Chess Begins!!!!

The Knights of Mill Valley and
The Knights of Lake Denoon Middle School
2010-2011 CHESS TEAM UPDATE FOR PARENTS

Hello Chess Parents! Please see information below about the Mill Valley and Lake Denoon Chess Teams! Two Schools - Two Teams - One weekly class!

CHESS TEAM MEETINGS – The Knights meet most Wednesdays from 6:30pm-8:00pm at Lake Denoon Middle School, in Room 419. The first class of the year is NEXT WEDNESDAY at 6:30PM. Some weeks, there will be no class.

To stay informed, please:
1. Make sure I have your EMAIL address- you can email me at Seghers@gmail.com and mention your child’s name, etc., and I will add you to our email list. I rely on email! You can also call me at 262-679-4051. I really need to rely on email- please use this first!
2. Please watch our BLOG on the Internet, at http://mvchess.blogspot.com and http://ldmschess.blogspot.com – these are very important places to go on the Internet for team news, tournament schedules, pictures and MUCH MUCH more! Can anyone help update these? Let me know!

These meetings cover chess tactics and the ins and outs of tournament play. Tournaments are a whole lot of fun, and we hope you will encourage your child to join one to try it out, if he/she hasn’t yet! It is rare that a kid goes to a tournament and does not want to go to another tournament again- usually this helps them "get the fever!" Our goal for each player, and for the team, is IMPROVEMENT. We ask for every player to improve throughout the year as a player, a competitor, and a team member. Through chess, we learn a great deal about competition, sportsmanship, concentration and many other lessons. I ask our students to be attentive and involved during classes. Each child needs to SIGN IN and each parent must SIGN THEM OUT at the end of class- thank you! This is critical, please help.

TOURNAMENTS – The Knights of Mill Valley, and The Knights of Lake Denoon, will be playing in several tournaments this year. These are usually on Saturdays. The schedule will be posted on our BLOG WEB SITE as explained above. Some tournaments are scholastic and do not require a USCF rating, others would require USCF membership. This will be spelled out on the blog as information becomes available about each tournament. It's best to become USCF Certified if you can- this way your child can have a USCF Rating and can track their progress as they learn.

RIDE SHARE: Some parents would like their children to participate in Chess Team meetings and tournaments, but rides are a problem. We MAY sometimes be able to ride share between parents. Please contact me if you would either like to offer another child a ride, or if your child ever needs a ride. We’ll set up meetings between parents to discuss. You can also leave a comment on the blog, or do a “Reply to All” on the emails I send.

PRACTICE: The best, and really the ONLY way for your child to improve their game is PRACTICE. I recommend the Internet Chess Club- easy to find online, or online play, if there is no competitive players at home. Kids learn quickly, by taking notation and playing lots of games! I also recommend ChessMaster program for the computer. There are endless web sites and instructional books out there as well. Please let me know if you have questions about any of this. Historically, the best players come from homes with parents who play chess and/or are active and supportive. There is not much that can be learned in the 1.5 hours per week of class- this is just the beginning.

Thank you!
Mark Seghers