2013 Super Nationals Day 1 (in progress)

Super Nationals lived up to it's name in that it was the largest rated tournament ever with 5335 scholastic players.  There were simuls, side tournaments, lectures, films, demonstrations, venders, university teams, and numerous chess celebrities.  The tournament was held in the Gaylord Marriott Resort in Nashville, Tennessee on the Grand Ole' Opry grounds.  What a great experience for me and my kids!  I wish more of my chess club were here.

One of the four garden rooms - the Waterfall Garden

We were late night arrivals on Wednesday night, April 3 and Desmond reminisced as we entered the Gaylord Hotel.  He last played in this facility in the High School Championships in 2010, an eighth grader among all my seniors.  This time, Super Nationals for the first and last time.  Dylan looked around wide-eyed and began to absorb the amazing gardens and marvel the scale of the hotel.  I suggested that she continue to study chess and she will be here in four years for the next Super Nationals as an eleventh grader with her brother, Darwin, as a 6th grader.  We missed dinner and splurged by ordering expensive appetizers from room service and slept hard.

Dylan and Desmond catching some lunch at Bughouse (a Madhouse!)

Bughouse 

Dylan and Des correct their team names

Reporting some results

The next day we rose early and quickly found some breakfast.  I took Dylan around through all the gardens and important areas so she would be familiar with her surroundings.  The morning began with Des and Dylan playing in their first Bughouse tournament.  Bughouse is essentially partner chess with a twist.  As your partner wins pieces they can give them to their partner to play on their board.  When it's your turn to move, you can either move a piece on the board or drop a piece that your partner gave you in a legal square.  That is, pawns cannot be placed in first or eighth rank.  The time controls are fast, G/5 nd, and you and your partner win by checkmate, illegal move, taking the king, or flag fall.  That's right, you can take the king if your opponent leaves the king in check and doesn't notice.  Also, each team plays alternate colors and two matches are played per round.  You can talk to your partner to help them play so the tournament hall is very different from regular chess.  Des and Dylan discovered that Bughouse at this level is a bit different than playing their buddies in chess club!  They returned to our "campsite" a bit overwhelmed after only a minute into the game.  I chuckled and indicated that this is very different from our chess club matches.  As the rounds progressed, they gained more confidence and each began winning games.  They ended up with 4.0 points out of twelve possible.

Just in time for the simul (Bughouse ran long)

I whisked Dylan immediately to the simul against Alexandra Kosteniuk that had already begun.  Fortunately, a number of kids were also in the Bughouse tournament so they reserved places for them. It was an exciting event and 40 eager players.  Dylan was one of the last five players in the venue and I was proud of her endurance.  I met Jennifer Shahade at the beginning of the simul and it turns out that she was filming some of it. Alexandra's daughter also bounced all over the tournament room and spent the long hours entertaining herself; she was a queen herself.  Dylan just learned about the French Defense this week and she used this opportunity to try it out.  After analyzing the game with her afterwards, we fixed a couple of opening problems and then talked about some of the tactical fall downs.  Her regular tournament games benefited immensely from this.

Play online chess

  

Meanwhile Desmond began playing in the Blitz tournament and was occupied in fast games until about ten pm.  We were famished and were happy to find some food.  Food seemed to be an amazing problem throughout the tournament.  The hotel had very fancy restaurants and very expensive fast food and junk food.  I talked myself into dropping whatever on my credit card and tried to forget about it.

Earlier in the day, I met Alise Pemsler.  Her daughter, Carmen, was entered in the tournament and it was nice to see a familiar face so far from Idaho.  While waiting for Bughouse to end, I spotted the Vellotti's.  Dan Vellotti runs a scholastic chess program and also trains Carl and Luke Harmon-Vellotti.  Gradually, other Idahoans materialized, including the Lloyds from Boise, and a number of parents and kids from the Riverstone Charter School located in Boise.  In all, there were 42 Idahoans competing.  Idaho comprises 0.4% of the US population and 0.7% of the competitors in Super Nationals were from Idaho.  Idaho was well represented**.  

**The 2nd place K-12 Champion was an Idahoan,  NM Luke Harmon-Vellotti

Luke Harmon-Vellotti (red hoodie) works his way up to Board 1

Calendar Update

I updated the calendar for the next year.  Please check back periodically.

Openings Quiz

1. Which Opening?

2. Which Defense?

3. Which Opening?

4.  Which Defense?

5. Which Opening?

I'm now a Dragon!

Today, it was announced to my Science Department that I will be moving positions from WRHS to Silver Creek High School, formally Silver Creek Alternative School.  This means some subtle changes to the WRHS Chess Club and to the Integrating Chess and Critical Thinking Class.

