OCBCF Newsletter November 2005
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By Dr. George Tintera OCBCF president
What's your level?
As New Orleans found out recently, water seeks its own level. Despite the levees and the efforts of the Army Corps of Engineers the waters of Lake Ponchatrain filled some of the parts of the city. The city will probably be restored, but only with considerable work to keep the water below the level of the ground, which is below the level of the lake and river that surrounds the Crescent City.
Many of us are faced with what level to maintain the chess activity at the schools we work with. We might work with a school that just has a few players that regularly play in tournaments. The kids and their parents might be working on bettering their chess play, but it is all on their own. This is great for the kids who can participate, but many kids will be at such a school and not be aware of the opportunities that chess can provide.
Your might be working with kids at a school or club that meets regularly to get together, to play match games or to study openings or mates. The club might have teachers or parents to lead the sessions or it might hire a coach from outside. This level of activity can attract some new players to chess who are curious about
At a higher level of activity, the school your kids attend might include chess as a regular, if not daily, part of the curriculum. Chess is promoted as part of the school day and may well be a preoccupation for some growing minds at the school. This kind of activity only comes with strong administrative and financial support.
While many of us would like to see this higher level of chess activity at every school in South Texas, we have to keep in mind that moving from one level to the next requires considerable effort. And no one can do it alone. Such job is best shared among people with similar minds.
We also have to keep in mind that it takes level to keep chess activity at a high level. There are few levees in the world of chess to keep programs from dropping to a lower level.
My hat is off to all who are working to increase the activity at a school or even to keep it where it is. It's all work that keeps the chess activity far above the lowest level, no chess at all.
Beyond the Boards: Notes from the Chula Vista and St. Patrick Tournaments
By Ken Muir
October is shaping up to be a voracious month, chess wise, as this article goes to print, with two tournaments under our belts and Wynn Seale on the way. If it weren’t for the fact that November is a plump time gobbler with tournaments in Robstown, Kingsville, and Plano (not to mention Thanksgiving), and festive December promises the frenzy of a national grades tournament in Houston as well as Share Your Christmas, I’d say it was about time to start relaxing.
My best memory of the Chula Vista tournament is probably going to be the wonderfully sized, scrumptious burger I shared with my daughter, Sarah. Why can’t Whataburger come up with burgers that good? And I started a promising chess game during a break (actually ever finishing them seems to be quite difficult for the undersigned) with a pleasant fellow named Zapata who, as it turns out, travels all around the state maintaining hundreds of bridges. Next time you cross over the Harbor Bridge, you might want to thank your lucky stars for people like him. Come to think of it, the interesting people you meet at these tournaments are a definite side benefit of attending.
Chula Vista was held at Central Catholic Elementary, and the players were split into levels on two different floors, which cut down on the noise for the middle and high school divisions. There was a good showing of 130 players in primary and elementary, and once again it was nice to see the diversity of schools represented and the enthusiasm of the players. I think there was a nice, “cozy” feel to this tournament. Dan De Leon? as Chief TD did a great job of keeping things going, and the parents and players are to be applauded as well … for keeping things going.
On to the St. Patrick tournament, the Shamrock. Now, I don’t have any Irish in my background that I know of, but the part Scotsman in me told me to wear a little green that day … just in case. I didn’t find any four leafed clovers on the school’s lawn despite my best efforts, but I did find an enthusiastic crowd of about 100 chess players just chomping at the bit to play … and boy how they played. This school values chess highly and has for some time, which is a really nice thing to see.
The St. Patrick folks, including Rebecca Flanigan, Teresa Gauntt, Gabe Gatica, scorers at the score table, food preparers, and a host of others working behind the scene, were thoroughly prepared and organized, which made things very easy. There really was a sea of green everywhere….down to the dots on the tables. Lucy James was very helpful with the pairings. Middle school and high school pairings were combined as high school did not have many players. This is something that happens often in chess tournaments when the player pool is small, but each group still qualifies separately for awards. There were a number of team trophies which went unused, and since only two players are needed to form a team, players need to find at least one other person from their school to drag with them to the next tournament.
There is a certain amount of drama that occurs during these tournaments. And since I had the honor of being Chief TD this time, I got a birds-eye view of it all. Watching the players’ games, especially the younger ones, can be both heartwarming and amusing at times. When one of the players in the primary section had accumulated a total of 6 queens, I had a feeling that checkmate was just around the corner. In another game, I watched one player’s king chase the other’s queen around the board. And watching one of the middle school players (my son Robert) play for several minutes with only two seconds on his clock was slightly nervewracking. A time delay clock can really come in handy when you’re a slow player like me.
I have a sense that all of the players are steadily increasing in ability and knowledge of the game, and I look forward to watching them develop further over time. That they are being taught a sense of fair play and sportsmanship is self evident. The T Ds who were helping were also a real pleasure to work with, and I also look forward working with them in the future.
FROM THE DESK Editor’s Note: As the year progresses and the tournament schedule grows there is one item that parents, coaches and sponsors need to be aware of. Most tournaments in our area do not have an on-site registration set up. The majority of them require that the entries be submitted or received on or before the deadlines. The purpose of this is to make the tournaments start on time and to avoid time pressure errors by the individual inputting the tournaments.
Please be sure to mail the entries (with all the information complete) before the date they are due. Information such as United States Chess Federation membership ID number is a vital piece of information. Please retain the receipts or cards in a place that you will have access to them. Always take these documents with you to these tournaments. All tournaments require proof of membership to US Chess. If your child or player is not a member, then I encourage you to access the US Chess website and enroll him or her on line. www.uschess.org Us Chess requires that players be members before they can play in any rated tournament.
Please read the entry forms and fill out the information completely to the best of your knowledge. If you have any questions, please contact the people designated on the entry forms. Be aware of the deadline dates. Entering the entries is difficult and time consuming which requires quite a bit of effort on behalf of the computer operators. Make sure that you place the player in the right section. Having them play in a higher section is more challenging, but if you accidentally do this, your player will lose team points and maybe experience a tougher time playing. Thank you. Eddie R. Rios Sr.