Chess Club Registration Form

ROOKIES CHESS CLUB 2008-2009

Please ask your students to consider joining the St. Francis Chess Club! It is open to all students. We welcome all grades and playing levels. The Rookies meet in the large meeting room from 7:30-8:15 every Friday that school is in session. The first meeting will be September 12 and continue through March 6.

Our coach this year will be Pete Karagianis. He is an Iowa state chess champion who will be teaching our students everything they ever wanted to know about chess! He coaches chess at several area schools. Linda McIlhon will coordinate and supervise.

 This year students will be divided into two groups, advanced and beginner/intermediate. Pete will alternate weekly between the two groups. Each week one group will receive instruction the other will play guided practice games. Parents with chess experience are requested to volunteer to help me supervise the guided play room. 

Students are expected to be respectful and considerate to all. They must play chess while at chess club. Since we meet in the church wing, the building is open to the public. Students must not leave the chess room unattended, even to go to the bathroom. Unacceptable behavior will be brought to the parent’s attention.  

The cost is $65.00 per student. T shirts will be ordered upon request for an additional $10.00. Please complete the attached registration form and bring it to our first meeting on Sept. 12. Checks for instruction should be made payable to Pete Karagianis. Checks for T shirts should be made payable to St. Francis Chess Club.

Please call Linda McIlhon if you have any questions.  987-5688 or 577-2369

 

The club strives to enhance each member’s knowledge and proficiency in playing chess.  Currently we are utilizing expert instruction and game playing experiences. Tournament play is optional but encouraged as competition and playing the game are two of the best methods to improve performance. Notation is also stressed so the member is able to understand chess publications and interact with other players and members. This allows the member not only to pickup chess skills during club meetings but begin to teach themselves though books, web sites and personal experience.

Currently the Chess Club provides:

	High quality instruction from the current Iowa State Open Champion, Pete Karagianis.
	Game playing experience is provided in the form of ladder-style competition for members separated by grade level.
	Club member shirts which can be worn to school as part of the uniform on club meeting days.

In the works for the rest of this year:

	The club would like to hold an intramural tournament so our members can all experience some tournament play.
	For our more competitive members the State Elementary K-6 Team Tournament at Western Hills Elementary in West Des Moines is February 7th. The entry fee for the tournament is $7.00. US Chess Association membership, $13/year, is required to compete as the tournament is a sanctioned event. Mr. Karagianis has offered his services to coach our club at the tournament. We would like to take all interested team members. Information on this tournament and other tournaments is available at http://www.iowachess.org
	Personal skill level evaluations with each member. This consists of a match between the member and Mr. Karagianis. He will evaluate and instruct each member during the game. The result will help the club address areas of strength and weakness to improve member play.

Possible plans for the future:

	The club would like to explore sponsoring a Summer Chess Camp where players could meet with seasoned local veterans to improve their chess acumen. A flyer will be coming home in the near future to explore these options.
	Also, the club is investigating having small tournaments versus other local elementary schools.

CHESS FREE THROWS

Development
Your first priority is to keep the King safe. Secondly, pieces should be brought out onto the field of play as early in the game as possible.

	Get the King to safety. Castling is a maneuver often used to both increase the safety of the King as well as bringing the Rook into play. Castling should be done when beneficial to the player and is not always the best move.
	Don't move the same piece twice. Use your moves to get your minor pieces (Knights and Bishops) off the back rank and out into play as soon as possible. Pieces left on the back rank hinder your attack by limiting your options. The defense of the King is also weakened by inhibiting castling.
	Don't block other pieces. Try to get your pieces into positions where you can use their full range and mobility. Open up diagonals for Bishops and files for Rooks were they can do the most work for you.
	Use connect the Rooks to judge your development. How many moves does it take to get your Rooks connected? Rooks are connected by having no other pieces between them on the same rank. The smaller the number of moves the better your tempo.

Tactics

	Forks Being able to attack two of the opponents pieces with just one of your own. Your opponent can only move one piece to safety at a time. Fork tactics allow you to capture pieces and but you opponent on defense at the same time. Pawn and knight forks were displayed in class.
	Pins "Pin it to Win it!" Forcing your opponent to not move a piece to prevent capture of another piece. A common pin is a Bishop pinning an opponent's Knight to their King. Once a piece is pinned you can then attack it and win it.
	Skewers Similar to pins you attack a piece through another piece. Once your opponent move the blocking piece you  can attack and win the guarded piece. This limits moves your opponent can make by acting like a pin or your opponent loses the guarded piece.

Values

All piece have point value assigned them based on their range and mobility.
The point values are:

	Queen = 9
	Rook = 5
	Bishop = 3
	Knight = 3
	Pawn = 1

Bishop and Knights have the same value but are more powerful at different point in the match. Early in the match the superior mobility of the Knight makes it more powerful as the diagonals are clogged with pieces. Later in the match the greater range of the Bishop makes it more powerful once some of the material has been removed from the board.

Also see Enrichment