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.