Pre-Vacation Newsletter to Weibel Team Parents

We will meet for chess this Friday, December 20th, to start at 2:55.  Please let
me know if your child will not be there so they can receive a half point bye.
This will still be a USCF rated event.  As I noted in the information sheet at
the beginning of the year, we will meet when school has half day sessions
unless I notify you otherwise.  Homework will be due on Friday, December 20.
As I believe I mentioned in an earlier e-mail, there will be no homework over
the vacation—because that is what it should be, a vacation.  I understand that
our Team children (well most of them) love chess and want to study and play
games.  That is great, because it is their choice not a required assignment.
 We return to chess on January 10.  The first homework will be due on January
17.

I am still in negotiations with the President of CalChess, Tom Langland,  to try
and find a way where our concerned parents can feel safe for themselves and
their children at the CalState Championships run by Salman Azhar. I, of course,
as all of you, need assurance that our Team will receive fair treatment through
some form of due process.   My hope in these negotiations is to also set up a
process by which the other schools refusing to attend the States or reducing
the attendees will find a way to return to the Northern California scholastic
chess community.  The negotiations are progressing, as negotiations do, very
slowly.  To be candid,  I do not believe they will conclude by the deadline I
set of December 20.  I explained to Tom that I need to let you know if we will
attend.  The Grade Level States are the second week in January.

I have not taken a vote this year as in the past two years because I have been
trying to resolve the situation through negotiations for the last two months.
 If I believe we have reached a compromise that CalChess can live with and we
can, I will understand the feelings of any parents who still do not want their
families anywhere near Dr. Azhar.   Translation, the requirement will be waived
for attending the States for those parents who decide they cannot go due to what
had occurred despite an agreement.  I do need to make it clear that since it is
mandatory for a players school to be noted in the State Championships, it would
be violating the parents' previous motions if any Weibel student entered a
division where s/he would need to be reported publicly as a competitive Team.

Those of you that were here for the horrors of the last Salman Azhar State
Championships are familiar with what occurred.  Those of you that were not will
receive a summary of the events as expressed in the complaints filed by four of
our parents to the United States Chess Federation plus a link to the actual
letters.  I hope it will become clear why two years in a row the parents voted
not to attend the State Championships organized by Salman Azhar. This year I
did have one parent read the letters as she did not understand what happened.
 She indicated that she was shocked by the events and would keep her child away
from Salman Azhar as well. We did attend the Grade Level States last year
because Salman Azhar was not the organizer.  So to be clear, we are not
boycotting CalChess.
 
This is my segue to the requirement that our Team girls attend the CalChess
Girls State Championships in San Rafael at St Marks School organized by Ray
Orwig on Saturday, February 1. You can download the application at
http://www.calchess.org/pdfs/event_flyers/2013_02_01_CalChess_Girls.pdf   You
will need to mail this in.  Ray does not have online registration.  Please note
that there is a requirement to join CalChess ($5) for this tournament. Since
last year’e event was before Feb 1, you will need to rejoin. Join online at:
http://www.calchess.org/membership_submission_page.html

Everyone should gear up for February 9, Sunday, our next big event.  This year
Carl Moy has graciously agreed to give this old man a break and organize the
Age Level Championships. The competition will once again draw over 500 players,
I am sure.  As many of you know, I started it in 2008 to celebrate my 70th
birthday.  I have now decided that it will be my legacy chess event.Therefore, it needs someone younger to keep it going.  This year Carl has also created a first Annual Kirshner Cup for the Open 4-9 year old section.  I will be proud to hand it out to the winner.

One final note.  This Friday I will be thrilled to hand out another Honor Roll
cap.  The recipient this week, breaking 1000 at the Weibel Quads Saturday
(ratings are posted), is Rahul Ravishankar.  He went to 1024.  KUDOS!

--
Chess is Forever!
Alan