Blizzard Conditions Cancel Wednesday Play

Not wanting to chance dangerous travel, DeKalb Chess Club will forgo its scheduled open play at Borders, Wednesday, Feb. 2nd.

Instead, club members are encouraged to work on submissions to the club's website, analyzing one of their tournament games or perhaps offering a review of one of their favorite chess books. Contributors may also craft a short essay on why chess rocks their world or recalling their most memorable chess game, earliest chess memory, or life lesson reinforced by chess principles. Find a chess video on YouTube and craft a little write up on what you got out of it. Everything is fair game in the chess blog world!

To submit material to this site, drop an email to the friendly webmaster at this domain. And stay safe out there, people!

Good Time to RSVP for Saturday Tourney

We're in the home stretch for registrations for the longest time-controlled tournament to be held in DeKalb in over a decade. Game/60... doesn't it just roll off the tongue?  Up to two hours for two opponents to decide one burning issue. Could it get any more exciting than this?

Please post a message below or drop an email to registration@DeKalbChess.com. Include your USCF ID # and your name (or the person you wish to register for juniors).

Besides the lengthier game, this is on Saturday (the 29th) as opposed to our usual Sunday tournaments. And everything is pushed up a half hour (registration from 10:45 to 11:15am, first round at 11:30am, wrapping up by 6:15pm).

Hopefully this will allow all those church-goers to attend who were inconvenienced by our Sunday events (and those football fanatics too!). Our apologies to those observing the Jewish sabbath, but one thing I've learned from directing tournaments so far: you can never keep everyone happy all the time!

Club Play Back to Double Digits

Thanks to a couple new players and the return of a former local School Superintendent, club play today attracted double digits. Al showed off one of the more unique chess sets you'll ever see and continues to demonstrate improved play from working through a couple of my favorite books. Coach-extraordinaire Igor Khmelnitsky has authored the Chess Exam & Training Guide along with a similar volume dedicated to tactics. Looks like Al's hard work is paying off! Club members may borrow these books upon request.

Science Provides Important Chess Insight

As documented in last week's New York Times' article, an important principle in chess has been thoroughly researched and a strategy proposed by the Swedes. Please advise the author of this blog if the recommendation works for you in your next tournament setting.  NY Times article  I for one will be trying this out at our club sessions. Keep your eyes on the board, people! Focus on the game!

January 17 attendence dips

Some inclement weather must have scared away the faint of heart and the out of towner crowd. Still, Mark, Bill F, Cliff, Don R, Don A, Greg and Al showed up to chess-dance the late afternoon away. We even explored some features of Fritz 12 as a tool for game analysis.