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Hey there, --
Today, October 12, 2013 is National Chess Day!
In 1976, by presidential proclamation, President Gerald Ford declared October 9th to be National Chess Day: a day to celebrate the royal game.
This year, National Chess Day takes place today on Saturday, October 12th.
How are you celebrating America's designated day for chess?
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Greg Shahade on being a chess teacher |
International Master Greg Shahade wrote an interesting blog post about making money being a chess teacher.
Greg writes:
"I am going to tell you right now that there are kids out there at the age of 10, who are already good enough at chess where they can basically drop out of school right now, focus on learning a few decent social skills and business skills, and can make 6 figures by being a professional chess teacher, probably before they are 20 years old."
This number seemed pretty high to me, but I am not sure - maybe in a big city like New York this is possible. What do you think?
Read More
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Chess is one of the finalists for the 2013 Toys Hall of Fame in Rochester, NY!
I heard this story on the Tony Kornheiser radio show on Wednesday where they discussed all of the nominees. Kornheiser said "Chess isn't a toy! Bobby Fischer wasn't playing a toy!"
Right now Chess has only 3% of the votes, compared to My Little Pony that has 22% of the votes! The induction ceremony is November 7th at 10:30AM Read More
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As I mentioned, last Sunday was the Tri Lakes Open tournament here in Colorado. Fred Spell and his "Gentlemen's Chess Club", put on REALLY nice events.
I have played in a lot of different tournaments, all over the country (Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, etc) and Fred is really in the top 1% when it comes to putting on a good tournament.
Shirley Herman, who is both a chess mom and active chess player herself, wrote up a really nice summary of what makes Fred's events so nice on facebook:
Shirley writes:
It's just an all around class act in a quality setting. Specifically, about the "organization" part of it:
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Rounds always or nearly always start on time. I don't recall one that didn't ever.
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Helpful information posted on clock setting, specifics about bye requests allowed posted, standings posted, extra clocks ready if needed, pairings posted early and some events have even had them posted online so you could know who to expect the next morning.
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complimentary coffee in the a.m. in real coffee cups
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"catered" box lunches available for a price for those who didn't have time to leave for lunch or just didn't want to
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room temperature at a comfortable 68-72 any time I've been there, but that might be more about the nice venue than organization
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Fred goes the extra mile for ambiance. The Inn I'm sure sets the room up the way he tells them and the TDs get a nice table up front trimmed with a white cloth and skirt.
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He has nice boxes for score sheet pickup and hand-in and cups with provided pens, bulletin boards for displaying info and tripod to support the boards.
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Everything you see that has anything to do with the tournament is beautifully displayed. He has preprinted attractive board markers and pre-registered entrants get a place marker with their name and rating on it. He even brings ornaments chess pieces for decoration.
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He keeps track of and posts info on upset standings and has a prize for that
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Online registration with 1 process for multiple registrations
Great summary Shirley! Keep up the good work Fred!
Denver Open right around the corner |
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Denver Open, October 19 - 20, 2013
5 round Swiss system tournament.
Time Control: G/90;d5(Rnds 1-3) and G/120;d5 (Rnds 4-5)
Site: Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse St., Denver 80237
Open: Open to all USCF members.
U1800: Open to all USCF members rated less than 1800 and unrated.
U1500: Open to all USCF members rated less than 1500 and unrated.
U1200: Open to all USCF members rated less than 1200 and unrated.
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Stephen Dann Sunday Chess Column |
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