are far more social than boys and tend to feel most comfortable in supportive and positive company with other girls.”

I hope that you can help us get the word out. Thank you 

Girl's Only Tournament

Flyer here

2016 Girls Only Tournament

Saturday, April 16th

11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Community Campus, Hailey

• K-12th grade Championship Section, US Chess Rated, 4SS, G/45;d5(RR if nec.)

• Unrated 6-8th grade section, 5SS, G/30;d5

• Unrated K-3 & 4-5th grade section, 5SS, G/30;d5

Meet 2016 Idaho Scholastic Girls Champion - Carmen Pemsler!

Round Times:

• Champ. Sect. 11 am, 12:30 pm, 2 pm, 3:30 pm, Awards follow
• Grade Sect. 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, Awards follow

Prizes:

• Championship Section 1st - 3rd place overall
• Unr. 6-8th grade section 1st - 3rd place overall
• Unr. 4-5th grade section 1st - 3rd place overall
• Unr. K-3rd grade section 1st - 3rd place overall  
• Medals for top half of each section.

Registration:  $10.00 per player/ $25.00 per family.  Scholarships available.  US Chess Membership required for Championship Section only.

Games: Chess sets provided (clocks provided to Championship Section), touch move rule.  No Insufficient Losing Chances rule.  No Local Rules.

Tie-break Order:  G/5 playoff, if time permits.  Modified Median, Solkoff,  Cumulative, Cumulative of Opposition.

Byes:  Maximum 1 half point bye, Rounds 1-5.

Free Side Events:  

• Movies in Community Campus Theater (“Searching for Bobby Fischer” & “Knights of the Bronx” & “Brooklyn Castle”).
• “Interrupted” Simuls - play Fred Bartell and Barry Eacker while you wait for next round, go play your round, then return to finish simul game.  Medals awarded to each winner.
• Play giant chess.
• Analysis by ICU chess players - Fred Bartell & Barry Eacker.

Other Information:

• Parents - bring work out clothes and visit the BCRD Fitworks located in the Community Campus while your student plays (Free Day Pass).  
• Community Campus Cafe will be open (food, snacks, espresso, coffee, etc.)
• Banana/Nutela Crepes.

Door prizes and other perks donated by Idaho merchants!

On-site Registration:  8:00 am - 10:00 am

Pre-registration preferred.  Online Registration (here).

Mr. Adam Porth,

SCHS

1060 Fox Acres Rd.

Hailey, ID 83333

Phone: (208) 450-9048

TD:  Alise Pemsler

Details:  BCSD Chess Club, or Mr. Porth, (SCHS, 450-9048),   bcsdchessclub@gmail.com, www.adamporth.blogspot.com, or BCSD Chess Rage FB,

**By entering the tournament, permission is given to the organizers to use photos for publicity and news on the world wide web, newspapers, and school literature.

Let the excitement Begin

We have eleven players signed up to play in the Idaho State Scholastic Championship.  We do not have an elementary team, but only one 5th grader from Bellevue Elementary is playing - Darwin Porth.  Quentin Van Law, Otto Olson, and River Shepard are playing as a 6th grade team and there are 7 players in the K-12 Section.  Players from SCHS include:

• Andre Murphy
• Wesley Brimstein
• Dylan Porth
• Kevin Cabrito
• Ethan Harris
• Tyson Spellman
• Zac McStay

I hope we attract a couple of stragglers as I encourage even our beginners to play in this tournament.  It tends  to work against us as a team and we would fare better if I brought just my highest rated players, but we need to encourage more players to engage in tournaments and shouldn't be afraid as coaches and organizers to welcome newcomers/amateurs.  After all, we are all amateurs!  How many Expert and Master level players do we have in Idaho?  Maybe 5?  We plan on having the same fun with a trip to the mall, Krispy Kreme donuts, and the Capital Bldg.  Cheer us on!

Chess Club Attendance

2016 February Chess Tournaments

Chess Club Tournament

Remember we are having a chess tournament at club - The Spring Warmup in preparation for the State Tournament which is next week (March 12). I also need a head count to prepare for the State Tournament so decide now if you are going. Tomorrow's tournament will feature 4SS G/30 D0. Donations only and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place over all prizes + 1 raffle item.

Instagram Account Announcement

We have an Instagram account for our outstanding photos!  Search "bcsdchessclub"

Chess960 Tournament

Tyson Spellman plays Yayee Tongsiri.  Notice the setup of the 1st rank.

Every February we hold a Chess960 Tournament, or Bobby Fischer Chess, as he coined the game in 1994.  Bobby claimed that this is the only true chess as openings are superfluous and the pieces and their relationships are what's left of the test.  In Bobby Fischer Chess the back ranks are randomized and mirrored so neither white nor black has the advantage.  All chess rules are still enforced however castling is a bit tricky.  In the random setups, bishops are never on the same color.  (Here) is a nice website for the rules.

Each board setup has a unique number such that there are 960 different starting positions!  As you can see, memorizing opening lines is not necessary in this chess variant.  Amateurs are known to have beaten Grandmasters in chess960, so there is hope for beginners.  (Here) is a Chess 960 setup generator which we project on a screen for players.  It usually helps to have white on the side of the table facing the screen.

1st place went to Otto Olson, 2nd place Dave Walters, and 3rd place to Levi Catangcatang.  Our tournament featured K-adult, however the adults waived rights to the trophies.  We used our club rating system which is generated by Think Like a King Chess Manager software and it was 4SS G/15 D0.

Place	Name/Team	Rate	Score	MMed	Solk	Cum	CumOp
1	Porth, Adam (1)	1338	4	7	8.5	10	22
2	Schwartz, Larry (5)	995	3.5	7.5	8.5	9	23
3	Olson, Otto (15)	895	3	8.5	9.5	7	22
4	Walters, Dave (22)	835	3	8	9	9	22
5	Catangcatang, Levi (3)	1179	3	7	8	6	21
6	Van Law, Quentin (11)	913	3	6	7	7	18
7	Porth, Dylan (2)	1236	2.5	9.5	10.5	8	24.5
8	Ayala, Daniel (4)	999	2	5.5	11	7	27
9	Spellman, Tyson (20)	867	2	4	8	5	17
10	Porth, Darwin (7)	962	2	4	7.5	5	20.5
11	Tongsiri, Yayee (12)	910	2	3.5	6.5	5	16.5
12	Walthers, Emily (23)	835	2	2.5	5.5	2	13
13	Sorensen, Noah (21)	856	1.5	2	5	5	14
14	McStay, Zach (18)	876	1	6	9	3	18
15	Walther, Brad (10)	914	1	5.5	8.5	2	22.5
16	Schwartz, Chase (9)	914	1	4.5	7.5	3	15.5
17	Cross, Kaiden (17)	885	1	4	7.5	1	17.5
18	Schrader, Alex (16)	890	1	3.5	6.5	3	15
19	Llantoy, Bayro (13)	900	1	3.5	6	2.5	17.5
20	Shepard, River (8)	958	1	2	6	4	15
21	Lykins, Tristin (14)	900	1	2	6	2	14
22	Robles, Gracie (24)	786	1	0	2	2	5
23	Ratcliffe, Dartanyon (6)	963	1	0	1	4	3
24	Schwartz, Connor (19)	870	0.5	3	5	1.5	10.5

Bayro Llantoy gets his Chess 960 hat on!