Mill Valley Chess Team

Nathan and Will do Great at Badger

2010-12-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-10-21T06:51:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-02-21T11:55:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-17T06:16:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-10T11:16:00.001-08:00

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!!!

2010-01-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

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.

Mill Valley takes 3rd Place at Community HS

2009-12-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

Andrew, Griffin, Elliot and Jack

Way to go Mill Valley Knights for taking their first trophy of the year!
The team of Andrew Hirt, Jack Bognar, Elliot Bognar and Griffin Weber took third place in the tough K-6 Division.

Chess Carnival a Success

2009-11-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Parents and Players had fun at the Chess Carnival last night. 22 players from the team made it, and many parents stayed for the chess and fun. Kids who completed the most puzzles and challenges won huge prizes! (ok, it was just candy but hey... we are on a limited budget!)

We had several "stations" for the kids to go to, including:

Knight Jumping
Checkmate in 1 puzzles
Checkmate with Queen/Rook/Rook, Rook/Rook, and just Rook
Pawn Wars
Solid Openings
Chess Challenge Boards

Mel Sinner, and Reid and Evan Seghers helped to keep things rolling, thanks! It was great to meet the parents, and see how our kids have improved since the beginning of the year. I saw a lot of serious chess last night. Way to go Mill Valley Knights!

Later today: US-M update!

Chess Carnival Tonight! And other Notes

2009-11-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight we're NOT here- we're in the Art Room!

Remember, tonight from 6:30-8:00 is the Chess Carnival at Mill Valley, in the Art Room! There will be lots of challenging puzzles and mini-games, and kids earn "chips" as they accomplish each task.

This is also an opportunity for me to meet chess parents, and to answer questions, etc.

If you would like to help set up, please arrive at 6pm. The Chess Carnival will be about practicing chess, and learning what it takes to compete and excel in one of the oldest and most amazing games in the world. As educators would attest, Chess helps young minds develop, and can actually improve performance in the classroom. Together with a well-rounded curriculum including athletics and exercise, Chess can become an interesting "oracle" into the lessons of life itself: Patience, Balance, Planning, Strategy, Defense, and the normal, positive competition we all face in life wherein hard work is rewarded with success. And, it's just a fun game! Hope to see you tonight.

Secondy, I will have T-SHIRT ORDER FORMS if you would like a T-shirt but have not yet turned in the form! The deadline for all forms is next TUESDAY, then I will be placing the order.

Finally, don't forget the TOURNAMENT at the prestigious University School of Milwaukee this Saturday. If you are interested, and if you are not sure if your child is ready to play, let's talk tonight! Sometimes, and for some kids, the best way is to jump in and play (once they learn some basics). For other kids, it's best that they are fully prepared so they are not too frustrated with their early chess experiences. Remember, with chess, you either WIN or LEARN. There is no losing!

Thank you
- Mark

Two Chess Classes this Week!

2009-11-16T07:57:00.001-08:00

We have two chess classes this week:
1) Normal Chess Class Tuesday after school 3:45-4:45 Mill Valley stage
2) A one-time Chess CARNIVAL! Wednesday 6:30-8:00pm - Mill Valley Art Room. Focus will be on fundamentals. Parents welcome!
Then, the big University School tournament this Saturday the 21st!!! We will be fielding both a K-3 team and a K-6 team for Mill Valley! Please RSVP if you would like your child to play. If you are NOT SURE if your child is ready, let me know and I will pay special attention to him/her this week and see what they may still need to work on. #1 is home practice- this is the best way to improve!

Any questions, please email or call me, thanks!

Nathan Trophies in K-3

2009-11-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Shhh!!!! Gears cranking in young chess brains...

No, it's not Chuck Norris, it's Nathan!

This first tournament, at Goodrich Elementary, we had one player in K3 (Nathan) and one player in K5 (Julia). They both played very well after a long Summer with no chess! Nathan finished 4th in the K-3 division to take home a nice trophy.

Our next tournament for the school is at University School in Mequon on November 21. Many of our kids should be ready to go to their first tournament. Please see if you can go, we should have a couple good teams for this one.

Goddess Chess Blog Writes About Mill Valley Girls!

2009-11-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Goddess Chess published a nice picture of a Mill Valley Chess practice and the girls on the team! Goddess Chess is an organization that promotes girls chess. Follow the link to read the article!!

- Mr. Seghers

Begin with the End in Mind

2009-10-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

As fans of Covey would know, it is wise to "begin with the end in mind." That is, to know where you are going before you begin. Most masters teach beginners the endgame very early in their training, so I will do the same...!

Some great endgame lessons are here, below (from a nice beginners' site, "Logical Chess"):

King and Pawn Endgame
First, learn the secrets of King and Pawn endgame play.

King and Pawn Endgame Studies
Then test your skills on these problem diagrams.

Knight Endgame
Learn the secrets of King, Knight, and Pawn endgame play.

Knight Endgame Studies
Then test your skills on these problem diagrams.

The Rules of Chess pt1

2009-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

The Starting Position:

Chess is played by two players beginning in the position shown above. The White player (the player of the light colored pieces) moves first. Then each player takes a single turn. In fact, a player must move in turn. In other words a move cannot be skipped.

When setting up the pieces, keep in mind two things. The light colored square goes on the player's right, and Queens go on their color next to the Kings on the center files.

You may not move a piece to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces. You may capture an opposing piece by replacing that piece with one of your own pieces, if it can legally move there.

Tournaments Coming Up!

2009-10-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last week, we let the kids play FULL GAMES of chess.
It was useful to see how far they have come. Some kids amazed me! Most kids still need a great deal of work before they learn the game... but thats OK!!! There's lots of time. If you have a chess board at home, make sure they know how the pieces move, that's the first hurdle.
Remember, the PRIMARY GOAL of the chess class is to LEARN THE GAME and HAVE FUN! If a child wishes, they may join tournaments when they are ready!!! We have three divisions- WHITE, BLUE and RED. See the explanation of BLUE players below, on this blog site.
Our first tournament as a team is NOVEMBER 7, at Goodrich elementary!!! This will be a fun, WSCF scholastic tournament! Then, another one on November 14th, then the big tournament at University School on November 21st!!!
Just a couple weeks before our first tournament.
Remember, these tournaments are OPTIONAL and are best only for kids who have learned the basics. Before Nov 7th, I would like to have an extra session for the WHITE DIVISION. A CHESS FOUNDATIONS course. Still thinking about this.... would be good to give special attention to the beginners. I am thinking to also invite some of the Lake Denoon players to help out! Let me know if you have any ideas here. Thanks!

Checkmating with 2 rooks, and 1 rook

2009-10-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to checkmating with ONE rook:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cYiU0Z3plg

Here is a link to checkmating with TWO rooks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sVAm6Kgogk

Free Internet Chess !!!

