2012 Family & Friends Tournament

Chess the Halls with forks and pins!

Tis' the season for christmas music, candy canes, and chess tournaments! Upcoming articles include the Western Idaho Open, Christmas Blitzkrieg, and Integrating Chess and Critical Thinking Tournaments.

Kitt Connor and Danny Mills return (Best Ever Team)!

Today, I hosted a Family & Friends Chess Tournament that attracted eighteen players.  Including two special WRHS alumni, Danny Mills and Kitt Connor!  The tournament format consisted of two player teams in a 5SS G/15.  We played Bing Crosby Christmas songs during the first two rounds and forgot to tell Pandora we were "still listening" during subsequent rounds.  Deck the Halls!

Remembering past games, I ended up in a draw -  Danny's still got the moves!

With players ranging in age from 7 to 45 years old, the atmosphere was relaxed and "chill" as the teens put it.  Danny and Kitt were out to re-coup old glories and proved to be the most competitive team (Best Ever), earning 9.5 out of 10 points.   Both Danny and Kitt were former officers of the WRHS Chess Club and also WRHS Champions.  Desmond Porth and Jake Whitlock (Team PWN) won second place with 6.5 points, and Tyler Avila and I won third place with 6.0 points (The Purple People Eaters).  There was a three-way tie for  4th place, each team having 5.0 points.

Quentin Van Law (Leaping Lizards) plays Melissa Young (Pirate Booty)

Heidi Mungall (Life of the Party) plays Deborah Van Law (Rockin' Rollers)

Deb Van Law didn't go home with a trophy, but scored a board signed by GM Maurice Ashley in our mid-tournament drawing.  GM Maurice Ashley won the title in 1999 and was the first African-American International Master.  He says [about chess], "Your passion is the window to the world."

Jake Whitlock (Team PWN) plays Lynnet Porth (The Healies)

Despite the G/15 time controls, players played as if it were a G/5 tournament with only a couple of games lasting the full time.  It is important to play and monitor time so that the best possible moves can be found and time is used in the most efficient way possible.  To accomplish this:  1.  don't waste time on moves that are obvious or given, 2.  Memorize some common 1. e4 and 1. d4 openings so that time is not wasted in the beginning when the board is not very complicated, 3.  Use time to consider options when a move is not obvious or the board is complicated, 4.  when in time trouble and down material, try to be conservative, avoid exchanges, and keep the board complicated.  Why lose a game in 3 minutes when there are 12 more on the clock?

Tip:  En prise is bad!  Don't give pieces away for free - get some compensation, equally valued material is best.  Don't give up material for attacks, checks, or for lack of attention when you are playing experienced players. 

Cross Table

Plc	Team Name	Score	Solk	Cum	CumOp	SBx2
1	Best Ever	9.5	27.5	29.0	82.0	51.5
2	PWN	6.5	26.5	20.0	79.0	28.5
3	People Eaters	6.0	29.0	19.0	91.0	26.0
4	SKY	5.0	29.0	14.0	84.0	18.0
5	Life of the Party	5.0	23.5	18.0	74.0	14.0
6	Healies	5.0	22.5	15.0	74.0	12.0
7	Pirate Booty	4.0	22.0	12.0	64.0	12.0
8	Leaping Lizards	3.0	23.5	7.0	68.0	4.0
9	Rockin' Rollers	1.0	21.5	1.0	59.0	2.0

 

Darwin practices his TD skills

This was the last tournament of the year.  The next tournament is Chess 960 (Fischer Random Chess) on January 17.  Tomorrow my family is heading to Barnes & Noble to play in a Winter Solstice Tournament hosted by the Magi Valley Chess Club.