Chess is back after the Presidents’ Day hiatus! Come on out and catch a game or two. We’ll run a free tournament if we have enough interested members.
Please wish our members playing in the Amateur Team South tournament luck. They’ll be departing this Friday for the weekend event.
The library will be closed this evening. See you on 2/24.
Puzzle solvers spread out across the 2nd floor of the library on 2/10/20 to try their hand at solving some tactics exercises. It was a lot of fun! Thanks goes out to David Hayes for organizing. Here are the results:
This section had a clear first and a 3 way tie for 2nd place.
There are two tournaments this weekend. If you’re interested in a longer time control and a 2-day tournament, please contact Bill Savoie. He is interested in cost-sharing the room and transportation costs.
If you’re interested in a tournament that is slightly closer and shorter time controls, you may want to consider the Murfreesboro Open. Please contact the Huntsville Chess Club with your interest and we’ll see what we can do to arrange a carpool to the event.
Details for both events is listed below:
5SS. Interactive College of Technology, 5241 New Peachtree Rd., Chamblee, GA 30341. $3000 guaranteed. Entry fees: $74 three-day, $73 two-day if received by Feb. 13, $79 at site. GMs, IMs, WGMs, WIMs, $60 deducted from any cash prizes won. Unrateds $35, re-entries $40 (not available in Master/Expert section). In five sections. Master/Expert (FIDE-rated): Open to USCF- or FIDE-rated 2000 and above. $500-$250, under 2200 $225-$125. Class A: Open to USCF-rated 1999 through 1800. $400-$200. Class B: Open to USCF-rated 1799 through 1600. $300-$150. Class C: Open to USCF-rated 1599 through 1400. $250-$125. Class D/below: Open to USCF-rated below 1400 and unrated. $200-$100, Under 1200 $100-$75. Class A through D rated players may elect to enter the next higher section. Three-day schedule: Registration ends Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., rounds 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m., 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Two-day schedule: Registration ends 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, rounds 10:30 a.m., then merged with three-day schedule. Time controls: Championship 40/90, SD/30, d10. Other sections G/120, d10. Two-day schedule’s round 1 G/90, d5 for all sections. (Sat 10:30 a.m. round is not FIDE rated). Byes available all rounds (limit two), must request before round 1, no changes afterward. Bring chess equipment, none supplied. Phone calls only after Feb. 13, no emails or text messages, please!!Info: (478) 973-9389 or info@americanchesspromotions.com . 2020 Atlanta Winter Congress registration now open
Site: First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 907 E. Main St., Murfreesboro,
TN 37130. 5SS; Rd. 1, G/25 d5; Rd. 2, G/45 d5; Rds., 3, 4, 5, G/60 d5.
Open section: $575 in Prizes based on 30 entries, $150 1st, $75 2nd,
Class Prizes X, A, B, C, D, E/below, Unr., each $50, *Above 30 players,
additional prizes will be added and/or increased. Rounds: 9, 10, 12:30, 3:00, 5:30. Registration: 7:30am – 8:45am. EF: $25 by check if received by 02/13, $30 cash at site. Early entries sent to: Chris Prosser (TD), 733 Long Hunter Ct., Nashville, TN 37217 Bye: A one half point bye is available for any round if requested before Rd. 1.
Please join us on Monday, February 9th for a puzzle solving championship, led by David Hayes. This is a free event with the winner being dubbed North Alabama’s tactics champion. Our last event like this was a lot of fun. Hope to see you there!
Please don’t forget about chess this evening at the Brahan Springs Recreation Center. Come on out around 6:30pm.
If you’re interested in carpooling to the Queen of Hearts tournament on Saturday, February 8th, please emailTomasz Nielsen.
This tournament, run by Caesar Chess is one of the biggest that our state has to offer. Try not to miss it!
Tournament details below:
If interested, please stop in during next Monday’s meeting to hear all the things we’ve had and will have going on. The agenda is included below.