2009-10-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

Do you have the Internet? Check out freechess.org!

Just go to www.freechess.org and you can create an account for your child. This is a GREAT way to play online chess and to find a game anytime!!!

We will be "meeting" online Tuesday night at 8PM for anybody who wants to try it out!!!

Mark/Mr. Seghers/Mr. S

When is a Player Ready for Tournaments?

2009-10-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

We have three divisions in our club:
WHITE players are the players still learning how to compete. This is the bulk of our team today. Learning how the pieces move. Learning pawn structure. How to checkmate and mate. Basic opening strategy.
BLUE players are ready for tournaments.
Generally, Blue players know and can demonstrate:
- How to play a full game all the way to the end
- How to deliver Check, and Check Mate, using a combination of pieces
- How to defend 4-move mate and its variations
- How to checkmate using queen and rook, and rook alone (vs. a lone King)
- When a game is winnable and when it is a draw
- Knows stalemate and how to avoid (or deliver when losing)
- Good opening form:

Developing center pawns
Controlling the center
Developing minor pieces
Castling

- Does not give away "free pieces" (where player takes a piece for free and you can't take back)
- Understands the value of the pieces
- Understands pawn structure
- Knows one good opening for white, and how to defend basic openings as black
- Etc.

RED players are tournament players who have won 4 games in a 6 game tournament, or 3.5 points in a 5-game tournament.

Badger Open? And Class update.

2009-09-29T18:46:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-09-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

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!

Upcoming Tournaments- Get Ready!!!

2009-08-16T08:55:00.001-07:00

Upcoming Tournaments!
While the Scholastic schedules for WSCA and WSCF have not yet been finalized, below are some upcoming tournaments of note:

WCC - Aug 19 - Early Fall Action - (Waukesha Chess Club, 2 Wed eves)
SWCC - Aug 20 - Summer Actionade Cooler III (USCF, Southwest Chess Club, Thu eve)
LDMS - Aug 30 - BARN BLITZ! Email seghers@gmail.com for details
WCC - Sep 2 - Early Fall Swiss - (Waukesha Chess Club - 4 Wed eves)
USCF - Oct 3 - Badger Open (Pewaukee) - details to come
USCF - Oct 17 - Hales Corners Challenge X
USCF - Nov 7 - WI Junior Open - Oshkosh

2009-07-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

Site of the Tournament

On Sunday, August 30 at 1PM (watch the site for updates), we will be holding the prestigious 2009 Muskego Barn Blitz at the fabulous luxurious Seghers Barn Resort (watch out for rusty nails and mice), pictured above.
This is projected to be a 10-round, 5-minute blitz tournament. There will be a small entry fee which will cover a few trophies. We will be asking for RSVPs and volunteers, and some snacks, etc. There will be a 12 and under Division, a 16 and Under Division, and an Open division.
We'll also have swimming between rounds and for parents who wish to hang out and talk. We did this a few years ago and it was a lot of fun! The Evite went out today (Fri 7/17)... if you didn't get an Evite, please email Mark (s e g h e r s @ g m a i l . c o m - with out the spaces). RSVP for people, snacks, etc.

- Mark, Sue, Reid and Evan Seghers

WATCH HERE FOR MV CHESS NEWS!!!

2009-07-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

I will be coaching both the LDMS and Mill Valley chess teams next school year 2009-2010.
Watch here for Mill Valley Chess news, and check out LDMS chess happenings at the sister web site http://ldmschess.blogspot.com !!
- Mark Seghers

Milwaukee Chess Clubs

2009-07-07T08:36:00.001-07:00

Summer days are so busy; some players find the best way to learn chess and stay sharp is to play in the evenings. There are two options for that- Wednesday evenings at the Waukesha Chess Club, and Thursday evenings at the SW chess club. Reid and Evan, and Kolt and Jacob, play at the SW chess club usually. Josh and his Dad Bob have played at the Waukesha Club. Both clubs have a good mix of ages and skill levels!
The next 6 weeks are the SW Chess Club Championship. Starts this Thursday night. One game per week, every Thursday night for 6 weeks. Each player can request 2 "byes" which would give him or her a half-point for that game (as if they drew). I can help drive in some cases. Please RSVP for this tournament!
Southwest Chess Club Championship:July 9, 16, 23, 30 & August 6 & 136-Round Swiss in One Section. Game/100. USCF Rated. EF: $7(must be a member to participate). SWCC Membership $10 (can join prior to first round). (Two ½ point byes available in rounds 1 through 5 if requested at least 2-days in advance; no byes available for round 6.) TD is Becker; ATD is Grochowski.
About the SW Chess Club: Thursday events are held at St. James Catholic Church in the lower level of the Parish Center building (immediately in front of the church). The address is 7219 South 27th Street in Franklin. Parking in rear, enter through south door. Hours: 6-11 p.m. Thursday tournament Registration: 6- 6:55 p.m. Games begin at 7 p.m. Every Thursday, you can either join in the action, or play a friendly game, some skittles, or arrange a match, a tournament, or an extra rated game. Ask a Tournament Director for assistance (Allen Becker, Tom Fogec, Robin Grochowski, or Sheldon Gelbart).

Mill Valley ROCKS Rose Glen

2008-04-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Mr. Seghers almost got lost on the way... nothing against Waukesha, but have you ever driven in a more CONFUSING city? AGGGGhhhhh... Thanks to Mr. Bartz, who called me on my cell phone and guided me in.

Mill Valley Knights again took first in K5. We had Evan take first, Reid take second, Chris take third and Jorin take fourth for a MILL VALLEY SWEEP of the top four spots. Greg finished 7th, Josh 12th, and Rachel 17th with 3.5 wins and once again SO CLOSE to getting Red division. Amazing job Mill Valley... this tournament really showed the gap between our program and some of the others. This is due of course to the kids' hard work, and of course the hard work and great instruction of Mr. Reese.

Way to go!!!!!!!

Mill Valley Takes First at WSCF State!

2008-04-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

As Bob said when he handed us the trophy, the "Chess Capital of Wisconsin, Mill Valley!" wins another first place trophy, this time in the "first annual" K-5 state tournament at the Kalahari Resort. Mill Valley had 13.5 points compared to second place Shorewood Hills (11.0) and third place Rose Glen (10.0).
Lots of fun was had by all in this event, with plenty of time for the waterpark on Friday and Saturday night, and again on Sunday morning.
Attending for Mill Valley was Evan and Reid Seghers, Chris Tillson and Brian Schroeder. Evan played for 1st place, but lost to a very tough (1421 USCF) Aaron Jing in the final game. Evan played well but made a touch move towards the end which resulted in a positional error. Reid's only loss also came to Master Jing. 2nd place went to Avishai Ella, whose only non-win was a tie against our own Brian Schroeder. Evan took 3rd, Reid took 4th (both with 4 out of 5 wins), Chris Tillson took 9th, and Brian took 19th.