What's cool is that I will be running the entire 9-12th grade science program at Silver Creek High School (SCHS) and will still be able to include the chess class in the curriculum for both schools.  As another carrot, I will be able to syndicate the class through the Idaho Educational Network and offer it to all Idaho Schools.  Mike Glenn, the Principal, also wants me to pursue dual credit opportunities through College of Southern Idaho.

I am looking forward to this new opportunity to teach a smaller, yet eager group of students found at Silver Creek in a variety of science course offerings through differentiated instruction.  Plus, I will have my classroom in the actual room I was hired to work in nearly 17 years ago.

2013 WRESCC Hailey Elementary Wins!

For the last two years Bellevue Elementary school has dominated the chess scene, but thankfully to the efforts of Kathy Baker and the Hailey Elementary PTA, Bellevue finally had a challenge ahead of them.  The Wood River Elementary School Championship was a WRHS senior project that Nick Bruck conceived of three years ago and the WRHS Chess Club has continued the tradition of offering it.  President Desmond Porth and Vice President Anna Murphy were on hand to teach, play, and dish out awards to the eager elementary students.

After 5 rounds, Hailey Elementary School clearly emerged victorious with 16.0 points versus Bellevue Elementary School earning 13.5 points.  Trophies were awarded to the top two teams.  Woodside Elementary earned third place with 11.0 points.  We used the top four individuals to calculate the winners.  I like using the top four boards because it encourages teams to bring as many players as possible.  And more kids playing chess is better. Hailey had twelve players, Bellevue had five players, and Woodside Elementary had five players.  This weekend also began the Sawtooth soccer season for developmental players and I am sure that kids were torn between the different activities.

Desmond and Anna give out the trophies

Desmond Porth, Dylan Porth, and Anna Murphy from the WRHS Chess Club team were also on hand to play the kids and provide pointers.   We set up an instruction area for players and it was occupied almost the whole day.  Desmond also put together a hand-out which he went over, sharing the French Defense and the Colle-Zuckertort System.  This was impressive.  As I watched games, especially the endgames, I provided information to the "instructors" to help players with king-rook mates, king-2xrook, king-queen endings.  We also taught some endgame strategies for promoting pawns and how to avoid the classic four-move checkmate, Scholar's Mate.  Dylan entertained kids on the giant chess board which is always a hit with kids.

I included some quick pointers and rules each round, as well.  I was happy that some of the kids remembered some of the concepts I taught them earlier in the year.  What are the point values of the pieces?  Should a rook "eat" a bishop?  Should you give up a knight for a pawn? Touch move, clock useage, and other ideas that experienced players take for granted were shared and appreciated.  After round 3 and round 4, we had our usual drawings for a chess board signed by GM Alex Yermolinsky and FIDE Master Nick Raptis, and a drawstring backpack with a chess logo on it.  I always have the person with the closest birthday draw the names and to everyone's surprise, Leam Van Law drew his own name for the chess set and Sarah Hattula won the backpack ("Knight Moves").

Darwin provides a confident smile

I was very happy to monitor the first graders and kindergartners and view their progress each round.  Eric Baker (Kindergarten) was the most patient and usually played the longest and also would have won the most improved player if we had that award.  He applied our lessons, moving his king to the center, and worked at shuffling the enemy king to the side  of the board.  Another boy used his rook to shrink the box of the enemy king.  Checkmate is sometimes difficult for new players.  All of the players got better by the last round.  With more experience and practice, I look forward to having a strong team when they get to high school.  I hope that someone will work in the middle school and elementary levels with the enthusiasm that I bring to the high schoolers and develop competitive teams.

I brought Desmond and Dylan to Super Nationals last week in Nashville.  This allowed me to get literature on camps, online play, stickers, and other information that I could put on an information table.  I also have chess sets with colored pieces for sale for those that are enthusiastic for chess after the tournament.  Educational literature on openings, tie-breakers, etiquette, rules, and tips are also scattered around the room with practice boards.  The idea is to also hook the parents and share the value of chess so they continue to support and encourage their kids to play. In the end, I hope to provide a pleasant experience for the players and their families.  In a sense, it's like putting on a party . . . a chess party!

Zane Barckholtz and Sarah Hattula are staunch chess enthusiasts now

Education was the primary purpose but competition was the also emphasized with good sportsmanship.     The trophy table had a checkered table cloth to add to the festiveness and colorful trophies (1st - 3rd place) for each grade, Kindergarten thru 5th grade.  Kids that did not trophy were provided medals so they all left with hardware and  a smile.  Mason's Trophy House in Twin Falls provided excellent trophies and cost $152.  Medals ordered online cost only $2/each.

I took many photos and tried to capture "thinking" pictures of each player.  These are made available to parents and the community at our facebook page.  I write this article to provide others with some ideas to run their own tournaments.

Quentin considers his move.

Owen's knight is in a precarious position.

Josephine wonders what's up with the free queen.

