2008 Women’s and Girls’ Chess Festival - This weekend (May 24th & 25th)
2008 Primary Allegro - June 1st
2008 Chess Champs - A chess camp during the winter holidays
Upcoming major chess tournaments around Australia (June ~ July)
Junior Chess Clubs
Private Coaching - New coach: IM David Smerdon
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2008 ACT School’s Chess Championships (North Canberra Zone) [Primary] Today was a very busy day, with more than 160 children playing chess - some of them for the first time in a competitive environment. I hope it was a positive experience overall and the children added to their chess knowledge. They should be commended for their great efforts!
We supplied all the children with emails about our junior club activities, our calendar and some upcoming events. Please encourage the children to take part in these, as it will improve their chess enormously. It’s particularly great preparation for any team going into the finals! vWe would like to congratulate Ethan Derwent (Rosary Gold), James McCelland (Turner Tigers) Glen Qi (Rosary Gold) and Madison Rochester (Ainslie) for achieving perfect scores on the day. This is a fantastic achievement but all players should be proud of their games on the day, irrespective of their final score.
A big thank-you to Campbell High School for hosting the event! The school provided a great facility, a super atmosphere and lovely lunch orders from the canteen! Thank you to all those teachers and parents who assisted on the day, but special thanks must go to Clive Beecham and Keith Roberston for their assistance being arbiters and to Jin Yuan and Mirabelle Guo for their help with scorekeeping.
All the final standings are attached below. Rosary Gold, Turner Tigers, Kaleen Red, Rosary Lions, Turner Jaguars, Naps Noir, Ainslie Gold and Ainslie Chess Mates have all been invited to the finals. A separate note will be sent to those team’s schools.
Don’t forget to get in touch if we can help your school start, or extend, your chess activities. We look forward to meeting your students again over a chess board soon!
The seventh annual Women’s and Girls’ Chess Festival is a two-day rated chess tournament, played with long time controls and players are expected to record moves. Girls who attended our Chess Chicks Holiday Program, our Girls’ Allegro, or played in the Girls’ Primary or Girls’ High School Championships are encouraged to attend - we think it will be a lot of fun and a great way to meet other girls who enjoy playing chess! You can take a bye or two if you have to play netball, or soccer, or something else on the weekend!
Players who have not recorded moves before will be given some instruction and will be able to use “cheat sheets” to help them remember notation. A simple guide to chess notation is: www.rockfordchess.org/instruction/minilessons/NotationShort.PDF. The long time controls may prove difficult for very inexperienced players (who may find themselves waiting around for a very long time between games) - the event is most suited to patient players who are really keen to improve and develop their game. Senior players will be happy to assist with post-game analysis to ensure all participants will learn some new tricks over the weekend!
When: 24th & 25th May 2008. Saturday registration from 9.30am with games commencing at 10:00am on the Saturday and 9:30am on the Sunday. Up to two ½ point byes may be taken. Byes will not be granted for the final round, with 6 or 7 rounds due to be played (an additional game may be played if others have been of short duration). It is anticipated that the finishing time on both Saturday and Sunday will be around 5:00pm.
Presentation will take place at approximately 5:00pm on Sunday.
Awards: Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Rating group prizes will be awarded to lower rated participants, and a range of age prizes will be awarded to unrated participants based on entries received (ie. 1st Under 8, 10, 12 & 14 unrated if sufficient unrated players register - so early entries will ensure more prizes!) We are really hoping to encourage our more inexperienced girls to “step up” in this event! Of course, all participants receive a ribbon - even those over 18 - maybe your Mum will play!
Where: ACT Junior Chess Centre, Campbell High School, Treloar Crescent, Campbell.
Who: Open to all Women and Girls - age is no barrier!
Cost: $25 per player ($20 for ACTJCL members). Third and subsequent entries from one family are free.
Time Limits: 1 hour per player plus 10 seconds per move from the start. Digital Clocks will be used.
Entries: to Libby Smith at mandesmith@homemail.com.au or 6291 7625.
Lunch: Pizza and a can of soft drink are available @ $6 per person, per day. Limited canteen facilities will also be available.