Great job Mill Valley!!!! Thanks also to Coach Reese. Although he was not at this tournament this time around, he was there in spirit, and stands responsible for our children's ongoing chess success!

Four Mill Valley K-5ers Head to the Kalahari

2008-03-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

The team of Chris Tillson, Brian Schroeder, Reid and Evan Seghers will be heading to the Kalahari next weekend for the WSCF state championships.

Go Mill Valley!

P.S. There are VERY limited rooms left at our rate for the tournament. Act FAST if you want to try to make it. Comment on this blog and I will get your email immediately and will see what I can do.

Remaining Events

2008-03-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

The Chess season is winding down and there are only a few tournaments left this season.

April 5&6 WSCF K-8 State Championships - Wisconsin Dells (Mr. Reese not attending)
April 12 Rose Glen Elementary Waukesha
April 19 Ronald Reagan Elementary New Berlin
April 26 3rd Annual All Girls Tournament University School of Milwaukee
May 3 Mill Valley will host a tournament
May 9-11 USCF National Elementary Championships Pittsburgh, PA

The next tournament that Mr. Reese will be attending is April 12th at Rose Glen. We have decided not to attend the WSCF Championships held in the Dells. A few families have expressed interest in attending, and a few may have already registered. This tournament requires advance payment with registration either by mail or online at wisconsinscholasticchess.org, so if you decide to participate you will need to take care of registration on your own. If you have questions or need help getting through the process I will gladly help if you give me a call.

The Reagan tournament is not a WSCF event. It is being directed by Randy Bubolz, the chess coach for the New Berlin Elementary Schools. If you want to participate and have a sporting event commitment that day, you can request a half point bye for the round you will miss. He is also offering a USCF Rated Beginner Open in addition to the Scholastic event. If you are a USCF member with a rating under 1200, child or adult, you can play in this section.

All the remaining tournaments will have a K-3 Division. I will send a reminder about the April 12th, Rose Glen Tournament after the first of the month.

Thank you,

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Team

Mill Valley/Reese Take First at State!

2008-03-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

This past weekend eight players from Mill Valley participated in the Wisconsin State Scholastic Championships sponsored by the Wisconsin Chess Association in Oshkosh. They competed in the K-5 Division against teams from 18 schools in a field of 101 participants. Together they scored 18 points to tie for 1st Place Team State Champions with New Berlin's Glen Park, but got the 2nd Place Team Trophy on tie-breaker One, 90 to 91.

Mill Valley's name goes on the traveling State Championship Trophy Cup coming to Mill Valley in 6 months. New Berlin promised to bring it to the Mill Valley tournament on May 3rd for a visit and all to see.

As individuals, Josh Bartz finished in 66th Place and Kolt Otterbacher finished in 51st position. Brian Schroeder got 33rd for a Medal with 3.5 wins. Reid Seghers finished 25th, 3rd Grader Jorin McGuire took 24th, and Chris Tillson got 18th Place, all with 4 wins for a State Championship Medal. Evan Seghers tied for 9th Place, but got the 10th Place Trophy with 4.5 wins. Gregory Reese tied for the 1st Place Individual Trophy with 5.5 wins, won it on tie-breakers, and is State Co-Champion with Sam Gorectke of New Berlin.

Congratulations to all who participated!

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Going to the Kalahari?

2008-03-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Going to the Kalahari?

Reid and Evan will be going to the Kalahari on the weekend of April 5th, for the WSCF K-8 State Championship. Sue will be there Friday eve with the boys, and I will arrive early Saturday morning. Note that you HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER, using information on the link above.

Please let me know if you are going, or if you would like to go, and we can pull together as a team. To reach me, either comment to this post, or call/email me using the information I sent in email. Thank you!

Mark Seghers

GRADE LEVEL MADNESS!

2008-02-28T06:37:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Saturday's tournament is at The Marian Center located at 3195 S. Superior Street in St. Francis. We have retained the same team room as last year. It's on the second floor, room number 223.

We will be taking $3.00 donations for each child participating to help pay for the team room rental. The team room is a suite of four rooms, so we should have plenty of room. Please arrive by 8 a.m.

The pairings for the first round will be prepared Friday night and should be posted when we arrive on Saturday. The kids need to be at their boards by 8:30 for the opening ceremony and the first round will follow. This is earlier than usual.

This is a five round event. There are set times for each round with the final round beginning at 2:15 and awards to follow. We have thirteen students participating on Saturday. Two second graders, three third graders and eight fourth graders. There will be five individual trophies and four team trophies for each grade level. Team scores will consist of the top three scorers on each team. If you can recruit any more second or third grade players it would give us a better chance to finish in the trophies. Parents will be allowed to sit in the mezzanine area above the playing floor to watch the games. Parents are not allowed to communicate with their child or anyone on the playing floor while games are in progress. Students are not allowed in the upper area.

Please make sure your kids know that they are not to run in the halls or in the stairwells. When their game is finished they must leave the playing area immediately and return to the team room. If you are bringing any snacks or lunch, please remember no peanut or nut products. Because of food allergies, we ask that you have your children wash their hands after eating before using the chess sets in our team room. We ask that all food and drinks be kept in a designated area and not on the tables with the chess sets. We will see you bright and early on Saturday!

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Mill Valley Takes Second

2008-02-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

Tough K-6 group last week at Messmer!

Mill Valley's fourth-grade Knights took 17.5 points to take 2nd place to the very tough Magellan Day school. Magellan put up 6th graders Veech, Zimmerman, and Schneider, and 5th grader Rokni, and took 19.0 points to take the first place trophy. 2nd place has not happened very often to Mill Valley in K5 or K6- congratulations Magellan, you played us TOUGH!

Gregory and Evan took 4.5 points to take 3rd and 4th in tiebreakers, Reid took 7th, Brian 9th, Kolt 14th and Chris 23rd.

Still, a very good showing at a tough tournament. Up Next- Grade Level!

Evan beats 1656-rated Player in Waukesha

2008-02-21T17:02:00.001-08:00

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Messmer High School - up next!

2008-02-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

On Saturday we will be attending a tournament at Messmer High School located at 724 W. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee. There will be both K-3 and K-6 divisions. Both sections will have three team trophies, three individual trophies and medals to all.

Messmer High School is right on I-43 and Capitol Drive. There are easy on, easy off ramps right there.

The registration fee is $10 and is paid on Saturday. Please arrive by 8:30. If you are bringing your own snacks or lunch, please remember no peanut or nut products please. Awards will be around 4:30. I have attached a flyer with all the details. If you plan to attend, please let us know by 8 p.m. on Thursday evening and we will take care of the registration.

Hope to see you Saturday!
Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Pictures: Elmwood

2008-02-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from the Elmwood School tournament (thanks once again to Glynis Grochowski, our Team Photographer)...

