Nathan and Will do Great at Badger

Congratulations to Nathan and Will, who both went 4-2 and took home the 3rd place Team Trophy for Mill Valley Elementary at the Badger open on Saturday!

Nathan also took home the 3rd place individual trophy (on tiebreakers).

Great job Will and Nathan! Next time hopefully we can have more MV participants!!

Nathan and Will head to USM

A real nice tournament shaping up at University School this Saturday! Many LDMS participants, just a couple for Mill Valley so far. Nathan and Will. Anyone else interested?

Never seen a tournament? Come on out to watch!

Lake Denoon Middle School will have a K-12 and a K-6 team for this tournament. Looks like just a K-3 for Mill Valley so far.

If you would like to register and you dont see your child on this list, let me know! List: http://www.wscachess.org/wscachess/custom/signed_up.php?id=25

New room for class- 538

FYI,
We are moving rooms for chess from now on. Time is the same. Wednesdays, 630-800pm. Room is now 538. This room is right near the front doors. In the main doors, turn to right, and it is the first room there, right off the commons area.
See you next Wednesday! PRACTICE! USM on Nov 20!

Awonder? He certainly is!

To all: (from Mike Nietman of the USCF and WCA)

Here is an e-mail I just got from Yingming ‘Will’ Liang. Awonder was paired up to board one and defeated the top seeded player in the section, a Vietnamese FM who is the Asian U8 Champ!

Note that they are using FIDE ratings and in that section especially, there are a lot of unrateds like Awonder. So, it’ll take several rounds to figure out who all the real players are.

Daily updates from the coaches will be on the headlines at www.uschess.org. In addition, the direct website for the event is http://wycc2010.chessdom.com/. Games start at 8 A.M. central time and top boards may be shown on the internet at a link on the USCF’s story page. It doesn’t look like they have all of the pages on the event site working yet but it is just day one.

Calendar updated

Please see chess calendar at bottom of this page. Updated thru November so far.
Several more tournaments will be available in Dec and Jan.

The first class of the 2010-2011 season

It was great to see so many Mill Valley kids at our first chess class on the 13th! There is a questionnaire that is going out to all parents which will give us good information for going forward with the class.
We will again divide into divisions. WHITE, BLUE and RED. White is the first division which is earned by learning the basics. Blue is our "middle" division earned by winning 2 games in a tournament. Red is the top division, earned by players who have won 4 or more games in a 6-game tournament.
We talked about the upcoming season, and did a demonstration and some puzzles. We played some quick games and had a lot of fun. Everybody admitted they were a little rusty after the long hot Summer! Thanks to all the parents and co-coaches who helped out, this will be a great season!
Next week, at the same time (Wednesday, 630-800pm at LDMS room 419), we will be focusing on ENDGAMES for all divisions.

2010-2011 CHESS AT MV/LDMS

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, Oct 13, 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

Newbies Improve at Bay Lane

Girls Like Chess Too!

Bay Lane held a great tournament.

Our fourth graders take 3rd in K-6!

Mill Valley brought 14 kids to the tournament at Bay Lane Middle School, 9 of whom who were either in their first or second tournament ever! A great time was had by all, at this well-organized and fun tournament at the home of previous Mill Valley coach Mr. Reese (who is now the coach at Bay Lane).

The Team of Andrew, Griffin, Jack, Elliot, Julia, Cora, Lydia, Ryan, and Tessa (all fourth graders, four of whom are new to chess tournaments) took home the 3rd place trophy for K-6! Special congratulations go to Ryan G. who won 3 games in his first tournament ever- a feat accomplished only twice before - once by Will S. this year (Will couldnt attend this time), and once a few years back by Jorin M., now a player for Lake Denoon Middle School. This a good group of 4th graders who hopefully continue playing next year at LDMS!

Mill Valley also fielded a K-3 team composed entirely of new players (Ben and Nathan couldn't make it this time around). Congratulations to Matthew, Joshua, Georgy, Brandon and Alyssa for playing well. Special congratulations to Matthew and Joshua for taking 3 points, and for Georgy taking 2.5 in his first tournament. 1st graders Brandon took 2 points and Alyssa 1 point, in their 2nd tournaments ever.

Congratulations also to our sister school, Lake Denoon Middle School, who took 1st place in K-6 and U-700 divisions, and 2nd place in K-12.

Click here for full results!

NEXT UP: Elmwood in New Berlin on 3/13, then STATE tournament 3/20 and 3/21.

Mill Valley has Strong Showing at Grade Level (updated)

That's Andrew in the front row sporting MV red and white!

Click here for a link to full results. <---- updated!

Congratulations to:
- All Mill Valley players, Will, Andrew, Joshua, Griffin, Ben and Chris, for playing very well at a difficult tournament, against the strongest players in the state for their grades!
- Andrew H, who took home the 5th place trophy for 4th Grade by going 4-1! Andrew is already a member of the "red division" having won 4 in a 6-game tournament last year.
- Will S, who took home the 6th place medal (just missing trophy) by going 3.5-1.5. Will is now a member of the "red division" (having won 3.5 out of 5).
- Andrew, Chris and Griffin, for taking the 4th place team trophy for Mill Valley!
- Joshua R, who took 2.5 out out 5 in his third tournament
- Ben S, for having the courage to stand alone in 3rd grade and playing well
This year has been a challenge, with not a whole lot of tournament participation... the way kids improve is through 1) at-home practice, 2) tournament participation, and 3) classroom attendance and participation. We have the third one down pretty good, and our showing at the Grade Level shows that we have the potential!

