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ROOKIES
CHESS CLUB
Rookies Chess Club, sponsored by the Enrichment Committee, will be
meeting every Friday morning school is in session from 7:30 to 8:15.
Meetings are generally held in the large meeting room or parish hall
depending on space availability. Everyone is welcome to join at any time
during the year. The yearly dues are $10.
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:
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High quality instruction from the current Iowa
State Open Champion, Pete Karagianis. |
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Game playing experience is provided in the form
of ladder-style competition for members separated by grade level. |
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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:
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The club would like to hold an intramural
tournament so our members can all experience some tournament play. |
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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 |
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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:
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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
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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. |
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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. |
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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:
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Queen = 9 |
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Rook = 5 |
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Bishop = 3 |
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Knight = 3 |
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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
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