WCA Veteran's Open & WCA Junior Open

I know that I posted earlier in the month about this dual tournament, but I really want to see a great turnout for both sections. This doesn't only mean that it will give us leverage for future events, but it means that if you win your section or the entire event, it will mean that much more. I don't know about you, but I hate playing in events where I'm towards to very top of the rating list. When this happens it means that I have to win all of my games just to show that I should be rated where I'm rated. Competition, my friends, is what most of us crave and makes us work a little harder to make sure that "you're" the person who had that awesome upset in the 4th round. There's no excuses about playing younger competitors in the Vets event because you have to be 21 to enter. I personally don't mind playing against younger opponents, but I do know that quite a few of our "Veteran" players do, or would rather play against someone further along in their years. But, if there's a tournament to play in with "Only Adults" stamped on it, this is the one. The room rates are extremely inexpensive, and the atmosphere is excellent as well. You can find the event HERE .

The Junior Open was always one of my favorite tournaments growing up, and it still brings back great memories. I played in my first Junior Open at the very start of my Freshman year at Antigo High School. I knew how all the pieces moved but was absolutely new to competitive play. That year, if I remember correctly, they were still holding 6 rounds in the Junior section. The first five three rounds I received beatings like you'd read about. Then I was paired up against a 5 year old girl. I was able to win this game, but it was a lose lose situation. I proceeded to lose my last games to come out of the event 1 - 5. I felt horrible. But, I certainly didn't feel like giving up. In fact, it made me want to study harder than anyone else in my club. I wanted to study harder than anyone that we would later play against in our district. I waited impatiently for my next issue of "Chess Life" to come to find out what my rating would be. I was initially rated at 676. I will never forget that number as it was a driving force for me to improve. Most of my friends didn't understand why I spent most of my time in chess books, but it didn't matter because I wanted to make sure that I didn't get paired against such a low rated player in the mid rounds because I lost so bad. The point of this story is, is that many kids that go to this tournament will start to experience some sort of drive or will to improve. They will no longer have to be urged to study, they will do it on their own. I will say again, this tournament is one of my favorites, and I really hope that the children and young adults that play in it will bring something more than a trophy back with them. The tournament info can be found HERE .

Searching For TWIC Downloads

Earlier this week I decided to casually search for older TWIC downloads. One might think this task would end up being easy and safe, give the crazy amount of information everyone offers on the net. This wasn't so. I went from casually searching to constantly searching. Still, no results, or no results that I felt safe downloading. So, I did what most people would do these days, I posted my dilemma on facebook. I received quite a few responses, one of them being a gold mine. This response was sent by James Coons, a very consistent player in Wisconsin and, from what he provided, an extremely thorough  and generous man. James provided a link to his site where he keeps all thee TWIC updates (Since the 400s) up-to-date, along with a few other downloads. Everything is zipped, but you can check out the site HERE . Each TWIC download comes in hundreds (Twic4 means all 100 downloads of the 400's). I have downloaded each of them and they are safe and ready to be installed in your database. I hope this will help you out as much as it has me.

Chess Club at UWO

Over this last weekend I was thinking to myself "I really wish there was a chess club located in Oshkosh or any other part of the Fox Cities". Ask and ye shall receive. Since I knew that one of my friends on facebook lived in Oshkosh, I thought he might be interested in starting a club. To my absolute joyful surprise he told me that he already runs a club at the UWO on Mondays and Thursdays. Since the club is run by a student, anyone can attend, which is absolutely perfect for any older players who wish to have a great chess playing experience. The club is held in the Reeve Union in room 207 which is located on the second floor (if you go in the front door and take the stairs that you see immediately when you use this entrance the room is very easy to find). The hours that the club is held are from 6pm - 8pm. It would be awesome to see some new faces and it would give the club more leverage for funding when that time comes around next year. All levels of play are welcome. If you have any questions, please leave a message on this post or contact me directly on here or on facebook. Hope to see you there!

Great Turnout at Reedsburg Chess Open 2013

I was unable to attend this event, but I was able to get one of our great chess friends and bloggers Ivan Wijetunge to forward me some pictures so we could catch a glimpse of what happened at this unrated event. It looked like a very good turnout with some strong players duking it out in the open section. I will include the photos, but would greatly appreciate any sort of information or story about this event for those of you that went or just stopped by to check things out.