Note: Please provide details to the organiser of any medical or custodial issues for your child. This should include any known allergies, chronic medical conditions and behavioural issues that may have an impact on your child's participation in, and enjoyment of, our activities. Please make us aware of any medication that your child carries - we will require them to self-administer any medication. If in doubt please stay and enjoy the day with your child!
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2008 Primary Allegro - a fun chess day even for first timers!
Have you played in the recent Primary School Chess Championships? Do you enjoy playing chess and representing your school? The 2008 Primary Allegro is a fun chess tournament for all children currently attending primary school. Playing conditions are the same as the primary school championships (that is, games are played with clocks with each player having 15 minutes to complete his/her moves) but children compete as individuals.
Awards are made to the first placed boy and first placed girl in each school year from kindy to year 6. The school with the highest level of participation receives a selection of chess books for the school library. This tournament caters to all standards of play. All children who can confidently make all the basic moves of chess are encouraged to participate and every participant receives a ribbon!
When: Sunday 1st June 2008, 10:00am until 4:00pm (Registration from 9:45am)
Where: ACT Junior Chess Centre, Campbell High School, Treloar Crescent, Campbell.
Who: Children currently attending primary school in the region.
Cost: $12.50 per child ($10.00 for ACTJCL members) Third and subsequent children from one family are free.
Time Limits: Games will be played using chess clocks with 15 minutes per player per game (max. 30 minutess per round). 7 rounds will be played on the day and all players participate for the full 7 rounds (except when byes occur). Tournament organisers reserve the right to add rounds if play seems likely to finish early. No players are “eliminated” during the day!
Entries: to Rebekah Gupte on 6255 3747 or rebekahgupte@optusnet.com.au. Entries should be received by 28th May. Late entries will only be accepted if space allows - this is a very popular tournament!
When entering, please leave details including your name, school, current school year and contact telephone number.
Lunch: Pizza and a can of soft drink are available for $6 per child and a limited canteen will operate on the day.
Note: Please provide details to the organiser of any medical or custodial issues for your child. This should include any known allergies, chronic medical conditions and behavioural issues that may have an impact on your child's participation in, and enjoyment of, our activities. Please make us aware of any medication that your child carries - we will require them to self-administer any medication. If in doubt, please contact the organiser, or stay at the venue on the day.
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2008 Chess Champs
Following the success of the ACTJCL “Chess Chicks programme”, the ACTJCL will be running an inaugural Chess Camp for the coming winter holidays!
Places are limited to 42 participants on a first come first served basis, so be quick!
The Camp caters for boys and girls aged between 6 and 14 who are keen to improve their chess. There will be several morning coaching sessions followed by transfer, rapid play and lightning chess tournaments over the three days. Several novelty games will also be included.
Trophies will be awarded for each event - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place for Transfer and 1st overall, Runner-up, 3rd overall, 1st Under 14, 1st Under 12, 1st Under 10 and 1st Under 8 for the Rapid and Lightning tournaments. Six novelty medals and coaches awards will also be given.
Where: ACT Junior Chess Centre, Campbell High School, Treloar Crescent, Campbell.
Cost: $100 per player, for the three days. Payments MUST be made at the time of booking.
Entries: to Agus Setiabudi at setiabudi@homemail.com.au or 6296 2956 no later than 15th June.
Account name: ACTJCL BSB: 062 913 Ac Number: 1022 2568
*Include “Chess Camp” and your name to identify who the money is for, then send Agus an e-mail to indicate you have paid.*
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Upcoming major chess tournaments around Australia (June ~ July)
The “big 3” tournaments for the year (Ballarat, Doeberl and Sydney International Open) have finished, but there are many more good tournaments coming up soon. Please note that these are not junior tournaments.