Kudos to the WSCF for a great venue, and a good job organizing and running this large tournament. Also... best. skittles. area. EVER.
This Saturday: Bay Lane... we have 13 kids who have said they are playing! Should be a blast- get in some practice at home before that tournament!!!

Roll Call for Grade Level

Many new players waiting for their first tournament at Bay Lane!
For now, trying to get a full team for Grade Level!
We have 2 in 2nd grade, one in 3rd grade, and 2 in 4th grade so far. We are locked in at the $20 rate... Please RSVP if you can make it..
Thanks!
- Mark

Recapturing Past Glory at Grade Level!

First, a bit of HISTORY below! This was a special team of friends that played and practiced together, and still dominate Wisconsin scholastic chess today.

Saturday, March 1st, 2008
Marion Center, St. Francis, WI
4th Grade Section WSCF Rated
TEAM Results
1 MILL VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL , (8) 12.0 37.0 45.5 65.0 24.0
REESE JR., GREG (4.0,1146)
TILLSON, CHRIS (4.0,823)
OTTERBACHER, KOLTON (4.0,497)
BARTZ, JOSHUA (4.0,569)
SEGHERS, EVAN (3.5, 1031)
SEGHERS, REID (3.0, 765)
SCHROEDER, BRIAN (3.0, 577)
GOMOLL, RACHEL (2.0, 201)

2 GOLDA MEIR ELEMENTARY, MILWAUKEE (4) 10.5 29.5 38.0 46.5 20.5
CROSBY, MYLES (4.0,491)
KRUEGER, CHRISTIAN (3.5,587)
MONTEMAYOR, CHRISTIAN (3.0,340)

3 UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MILWAUKEE, (8) 9.5 29.5 44.5 48.0 18.5
KEARNEY, MICHAEL (3.5,799)
RODMAN, SAJITH (3.0,628)
PETZOLD, AARON (3.0,595)
NAJEEB, YASEEN (3.0,482)

Last year, Mill Valley did not compete in the Grade Level tournament. Let's get back there and see what we can do! We can have a solid team in every grade from 1-4 this year. We just need your participation. Please RSVP to Mr. Seghers to attend this important tournament.

If ever there was a tournament that warranted putting aside other activities, this is the one! Each child plays only against children in his own grade. There are individual and team trophies and medals. This is always a great experience.

It's the 2010 Wisconsin Grade Level Tournament!!! Click here to read the flyer. All you need to do to register is email Mr. Seghers (seghers @ gmail.com) to RSVP. This year the tournament is at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (click here for map).

Next Up: Discovery World this Saturday the 23rd!

Two experiences for the price of one at this tournament at Discovery World!

A discount admission price for participants of $15 enters you in this chess tournament and gives you access to all of Discovery World’s exhibits for the day. $10 Entry fee to Discover World for all adults and siblings accompanying participants.

This will be an easier, unrated, "fun" tournament with the added bonus of getting access to Discovery World! Family of players can get into Discovery World for $10 entry fee. One Year Family Memberships will be awarded to the Champion of each Division!

There are three unrated divisions: K-3, K-6 and K-12. There is also a K-12 USCF-Rated division. Click here for tournament details.

Entry $15 entry fee paid on site at day of tournament for preregistered players. To get pre-registered at the $15 rate, please reply to this email (seghers@gmail.com) and I will pre-register you - do not register on your own please! You can register at the tournament also for $20.
Cash and Check only Checks payable to: Discovery World

Discovery Times and Discovery World Exhibits

Registration will be open at 8:00 and access to the Reiman Aquarium, Great Lakes Future, The Challenge and City of Fresh Water exhibits will be open at 8:30. Other exhibits will open at the normal time of 10:00 am and all will be open till close at 5:00 pm. More info about Discovery World exhibits at http://www.discoveryworld.org/experiences.php

Please RSVP by sending email to me at seghers@gmail.com - that's all you need to do!