Bellevue and Hailey were tied in the fourth round with 11.0 points each, but Quentin Van Law was entered on the wrong team.  When this was corrected, no matter what the outcomes in the last round, Hailey Elementary would secure the sought after trophy.

Owen Stouffer and Zane Barckholtz both scored a perfect 5.0 and really enjoyed playing, K-2 section and 3-5 section, respectively.  I combined K-2nd grade in one section and 3rd - 5th grade in another.  3rd grader Quentin Van Law (4.0) earned 2nd place overall in the 3rd-5th grade section and in other highlights, Kindergartner Erik Baker drew four games.

K-2nd grade Section

Place	Name/Team	Score	MMed	Solk	Cum	Prize
1	Stouffer, Owen (10)	5.0	11.5	13.0	15.0	1st place  2nd grade
2	Baker, Luke (4)	4.0	13.5	15.0	11.0	2nd place  2nd grade
3	Porth, Darwin (8)	3.0	14.5	17.0	11.0	3rd place 2nd grade
4	Loomis, Levi (6)	3.0	11.0	12.5	10.0
5	Archie, Holden (1)	2.5	7.5	14.0	7.0
6	Stouffer, Emmett (9)	2.5	6.5	12.0	8.5	1st place  1st grade
7	Thompson, Porter (11)	2.0	8.5	13.5	7.0
8	Baker, Erik (3)	2.0	7.0	10.0	5.0	1st place  Kindergarten
9	Baeza, Osvaldo (2)	2.0	6.5	11.5	4.0
10	Organist, Christopher (7)	2.0	6.5	10.5	3.0
11	Young, Mathew (13)	2.0	6.0	9.0	3.5	2nd place Kindergarten
12	Gilman, Josephine (5)	2.0	3.0	5.5	4.0
13	Van Law, Leam (12)	1.5	7.0	9.5	5.5	3rd place Kindergarten

Team Hailey Elementary

3rd-5th grade Section

Place	Name/Team	Score	MMed	Solk	Cum	Prize
1	Barckholtz, Zane (2)	5.0	13.0	13.0	14.0	1st place 5th grade
2	Van Law, Quentin (9)	4.0	12.0	13.5	11.0	1st place 3rd grade
3	Baker, Alex (1)	3.0	13.0	13.5	10.0	2nd place 5th grade
4	Kriesien, Walther (6)	3.0	11.5	12.0	10.0	3rd place 5th grade
5	Hattula, Sarah (5)	3.0	10.5	11.0	10.0	1st place  4th grade
6	Feltman, Sarah (4)	2.0	7.5	10.5	3.0
7	Ertz, Benjamin (3)	2.0	6.0	10.0	5.0	2nd place 4th grade
8	Organist, Jordan (7)	2.0	5.0	9.0	4.0	3rd place  4th grade
9	Samaniego, Richard (8)	1.0	7.5	10.5	3.0

Team Woodside Elementary

K-2nd grade Section Cross Table

No.	Name	Pts	Rnd1	Rnd2	Rnd3	Rnd4	Rnd5
1	Stouffer, Owen	5.0	W7	W2	W4	W11	W5
2	Baker, Luke	4.0	W10	L1	W3	W6	W4
3	Loomis, Levi	3.0	W8	W12	L2	L4	W11
4	Porth, Darwin	3.0	W5	W6	L1	W3	L2
5	Archie, Holden	2.5	L4	D8	W9	W7	L1
6	Stouffer, Emmett	2.5	W11	L4	W7	L2	D10
7	Baeza, Osvaldo	2.0	L1	W13	L6	L5	-B-
8	Baker, Erik	2.0	L3	D5	D10	D12	D13
9	Gilman, Josephine	2.0	-U-	-H-	L5	W13	D12
10	Organist, Christopher	2.0	L2	L11	D8	-B-	D6
11	Thompson, Porter	2.0	L6	W10	W13	L1	L3
12	Young, Mathew	2.0	L13	L3	-B-	D8	D9
13	Van Law, Leam	1.5	W12	L7	L11	L9	D8

Team Bellevue Elementary

3rd-5th grade Section Cross Table

No.	Name	Pts	Rnd1	Rnd2	Rnd3	Rnd4	Rnd5
1	Barckholtz, Zane	5.0	-B-	W2	W3	W5	W4
2	Van Law, Quentin	4.0	W6	L1	W5	W3	W8
3	Baker, Alex	3.0	W7	W4	L1	L2	W9
4	Hattula, Sarah	3.0	W8	L3	W9	W7	L1
5	Kriesien, Walther	3.0	W9	W7	L2	L1	W6
6	Ertz, Benjamin	2.0	L2	W8	L7	-B-	L5
7	Feltman, Sarah	2.0	L3	L5	W6	L4	-B-
8	Organist, Jordan	2.0	L4	L6	-B-	W9	L2
9	Samaniego, Richard	1.0	L5	-B-	L4	L8	L3