Training Day Tour 2021-22: The Return to London

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Our CSC Training Day tour was derailed in early 2020, for very obvious reasons.

Now we are back on track, starting with yesterday's return to London for the first time in almost two years.

It was very good good to be back at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, which is a perfect venue for our days.

We had a bumper collection of delegates, who worked hard all day on various tasks, including learning how to teach and play the famous chess mini-games.

We also broke our own training day record for our youngest delegate, thanks to the participation of 13-year-old Andrei, who is already wanting to give something back to the chess community. This beat our previous record, set on a beautiful day in Glasgow three years ago, by one year.

Matt Piper and I both enjoyed working with everyone and we were also very pleased to see our friends Nevil Chan and Chris Fegan call in to support the day.

Thank you, everyone, for supporting our event.

More dates will soon be added to the Training Day Tour, so please keep an eye on this page.

Here is a gallery from our busy day in Hammersmith.

Thornaby Library Update

Well done Brian Whitaker for getting the Thornaby Library chess sessions back on track and for securing publicity in the Thornaby Pride publication.

26th Yarm Team Chess Championship: Gallery

Here is the companion gallery to yesterday's tournament report on the 26th Yarm Team Chess Championship, depicting the start of the day, the unveiling of the flapjacks, the opening remarks, the games in action and the prize-giving ceremony.

26th Yarm Team Chess Championship

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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.

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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

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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!