Newsletter #05

Post date: Nov 14, 2017 4:31:30 AM

In This Newsletter

    • Today’s Lesson
    • Prairie Fall Classic Chess Tournament, 11/18
    • T-Shirt Status
    • K-4 Match with CR Coolidge, 11/28

Today’s Lesson

Today we had lessons on checkmate patterns. For the Creek and Point players, we examined checkmate patterns with 1) rook and bishop and 2) knight and bishop, and 3) queen and pawn. Examples are attached. For our K-4 elementary students, we focused on an important checkmate pattern called the “back rank checkmate.” The K-4 students worked on some thematic puzzles on this subject, also attached.

We then continued our Prairie Chess Club Tournament with two sections: Grades 5-9 and Grades K-4. Current results are posted on the chess club webpage (please note that some players have played more games than other players):

Prairie Fall Classic Chess Tournament (11/18)

Thank you to the 24 Prairie Chess Players who have already signed up for the tournament this Saturday. There is still plenty of time to register and play. When registering, with a few exceptions, I recommend signing up based on your grade. K-3 players play in the K-3 Open or, if you’re in K-1, the K-3 Unrated may be a good option. For K-6 players, play in the K-6 U1000, and for the Point and HS students, play in the K-12 U1400. Also, do not purchase a USCF membership (just type “new” if you do not have a member ID). The Prairie Foundation will be purchasing them for us.

T-Shirts

I will be getting the t-shirts this week. I will have them available at the chess tournament so that you can change or pull them over. For those that did not get an order, I have some extras from past years and will happily offer them to those who missed the order this year.

K-4 Chess Match with Cedar Rapids Coolidge Elementary (11/28)

We have a fun opportunity for our K-4 chess players, Tuesday, November 28, to play the chess club at Coolidge Elementary School in Cedar Rapids. We will meet at Prairie Creek after class dismissal (just like Mondays) and take a bus to Coolidge Elementary. Parents will need to provide permission to participate by completing the online sign-up sheet.

https://goo.gl/forms/POSQSTBrVHXQ1M3D2