Charleston Chess Club

Game 75 Quads Fund Raiser

For Park Circle Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall

When:  Saturday, May 19, 2012

Where:  Park Circle Presbyterian Church, 4701 Park Place at West Durant Ave., N. Charleston, SC 29406

Format will be Game 75 Quads based on attendance.  Quads that have all USCF members will be rated.

Registration:  8:00am – 9:00am

Rounds:  9:30am, 12:45pm, 3:30pm

We are asking for a minimum donation of $10.00, but more will be welcomed to help defray the cost of our hosts for allowing us to utilize their facility on a weekly basis throughout the year.

All players are welcome to play in order to support our event.

Even if you cannot play, any donation would be appreciated to help our cause!

The 2012 Charleston CC championship began on April 11 with four players in the Top Section playing a Quad format and four players in the Lower Section playing also a Quad format.  If others want to join, you can register on Wednesday, April 18, and we will either expand the sections or with enough numbers, add an additional Quad with a future playoff of the winners of each Quad in their section.  The key is to be at the club meeting by 7pm so that we can determine how to place you in the competition.  Entry is free to current club members, so just bring your set and clock.

Results thru 5/16/12 (Note: Morton and Vonderlieth have been added to the Upper Section to make it a 6 player Round Robin.  Colors have been adjusted to ensure players have no more than three Black’s.):

The election of club officers will be held on April 4th during our weekly meeting.  Our club championship will begin the following week, April 11th.

Don’t forget to bring $5 to join or re-new your club membership!

*Results of Annual Meeting Elections:  Pres. – Stephen Welt, V-Pres. – Dennis Dawley, Sec. – Ian Morton, Treas. – David Causey

Congratulations for winning  another term in office!

For all you long-time players as well as newcomers, try taking the “Chess Career” test by clicking on the link on the right side of the home page.  See how you measure up as a veteren chess player.  It’s just for fun, but it is a good way to see how much your involvement has been throughout your chess career.  Give us your feedback on the message board.

The 38th Snowstorm Special will be held begining Saturday, February 11, 2012, with rounds 1-3 that day and rounds 4-5 on Sunday.  This is a change from past Snowstorm’s, but actually it reverts back to the original format in the early years.  In a effort to reduce entry fee costs for our players, but still maintain the same class prizes of $100, we have gone to the 2 day schedule by reducing the cost of the meeting room by one day.  We encourage all of our local players to not miss the opportunity to play in a weekend tournament in their home area, thus saving on hotel and travel costs.  Early registration at the lower $50 entry fee is available until Wednesday, Feb. 8, and if you cannot get it in the mail before then, just stop by our club meeting that night and you can still register for the lower rate.  USCF and SCCA membership is required for play.  If your USCF membership has expired, you can renew online at “uschess.org”, but if you just need a SCCA membership, you can join or renew at registration.  SCCA memberships are just $10 a year for adults and $5 a year for juniors under 19 years of age.

Our annual Snowstorm Special is considered a “heritage” event by the USCF, having been held for more than 25 years.  It is our premier tournament in Charleston and is proud to have not only strong International Masters as winners, but also some of our best local players.  This year’s tournament has been tailored more towards the “class” player, since it does not offer grand prix points to attract touring masters, but instead focuses on giving the class players a chance to win either a place prize or a class prize.  For those that have not played in awhile, dust off that set and clock, confirm your USCF membership, and get your entry fee in so that you can “capture the glory” once again with your “over-the-board” chess prowess!

The site for this year’s tournament is the same as in the past few years, the Best Western Plus Downtown near the corner of Spring St. and Lockwood Blvd.  Parking is free and there are many eateries nearby, including a restaurant in the hotel.  We look forward to seeing our regular tournament players, but are always encouraged by those that show up and support our tournament as their lone annual tournament.  Newcomers are welcome and we will help with the details of joining all the required associations so that you can become a rated tournament player. 

The tournament announcement details can be viewed by clicking on “Upcoming Tournaments” on the right side of the home page.  Any questions can be sent to David Causey (email:chessbass@att.net).

Looking forward to seeing all our players!

May 19, 2012  -  Charleston Chess Club/Park Circle Fundraiser

May 25-27, 2012  -  The South Carolina Open, Greenvile, SC

Don’t miss your locally held tournaments!

Check out the details on the above tournaments and others by clicking “Upcoming Tournaments” on the right of this page.

The December Scholastic Tournament this past weekend in Charleston was attended by almost 30 very talented players! Many up-and-coming chess stars came out to Pinckney Elementary on December 3rd to battle for glory (and trophies!). Filled with enthusiasm, and showing unparalleled sportsmanship, these scholastic players are a force to be reckoned with.

Members of the Charleston Chess Club had better watch out for these faces in the next few years; they’ll give you a run for your money!

Hopefully we’ll see all of these promising young players, and more, at the Pat Hart Scholastic Tournament on January 21st, 2012!

–posted by Susan Reed

Just so our CCC members and guests can get in some last minute games before the Thanksgiving holiday, the club will meet on Wednesday night at 7pm.  In the past, we have had reasonably good turnouts before the holiday, so plan to come out and play some chess.