WCA Veterans Tournament & 2013-2014 Wisconsin Junior Open

The next big rated event in Wisconsin is a two tournament event! The WCA Veterans Tournament if open to chess players of the age of 21 and over. The playing conditions at this tournament are superb, with plenty of playing room, comfortable tables and chairs, excellent lighting, quiet environment, and excellent staff that has been in the business of tournament chess for many years. If you're a player in Wisconsin that prefers to play against adults, this is certainly the event for you! You can check out all of the tournament details Here. This event is held over November 2-3.

The 2013-2014 Wisconsin Junior Open is always (!) a booming event with kids coming from all over the state to compete for the coveted Junior Open Title. Kids of all ages and all skill levels have a chance to walk away with some hardware (Any one of many trophies for all different playing levels) and some excellent experience that will help them grow in their chess endeavors.  Chess vendors are usually at hand to fulfill whatever your child's chess needs may be. Also, there is usually some sort of chess activity after the first day's games are finished (not always guaranteed). So, if you want to have your child play in an event that is strictly for Juniors, this is the event for you! The event is held at the same time that the Vets tournament is, November 2-3. Anyone interested can check out the full details Here .

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please participate in this posts conversation or leave me a message on here or facebook. Good luck in everyone's preparation and studying for these events!

Success at "Hales Corners Challenge XVIII", And Upcoming Tournaments

This last Saturday, October 12th, was Hales Corners Challenge XVIII. The open section was strong, for Wisconsin standards, and consisted of 34 players. I was very surprised to be paired against an expert in the first round, meaning I didn't make the cut to play against a lower rated player (advanced pairings). The top table duked it out with some very exciting and surprising games and wins. I also would like to point out that the female attendance was also present and in-force, meaning that these women knew how to manage the chess pieces in a lethal way. A great thing to see in Wisconsin! The reserve section also saw some of the same things that the open section saw, with some exciting and aggressive games being played and the grace of attendance by strong women chess players. With 36 people in the open and 30 people in the reserve section, it was a great turnout for a one day G60 event!  The open section results can be seen Here. The reserve section results can be seen Here. For results and pictures of the event you can check out this link Here. I hope everyone enjoyed the event as much as I did!

The next stop for Wisconsin tournaments is the Reedsburg Chess Open 2013. This is an unrated event, but still include prizes. I will not be able to attend this event, and since it's not rated I might not be able to get the results as quickly as I would a rated event. But, I will do my best to let everyone know how this event turns out. If you have questions about this event and would like to attend, just drop me a message and I'll get you the info. Best of luck to everyone playing!

Paying Homage to Chess.com

In one of my last posts I was praising the graces that ICC (Internet Chess Club @ www.chessclub.com) for all the study options and playing options they had to offer. Well, they're not the only one. www.chess.com has different playing formats to offer such as "Internet Postal" or "Correspondence/corr" (most players use of the playing option of 3 days per move, but usually go much faster) which is a great way to try out different openings and not feel the time crunch, if you're one of those people that like to bust out a chess set and look at all different options, anyhow. I use it like I would playing a regular game (I do not use a chess board, mainly because it takes something away from the learning experience of looking deeper into positions in your mind) and it helps me, at an accelerated rate to figure out what works and what doesn't. Since my transition to playing Kings pawn, I have been on a constant search for openings/lines that are comfortable and it hasn't been easy. There's a big difference, one that works towards my aggressive play, and one that works against my comfort level. But, the corr games on chess.com have given me a chance to try new ideas (new to me anyhow) and not feel too bummed when something doesn't work. Besides the corr games, they offer tactics training (much like ICC but timed at an accelerated rate) Live games and training videos (It all depends on what level you pay for on what type of access you'll receive for up to unlimited unlimited at their highest level. You can choose to pay by the month, so it only costs you a few dollars instead of paying a year fee. You will not get locked into any sort of contract, so you can stop payments at any time. Besides all this goodness, you can have it linked to www.facebook.com, which will be listed under your apps. Plus, it tells you when you have games ready to play (if you're playing corr) on facebook. The first option that appeals to most people is the "free" membership, which you can most certainly sign up for. With this membership option you are very limited access to a lot of chess.com. But, you can still play some corr games and live games. Try it out and let me know how you like it. I think it's a great tool for someone that is serious in evolving their chess game.

The Book That Will Change The Way You Study!