Our K-5 Team did it Again! Jason really helped!

K-3 was super awesome, what else can you say???

Gregory and Evan know where this one is heading again...

Guess how many wins Reid had?

Rachel gives the universal sign that all is well at Mill Valley...

Two thumbs up for Jorin's performance!

Still more thumbs up for our K3 team (we would be great hitchhikers!)

Hey! Kolt has a thumb too!

K3 Powerhouse Ben shows what position Mill Valley is getting used to...!

Congratulations to Josh, who joins the RED DIVISION with 4 wins!!!

Between round Skittles play.

Sometimes ya got it, sometimes ya don't. Way to go Mill Valley!!!

Pictures: University School

2008-02-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from the prestigious University School, where Mill Valley kicked some prestigious booty!

Our team in deep concentration before a match.

Evan goes 6-0 to take First Place in K-5

Gregory also goes 6-0 to take second (due to mysterious tie-breakers!)

Mill Valley Parents are Overcome with Excitement!

Review: Last few Tournaments:

2008-02-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

I have been negligent on the BLOG! Sorry about that... I will keep things rolling. Let's catch up with a quick summary of where we've been the last month or so!

McDowell, Jan 19
K5: First Place Team. Reese 6-0, ESeghers 5-1, RSeghers 5-1, Tillson&Otterbacher 4.5 pts.
K3: No K3 in this tournament

University School, Feb 2
K5: First Place Team. ESeghers 5-0, Reese 5-0, RSeghers 3 pts, McGuire 2.5 pts, Schroeder 2 pts, Otterbacher 1.5 pts
K3: No K3 team entered.

Elmwood, Feb 9
K5: First Place Team. Reese 6-0, RSeghers 6-0, ESeghers 5.5 pts, (waiting for other results.
K3: Waiting for other results.

Brookfield Academy, Feb 16
K5: First Place Team (23 out of possible 24 points!). Reese 6-0, RSeghers 6-0, ESeghers 6.0, McGuire 5.5 pts, Otterbacher 4.5 pts.

Evan (Mill Valley) vs. Calin

2008-02-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

In this game, Evan faced the very tough Calin. See if you can spot the key move.
Congratulations Mill Valley Knights, who took home another K-5 first place trophy! Evan and Greg both went 5-0 to take first and second place! This game is from the fourth round.
Please send me your notation so I can put more games on the Internet!

- Assistant Coach Mark.

Mill Valley K-5 Takes Another First Place!

2008-01-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, the Mill Valley Chess Club sent 11 players to the Brookfield Christian Schoool Chess Tournament. They played in the K-2 and K-5 Divisions. 135 chess players participated overall.

In K-2, Ben Schalk took the 10th place medal with 3.5 wins. Chris McKay won the 15th place medal with 3 wins. Connor Wiken won 2.5 games for the 21st place medal and Theo Ritter had 2 points to win the 24th place medal. Mill Valley's K-2 team took 2nd place!

In K-5, Gregory Reese Jr. went undefeated for the 1st place K-5 Trophy for Mill valley. Evan Seghers took 3rd place with 5 wins, while Chris Tillson took 5th place, also with 5 wins. Kolt Otterbacher took 9th place with 4.5 wins. Reid Seghers and Rachel McKay each had 4 wins to take 10th and 16th respectively. Brian Schroeder had 3 wins to take 28th.

Congratulations to Theo Ritter who took 2 wins in his FIRST TOURNAMENT!!! Also great job to Rachel McKay, who moved into the Red Division with 4 wins!!!

Mill Valley's trophy total for the year is now 41, and 102 since the beginning of the chess program (halfway through last season).

Way to go Mill Valley Knights! Hope to see many of you Saturday at McDowell Elementary! Click here for details!

2008-01-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

On Saturday, we will be going to MacDowell Montessori School located at 1706 W. Highland Avenue in Milwaukee. This tournament does not have a K-3 division. It will be a six round event with a K-5 division. This is probably not a good tournament for kids under Grade 3.

The $10 registration fee is paid on Saturday. Awards will include five Team Trophies, five Individual Trophies and Medals to 30th place. The flyer also states that all participants will receive a medal. As usual, you will need to arrive by 8:30 and awards will be about 4:30.

Here is the information: MacDowell Flyer <- Click here for info

If you bring your own lunch or snacks, please remember no peanut products. If you plan to attend, contact Mr. Reese by phone or email by 8pm on Thursday and we will take care of the registration. It’s also time to register for the Wisconsin Grade Level Championships being held on March 1st.

I will forward the registration forms and information about this tournament and other upcoming tournaments in an email later this week. Don’t forget to check out the Mill Valley web site at mvchess.blogspot.com. Hope to see you at MacDowell!

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Want to Improve Your Chess?

2007-12-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Want to improve your chess?

Here's a tip: reset your pieces after each game!

What's the logic behind this tip, you may ask? Well, to improve, you have to play more. And what's more tempting than a chess board, all set up and ready to play? How many times have you walked past the board and seen two kings, three pawns and a queen sitting on the board, all the other pieces just sitting there in a clump... you walk by, thinking, I'll play later...

When you reset the pieces after the game, you will find yourself playing more chess! Guaranteed. Then, the more you play, the better you'll get!

Chess Sunday!

2007-12-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

On Sunday, December 30th, we will be attending a chess tournament at the Jewish Community Center located at 6255 N Santa Monica Blvd in Whitefish Bay. This is a 6 round event with a $10 registration fee which is paid on site. Please arrive by 8:30 and awards will be about 4:30. I have attached a flyer with all the information.

There is a K-3 division with three team trophies, five individual trophies and medals to 30th place. The K-6 division will have three team trophies, five individual trophies and medals to 20th place. We will have both a K-3 and K-6 team at this event.

If you can attend please let us know by phone or email (avugames@netzero.net) by 8:00 Thursday evening.

Hope to see you there!

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Reese Takes First! Magellan Edges Out Mill Valley

2007-12-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Mill Valley fourth grader's Gregory Reese, Jr., who took ALL 6 GAMES in the K-6 division, again (!!) for the Mill Valley Knights. Gregory had some very tough matchups, and had to face Christian Krueger, Brian Dennis and Charlie Burton. Way to go, Greg!!!

In a very close tournament, Mill Valley JUST got edged out by the powerful Magellan Day Schoolers, 17.5 to 17.0... We did very well, and took second place! Besides Greg at 6-0, we had Chris Tillson at 4-2, third-grader Jorin McGuire at 4-2, and Kolton Otterbacher at 3-3. The competition is very tough for K-4 Mill Valley this year, seeing some of its stronger players move from K-3 to K-6. Mill Valley has done extremely well so far this year, and this second-place trophy is one more for the case!

Good job, Knights!

