TEAM PLANS FOR 2014-2015
I know we will have a great year. I know we will have many successes to write about in 2014-2015, after all this is the Weibel Chess Team winner of six national titles and to many to name State Championships. We will have a chance this year to add some State Championship titles to our history. We will be sending teams to the CalChess State Grade Level on December 6 & 7 as well as to the CalChess State Scholastics at the end of April. We have not done this in over three years. I will write a bit more on this later in this issue. As has been the case since it’s inception about six years ago, we will have all our girls attending the CalChess State Girls Championships in San Rafael at the end of January. I expect our girls to continue their winning ways as they have won at least one division every year since the Championship got underway. We will also have many of our players at the Age Level on February 8th in Newark as well as the Judit Polgar Boy’s & Girl’s Championships on February 28 & March 1 in San Mateo. I hope to have our girls as well as the Horner Jr. H.S. girls attend the Girls Nationals in Chicago on April 17-19. As you know already, all our Varsity players are going to Nashville in the on May 8-10 to attend the National Elementary School Nationals. Please prepare now.
OUR PLAYERS
For the first time ever the Weibel Chess Team have more students than the Weibel Chess Club. I am not sure if word of our success has drawn children/parents to the Team or we simply have a very masochistic student population at Weibel this year. I say this because of the required homework as well as the required number of tournaments Team members must attend. By the way, I am happy to report that only two of our 98 members failed to complete the first tournament requirement due by October 15. Carl Moy, our parent coordinator, expected a far greater number. I should also note that of the two, one of the students went to a competition that does not count due to a recommendation from that tournament organizer. So I only suspended one person. I hope that everyone will meet the November 15 deadline for two attending two tournaments. Our Kindergarten students will have to attend their first one, if they have not done so already, by that date.
Here is the breakdown of the 2014-2015 team. Hopefully the number of Junior Varsity and Varsity players will increase as our students improve their skills and increase their ratings. I have loads of caps ready to provide those players that make our Honor Roll by obtaining a1000 USCF rating. I have already order one Elite scarlet and black sport jacket for a third grade student, Weslie Chen, who broke 1200 this summer. We now have 12 Elite players. As I mentioned in a previous note, Oliver Wu became our first Weibel Ultimate Chess Player by reaching 1700 in third grade. This weekend in Reno he reached 1822.
NOVICE PLAYERS = 42 JUNIOR VARSITY = 32 VARSITY = 21 PLAY OPTION = 3 Kindergarten = 5, 1st Grade = 7 2nd Grade = 15 3rd Grade = 19 4th Grade = 22 5th Grade = 13 6th Grade = 13 7th thru 9th = 4 Girls = 29 Non-Weibel Students = 12
I will take this opportunity to mention that I have made a change in the requirements to which you committed. All parents agreed that in placing their children on the Team they would attend the CalChess State Championships. I have decided that due to the nature of the Grade Level on December 6 & 7 only the four top rated players in each grade will represent Weibel. I will be letting you know in the beginning of November if who will be required to go to Stockton to compete. K-3 grade students will only need to go on Saturday December 6. Grade 4 and up must attend both days.
RATINGS & RANKINGS
For those of you new to Weibel Chess this year, let me try and explain our ranking system. Players get points for playing chess, doing homework, attending tournaments and at the discretion of their teacher. The children get 3 points when they win a game, 2 points for a draw and 1 point for a loss. These points are double when they play in a United States Chess Federation Tournament. When they obtain a specific amount of points they obtain a title. For example, after obtaining 8 points they are a Pawn. At the end of the year we have an awards ceremony/banquet. All players will receive trophies and a certificate with their current title. The top 5 point winners will receive special trophies. Each week, after the first month,—unless my schedule prevents it—I will update the points and the ranking sheets. Please be sure your child brings home a sheet each week. I often post little notes to the parents on these missiles. Every few weeks I will send a copy of the point sheet home via e-mail.
Please do not confuse the points a player receives or his/her rating with the skill level. Skill levels are based only upon the class the student attends or the rating they receive when entering U.S. Chess Federation tournaments.
