Dear Parents/Guardians,

Chess season is in full swing! We just started our ladder tournament, and you can see the current standings and access a lot of other useful information on here.

In order to run a successful ladder tournament, I need every player to commit to attending practices on Mondays after school from 3:30 to 4:30 in room B340, so please help your kids remember to stick around on Mondays and arrange for pickup. (Once I've finished my class this semester, practice will be extended to 5:00.)

Feel free to sign up for remind.com messages if you'd like those friendly reminders I send out to the kids about practices, matches, and Saturday tournaments. (Sign up here!)

The top 8 players are expected to be available for our Wednesday matches starting in December. I'll post the specific dates on the website once they're available. Also, the top 10 players are expected to attend 2 of 3 Saturday tournaments. Our first will be November 12, and we'll be hosting a mandatory tournament on January 28 here at West. I'll let you know the 3rd date as soon as I know it.

Please keep your player's calendar cleared for the state tournament February 10-11. We'll leave Thursday afternoon of the 9th and return Saturday evening. The top 8 players will attend, and the top 10 are expected to be available, with the 9th and 10th players available as alternates in case of emergency.

Finally, our Krispy Kreme fundraiser will be on November 22. The top 10 players are expected to meet me outside the Performing Arts Center at 7:30 that morning to help. Also, the top 10 players are expected to raise $100 in donations to help with fees and other expenses. There will be more information about that at a later date.

Thanks for all of your support! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Upcoming Tournament
Our next Saturday tournament is tomorrow. For those who can make it, please let me know by then end of the day today so I can register our players this afternoon after school.  We'll meet in the West bus lot at 7:15 tomorrow morning. Tournaments are an all-day affair, so parents, please have your player pack a lunch or bring money. There's a lot of downtime in between matches, so students are welcome to bring whatever they need to keep them busy as long as they understand they're responsible for their own belongings. We usually return no later than 7:30 or 8:00.

Players are required to have a USCF membership to play. These can be purchased online or purchased the day of the tournament. They just need to have the cash with them. Chess club will cover the $12 tournament fee for anyone able to attend. 

​

The season has officially started! Welcome back to those whose kiddos are returning this year! I wanted to touch base with all of the parents of students who plan to be in the club and on the team this year. 

In-House Tournament:
We started out with an in-house tournament this year and had 16 players competing for a first place prize of $50! Congratulations, Nini! Joe B. took second place ($25), and Ben N. took third ($10)! Thanks to all who participated!

Required Commitments
New parents and students, please familiarize yourselves with the required commitments for chess team members. You can also check out our calendar for specific dates, and check out our team page for more specifics. 

Upcoming Tournament
Our first Saturday tournament is next Saturday, November 14. Because it's short notice, players aren't required to attend, but for those whose students can make it, please let me know by next Wednesday so I can register our players.  We'll meet in the West bus lot at 7:15. Tournaments are an all-day affair, so parents, please have your kiddo pack a lunch or bring money. There's a lot of downtime in between matches, so students are welcome to bring whatever they need to keep them busy as long as they understand they're responsible for their own belongings. We usually return around 7:30 or 8:00.

USCF Fees
Players are required to have a USCF (United States Chess Federation) ID ($26) for tournament play. You can follow the instructions here to sign up. When I was growing up, money was pretty tight from time to time, so I understand how quickly fees add up. If your kiddo needs help covering the fees, please let me know. I have funds set aside from fundraising to help cover fees for students who can't currently afford them. There is a $10 fee for the tournament as well, but I try to cover those fees for the students with fundraising money from our club account. Which brings me to fundraising ...

Fundraising
The team is expected to help with fundraising, but it's really only a time commitment in the morning. I won't be sending them home trying to push chocolates and cheeses or anything. Their first commitment is next Thursday morning. They just need to show up to my classroom at 7:45 A.M. to help organize and distribute shirts that I sold to benefit the chess club. 

The second commitment is on the morning of November 24. They need to meet me at 7:30 outside the Performing Arts Center to help me unload Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They'll then help me sell them that morning before school. It's a quick and easy way to raise a few hundred dollars with minimal time commitment. 

Thanks for your support! Please feel free to text, call, or email if you have any questions. 

Congratulations are in order for the following award winners in this season's Gateway tournament:

• Troy (4th place on board 1)
• Peter (1st place on board 4)
• Ilya (2nd place on board 5)

The Gateway Chess League is hosting an awards dinner on Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Golden Corral, 6110 S. Lindbergh, St. Louis, Mo, 63123. Award winners, parents, players, and others are welcome to attend. If you plan to attend the awards dinner please let me know. Otherwise, I'll send an email out when the awards arrive and the winners can stop by my classroom to pick them up.

Congratulations to the rest of the team this year for doing so well in state and almost squeaking into the semi-finals in the Gateway tournament! 

Thanks to all the parents and players for another great season!

I'm really proud of the chess team's performance at state this year! Last year we were ranked 107th after the final round. This year we moved up to 29th! That really is an incredible improvement. The team put in a lot of hard work this year, especially during state. Also, congratulations to Ilya, our 4th board, for winning 6 out of his 7 games and earning a medal. 

We have one more match this afternoon, one more fundraiser we'll discuss at our next meeting, and if I can I'd like to try to schedule a field trip to the Chess Club of St. Louis once the weather warms up. I just haven't heard back from them yet.

As you can see, I also updated the website to a platform that's a bit more user friendly—for my own sake more than anyone else's. Just trying to upload a picture to the other website this summer had me on the edge of tossing my laptop through a window.

It really has been a great year, and once again I'm extremely proud of our team. I'm sad I only got to work with the seniors for 2 seasons, but hopefully they'll all stay in touch and continue to challenge me to games on chess.com. I also created a Facebook page for those with accounts who want to like the page and keep in touch that way.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

As always, thanks for your support!