Badger Open? And Class update.

I'm not sure if we're going to be able to get a K-4 team for the Badger Open this Saturday- need 4 players! It's early in the season, still many other activities going on... and... most of our kids arent yet ready! However... please let me know if your child 1) is confident to play in a semi-tough tournament (I would guess 6-7 of our players might be ready), and 2) is available to play on Saturday. We will have a team for Lake Denoon, but might be ready for Mill valley yet.... Individual players are welcome too - we must may not be able to get a full team. PLEASE RSVP!!!

Class update:
Great class today, focus on the PAWN. Played pawn wars, kids very attentive and seemed to have fun with the pawn-wars game.

Next week, we will be focusing on the KNIGHT, and will be playing with only pawns, knights, and kings. If possible, please work with your children on the pawns and knights. Wikipedia has great information on chess, and you can find lots of information by Googling "chess knight" ... etc.. It would be great if our kids can find chess outside of class- it will be difficult if all they have is one hour per week!

Very happy with the progress I'm seeing in the first couple weeks.

The Mighty Pawn

This week's class - held again on the Mill Valley stage from 3:45 to 4:45 - will be about PAWNS.

The pawn is only worth 1 point, compared to 3 points for Bishops and Knights, 5 points for Rooks, and 9 for the Queen (these are approximate values to help a player see if he/she is ahead or behind- and they vary based on the game situation). HOWEVER the pawn becomes a Queen when it gets to the other side of the board! Pawns move 1 or 2 forward on their first move, then one forward. They CAPTURE on a diagonal, however, either one forward and left, or one forward and right. They can never move backwards.
Like footsoldiers in battle, they work together as a team, supporting each other. A pawn on its own is not as strong.

To help our players learn about the pawn, we will be having PAWN WARS, which is simply chess with all 16 pawns and both kings. In this important exercise, our players will learn about pawn movement, pawn structure, promoting the pawn, and CHECKMATING finally using the Queen(s) the Pawns will become if they play correctly!

This is a useful exercise for players of ALL skill levels.

The Badger Open

What: 40th Annual Badger Open Chess Tournament
When: Oct 3 - Scholastic Section; Oct 3-4 for the Open and Reserve Section.
Register: Contact Mr. Seghers

The 40th Annual Badger Open Chess Tournament will be held at the Marriott Milwaukee West located at W231 N1600 Corporate Court in Waukesha on October 3rd and 4th. This tournament will offer a 2 day event on Saturday and Sunday, October 3rd and 4th with an Open and Reserve (U1400) section with individual cash awards. Like last year there will also be a 1 day Scholastic event on Saturday, October 3rd with 2 sections, K-4 and K-9, with both individual and team awards. Teams may consist of either school or club teams.
All sections are USCF rated and require a current USCF membership to participate. This includes the 1 day Scholastic event.
Please email Mr. Seghers at seghers@gmail.com to receive a flyer with all the details. I will also register all players online- please RSVP, ASAP!!! We hope to have a K-4 team for the strongest Mill Valley Players!

Another Great Class

The team is really working out well so far. I count about 40 kids on the team, including about 14 girls. It's great to have so many girls interested in chess! The ratio of chess players over the world is traditionally too heavily male-dominated. We have to change that and get a better balance!
Some of the girls seem really good... a few in our advanced group who surprised assistant Mr. Reid. Reid is helping with the advanced group (not intuitively, it's easier to provide assistance when the child already understands the basics, than it is to teach back to the very basics).

Very attentive group today. I am very proud of all of them!

Two groups for now- beginners and advanced. About 6-8 are ready to play in a tournament. The goal by mid-October is to be able to field both a solid K-3 team, and a K-5/6 team for a tournament. I think we'll get there!

The advancement path is beginners-> advanced->tournament. Beginners must first graduate to advanced before it is recommended that they try to play in a tournament.

Mill Valley / LDMS Chess Calendar added!

See to the right, on the sidebar, on the top, there is a calendar link.

This calendar shows the Mill Valley (and also Lake Denoon M.S.) chess event calendar for the year!!! Stars are shown by MEETINGS, and "thumbs up" symbols are for recommended tournaments.
I have some things in there now, and will be adding things as they are announced. The WSCF and WSCA have not announced their calendars yet.

