Hamilton Chess Club

“…winning is no trick at all if you can intimidate the opponent with dire menaces before the game. An even simpler way would be to shoot him and win by default. It is clear then that there is not much scope left for psychology, if our only weapons are to be moves.”

Over the next five club nights we will have the inaugural October Club Blitz Championship.

Format

Six Round Swiss Tournament starting at 7:20pm sharp each Tuesday in October. Time control to be 5 + 3

Each tournament open to anyone turning  up on the night (members and non members) but title of club champion only available to club members

Points aggregated from week to week (so maximum score would be 5 x 6 = 30 points over the five weeks). If you miss a week (or turn up after the tournament kicks off) then no points for that week. If insufficient numbers for six rounds on a night then a four or five round tournament

If scores are tied at the end of five weeks individual results between the tied players to decide a winner; if still inconclusive the title of Club Blitz Champion to be shared. Winners name to be immortalized on the website as Club Blitz Champion 2012

The following blitz rule to apply:

“An illegal move is completed once the opponent’s clock has been started. The opponent is entitled to claim a win before he has made his own move. However, if the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves, then the claimant is entitled to claim a draw before he has made his own move. Once the opponent has made his own move, an illegal move cannot be corrected unless mutually agreed without intervention of an arbiter.” – so don’t leave your king in check!

We had eleven for last nights blitz with the same 5 + 3 format as last week. Peter took out first place with a perfect 6 out of 6. The crosstable is here.

Last nights blitz proved popular with the eight participants. The time control of 5 + 3 for six rounds worked well and produced some tense and exciting battles. Graham took out first spot on 5.5 out of 6. The full crosstable is here. We will have another blitz next week.

Club member William Lynn recently went to Hamilton West primary school to assist with the setting up of a chess club.  Hamilton Chess Club was acknowledged favourably in the school newsletter and we hope that William’s efforts translate into more youngsters attending the Rookies events next year, as well as raising the profile of chess in the Waikato more generally.

Peter has sent us an update from the Istanbul Olympiad. Not quite sure what it says, although he seems pleased with “Halverwege op 50% !!”. Even if you cant decipher the report I have appended the photos he sent to this page. We will need to have him elaborate on what the chess team were doing at the “Bermuda Party” when he gets back !!!

Woensdag 5 september 2012.

Halverwege op 50% !!

In mijn vorige verslag eindigde ik bij de wedstrijd tegen USA. Natuurlijk verloren we deze wedstrijd, maar daarna werd er geweldig gestreden en dankzij forse overwinningen in de laatste 2 ronden zijn we terug op 50% ! We speelden achtereenvolgens tegen Nederlandse Antillen (was dat niet een provincie van Nl.?) Estland, Luxemburg, Sri Lanka, Yemen en Zambia. Er had zelfs meer in gezeten (oa 3x dezelfde stelling in gewonnen positie) maar 50 % is voor NZL gewoon goed. De sfeer is prima, er wordt volop geschaakt en voorbereid en tussendoor is er ook tijd voor ontspanning. Kortom, de captain/coach is tevreden.

Het blijft natuurlijk ook fantastisch om hier aanwezig te mogen zijn. Inmiddels al vele topspelers her en der ontmoet (Bermuda party, gym, etc.) en nog steeds geweldig om zoveel verschillende culturen bij elkaar te zien. Vandaag spelen we tegen Syrie trouwens wat wel erg vreemd is nadat we gisteren op CNN een reportage vanuit Syrie zagen waaarin een meisje in haar huis werd dood geschoten. Dat relativeert alles wel weer behoorlijk en over een week zal het “echte” leven ongetwijfeld ook wel weer wennen zijn. Maar voorlopig nog volop genieten van deze schaakwereld !!

Here with the assistance of Google Translate is what he actually said:

Wednesday, September 5, 2012.

Halfway to 50%!

In my previous report I finished the match against USA. Of course we lost this match, but then there was great battle and thanks to significant victories in the last 2 laps we are back at 50%! We played consecutively against Netherlands Antilles (that was not a province of Eng.?) Estonia, Luxembourg, Sri Lanka, Yemen and Zambia. There had been even more (eg 3x same proposition in playing position) but 50% for NZL just fine. The atmosphere is fine, there is plenty of chess and prepared and in between there is time to relax. In short, the captain / coach is satisfied.

It is still too great to be here to be. Meanwhile many top players here and met (Bermuda Party, gymnastics, etc.) and still great to so many different cultures in one place. Today we play against Syria by the way what is very strange after we yesterday on CNN a report from Syria waaarin saw a girl in her home was shot. That puts everything again properly and in a week it will be “real” life undoubtedly have to get used to. But for now still enjoy this chess!

We will be having a six round swiss at short time control next Tuesday so dont be late or you will miss out

Lately we seem to be adding one new member a week. Last night Eric Cookson took the plunge and joined up. Eric has been coming along for several weeks now and is fitting in well at the club. We welcome him as our newest member.

We had quite a lot of ladder activity last night, see the link at the top right of the home page for the updated results. The 25 + 5 doesnt seem to be a popular option, so has been shortened to 15 + 0, but most members seem to prefer the shorter 5 + 0.