NSW Open: 7th to 9th June, Parramatta http://www.nswca.org.au/2008tournaments/NSWOpenEntryForm1.pdf
Victoria Open: 7th to 9th June, Canterbury http://chessvictoria.netfirms.com/08_vic_open_championship.htm
Gardiner Gold Coast Open: 28th to 29th June, Carrara Community Centre http://www.caq.org.au/htm/gcoad.htm
Freytag Checkmate Open: 5th to 6th July, Adelaide http://www.sachess.org/events/2008/FreytagCheckmate.html
Of course, there are many others - looking at the Grand Prix calendar can give you some additional information. http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/index.cfm?site=grandprix&p=calendar
- Taken from the AusJCL newsletter
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Junior Chess Clubs
+ Souths Junior Chess Club + Where: Holy Trinity Primary School, Theodore Street, Curtin When: Thursdays from 4:00pm until 6:00pm, during school terms Enquiries: Ella Rosso (rosso@netspeed.com.au)
+ Norths Junior Chess Club + Where: Hawker Primary School, Erldunda Circuit, Hawker When: Fridays from 4:00pm until 5:45pm, during school terms Enquiries: Jenny Mason (jennymason99@yahoo.com.au)
Should you have any queries, or would like more information about joining/having a trial at either of the Clubs, please contact Miona Ikeda (miona-ikeda@hotmail.com).
+ Tuggeranong Junior Chess Club - ACTJCL affiliate + Where: in the downstairs Sports Bar, Tuggeranong Valley Amatuer Rugby Union (Vikings) and Sports Club, Ricardo Street, Wanniassa (opposite Erindale Shops) When: Saturdays from 10:20am until 12:30 Enquiries: Peter Simpson (psimpson@cyberone.com.au) or 6292 6603
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Private Coaching
International Master David Smerdon is available for coaching. He is one of Australia's top players and has extensive coaching experience, including Head Coach for the Australian team at the 2007 World Youth Festival.
David has coached numerous Australian junior champions across age levels, as well as twice coach of the Australian junior team, coach of the ACT and QLD state teams, and coach of the ERGAS and NECG development squads.
He can be contacted on 0439 677 560 or via email smerds@hotmail.com.
+
Hi, my name is Endre Ambrus.
I have been a professional chess player for more than 10 years (1991 - 2002), mostly playing in European tournaments such as the Romanian Super League. My current rating is 2378, although I have reached 2407 while I was playing in Russia.
I would like to start chess coaching, at the charge for $30 an hour. It would be preferable if there are 2-3 people per coaching session, as this makes more profoundly preparation possible during 2-3 hours for $30 from each person for this time.
Should you be interested, please contact me at endre.ambrus@gmail.com or on 0413 198 044.
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Hi, my name is Andras Toth. I am an International Master from Hungary. I have been working with a number of pupils including a few of the best ACT juniors for more than a year. I am looking to expend my involvement in ACT coaching and have room in my schedule for more private pupils. I am also available for teaching school groups on a term by term basis.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact me. Email: atothfadd@yahoo.com Phone: 6254 9137
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Hi, my name is Shaun Press.
While the Gungahlin Junior Chess Club will not be running for the moment, it will be replaced by small group coaching for interested students in the Gungahlin area. There will probably be 1-2 groups consisting of 4-6 students (ages between 8 and 14 years). If you are interested please contact me at Shaun.Press@apex.net.au to discuss suitable times etc.
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*Why take on a private coach?* - It’s really no different to your private lessons in music, tennis or ballet. One-on-one is a great way to learn, particularly if you have a good rapport with your teacher and really want to kick your game along. A coach will be able to analyze your games and spot your strengths and weaknesses. You (or your mum and dad) might see your losses as the result of careless play or lack of thought, whereas your coach may spot a gap in your knowledge of an opening line, or a tactical weakness, or inexperience in the endgame which can be easily remedied with some well planned lessons and a little homework practice.
Not everyone needs the "best coach" or the "best player" as their coach - please don't base your choice on rating alone (we have lots of good, older juniors who are very capable coaches for younger players). Make sure you find someone who has a great rapport with your child, prepares a lesson for your child (not just a generic lesson trotted out to all students) and don't be afraid to change coaches if things aren't working out or if your child (and they do!) catches up to their coach!
Note: ACTJCL does not promote or endorse individual coaches. All we do is provide the names of people interested in coaching. We do not provide names unless we know players to have sufficient understanding of the game, but schools & parents are expected to use their own procedures to vet candidates.
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Miona Ikeda Bulletin Keeper ACT Junior Chess League
