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.