The library will be closed on Monday, November 11th for Veterans Day.
Next week, we plan to conduct a free knockout tournament! It should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there.
Queen’s Quest in Madison on Saturday, November 16th
Register now for the Queen’s Quest scholastic tournament in Madison!
Anyone affiliated with the Huntsville Chess Club is welcome to go over games together with the Hampton Cove Chess Club in between rounds. If you’re a home school chess player, this is a great way for you to enjoy a scholastic tournament with other people you know. If you’re a public school student and need a coach to help you out, you’re welcome to join in as well!
Chess is back on at the library tonight! Come on out and grab a game. If you’re interested, we’ll be conducting our quarterly board meeting in the conference room adjacent to the playing area. It will start at 6pm.
Also, we’re still in need of volunteers to help with the chess in a cave fundraiser. Details and signup is at the link here. Even a couple of hours would be beneficial. This tournament is our primary fundraiser for the year and helps to keep benefits high and prices low. Plus, it’s always a lot of fun and you won’t want to miss out.
If you have anyone interested in signing up for the Chess in a Cave tournament (to play), the registration page is here. Registration will close on Wednesday so we can give accurate meal orders to our caterer.
As a reminder, we will not be meeting on Monday, October 21st. If you’re interested, there will be a board meeting on Monday, October 28th.
We are in need of volunteers to help with our Chess in a Cave event on November 2nd. This tournament is always a lot of fun. Possible duties include, helping with the concessions stand, helping with the catered meal, posting pairings, recording results, etc. This is our major fundraiser for the year and helps to keep the cost of membership low and the benefits high.
If you’re interested, please sign up below. If you’re really interested, please feel free to sign up for multiple time slots. Please be sure to login to the website before attempting to volunteer for any time slots.
The library will be closed on Monday, 10/14 – Our next meeting will be 10/21.
St. Louis Chess Club Visit
As many are already aware, I’m a chess tourist. The family joined me for some work at Ft. Knox over the weekend and with Fall Break taking place this week, we were just too close to NOT visit the St. Louis Chess Club.
World Chess Hall of Fame
St. Louis is home to the World Chess Hall of Fame! It’s free to enter and you can leave a donation if you feel so inclined. The World’s largest chess piece is a prominent entry feature.
The gift shop is inside of the Hall of Fame building and has a wide variety of chess sets, clothing, etc. There was something for everyone.
Unfortunately, 2 of the 3 floors were closed until 10/10 while they completed a couple of new exhibits. Spontaneity is not always the best way to make sure you get the most out of a trip somewhere!
A few of the exhibits on the top floor were interactive.
Kingside Diner
Across the street from the WCHOF, there is a restaurant (serves breakfast AND beer) with a chess theme.
I got way too much of a kick out of the chess themed bathroom sign…
Chess Club
In a separate building, there is an actual chess club where actual chess takes place on a mass scale. On any given day, there are multiple chess lectures and/or tournaments taking place. There is a GM “in-residence”. We got to say hi to GM Pepe Cuenca on this particular visit, who seemed to be editing an online chess lecture. We probably should have asked for a game, but didn’t want to intrude.
If outdoor chess is more your style, there were a couple of games taking place on the sidewalk in front of the club.
There were not 1, not 2, but 3 people waiting to greet us at the entrance to the club. When we mentioned that we had never visited before, they took us on a tour, which included the “Staff Only” section where chess commentary frequently takes place.
Technology was prevalent throughout the club. Interactive, giant touchscreens, exhibit information on big screen TVs, etc. It was a site to behold.
I returned that evening for some blitz chess and went 2.5/7. The club hours advertise a 5pm closing time, but I left well after 9pm and games were still going strong. The guy I played was good, but not anywhere near the best player participating, so there seemed to be a challenge for everybody, regardless of skill level. It was a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it!
National Chess Day Tournament
Don’t forget, the National Chess Day Tournament is this Saturday, 10/12 and limited to 50 participants. This tournament is NOT just for kids, but anyone U1200 or Unrated. There are a few spots available. Register here now! Even if you are not playing, please come out and check it out.
Reminder – It is the final week to register for our National Chess Day, Rated Beginners Open tournament. Click here to register now or use the form below! Note, you must be U1200 -or- Unrated and a USCF member in good standing to play. Please let us know if you need any help getting registered.
Monday Equipment Logistics
Whomever arrives to the library first on Monday, please get the equipment from the library staff at the information desk. Pat will be out of town.
Chess in a Cave
The 2019 Chess in a Cave tournament is right around the corner on November 2nd! Register using the link on our home page.
Note: As a reminder, we’ll be back in our usual meeting area this week near the conference rooms on the 2nd floor. We’re still looking for a permanent room for our club at the library.
City Championship Results
TD Willie Sandifer pictured with the 2019 Huntsville City Championship winner, Charles Meidinger.
The 5 week Huntsville City Championship tournament ended with Charles Meidinger winning clear first! Thank you to all who helped put this tournament together and for all who participated. We were able to display the top 2 boards on the projection screen and broadcast them over the internet. Twitch stream commentary coming soon!
Click here to view the ratings report for the tournament.
Birmingham Challenge
It took 2 separate vehicles to hold all of the HCC members who carpooled this weekend to the Birmingham Challenge and 8 members made the trip in total. Thank you to Bill Melvin and Tomasz Nielsen for driving!
Congrats to Tomasz Nielsen who has made a habit of winning the Reserve section! Here’s a photo of him crushing the hopes and dreams of a few more weekend players.
National Chess Day Tournament – Time and Space to Register is Running Out!
Time and space available are running out to register for the Rated Beginners Open on October 12th, 2019. If you’re Unrated or U1200, this is the tournament for you. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but this is pretty close! Raytheon will be sponsoring the event with pizza provided to all participants. Moms play free (but require a valid USCF ID to participate)! Please email us at huntsvillechessclub@gmail.com if you have any questions at all. If you’ve never played in a tournament and want to, we’ll make it happen for you!
Click here to register! View additional details at the link and below.
Bill Melvin has graciously offered to carpool to the Birmingham Challenge tournament this Saturday, 9/28. If you’re interested, please send an email to huntsvillechessclub@gmail.com and we’ll coordinate the details with everyone.
If more are interested than Bill can carry, we’ll take 2 cars!
If you’ve been thinking about entering your first tournament and don’t know how to navigate the hurdles, please email us and this will be a great chance to work out the details while getting to know fellow HCC members! We always have a great time on these trips. If you’re an experienced tournament player, why not let us drive you there and back so you can focus on the chess at hand!?
