McKinley's Own Chess Tournament! Feb 10th

Mark the date of Saturday, February 10th!

On this day, McKinley Elementary will be hosting our first CHESS TOURNAMENT!  Other schools will be invited around Wisconsin.  We should expect over 100 kids.  It should be a blast!

I will be sending an email out to parents - we will need volunteers, primarily for registration and concessions.

Upcoming tournaments in December

We have class on Wed Nov 29, then tournaments on Sat Dec 2 and Sat Dec 9.  I will not be able to make the tournament on Sat Dec 2 at Lake Denoon, but I will be at the tournament at Nicolet High School on Dec 9.

If you'd like to play at Lake Denoon Dec 2:

1. Consider if you would like to play in the NON-RATED K-6 or the USCF-Rated (either K-3 or K-6) division.  USCF as I explained in the last email is an annual membership and establishes a US rating for your child.  Non-rated K-6 is recommended for kids who have not yet won 4 out of 6, or 3.5 out of 5, in a tournament.  If you have won almost all, or all of your games, in a tournament, you should consider joining the USCF and playing in a rated division.
2. Email me and let me know your child would like to play - and let me know what division.  Pay at the door of the tournament.

If you'd like to play at Nicolet High School on Dec 9: 

1. This is a WSCF-rated tournament only, so there is no USCF opportunity here.
2. Email me and let me know your child would like to play.  I will register them.  Pay at the door of the tournament.

Thank you - please let me know if you have any questions.  - Mark Seghers

McKinley Dominates both Divisions at State Fair Park

The Folk Fair was a great place for chess!

McKinley kids had a blast!

McKinley Elementary did very well at State Fair park this Saturday the 18th!

McKinley won the K-3 division with 4 players - two of them in their first tournament!   The team of Charlie, Marissa, Nolan and Lukas took first place by 3 points over Tosa Catholic.  Charlie led the way with 4 out of 5 wins and a 2nd place individual trophy.  Marissa and Lukas both had 3 wins out of 5 in their first tournament!  Logan also had 3.

In the K-6 division, McKinley took 1st place also, with 16 points, winning by 4 points over St. Monica, Monroe Public Schools, and Siloah Lutheran who all tied for second with 12 points.  Louis took home the first place individual trophy with a perfect 5/5 wins.  Max JUST missed a trophy, going 4/5 and taking 6th place individual, and Zach added 4 wins too.  Kate and Henry Ri added 3 apiece.  Darius added 2.5 wins to the effort, and several others contributed - nobody with less than 1 win.

Lots of new kids in the program are stepping up!  We see over and over again that the kids who spend time on ChessKids are showing progress.  Some of the kids who did so well last year better step up their game and work on getting the rust off!  Remember, you never ARRIVE with chess - you must always keep up your practice and maintain your focus.  When you relax and think "I am awesome, I can stop practicing," you will see that your game will always suffer.

Great job McKinley kids!!   - Mr. S

Next up: Lake Denoon Middle School 12/2

After Folk Fair, our next tournament is at Lake Denoon Middle School on December 12th, in Muskego!  It's out in the sticks a little bit, but I think you'll enjoy the ride.  94S to 43W to Racine Ave, to Kelsey, Right on Kelsey, left on Crowbar.  I know it like the back of my hand because this is where my kids went!
Lake Denoon has a long history of chess success, and this is a great annual tournament.
Email Mr. Seghers if you'd like to attend, and I will register you.  You then pay at the door on the day of the tournament.  Thanks!

Holiday Folk Fair - November 18th - Details

McKinley kids are trying out our first tournament of the year at the Holiday Folk Fair!  We will have two teams - K3 and K6.  This tournament is WSCF rated, meaning a USCF membership is not required to play.  The WSCF rating is Wisconsin-only and is free - established when a kid plays in their first WSCF tournament.
Payment is made AT TIME OF REGISTRATION, which means parents can either pay by PayPal online, or they can email me and I can register them (and they can pay me back on the day of the tournament).
We will have THREE coaches there at the tournament- Mr Mark, Mr Robin and Mr Kyle!  So this will be a very valuable experience for all.  We will be working with the kids between games to help them learn from their mistakes.
We recommend that each kid NOTATE their game using sheets provided at the tournament.  Here is a great link which explains how to do this.  We talk about it in school.  If notation makes your child nervous, as that they at least notate the first 10 or 20 moves, so we can go through the game later.
This tournament starts a little later than most - please be at the State Fair Park at around 10 am... the first game is at 11am.  There are 5 games and we should be out of there about 4pm.

MORE DETAILS:
All participants registering for the tournament in advance by Tuesday Nov 15th at 11:00 pm will receive free passes into the exposition center. There is no discount for the $6 parking or for chaperones. Coaches and parents must pay to enter the Folk Fair. Please enter the exposition center on the west side (84th street) and proceed to the volunteer desk. Players who preregistered will find their names on a list at the volunteer station to the right once you enter. If you are not pre-registered, you will need to pay for entry into the folk fair. After receiving your entry tickets proceed to the chess tournament area and register for the tournament. You may be able to get your entry tickets slightly before 10:00 but cannot enter until 10:00. A limited number of volunteers will also receive a pass for free entry. We need help with registration (4) and floor TDs (6, 2 to 3 around each) and scorekeepers (2, 2 to 3 rounds each).
To sign up as a volunteer please email bob@wisconsinscholasticchess.org. You must volunteer in advance to get free entry into the Folk Fair. Questions: Contact WSCF at td@wisconsinscholasticchess.org or 262-573-5624.