F i o r e C h e s s

Directed by Nat'l TD David Kuhns, and organized by the Dr. Sisira Amarasinghe of the Ceylon Chess Club.

Five games, swiss pairings, in two sections:

Jackson Mn- Prashantha Amarasinghe, MN Scholastic Champion, Nathaniel Boland, Leticia Flores, Maria Flores and Matt Anzis, Iowa Scholastic Champion. Picture by Dr. Sisira Amarasinghe.

Matt Anzis and Prashantha Amarasinghe instructed three campers at the recently held Champions Chess Camp. The camp was held at Jackson County Central High School on June 26, 2010.

The small number allowed the flexibility to what amounted to be individualized instruction. The camp began with Matt, Iowa Scholastic Champion, providing instruction on Openings. After a break and tandem simultaneous exhibition, where the adults also played, the camp resumed with a session on Tactics by Prashantha, Minnesota Scholastic Champion.

The campers were Leticia and Maria Flores from Sibley, Iowa and Nathaniel Boland from Garretson, South Dakota.

We would like to thank our sponsorts for making it another successful camp. The champions were each presented with a $250 (adjusted after securing another donation) check to help defray their expenses at the Denker Tournament of Champions in late July, early August. Our sponsors were Southwest Minnesota Chess (Sam Smith & Kevin Hlavac), John Flores, Terry Hudgens, Lila & Jerry Cushman, and Robert Boland.

A special thank you to Sam and Ana Smith for facilitating the camp as well as Jackson County Central Schools for hosting us.

For comlete details and registration form click 2010 Champions Chess Camp.

Sibley Chess Club is sponsoring a chess camp and tournament to be hosted at Sibley-Ocheyedan Elementary School, Sibley, Iowa. The purpose of the chess camp is teach sound principles to students, teachers and parents. Furthermore, we hope to grow chess in Sibley and surrounding communities.

The chess camp is a half-day with a three round tournament to follow. This all day event is $15.00 and includes lunch. Pre-registration is strongly recommended, otherwise, $20.00 after May 18th.

To View or download flier/registration form click on Camp Tourney.

The updates and games are being brought to you courtesy of the excellent work by Chief TD, Hank Anzis. Assisting Hank this year is Bill Broich.

To view the Friday games go to Okoboji Open and to read Hank Anzis' report go to TD Report.

Venue: Chess Castle, 1121 Jackson Street, #134, Nordeast Minneapolis, MN 55413 (NW corner of Broadway & Central)

Format: 5 Rounds SS
Two Sections: Open (FIDE and USCF rated) and U1600 (USCF rated):

Contact: Dr. Sisira Amarasinghe, (864) 674-7472.

For complete details download flier - MN FIDE.

Vis-a-Vis Win

Twelve students, mostly from Sibley-Ocheyedan school district, competed in the Sibley Spring Chess Tournament. The event was held at the Sibley Elementary school on Saturday, March 20, 2010.

The students all competed in one section and each played five rounds. Medals were awarded in two classifications; K-4 and 5-12 grades.

I am a member of the School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) for the Sibley-Ocheyedan Community Schools Distict (S-O CSD). It is a committee made up of community members, teachers and students. Our mission is to formulate and prioritize recommendations for our school board. They in turn, will consider these recommendations when setting goals for the 2010-2011 school year.

Jeff Herzberg, Superintendent for S-O CSD, posted the following video on his blog, Superintendent Herzberg. The video is a speech given by Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., at an international schools conference in India, where 1-1 initiatives (meaning all students get laptops) are being considered and implemented. Dr. McLeod also wrote The status quo no longer suffices: An open letter to the Ames (IA) School Board, presented this topic to the National Education Association Board of Directors and the Dubuque School Board.

How does this relate to chess? It was amazingly fascinating to hear all of the presenters at our second SIAC meeting (teachers explained the Iowa Core Curriculum) use key phrases associated with chess; problem solving, planning ahead, deductive learning, socially interactive, etc.

Of interest is, "A Word From the Wise", an op-ed piece written by New York Times columnist, Thomas L. Friedman. It is referenced in Mr. Herzberg's blog and relevant to the discussion.

I invite the members and visitors of this website to share your thoughts on Dr. McLeod's video or presentations regarding the challenges our schools face. Please consider asking educators and others in your communities to share their perspectives. You may do so on Superintendent Herzberg's blog or below.

Webmaster: Posted from iowachess.org (Iowa State Chess Assoc. website).

Dear chess players,

We are hosting a “Chessathon” at Valley High School in West Des Moines on Saturday, April 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The purpose of Chessathon is to get students interested in chess and to let them know what chess is all about! It is also a place for beginner players who have never been to tournament to test their skills. Admission will be free and all students are welcome. Donations for Operation Help Haiti, the West Des Moines Community School’s initiative to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake, will be accepted.

Chessathon will involve different sorts of chess related activities, including:

5 Rounds Swiss System; Time control – Game/2 (2 day option, Rounds 1 & 2, G/90); Rounds: 3-day option – Fri 6:00, Sat 9:00-4:30, Sun 9:00-2:30; 2-day option – Sat 9:00-1:00- 4:30, Sun 9:00-2:30. Satellite locations may be available for Round 1; check website for details. Accelerated pairings may be used.