Chess is back at the library tonight (Monday 1/27). We hope you’ll stop by and see us! We’ll probably run some type of rated or unrated tournament, depending upon everyone’s interests.
For those of you who were able to participate in the last tactics puzzle challenge, you know it was a lot of fun. For those who missed out, you’ll have another opportunity to prove your tactical mastery on Monday, February 10th at 6pm, when David Hayes will host another round of tactics challenges. Come on out and earn bragging rights as HCC’s best chess tactician! It will be free to enter.
If able and interested, please join us for our quarterly board meeting next Monday, 2/3 at 6pm in Meeting Room C.
The Library will be closed on Monday 1/20, in observance of Martin Luther King Day. Our next meeting will take place on 1/27.
Over some military travel to the SF area, I was fortunate to be able to visit the San Francisco Chess Club at the Mechanics Institute. WIM Rochelle Wu and her brother NM Derek (Sijing) Wu were there playing against each other in a tournament! It was kind of funny to think about seeing them all the time at UAH for Caesar tournaments and then again out on the West Coast. The chess world is a small one.
The tournament playing area was really nice. The lady showing me around even let me check out how they had connected their DGT boards for live streaming events, which was very informative. The club is open throughout the week and offers instruction to the membership that would satisfy even the most determined chess student!
I’d love to visit the club again if I am ever in the area with a bit more time, and I’d highly recommend that you visit if you have the chance.
| Tomorrow marks the first meeting of the Alabama Chess Federation Online Club meeting!!! We meet from 7-9 pm every Thursday on Chess.com. |
| DETAILS – |
| Alabama Chess Federation Club: https://www.chess.com/club/alabama-chess-federation |
| To join any meeting: let Jonathan Rasberry know somehow you will attend, respond here, or text in the chess.com group chat that you will be there…PLEASE – so we can add your name to be paired if you want a game 🙂 |
| Can leave or join anytime – just let us know!! |
| Tomorrow’s meeting: We will post pairings for each round to ensure that each person finds a game. Each month will have different time controls (this month will be G/10 | Increment 5). We should have time for a 5-6 games easily assuming we have enough participants. |
| (The club is in its infancy – and we need you to join it to open up our possibilities as a virtual club! If this meeting doesn’t suit your fancy – opportunities like Correspondence Chess, longer time control tournaments, or chess variants are available. Just become a free member to influence the club’s direction!!) |
Anatoly Karpov, World Champion from 1975-1985, is possibly coming to Alabama to hold a 2-day chess camp. We don’t have a lot of details, so we don’t need a big commitment. What we do need is for everyone to vote below to let us know if you’d be willing to sign up for a 2-day chess camp with GM Karpov as the instructor for a fee of $150. This is a great opportunity to help Alabama have a bigger chess footprint on the US map!
For the past 8 months, Willie Sandifer has been coordinating an additional chess event at the Brahan Springs Rec. center on Fridays at 6:30pm. This is another great opportunity to come on out and get in a few games of chess. Please support both Willie and our club with your attendance if you’re able.
Last year, we spontaneously fielded a team for the 4 vs. 4 U.S. Amateur Team South tournament in Kissimmee, FL. It was a lot of fun. This year, we’ve got a bit more time to plan.
Entry fees, transportation and lodging will be covered by the club for the team. If more people than necessary to field a single team is interested, we may have to pool our resources to make that happen. That would consist of an additional volunteer to drive, sharing rooms between 2 people, etc.
If you’re interested in playing, please complete the form at the bottom of the blog.
Note, you must be a member in good standing of both the Huntsville Chess Club and the USCF to play. We’ll plan to drive up on Friday February 28th and back on the 1st or the 2nd (depending upon what time the tournament completes on Sunday).
Right now, we’ll plan for the 2 day schedule. Selection criteria has not been determined, but will probably consist of a combination of rating and recent tournament and volunteering activity.
The Huntsville Chess Club will prepare to ring in the new year on Monday (12/30) with either casual chess or a tournament of some kind, depending upon how many players are present. If you’re in town, we hope to see you there!