CURRICULUM + ASSIGNMENTS:
If you are curious as to what we will be teaching, the curriculums for each level are available for download at: http:// www.WeibelChess.org/curriculum.html
For the Novice and Junior Varsity we spend about half the time in instruction on tactics and strategy and the other half playing chess under tournament conditions. The Varsity Team will play longer time controls that end at 5:30 PM.
Starting next week all players must do homework. Translation—the first homework is due on Friday, October 31—TRICK OR TREAT. Yes, we have chess at the regular time on half-days unless the school has an activity in the MUR. All players will notate their games starting this Friday. Novice and Junior Varsity will only need to write 5 moves to start. They will expand to 10 moves in a few weeks. The Varsity players must record their complete game. Varsity players must annotate their games (comment on the moves) this must be placed in a computer and turned in the next Friday. Novice & JV players will start this practice in the second semester. However they must keep all their notated games in a folder at home. I will ask them to bring them to me to check later in this semester.
I am sending home a list of Nicknames and Passwords for ChessMagnetSchool.com Players are to do the number of problems appropriate for their status as spelled out in the Online information sheet. If the problems/puzzles are taking more than two hours, let me know & I will consider reducing the number. I will also be providing you with the passwords for Chesshomework.com. Any work done there is extra credit. Our highest skilled players have received a password to ChessLecture.com. They will watch videos & report what they learned as well as to critique the video lectures.
MISCELLANEOUS:
The T-shirts have been ordered and they are schedule to arrive on November 2. I only order the number of T-shirts for those who get them gratis as they joined for the year or for those that ordered them. Requesting a change in the initial size will, therefore, not be possible unless someone with that size shirt wants the size shirt you want to exchange.
Please be sure to peruse the Weibel Chess website: http://www.WeibelChess.org. We also have a blog that Carl Moy our parent coordinated created. I will be placing all Team parent e-mails on the blog. Please accept your membership when asked. The address is: http://weibelchess.blogspot.com/
While I keep a list of the USCF scholastic tournaments at http://www.CalNorthYouthChess.org/Tournaments.html the blog site duplicates this listing as well as adding major events out of the Bay Area and carries the open (for adults and top youth players) tournaments in the our area and on the national level.
REMEMBER:
1) The children start chess promptly at 2:55 in the MUR.
2) Novice and Junior Varsity will be dismissed from the MUR at 4:30 PM. No parent nor anyone designated on our list to pick up their child may do so before 4:30 PM without advance notice. Varsity players are done at 5:30. They cannot leave until 5:30 whether they have finished their games or not. Mr. Shorman provides a lesson/lecture for those who have completed their games and analysis early.
3) All players must leave through the doors leading to the upper/staff parking lot. No student can exit back into the school or be on school property after chess unless they are in an afterschool program that meets on the campus.
E-MAILS TO CONTACT TEACHERS:
Alan Kirshner-- Alan@WeibelChess.org
Uyanga Byambaa-- uyanga_3s14@yahoo.com
Alexandra Botez-- AlexandraBotez@hotmail.com
Gaurang Mehta-- gaurangmehta.chess@gmail.com
Demetrius Goins – coachdemetrius@gmail.com
Barry Curto – blindfoldchess100@yahoo.com
Arpita Khandelwal – arpita79_79@yahoo.com
Serafina Show – c/o clin0827@yahoo.com
Steven Li – c/o bosili2000@gmail.com
Angela Chan – c/o LisaChan408@yahoo.com
Sashrika Pandey – c/o Pandey00@yahoo.com
Richard Shorman –c/o WeibelChess@comcast.net
Our Parent Coordinator:
Carl Moy—carl.moy@comcast.net
http://wwwCalNorthYouthChess/WeibelChess/Instructors.html
This link has not yet been updated for 2014-2015.
I will be trying to coordinate a Team Parent Meeting sometime within the next couple of weeks.
| THE FIRST WEIBEL CHESS TEAM 1989 TOOK FIFTH PLACE AT STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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