Thank you!

Important Chess Note to Parents

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS!

Please send a note each week on Tuesdays with your child, so the teacher knows that the child will be attending chess class!!!!
In this first week, we had some struggles with parents not sending notes… Even though they sign up with Mr. Seghers at Chess Club, Mill Valley also requires a note each Tuesday from parents stating that they would like their child to attend. "Blanket" notes meant to cover the entire chess season are not sufficient.

Thank you!!!

The Year begins with a BANG!

The Mill Valley Chess Team started with a very positive first meeting this Tuesday after school, from 3:45 to 4:45. This is when chess club will be held weekly MOST WEEKS.

In our first class, we talked about the ground rules of the club (be attentive, stay away from the curtains, etc), and the basics of chess, then divided the group into two sections- Beginners and Advanced. Reid Seghers (currently attending Lake Denoon M.S.) assisted with training- he really enjoyed helping out. Mr. Seghers took the beginners, and Reid assisted with some advanced concepts. The beginners' section focused on the board, and the movement of the pieces. Next week we will focus on the board, and the general principles of play. We will then focus on how to checkmate the King. Reid will focus with the advanced group on simple endgames. About 70% of the class is at the Beginner level, with about half of those players still learning how the pieces move. We have 5-8 kids who have played in tournaments before. Looks to be about 25 or so in the class- just about the perfect size.

NOTES on CLASS SCHEDULING: There is NO MEETING on both November 3rd (voting) and January 26th (Kgn registration). I will soon post a schedule on this blog. It will include class schedule AND tournament schedule!! Our tournaments will begin in October it looks like- nothing in Sept for Mill Valley.

Announcing the 2009-2010
Mill Valley Elementary Chess Club!

Chess is an amazing way to build young minds. Alongside of academic pursuits and athletics, chess provides a child an amazing – and fun- balance to a child’s development. Chess has been shown to help with discipline, learning, problem solving, planning, and friendly competition. Chess also helps to teach sportsmanship and respect.

Did you know that Mill Valley Elementary has a chess club? Not only that, we have a strong history of success. A few years ago, Mill Valley’s brand new chess program won the K-3 National Championship following what was most of our kids’ first year of playing chess! That club was coached by Mr. Gregory Reese, assisted by Mark Seghers. This year, Mark is the coach of both Mill Valley and LDMS (current K-5 state champions), while Coach Reese coaches at both Bay Lane and Country Meadows. Assisting Mark at Mill Valley this year is Mr. Peter Stevlingson, who did a great job last year with the MV club!

Our chess class will meet WEEKLY on the stage in the gym/auditorium, on TUESDAYS right after school, starting next Tuesday, Sept 15!!. Our classes will be instructional in nature – NO PREVIOUS CHESS EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED. We will be dividing the class into beginners and advanced sections.

After the kids learn the basics, and are ready, your child can optionally join us at several tournaments hosted by the WSCF (Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation) and the WSCA (Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Association) throughout the year. The goal of each child in their first tournament is to win 1 game out of the 6 played. We’ve never had this NOT happen!
Interested? Please fill out and return the slip below! Please print clearly. Thank you!

• Mark Seghers(262) 679-4051 - home phone
• Seghers@gmail.com - Email address
• http://mvchess.blogspot.com/ – Our blog- updated frequently- please view!

NOTE: This is not an after-school child care program- we ask your child to be engaged in chess! Disruptive or inattentive children will not be able to continue with the program.

- - - -- - - - - - - - MILL VALLEY CHESS CLUB - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hello! I am a parent who is interested in my child joining the Mill Valley Chess Club this year!

Parent’s Name ____________________ Phone _________ Email Address (important!) _____________

Name of Child _______________________ Grade ____ Experience Playing Chess? _____________ _*

Name of Child _______________________ Grade ____ Experience Playing Chess? ______________ *

I can help on Tuesdays with the class ____Yes ____ No (and do you play chess?)

I can help on some Saturdays at tournaments ____ Yes ____ No (and do you play chess?)

Please return this slip to the MILL VALLEY OFFICE by Friday, September 11th, Thank you!!! OR, you can email this info to Mark Seghers at seghers@gmail.com. Thanks!