P.S. The USCF Ratings are being used still for the WSCF events. This is new to 2007, and we continue to seek to understand why this is being done. This is not a huge problem in the scheme of things, and CHESS is the most important thing! The boys are having a really fun year with their friends playing the game of Kings.

Garry Kasparov- Chess Genius and Political Activist

2007-12-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

( from Moscow, Saturday December 8, 2007, The Guardian )

(Thought by many to be the best chess player in history, Garry Kasparov has had troubles recently in his home country of Russia. The article below reminds us that the brains we exercise on the chess board should also be used to stand up for what we believe in, despite the odds. When the other guy gets "109%" of the vote, you know something is not quite right..!)

He has been slammed in jail, frozen off the airwaves, and flattened in last week's elections in Russia. Spare a thought for Garry Kasparov. Not even playing Deep Blue, the computer that famously defeated him 10 years ago, can have been this hard.

Kasparov may have crushed a host of formidable opponents during his extraordinary career as chess world champion, but he is now up against an adversary more ruthless and cunning than any he ever faced across the chessboard.

Last Sunday Vladimir Putin won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections. The president's United Russia party romped home with 64% of the vote and will dominate the new Duma. Kasparov's liberal allies were wiped out.

Kasparov's own role in the election was necessarily limited - first the Kremlin banned him from standing, then had him arrested last week when he tried to lead an opposition march.
After a kangaroo trial, a judge sent him to jail for five days. "It wasn't the greatest experience of my life," Kasparov says. "I won't say I enjoyed it but I was amazed by people's warmth."
The Kremlin claims that United Russia won last Sunday's vote fair and square. Kasparov - the most conspicuous leader of opposition coalition The Other Russia - says the vote was rigged.
He claims election officials manipulated the poll using different methods: old-fashioned ballot box-stuffing, widespread misuse of absentee ballots, and even buses whizzing voters from polling station to station. Kasparov is most incensed at results from the north Caucasus. In Chechnya 99.3% of the population were said to have voted for Putin's party, he says, while in the republic of Mordovia the figure was apparently 109%.

"There was a well-oiled machine to add votes to United Russia. The one technique that was relatively new was forcing people to vote at their workplaces," Kasparov told the Guardian in a phone interview from his home in Moscow.

"I don't think United Russia got more than 40% of the vote. If you look at Moscow and St Petersburg, the results were much lower. It's very clear in big cities ... where information is available they vote differently."

Since retiring from chess two years ago, Kasparov has thrown himself into a full-time struggle against Putin. This can't be much fun. At his last rally in Moscow Kremlin saboteurs played tapes of maniacal laughter when he got up to speak.

Officials suggest he is mad, bad, and dangerous - a western stooge bent on destroying Russia's carefully crafted stability. Kasparov shrugs this off, denouncing Kremlin corruption, falling living standards and the increasingly obscene gulf in Russia between rich and poor.

But his modest rebellion has failed to snowball into any wider uprising against Putin, who is due to step down in March ahead of presidential elections. Last night there was also speculation - denied by the Kremlin - that Putin could become president of a newly merged union between Russia and neighbouring Belarus. So what will Putin do next?

"I doubt anybody in the country knows the answer to this question," says Kasparov. "But I think it's clear there is a fight going on in the Kremlin between different groups."

In particular Kasparov says the clan led by Igor Sechin - Putin's powerful deputy chief of staff - has triumphed over the more liberal Kremlin faction of finance minister Alexei Kudrin. Last month Kudrin's deputy Sergei Storchak was arrested and charged with stealing $43.4m.
The Sechin clan would ideally like to keep Putin in power, Kasparov believes. One possibility is that Putin returns as president in the summer after a brief interregnum, he says.

Despite frosty relations with the west, the Kremlin is not willing to push its luck on the world stage, Kasparov says. "The entire fortune of the ruling elite - their money, assets, families - it's now all in the free world. This makes it very awkward."

He says the Putin regime has elements of Latin American oligarchies, elements of the "Mussolini corporate state" and elements of mafia. What makes it different, he says, is that the trillions earned from Russia's oil and gas wealth has been hidden outside the country. "That's why Putin is getting so nervous: because he would like to go and enjoy life. But there is no guarantee for his safety. It's getting tough. Everybody, including Putin, has too many skeletons in the cupboard."
Kasparov is 44; he is a father; he has a young baby with his wife Daria Tarasova and a lot to lose. He spends thousands of dollars a month on bodyguards and refuses to fly on Aeroflot, the state airline.

With his opinions, is he worried that he could follow Anna Politkovskaya - the investigative journalist murdered outside her Moscow apartment last year?

Kasparov says that, to a certain extent "fame protects me". But he says that he expects the Kremlin to lock him up for longer next time, possibly using a new criminal law "against extremist activities".

He agrees that Russia's new protest movement bears a resemblance to dissidents of the Soviet era, although, he says: "We have a certain window to do things differently. But the problem is the country is sliding backwards. The examples and the fight of those great people inspires us."
From chess prodigy to Putin opponentAn arch-critic of Vladimir Putin, Garry Kasparov is better known as the greatest ever chess player. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, he was a child chess prodigy who, in 1985, became the youngest world chess champion ever. He remained champion for 15 years, an unprecedented dominance. Kasparov had the highest chess rating ever and suffered only one major defeat, in 1997 against the computer Deep Blue. In March 2005 he retired from chess and launched a democratic opposition movement against Putin. He has been banned from Russian TV and repeatedly arrested, most recently last week while leading a rally in central Moscow. He intends to stand as a candidate in March but is unlikely to collect the 2m signatures necessary.

Next Up: Hamilton H.S. December 15th

2007-12-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, December 15th, we will be attending a tournament at Hamilton High School that is sponsored by Lannon Elementary School.

The address is W220 N6151 Town Line Road in Sussex. This is a six round event and the registration fee is $10 which is paid on site.There is a K-3 Division with 3 Team Trophies, 5 Individual Trophies and Medals to 30th Place. The K-6 Division will have 3 Team Trophies, 5 Individual Trophies and Medals to 20th Place.

Click here to see the flyer with all the details.

According to Mrs. Reese: Please arrive by 8:30 and awards will be about 4:30. Lunch will be available to purchase on site. If you bring your own, please no peanut products. This is a peanut free event! It you plan to attend please call the Reeses at home, or email them at avugames@netzero.net before 8PM on Thursday.

Hope to see you there!

Best Finish Ever for Knights!!!

2007-12-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Mill Valley had its best finish ever this past Saturday at the Port Washington Chess Tournament!

Evan Seghers, Gregory Reese Jr., and Reid Seghers all had 6 out of a possible 6 points to take first, second and third place in the tournament!!! Kolt Otterbacher had 4.5 to take 4th place, rounding out the first place team finish, scoring 22.5 points out of a possible 24! WOW!!!

Great job Mill Valley Knights!!!

Click here to see full results.