Mill Valley Kids Enjoy LDMS

USCF-rated tournaments tend to be a much tougher challenge than the local WSCF non-rated tournaments. I was very proud of the Mill Valley kids for jumping in and giving it their best, and doing very well.
Participating in the K-6 Division, who ended up in 6th place out of 10 teams, we had 4 players: Jack, Elliot, Andrew and Julia. Jack led the way with 3.5 wins. Andrew had 3, and Elliot and Julia had 2.
Our K-3 group had a lot of fun too- and did very well, finishing in 4th place (just missing trophy). Nathan led the way with 4 wins (finishing 8th place out of 38 players in that division), and Ben, Will and Matthew R. had 3! 2nd grader Will was playing in only his second tournament, and is already becoming a very strong player! He attributes this to his practice at home. This was Matthew R's first tournament this year too. We had other brand-new players in our K-3 division also- Ryoya (1st tournament ever), Alyssa (same), Joshua (2nd tournament ever) and Brandon (1st ever). Everyone got at least one win! With some home practice, we will have one of the strongest K-3 divisions in the state by the end of the year.
Congratulations to the Mill Valley Knights for fighting hard and representing the school well in a very tough tournament. Also- thank you parents for committing to Chess by joining the USCF (www.uschess.org). You now can look up your children's ratings online, and have a rating you can use going forward, watching it grow! Also, the USCF membership gives you a free 6-month membership to World Chess Live (http://www.worldchesslive.com/) where you can play chess online! Also, of course, you can now play in USCF rated tournaments for the next year.
Also, a BIG THANKS to parents who helped us set up and take down the tournament!

NEXT UP: a tournament this Saturday the 23rd at DISCOVERY WORLD! The tournament fee includes a free pass to Discovery World! Details can be found by clicking here, and I will send more information today and tomorrow. As with all tournaments, DO NOT REGISTER ON YOUR OWN- I will register all players- all you have to do is send me an email saying you will attend!

Mill Valley Players Shine at Richards

Jack, Griffin, Will, Joshua and Elliot at Richards

Mill Valley and Lake Denoon Practicing Together Between Rounds

While we weren't able to field a full team yet in either K-3 or K-5 - many saving their breath for LDMS next week - five Mill Valley players did very well at the WSCF Richards Elementary tournament yesterday!

In K-5, Griffin won 4 games out of 6!!! Welcome to the Red Division, Griffin! "Red Division" means players who have won 4 points in a 6-game tournament, or 3.5 in a 5 game tournament. Twins Elliot and Jack also did very well with 3.5 and 3 games out of 6! With one more player in the division, we would have probably contended for a trophy in K-5. In tournaments, the top four players' totals count towards the team total. It's usually difficult to trophy with 3 or less players. When you have MORE than four, this gives you flexibility and increases a team's chances, of course. Not only do the top four players on a team count, but the OTHER players also contribute by beating other teams players and making it easier for the team as a whole. In a team, everyone contributes, even if they only have 1 win.

Recently we completed chess assessments. We examined the basic skills required to be ready for tournaments. Several new players are either READY NOW or will be ready SOON for tournaments. Two players who I believed were ready for tournaments, 2nd graders Will and Joshua, both new to chess, proved me RIGHT as they rolled to 5 wins in their first tournament!!! Will had 3 wins in his first tournament (just like ex-Mill Valley student Jorin when he was a 2nd grader), and Joshua had 2 wins in his first tournament! Joshua's expertise is the quick-kill (both his wins were very quick opening checkmates), while Will plays a longer more conservative game. Will would have probably had more wins but he started 3-0 and the matchups got VERY difficult after that!! Congratulations to Will and Joshua!

In other news, Lake Denoon Middle School warmed up for the LDMS tournament by running away with first place in the K-8 division at Richards. See details on LDMS' Richards results here. Read about the LDMS tournament by clicking here.

We have a couple very strong Mill Valley teams getting ready for LDMS next week- please RSVP if you haven't! NOTE- each player can take two games "off" for a conflict e.g. basketball. They get one half-point bye, and one 0-point game off, if you require. Please email me with any questions. Thanks!!

Assessments Complete

We have completed all first-half chess assessments for Mill Valley.

Most of the large class is still not quite ready for tournaments. Of those not ready, there are those who still have a ways to go, having just learned how the pieces move. Others are about halfway there, having learned basic principles but still giving away free pieces fairly frequently. Another group is VERY close to being ready for tournaments but just need a BIT more practice.

If there is any confusion about the assessments, any questions at all, if you would like another try, or if I missed your child after all the dust settled... let me know!!

T-shirts Handed Out!

Our Mill Valley T-Shirts have been handed out! Thanks for the orders.
If you still need a t-shirt, let me know- I ordered a few extras.

T-Shirts are in!!!

If you ordered a t-shirt, they're in!!! I will bring them to class on Tuesday.... if there is a parent that can volunteer handing them out, I would appreciate!!!

It's important that kids wear their shirts:
- Tuesdays where we have class
- ESPECIALLY for tournaments!!!

Thanks!

Chess Assessments Going On

Chess Assessments have been completed for all Mill valley kids, and the results are being sent to parents. This will be completed before our Tuesday class.

The assessments will point out areas that each child needs to practice. Generally, if he/she has mastered something, I don't include that in the email. Plenty of things that ALL children have learned so far!! This week, our class will focus on preparing for tournaments. 4-move checkmates and its variations, opening principles, castling, and finally checkmating.

Along with the assessments are an overview of some things EVERY child should try if at all possible. The best is a REAL GAME against somebody who is slightly- or a lot- better. Computers can really help in the absence of a real opponent. ChessMaster is a GREAT game- the tutorials alone are worth 10 times the price. Free Internet Chess Server is a great way to get a game anytime also.