I know that I've posted the good graces and fresh ideas toward studying in the book "Studying Chess Made Easy" by Andrew Soltis, but I had to make the reason why clear. To do this I'm going to give a few headlines that are in the first chapter. I'm not going to explain them, I'll leave that up to you to pick up a copy and hopefully enjoy it as much as I do.

1. Learning chess should be fun.
2. It has to include hands-on learning.
3. It should be mainly independent.
4. It's often subliminal.
5. You have to be well motivated.
6. Too much information.
7. Below your consciousness.
8. Absorbing ideas.
10. Rugged individuals.
11. Fun factor.

I know it seems like a lot to cram into one chapter, but the ideas in this book have changed the way I study chess. I made the name of the book "clickable" so you can visit Amazon to pick one up. Please believe me when I say that it's worth every penny. half of the book you don't even need a board for, depending on your skill level and ability to look ahead x moves. But, there are plenty of diagrams (before and after the current line of play) to make it much easier to follow. This is actually a very fun chess book to read. And yes, I do really like Andrew Soltis as an author. Please, let me know how you feel after you've read this book or if you have already read it. I'm interested to know.

"Booking Up" for Chess Day 10/12/13

As most of my fellow chess players know, Chess Day is rapidly approaching. That being said, there are tournaments all over the country, one in particular located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. This tournament is "National Chess Day - Hales Corner Challenge XVII" which happens to be one of the great tournaments of the year where players that you haven't seen in a long time shake off the rust and duke it out with every level of player. In the open section we already have 3 Master level players signed up along with some experts. This tournament also offers a "reserve" section where players rated under 1600 can safely play against people in their strength range. Hales Corners Challenge events are also 1 day tournaments, so you don't have to rent a room and spend the night (for most people anyhow).

Taking this information into consideration, some of you might be asking yourself "This looks like an awesome opportunity to play some chess and talk with friends that I haven't seen in a long time, but where should I start to study...openings...theory....endings?". While a lot of people would find a question like that overwhelming (it seems like your in the ocean with a one person life raft with no land in sight) there is one thing that everyone should study when they first start back into the game, and that one thing is Tactics. You, of course, need to know what openings you are going to play, but if you're going to play in a tournament that is only 2 weeks out and want to get the most bang out of your time-buck, this is the rout to go. Tactics will not only help you to see the board better, but you'll come across tactics that will be from openings that you play. If you have access to ICC (The Internet Chess Club) there are two different bots that offer a great tactics database. The first bot is called TrainingBot. This bot has some of the best tactics from 2 to 4 moves deep and is very, very helpful. The second bot is ProblemBot. This bot has much harder, deeper problems, although very instructive. CT Art is another great tactics program that has training/instruction "Classes" which you can start. If you prefer to play it "old school" and use a book (I still do) just ask me and I'll help you find a book that will work for your playing level (I'm always on the search for harder/better tactics books, so I have many). I will take the tactics route to study up for this tournament, which I know will give me the best return for my money. Also, please take into consideration any one of the different links that I have on this blog. They will give you even more help. As usual, if you have any questions, please ask and I'll do my best to help out.

Advertising For a Better Tomorrow

It is my hope that the saturation of both this blogs market and the new group I created on facebook (Wisconsin Chess Tournaments And Discussion) will create better attendance and increased interest and awareness of Wisconsin play. Over the last ten years or so one of our states FMs, Alex Betaneli, created an excellent chess school where he's been able to train experts and masters who have then gone on to train other experts and very strong class players. It seems to me that taking into consideration that Wisconsin isn't exactly a chess state compared to states like New York and California, has grown quite heavily in strength and is at a strong point that it hasn't seen in a very long time. It is known that Wisconsin tournaments don't exactly offer the highest payouts. But, in a few more years we could certainly attract the type of players, along with the great players who already reside in our state, to tournaments where we are able to charge a little bit more for entry and have more exciting faces show up in our humble abode. This is all connected in tournament awareness, proper promotion, and excellent attendance. So, to start things out right, the first tournament I'll be promoting on here is "Nation Chess Day - Hales Corners Challenge XVIII". If you click on the link, it will take you to the Hales Corners blog page that has an up-to-date pre-registered list. The event is going to be held on October 12 and is G60 d6. If you'd like to see the official USCF post, you can see it HERE.

If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I hope to see lots of players at this event!