Fairview Results

2007-12-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

For full results, click here

Mill Valley did a great job at Fairview, taking another 1st place trophy with 15.5 points out of a possible 20. 2nd place was Ronald Reagan with 11.5.

In the K-5, Evan Seghers took 4 out of 5 for 3rd place, Greg Reese took 4 out of 5 for 4th place. Brian Schroeder also took 4 out of 5, and took 6th place. Tie breakers made the difference. Rounding out the K5 team were Chris Tillson with 3.5 wins and Reid Seghers with 3 wins.

The K-3 team also did well, taking 4th place out of 9 teams, paced by Connor Andrews with 2.5 points and Griffin Weber with 2. Cole Miller and John Bennett added 1.5 points apiece.

The WSCF has been a solid organization and has organized many great tournaments. While we still believe that there are some issues with the way ratings are assigned, we are all working together to understand these issues, and to ensure that a fair and equitable environment exists for ALL players so we can return our focus to our children and the game itself - and all the wonderful benefits this game provides to our children and our families.

2007-12-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

K-5 Fighters First at Fairview!

Congratulations to the K-5 Team who took first place today at Fairview! Evan Seghers took third place and Greg Reese took fourth. Several other Mill Valley players placed quite highly. K-3 did a great job with only two players! More details about the tournament to come...

See the game below, where Evan beat a very tough University School student. Gotta love those Queen-King "forks"!! Great job to Evan and the whole Mill Valley team! Parents- send me your notation and I will post your games!

- Assistant Coach Mark Seghers, stuck out of town this weekend.

J.V. vs. Evan Seghers

2007-11-25T14:47:00.001-08:00

Evan says "I thought I would lose in the beginning of this game, but later I took his Knight just at the right time. I ended up 2 points ahead - Bishop for Pawn - and then he resigned after I was a Bishop and a Knight up. He was a very good player and I was happy to win."

2007-11-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

Jorin, Gregory, K-3 and K-5

ROCK THE HOUSE at Goodrich!

for Full Results Click Here

A big WELCOME BACK to 3rd grader Jorin McGuire who stomped the competition, taking 6 out of 6 for the first place trophy. Way to go Jorin! Newcomer Julia Redlinger took 2 wins in her very first tournament! That is awesome! And a big congratulations also to Ben Schalk who not only won 3, but also beat the TOP-RATED K-3 player in the tournament, Najeeb Hadi. John Bennett and Luke Megal added 3.5 and 2.5 points to help the Mill Valley Knights take the FIRST PLACE TROPHY for K-3!!!

This is a tough year for our fourth graders. Competing against 5th and 6th graders in K-5 and K-6 division, their work is cut out for them! Last weekend, Gregory took 6 out of 6 to win first place! Chris Tillson and Evan Seghers had 4 points each, Brady Megal and Kolt Otterbacher added 3.5 and Brian Schroeder 3. Mill Valley edged out the very tough Magellan Day Schoolers, 17.5 to 17.0 to take the FIRST PLACE TROPHY for K-5!!!

Another awesome job for Mill Valley, and four more first place trophies!!!

Remember Chess by Mail?

2007-10-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Some of you parents might remember a version of chess where you would send a move by US Postal mail (back in the day before email)... (yes, I'm old)....

If you have fond memories of those 1-move at a time games, check out RED HOT PAWN. Red Hot Pawn is a free web site that allows you to challenge people by EMAIL. You make a move, they make a move, and so on. You receive an email when your opponent makes a move, and can click on the email to access the game. You make your move, and that's it. Your opponent then gets an email, and so on. You can have a few simultaneous games going at once for free... if you want more than a few, you have to pay a little bit. Check the site for details.

Red Hot Pawn

I have a couple interesting games going on right now with Coach Reese (actually I suspect it's really young Gregory behind these devilish moves) and Mr. Markowski.

RHP's Email Notification

Our Next Three Tournaments Coming Up...

2007-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families, (from Pam Reese)

Here is a list of the next three chess tournaments that we will be attending. As always, if you wish to attend any of these events you can email or call Mr. Reese. His email is avugames@netzero.com. We will take care of the registration for you and payment for the tournament is collected on site. All of these tournaments have a $10 registration fee.

On Saturday, November 10th, White Rock School in Waukesha is hosting a tournament. Check in is by 8:30 and the award ceremony about 4:30 for this 6 round event. There are both K-3 and K-6 divisions with individual trophies to the top three players and medals to 20th place. There will also be three team trophies in each division.

Saturday, November 17th we will be at Goodrich Elementary School in Milwaukee. This is a 6 round event with check in by 8:30 and the awards around 4:30. The divisions are K-3 and K-5 with individual trophies to the top five players and medals to 20th place. There will be team trophies to 5th place.

On Saturday, December 1st, we are going to Fairview Charter School in Milwaukee. This also is a 6 round event with check in by 8:30 and awards around 4:30. This event does not have a K-3 division. The K-5 division will have individual trophies to the top five players and medals to 30th place.

Please let us know if you would like to attend any of these events. I will send you more information on December and January tournaments as the event flyers become available, or you can see them at http://www.wisconsinscholasticchess.com/.

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Mill Valley Shines at JCC

2007-10-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

While it was a tough K-6 division at the Jewish Community Center last Sunday the 28th, and Mill Valley did not DOMINATE by any stretch of the imagination, the small contingent did well, and won some tough matches!

The tournament directors did a great job keeping the tournament running quickly and smoothly! This is not an easy thing to do, and parents and coaches were appreciative of the fast pace.

As a team, Mill Valley tied with Magellan Day School, yet took 2nd place due to tiebreakers and slightly easier matchups overall. The WSCF has decided this year to use the USCF ratings for Mill Valley players and selected other players. We are looking into this to more fully understand this seeming inconsistency, and its effects.

The top Mill Valley finisher was Chris Tillson, took 5th place and a trophy by going 4-2. Reid Seghers won his last three games including a challenging final match against the always-tough Michael Pantzlaff of Green Bay to also go 4-2 and take 6th place. Greg Reese took 8th with 3.5 and Evan Seghers took 10th place, also with 3.5. Kolt Otterbacher won two games in this very tough K-6 division.

Great Job, Mill Valley!

For full results, click here.

Trophy Count:

2007-10-14T09:05:00.001-07:00

Mill Valley Trophy Count: 10 total
- Team trophies: 3
- Individual trophies: 7

Mill Valley Dominates

2007-10-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

At the Goldin Center yesterday in the heart of Milwaukee, Mill Valley once again asserted its elementary school chess tournament skills.
Bringing four players to the event, Mill Valley scored 17 points to win first place. Three of Mill Valley's players took home first, second and third place individual trophies!
Gregory Reese Jr. and Reid Seghers (the recent bughouse championship team) tied by going 5-0. Greg won the first place individual trophy because of tie-breakers. Reid took home the second place trophy. Chris Tillson took third place, also a trophy. Kolton Otterbacher, a new Red Division player, took 3 out of 5 wins for 11th place.
Way to go Mill Valley! Four more trophies for the trophy case.

