26th Yarm Team Chess Championship

.

After just over two years without an over-the-board tournament, we returned in style yesterday with the 26th Yarm Team Chess Championships at Yarm Preparatory School.

The enforced hiatus may have dampened our chess spirits for a while but we were delighted to bring one of the world's longest running tournaments back onto the calendar.

Little did we know, when we had the 25th Yarm Team Chess Championships back in October 2019, what the world had in store for us.

64 children - one for each square on the chessboard - participated in the event, in a big statement of strength and unity as we continue our battle against adversity.

For this comeback event, we merged the Under-9 and Under-11 sections to produce one big celebratory tournament.

We expected a good turnout from Yarm School and they certainly delivered. I was particularly impressed at the bravery of Throston and Pennyman who supported the event with an excellent display of commitment and a very healthy attitude. 

All of the players gained excellent experience and they will be more than ready for their next chess challenges.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the event such an excellent and welcome success.

.

A gallery will follow in the next post. Meanwhile, here are the final scores.

26th Yarm Team Chess Championships

Final Scores

14 points: Yarm G (Top-placed Under-11 team) and Yarm J (Top Under-9 team)

13.5 points: Yarm A (Second-placed Under-11 team)

12: Yarm H (Third-placed Under-11 team)

11: Yarm B

10.5: Yarm D, Yarm E, Yarm F

10: Throston, Yarm C

9.5: Yarm K: (Second-placed Under-9 team), Yarm I

8.5: Pennyman A

7: Yarm L  (Third-placed Under-9 team)

6.5: Yarm M

3.5: Pennyman 3.5

.

I suggest we believe in the youth of today, ensure they have plenty of opportunities for enrichment and present them with more positive role models.

Then, when the time comes, stand back and watch them make a better job of everything than our own generation has ever managed to do.

CSC Teesside Chess Library Update

Here is an update on our community library chess sessions.

Billingham Library: Saturday mornings, 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 p.m., run by Paul Weightman (as of 4 September).

Thornaby Library: Saturday mornings, 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 p.m., by Brian Whitaker (starting this week; 9 October).

Stockton Central Library: Saturday afternoons, 1.00 - 3.00 p.m., by Sean Cassidy (scheduled to start on 6 November).

The sessions at Middlesbrough, Stokesley and Ingleby Barwick are yet to be scheduled.

All of the library sessions are open and free to players of all abilities, from novices to world champions. 

No formal booking is required.

We advise that you check with the individual libraries if you require further details.

Paul, Brian and Sean all have enhanced BDBS certificates and have all attended CSC training days.

Sean, of course, is a very experienced CSC tutor who works in numerous schools every week.

Chess Dice Nets

I have been using dice chess in lessons since 1988. Chuck-a-Chess was the name of the original version I used, but the brand is no more.
 
Another version, Topple the King, was shown to me by its creator, Mike McCafferty, during one my expeditions to Scotland.

It was another training day, this time in Hull, that I worked with Ray Ezra. Ray has been working on Chess Dice Nets, and here is his own story...

Thank you for your interest in my Chess Dice Nets.

It all started with a request made by John Foley asking me if I would be interested in manufacturing 12 and 20 sided chess dice for him.

The idea is that dice with more sides produce outcomes that approximate to an optimal frequency. John consulted Rita Atkins, who advised him on this mathematical aspect.

On 6th April 2021, I came up with the concept of chess dice nets. Of course, chess dice existed already, and nets of platonic shapes also existed, but nets showing chess figurines were nowhere to be found. The closest was the net of a D6 cube showing dice numbers as dots. 

So I thought, well...why not create a rich cross-curricular chess activity, where learners of chess make their own chess dice?

Learners would then keep their dice, and the expense is minimal also.

Schools and institutions can print the master template on strong card for learners.

The Chess Coach, and you surely know about this, doesn't have to worry about buying dice, much less collecting them in when used. Learners get to keep what they've made!

And if they get it wrong, they can make another one, as it's only card, and you don't pay for it either!

Anyway, I've got my own original Chess Dice Nets designs on Tes.com, the ones I sent you, and I've made myself a shop with more teaching resources.

Here's a link. 

However, you can now download Chess Dice Nets at ChessPlus for free. You can get a D6 and a D12, but you'll have to wait a bit for the D20, unless you want my original one for £1!

I hope you use them in your lessons.

An idea is to use a D6 one week, followed by a D12 the next week, and then a D20 the following week.

The Chess Dice Nets can be decorated, and also, because they're light, they shouldn't knock over any chess pieces or pawns when rolled, but work they will.

Manufacturers of chess dice will hate me for this, no doubt, but I believe my priority is Chess Coaching over dice making!

Chess Tournaments Return

Two years since our last tournament, we are finally getting back on track.

Few tournaments anywhere in the world have ever made it to 26 editions.

All of our CSC Teesside schools now have entry forms for this event and it will be interesting to see if we can get anywhere near the 29 teams our last tournament managed to attract.

Training Day Tour 2021-22

My colleagues and I have been working very hard on plans for the 2021-22 CSC Training Day Tour and several dates are now listed on the website.

More dates will be added soon.

We will be spending a significant amount of time criss-crossing the UK over the course of this school year as we aim to rebuild the shattered chess structure of the country.

Training Day Tour Dates.

Chess Returns to Billingham Library

Our CSC-supported library chess sessions will soon be back in action.

The first confirmed session will be at Billingham Library on Saturday 4 September.

Paul Weightman will lead the sessions.

Training Day Tour 2020-21: Liverpool

The CSC Training Day Tour of 2020-21 was reduced to a single physical date.

That is not to say we have been inactive on the training front; far from it. We have delivered numerous training days online since the eruption of the COVID pandemic and such days helped to keep us very active in our schools, albeit mainly in remote fashion.

Nevertheless, the single physical date was a particularly important one as it took me to the vibrant city of Liverpool to deliver a training day there for the very first time.

Liverpool's Regional Organiser, Jenny Long, worked very hard to make the such a success. For the first time, a CSC Regional Organiser had to ensure that all of the COVID protocols were in place to keep everyone safe and comfortable.

Here is a gallery from our enjoyable day.

A return to Liverpool is on the cards for 2022.