Knight Moves

The knight is the piece whose move is the most counter-intuitive. The knight does not move in straight lines, like the other pieces, but rather in an "L" shape, like in the gif above. This allows him to jump over a "wall" of other pieces. Watch out for knight "forks," a tactic when the knight threatens two pieces at once!

Photos from last Thursday

Practice Checkmate

Here is a great drill to practice checkmating with the queen!

https://www.chess.com/drills/practice/queen-mate

Cold days, Hot Competition

Chess Club had four successful meetings in January. There were a few new faces, as well as some returning veterans. Among the other games besides Chess that we play, Stratego was the new fan favorite. Here's Javen and Josh in the middle of a tough match:

Looking forward to more chess (and other games) in February!

Welcome New Members

The best site for beginners to learn the rules and for players who know the game to improve is chess.com because it has videos as well as interactive drills where you can play along. Have fun exploring the website and click "learn," and then, "lessons" or "drills."

Fall Tournament Bracket is Set

Javen and Josh try their hand at Stratego

Stratego is a dope board game that shares with chess the elements of turn-based play, capturing pieces, a square grid, and one piece that spells victory or defeat for each side. However! A critical difference is that the identity of each piece is concealed, and only revealed when one piece attempts to capture another. A fascinating twist! Check it out!

Tournament starts Thursday!!

Tournament bracket will be posted on Thursday. If you can't attend Thursday's meeting, please see Mr. Mandel or Mr. Sterling to sign up.

Current Rankings are posted on this website!

October Happenings

The Chess Club met three times in October. Our focus is always on Chess, but we incorporated a few new games, including tiny Jenga:

Chess Club continues to meet every Thursday in Room 25. With the end of fall sports, we expect an uptick in attendance. Get ready for the Fall Tournament!

Welcome Back

Chess Club meets every Thursday after school in Room 25. We have had two meetings so far this year, September 13 and 20 with a decent turnout. (There was no Chess Club September 27 because of Back-to-School Night).

We play many games at Chess Club, and we are always happy to show the ropes to newcomers. Come join us!

Chess Club Returns!

After missing several weeks due to snow days, half days, and spring break, chess club is back!

Here's everything you need to know:

• Chess Club meets every Thursday in Room 25.
• If you don't know how to play, ask a veteran player or an advisor (Mr. Sterling or Mr. Mandel) to show you the basics.
• Record your games using the "Submit Results" link.
• You can come whenever you like, and no meetings are required (however, if you get involved in a tournament, you may have to make up a match if you miss a meeting!)

February Updates

With winter sports winding down, it's time to look ahead to the spring tournament.

The top 5 players have shifted, check the rankings to the right. Franklin L still retains the top spot, but Henry R is gaining fast. Feng C is the fall tournament winner, and still holds the Chess Club title until the spring tournament.

In chess, Javen C wears the uranium sombrero, winless in nine matches. Nevertheless, he is currently the top player at Exploding Kittens!

Josh V is currently our Carcassone champion, with the most wins in multi-player bouts.

Come out any Thursday and get your game on!

New and Different Games

Chess is not the only game in town. At chess club, players are always trying out any new board game that combines skill and strategy, including some fascinating multi-player throwdowns. Here are some of the new games students have been playing in addition to chess:

Anagrams:

In this game, players use a common pool of letters to make as many words as possible. Watch out, though! Other players can steal your word if they can add letters to it, rearrange it, and make a new word.

Carcasonne:

In this game, named after the medieval French city, players collaboratively build a map by placing tiles, and vie for control of it by placing their "meeples" on its roads, cities, and monasteries.

Exploding Kittens:

This is a game that... well... you just have to play it for yourself!

Mr. Sterling's Puzzle of the Week

White to move. How can white avoid the stalemate and win the game?

Fall Tournament Winner

Congratulations to Fall Tournament winner Feng Chen, who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at the hands of runner-up Chris Grod.

In the past couple weeks, the chess club has also played other board games and strategy games, such as Scrabble, anagrams, and Exploding Kittens! brought in by Javen C.

The Winter Tournament bracket is now set. The winner will have the right to challenge Feng for the club championship.

Have a good break and come back ready for some intense competition!

Quarter Final Bracket

The fall tournament is down to the Final Four, pending the result of a suspended match between top-seeded Franklin L and veteran tactician Syed-Hamza H. Isaac S, Nick F, and Kyle T were knocked down to "Bracket B" after tough matches against Feng C, Chris G, and Natalia L, respectively.

There is no Chess Club November 23 because of Thanksgiving, so the next meeting will be Thursday, November 30th.

This Week's Bracket

The Fall Tournament got off to a great start last week. Here are this week's match-ups:

Fall Tournament Starts Weds. 10/25

Any students who wish to participate should submit a match by using the link to the right, or see Mr. Mandel or Mr. Sterling to sign up.

Updates for the New School Year

Welcome to all our new players, and to all our veteran players, Welcome Back!
We have several updates for the 2017-18 season:

• 1. Officers

     At yesterday's meeting, there was some discussion of electing officers (President and Secretary) of the Chess Club. Advisors will put together a list of responsibilities for each position, and then students can apply and candidates will be put to a vote.

• 2. Legacy points

     Since this is the second year of online rankings, we are implementing a "fading echoes" system to incorporate previous year's ratings points. See the "rankings explained" page for details.

• 3. Fall Tournament

     The fall tournament will begin the last Thursday in October. In the meantime, make sure you are entering results of all your matches so that seeding can be as accurate as possible.

Stay checking!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back, everyone. Our first meeting of the year will be this Thursday, September 14.