Team Results:
1 MILL VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL , (4) 17.0 50.0 48.0 80.0 34.0
- REESE JR., GREG (5.0,1061)
- SEGHERS, REID N (5.0,729)
- TILLSON, CHRIS (4.0,854)
- OTTERBACHER, KOLTON (3.0,422)
2 GOLDA MEIR ELEMENTARY, MILWAUKEE (6) 12.5 33.5 39.5 31.5 23.5
- HALL, TYLAN (3.5,211)
- KRUEGER, CHRISTIAN (3.0,660)
- ABDUL-WAHID, ZAAKIR (3.0,320)
- SANKOVITZ, WILL (3.0,327)
3 GOODRICH ELEMENTARY , MILWAUKEE (8) 7.5 24.0 56.0 33.5 13.5
- CAMARA, TRISHA (2.0,573)
- MEUNSY, MANYKOM (2.0,410)
- LEA, EMANI (2.0,257)
- DEANDRE, SABATINO (1.5,156)

Link to full results by clicking here.

Mill Valley Does it Again!

2007-10-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Mill Valley's K-6 Team took first place today in the West Suburban Christian Academy. Mill Valley's K-3 Team took second place in their division - with only three players!

Click HERE for FULL RESULTS!

Three more trophies for our case, and a great showing by all players!

K-6 Mill Valley Players:
REESE JR., GREG (5.0,1061) - 3rd place
SEGHERS, EVAN (5.0,1130) - 4th place
TILLSON, CHRIS (4.5,845) - 6th place
SCHROEDER, BRIAN (4.0,567) - 8th place
OTTERBACHER, KOLTON (4.0,420) - 11th place
SEGHERS, REID (4.0,707) - 13th place
FILLER, NICK (3.5, 451) - 14th place

K-3 Mill Valley Players:
1. SCHALK, BEN (3.5,349) - 10th place
2. MCKAY, CHRIS (3.0,434) - 12th place
3. MEGAL, LUKE (3.0,266) - 15th place

Click HERE for FULL RESULTS!

Great Job Mill Valley Knights!!!

Tournament this Saturday, Oct 6th!

2007-10-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

The following message is from Pam Reese -

Hi Mill Valley Chess Families,

On Saturday, October 6th, West Suburban Christian School is hosting a Chess Tournament. West Suburban Christian School is located at 1721 Northview Road in Waukesha, so it is close to home.

There will be a K-3 and a K-6 division with 3 team and 3 individual trophies in each section. K-3 will have medals to 30th place and K-6 to 20th place. This is a 6 round event. Check in is from 7:45 to 8:45 with the first round beginning at 9:30. This is an all day event with the award ceremony around 4:00 or 4:.30. The registration fee is $10. Not all tournaments have a K-3 section so this is a good opportunity for our younger players!

If you are interested in attending, please contact Mr. Reese no later than Thursday. We will take care of online registration for our team and the registration fee is collected on Saturday. Registration cut-off is Thursday evening. If you decide to attend after that, the registration fee increases to $15. For more information about this tournament and upcoming events you can go to wisconsinscholasticchess.org. They have a "map it" feature to get directions to the school.

If you plan to participate on Saturday, please email or call Mr. Reese. His email is avugames@netzero.net. If you have any questions, please give me a call.

Thank you,

Pam Reese
Mill Valley Chess Club

Chess Club has started!

2007-09-26T08:14:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-24T16:28:00.001-07:00

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!

2007-09-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

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:

Get me your Notation!!!

2007-09-20T07:40:00.002-07:00

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

2007-09-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

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

Tournament Schedule Announced

2007-09-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

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
___________________________________

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.

Mill Valley Starts the Year out Right!

2007-08-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Parker Sumwalt and Gregory Reese, Jr

In the first chess tournament of the 2007-2008 season, at the Schroeder YMCA, Mill Valley started the year out right.

Competing in the K-6 division, in a 5-round event, Mill Valley (which only goes through 4th grade) took home both the team and the individual first place trophies!

In the individual K-6 division, Gregory Reese, Jr., took home the first place trophy with 4.5 points, earning a draw against the very tough Parker Sumwalt (who finished in 2nd place with 4.0 points). Sam Gorectke took 3rd place on tie-breaker, also with 4.0 points. Other Mill Valley kids to place well included Brian Schroeder (3.0, 7th place), Jorin McGuire (3.0, 8th place), Chris Tillson (3.0, 12th place), and Nick Filler (2.0, 16th place).

In the team competition for K-6, Mill Valley took the first place trophy with 13.5 points (Greg, Brian, Jorin and Chris) over the very solid Magellan Day School team, who took 2nd place with 11.0 points.

Thumbs up from Brian at his own YMCA!

It was a great way to start the season for the amazing Mill Valley Knights! "Now we have only 59 more trophies to go to get 61 and beat last season's total of 60!" said Greg Reese, Sr., the Mill Valley Coach.

For a full listing of results, see the link below: http://www.wisconsinscholasticchess.org/websource/web/results/2007-08-18-ymca.pdf

Rob's Revenge

2007-07-30T16:32:00.001-07:00

During the Muskego Chess Challenge, Rob Gorectke exacts his revenge, mercilessly taking apart Mark in this game.

Mark Seghers Vs. Joe Huang: Muskego Summer Chess Challenge

2007-07-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

An Interesting Finish

We were happy to have Joe Huang and two of his daughters join us for our chess tourney on Saturday! As always, they were tough. In this match, Joe had an attack poised which I was able to turn around with a Queen and a Knight (with a dash of Rook). His last move attacking my Knight was, Joe admitted, a blunder. Otherwise he would have had me, I think.

Results: Muskego Summer Chess Challenge

2007-07-29T15:34:00.001-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2007 Muskego Summer Chess Challenge!!!

The weather was great, and we had a great time! The kids seemed to rush through their games a little bit to hurry back to the swimming pool... but I'm not sure I can blame them. Interestingly, Reeses took both First place trophies, Seghers took both 2nd place trophies, and Huangs took both third place trophies. Rob Gorectke gave Mark Seghers his only loss, tearing him apart in a solid game which more than made up for Mark's victory over Rob in Waukesha (shown below). Thanks to all! Pictures will be shown soon.

