Movers and Shakers

Big week for Henry R. Takes the club lead in wins and moves up to 4th place.
Another win for Ethan, moving up three spots in the rankings.
Abdul A's win over Chris G and draw with Natalia L brought him to within percentage points of Samuel M for the 6th spot.
Rumors of a Linares vs Linares matchup persist, but if it took place, the result was not recorded...

• Position of the week: pinned piece.

A pinned piece is a piece that can't move because it would put the player in check.
How can black take advantage of this?

Black to move, with mate in two.

Players Stay Checking

Rankings are tightening up in the top 10. Last week, Franklin L and Kevin F played to their second consecutive draw. Kevin F moved up one spot in the rankings to 3rd place and nudged Chris G back to 4th. Feng C and Samuel M solidified their spots with wins over Abdul A and Chris G.

Position of the week: Vulnerable first rank.


Why can't white take the black queen?

Ethan R defeats Henry R

From Left to Right: Kevin F, Samuel M, Franklin L, Elijah R, Chris G, and Ethan R.

After a snow day on February 9, the Chess Club was back in action this past Thursday, February 16. 

Some notable matches from this past week:

• Ethan R defeated Henry R for a milestone win.
• Chris G reclaimed the 3rd spot in the rankings with two wins over top dog Franklin L.
• Undefeated newcomer Sasha M moved up to 8th place with two wins.

Stay checking, players! See you on Thursday.

New Champ!

Congratulations to Franklin Linares, who took the title of Club Champ from Feng C with two head-to-head wins yesterday. Franklin also tied with Feng for most wins, with 13.

Honorable mention to Natalia Linares, who graced us with her presence after she noticed her little brother was abusing her friends on the chessboard. Natalia went (2 - 0 - 1) on the day and moved into the top 10, in only the fourth meeting she has attended this year.

Chris G. reclaimed the 3rd spot in the rankings from Abdul A. by splitting two games with Franklin.

Did you know that the "Records" tab on the "View Results and Records" spreadsheet contains lots of detailed stats? Here are some of the club leaders in various categories:

• Most wins:

Franklin L / Feng C with 13 wins each.

• Most Games Played:

Henry R, with 24

• Most Draws:

Nathaniel G, with 5

• Best Winning Percentage:

Franklin L, with an absurd .806

• Toughest Schedule:

Luis C., with an opponents' winning percentage of .733

Stay checking, players!

Winter Tournament Decided

Yesterday, Franklin Linares defeated Samuel Molina to take the Winter Tournament. He now faces Feng Chen for the club championship.

Abdul Alam, with two solid wins, climbed up to third place in the rankings, edging out Chris Grod by a half a point.

Kevin Flores's win streak reached 6 games, vaulting him into 5th place on the ladder.

Stay checking, players!

Rankings Go Live

The chess club's ranking system is now live on the blog! Players can see how they rank against the competition!

There are three factors that determine a player's ranking:

• Win points P = (log10 (W + ½D))
• Winning Percentage W% = (W + ½D) / GP
• Strength of Schedule S = (average of all opponents' W%)

The formula for your rating is R = (P * (W% + S)/2) * 100

The purpose of this formula is threefold. First, it prevents a player who shows up for the first time and wins one game from instantly rising to the top of the rankings. Second, it prevents players from padding their stats by only playing against weaker opponents. Third, it takes into account the principle that "a win is a win is a win" by making Win Points the primary factor. However, it softens that scale by making it logarithmic, so that newer players have a chance to catch up to long-time members. If you don't know what "logarithmic" means, ask Mr. Sterling!

Ratings and rankings will be updated after each weekly meeting.

Enjoy the competition, and keep checking the blog to see who is currently in the top ten!

The Winter Tournament

The Fall Tournament is complete - the Winter Tournament continues. Eight players are still alive:

This is a single-elimination bracket - one loss and you're out. The last man standing will have the right to challenge Feng for the championship.