Chess Club has started!

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

Chess Club has started! Last week Thursday and Friday were the first meetings for Chess Club. If your child missed the session don't worry, it was just an overview of what to expect from Chess Club. This week is when the lessons and playing begin.

If your child is attending the Thursday after school session and usually rides the bus home, you must send a note to the teacher stating your child will be attending Chess Club on Thursdays and should not get on the bus. If you do not send a note, your child will have to get on the bus.

Thank you,

Greg Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Reese/R.Seghers win first place in K-6 Bughouse

Mill Valley Team Wins Bughouse Tournament!

Congratulations to Mill Valley players Gregory Reese, Jr., and Reid Seghers, who took the first place trophy in last Friday's WSCF Bughouse Tournament!
Taking third in the K-6 was the team of Otterbacher (Mill Valley) and Bredso - a partner Colton met that same night!


K-6 Standings
1 REESE/SEGHERS,E
2 BAUERIF/ZIMMERMAN
3 OTTERBACHER/BREDSON
4 SCHNEIDER/DEIRUSTEK
5 VEECH/SCHNEIDER
6 TILLSON/GROHOWSKI
7 SHROEDER/SEGHER
8 HUEBLER/MCELDUF
9 SAGER/MISEY
10 CHEN/HUEBLER

Fischer-Spassky 1972

1972: Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky

Much can be learned by studying the great games of all time. Enjoy re-playing this classic Fischer-Spassky game from the match that captivated the world. Look at the very end, where Spassky resigned. What a finish! At first glance, it seems as if Spassky has several options, but when you play them out (you can do this by moving the pieces with your mouse, then clicking on R to reset), you can see there is no escape. Unbelievable.
Next, see if you can see the fatal and final mistake Spassky made, and how Fischer brilliantly capitalized on it. It's not all about balance of material. Position is also EXTREMELY important as this game illustrates.

Bughouse Time!

Mill Valley joins its second tournament of the year tomorrow night, the 4th Annual WSCF Bughouse Chess Tournament.

Bughouse, as you may know, is "team chess" played with two players, on two boards. When a player takes a piece, he/she hands it to their partner who can then either place the piece on an empty square, or hold onto the piece for a later move.

Good luck Mill Valley!!!

Fun bughouse sites include:

• Play bughouse online!!!
• Wikipedia article explaining Bughouse Chess (great stuff)

Get me your Notation!!!

Hey everybody! Get me your notation from notable games you have played, and I will gladly post them on this site!
It's fun to replay a good game online, or even a bad game, as you can see with Mr. Seghers' posts.

You can also post your own games! See instructions on this web site (in a previous article) on how to do that.

This blog is only as good as its contributions, so ... go nuts!

Tournament Details

For details on the tournaments listed below, please see:
The Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation web site.

Tournament Schedule Announced

Sep 21	WSCF Bughouse Tournament	WSCF	Whitefish Bay
Oct 6	West Suburban Christian Academy	WSCF	Waukesha
Oct 13	COA - Golden Center	WSCF	Milwaukee
Oct 20	Amery High School	WSCF	Amery
Oct 20	WSCF All Girls Fall Classic	WSCF	Whitefish Bay
Oct 25, 26	Green Bay Scholastic Chess Summit	WSCF/GBCA	Webster Elementary School
Oct 28	Jewish Community Center	WSCF	Whitefish Bay
Nov 3, 4	Wisconsin Jr. Open	WCA	Oshkosh
Nov 10	White Rock Elementary	WSCF	Waukesha
Nov 17	Schroeder YMCA	WSCF	Brown Deer
Dec 1	Fairview School	WSCF	Milwaukee
Dec 8	Thomas Jefferson Middle School	WSCF	Port Washington
Dec 15	Lannon Elementary	WSCF	Sussex
Dec 26, 27, 28	WSCF Pawn - Knight Winter Chess Camp	Jewish Communit	Whitefish Bay
Dec 27, 28, 29	WSCF Bishop-Rook Winter Chess Camp	WSCF	Brookfield
Dec 30	Jewish Community Center Winter Classic	WSCF	Whitefish Bay
Jan 5	North Division Complex Winter Chess Jubilee	WSCF	Milwaukee
Jan 12	Brookfield Christian School	WSCF	Brookfield
Jan 19	McDowel Elementay	WSCf	Milwaukee
Jan 26	YMCA - Young Leaders Academy	WSCF	Milwaukee
Jan 26	Sheboygan Christian School	WSCF	Sheboygan
Feb 2	Universiy School	WSCF	River Hills
Feb 9	St. Bernadettes Catholic School	WSCF	Milwaukee
Feb 16	Brookfield Academy	WSCF	Brookfield
Feb 23	Mesmer High School	WSCF	Milwaukee
Feb 23	Anne Sullivan Elementary	WSCF	Green Bay
Mar 1	Wisconsin Grade Level Champion Ships	WSCF	St. Frances
Mar 8	Richards Elementary School	WSCF	Whitefish Bay
Mar 8	Southern Door High School	WSCF	Sturgeon Bay
Mar 15, 16	WCA Wisconsin State Championships	WCA	Oshkosh
Mar 29	Fries Lake School	WSCF	Richfield
Mar 29	Plymouth Baptist School	WSCF	Plymouth
Apr 4, 5, 6	WSCF K - 8 State Championships	WSCF	Wisconsin Dells
Apr 4, 5, 6	National Jr. High Championships	USCF	Dallas
Apr 12 Apr 18, 19, 20	Rose Glen Elementary National High School State Championships	USCF USCF	Waukesha Atlanta
Apr 26	3rd Annual Wisconsin All Girl Championships	WSCF	University School River Hills
May 9, 10, 11	National Elementary Championships	USCF	Pittsburg

Chess Sportsmanship

Just as important as the win-loss is sportsmanship. "It's not whether you win or lose - it's how you play the game." All players, especially children, can fall into the trap of letting their ego or emotions run away from them. This diminishes the fun and meaning of the game for others. Players need to remember to be both good winners and good losers. Both are very difficult. Below is an article I found on the Internet that discusses sportsmanship. - Mr. Seghers
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Always be polite. Greet your opponent on time in a pleasant way with a handshake. You may say, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is…” or “I look forward to playing you” or “thank you for playing me” or something along those lines. Never make any statement about your game expectations. Do not say anything that may offend your opponent. Also, avoid expressions, body language or gestures that may offend.

Always follow the rules of chess. If your opponent breaks a rule and does not correct the move when asked, or you disagree about the move, ask a tournament director or person in charge to make a ruling on the situation. Do not argue with your opponent.

Following a match, be a good loser or winner. Either way, thank your opponent for a good game with a handshake. If you lost, consider this to be a good learning opportunity and analyze what you might have done different, preferably with your opponent. This is much more productive than getting upset. Remember, you can learn more from a single loss than from many wins, and when you learn you really win. If you won the game, make no statement about having won or celebrate in front of your opponent. Simply thank them for a good game with a handshake.