Below are the results:

K-5 DIVISION:
1. Reese Jr., Greg 4.0
2. Seghers, Reid 3.0
3. Huang, Alena 3.0
4. Gorectke, Sam 3.0
5. Schroeder, Brian 3.0
6. McGuire, Jorin 3.0
7. Henkel, Erik 2.5
8. Seghers, Evan 2.0
9. Filler, Nick 2.0
10. Huang, Sabrina 2.0
11. Schalk, Ben 2.0
12. Megal, Luke 1.5
13. McLaughlin, Nick 1.5
14. Schroeder, Rachel 1.5
15. Miller, Cole 1.5
16. Megal, Brady 1.0
17. Hackbarth, Tim 1.0
18. Stetina, Zack 1.0
19. Weber, Griffin 0.5
20. Bartz, Josh 0.0

ADULT DIVISION (6th Grade and Up):
1. Reese Sr., Greg 4.0
2. Seghers, Mark 3.0
3. Huang, Joe 2.0
4. Gorectke, Rob 2.0
5. Gorectke, Chase 2.0
6. Megal, Kurt 1.5
7. Grochowski, Glynis 1.0
8. Megal, Kim 0.5

2007-07-20T21:12:00.001-07:00

Ruy Lopez/ Classical Defense: Mark Seghers vs. Rob Gorectke July 18

My son Reid always uses the Ruy Lopez on me, and it is torture! I thought, maybe I can make it work for once, for myself. Rob uses the Classical Defense. I'm interested in hearing Mr. Reese's reaction to 4.Qe2, which seemed to work out, but probably has some downsides. The last time I used the Ruy Lopez as white, Tushar used the Bird Defense, designed to create unusual positions for white.

Great Chess Web Sites

2007-07-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take a few minutes and provide you with a list of some really nice chess web sites. Click on the links below to check them out!

Chess Tactics Explained in English
Chess Corner Chess Tutorial
Thinking Machine 4: Play the Game
Chess: Basic Principles
ChessOps: Chess Openings
The Internet Chess Club

I hope you enjoy the above links.

- Mr. Seghers

2007 Summer Chess Challenge!!

2007-07-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be enjoyable to have a Summer chess event! This will be a four-round tournament with two separate groupings: K-5 (Kindergarten through entering 5th grade) and Adult (21 and over, mostly us parents!). Games will be G30.

Entry fee will be $5 per player. Proceeds will cover food, awards, and any remainder will go to Mill Valley's Scholastic Chess program. Offers to bring food or beverages are welcome! Please click here to see the "Evite" for this event. Let me know if I have your email incorrect, or if you were accidentally not included.

DATE: Saturday, July 28, 2007

- TIMES -
8:00-8:45AM - Registration
9AM - Game 1
10:30AM - Game 2
1:00 - Game 3
2:30 - Game 4
4:00 Awards and conclusion

DIRECTIONS: Take Racine Ave South from Hwy 43 to Tans Drive. West on Tans Drive to High Bluff Dr (2nd Left). Left on High Bluff, up hill then down again, property on bottom of hill on left. w207 s7004 High Bluff Drive- address on Tree. Park along side of long drive way or in the street.

Lunch (hotdogs and brats) will be served following Game 2. Between games, we will have paddleboat rides on the pond, and swimming in the pool. Parents MUST supervise their children while they are in the pool. Life vests required while in paddleboat or deep end of pool, unless parents give their OK to Mark or Sue Seghers. All children must have an assigned guardian at the event.

We hope you can make it! This should be a fun event to help bridge the gap between chess seasons. Please feel free to forward this invitation to other children who are K-5 and may wish to attend. There are space limitations, so RSVP is required!

If you would like to play, or have questions, please call Mark Seghers, or respond via email at the address shown on the right-hand side of this blog.

Seghers Chess Outing: July 28th

2007-06-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

We are planning a Summer Chess Outing on July 28th- Mark your calendars!!!
Details will be posted here on the blog, and an email will also be sent out. The game will be held at the Seghers house.

Ashish (rating=2201) vs. Evan Seghers

2007-06-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Evan played our local Master last night, and it is a good game! Evan had him pretty even until late in the game.

An Unusual Draw

2007-06-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the end of this game.

As Mr. Reese explained to me, neither King could move past the "hidden line" between winning and losing. Look at the end of this game and see if you can figure out where that line is, and why both players agreed to a draw.

It is interesting to see a draw with so many pawns still on the board!

Evan Destroys Dad

2007-06-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Not one of my best games... but a nice game by Evan, and an interesting checkmate while I had my eye on a poorly thought-out mate.

King's Gambit Demolished

2007-06-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Bobby Fisher used the King's Gambit many times during his illustrious career... however he would have not been happy with the ignorant post-gambit pawn moves of Mr. Seghers... ignoring 4. ...Be7 which set up the Bishop cannon deep into white's territory and spelling ultimate destruction. Only the first few moves are shown here. Mr. Seghers was able to hold off checkmate for 30 moves and force black to castle, but it was over after this exchange.
Mr. Feder, a 1500+ player, showed me how one mistake in the opening can lead to destruction.

ChessMaster Grandmaster Vs. Greg Jr.!

2007-06-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Coach Reese told me about a game in which young Gregory beat Chessmaster's GrandMaster (the top setting, a 2831 rating)...
It is a quick game, and a great attack by black.

Mark Seghers vs. Rick Markowski

2007-06-13T08:22:00.001-07:00

After much anticipation, the big match between Mark Seghers and Rick Markowski finally took place. Here is the game log and my comments.

White Move #1: Interesting start for Mark. Not sure what he is doing here, but I gather he read another book on opening moves and figures he has me confused.
Black Move #1: Rick moves cautiously as I am not sure what he has up his sleeve.
White Move #2: Wow, what's this guy thinking? Was it the Chess for Dummies book he is reading? Mark is sitting smugly at this point with his arms folded and sipping a brewski.
Black Move #2: Of course I know what I want to do here, but I play to his ego and really act like I am flummoxed by Mark's last move. I feign that I am going to move my Knight, but then quickly grab my Queen and move to H4 with a triumphant "Check mate!". Mark did not say a word.

After the game, I calmly picked up the chess board and pieces from the floor after Mark threw them to the ground in disgust and stormed out of the room....

Want to Post New Articles?

2007-06-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Anybody can post comments to existing articles. If you would like to be an AUTHOR on this site and post your own articles, games, or whatever, just email me and I will add you to the list of authors.
- Mark Seghers (email address is my last name @ gmail.com) - dont put your email address in an actual post, or the spammers will get you! :)

Send me your chess games!

2007-06-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Email me your games!

As Mr. Markowski noted last night at the boys' baseball game, Mr. Seghers has too much time on his hands these few weeks!
Take advantage of this! It won't last long, sadly...! Send me via email
the notation from a great game your child may have had recently. Use the chess notation example here on this blog. I will convert it and place it on the site so other children can "play" that game right here on our blog!
- Co-coach Mark

Reid vs. Coach Reese!

2007-06-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, at the USCF Chess Club at the Eagles Club in Waukesha, Reid Seghers had the unlucky draw of playing Coach Reese himself!

"I should have known never to play with my food... I will never underestimate our kids again!" said Coach Reese after the game.