Summer League May Be Over, But Exciting Chess is Still Possible at LCCC

We had a nice crowd of 17 players this Monday night. No League play, no tournament happening, but good chess still does.

You can still get a lesson. You can still get a casual game. You can still get a speed chess game. You can get a Fischer Random 960 game.

Or you can step up to our always running Ladder Tournament. Start at the bottom and work your way up the rungs. Beat someone higher than you and move up – lose and you stay put, but the winner moves above you. It’s as easy a tournament as that.

We had action of all types tonight. We had some ladder games that will appear here later.

The big announcement is that LCCC will be running a Fischer 960 tournament soon. Be sure to sign up for it by email or on Monday nights at the club.

White to move and win.

The tournament will probably be four rounds – and it will run every other week! This will give the players two weeks to get their game in.

Obviously vacations happen in the summer and you may miss a week. Hopefully the two week window to play the game will help with that.

Final details about the 960 tourney to follow.

In the meantime, here is a puzzle for you to enjoy. As usual, the answer will appear in the comments soon.

LCCC Chess League Concludes – 300 Spartans are the Champs!

Zach Romeos (left) and Paul Johnson take over Board One.

As it turned out, the league title did not have an exciting finish, but the battle for what they thought was for 3rd place, ended up going down to the wire AND ended up being for 2^nd place! Now that was exciting.

The 300 Spartans snuffed out the Gamma Rays        3.5 - .5 in a battle for the title. So it was an undefeated summer season for the 300 Spartans. Congratulations!

This final team score tally of that match left the door open for either the Four Aces or Its Your Move to slip into second place with a commanding win in their own head to head match.

The Four Aces got it done with a 3 – 1 win over Its Your Move, with 2^nd place alone being secured with a late, last game going win by Zach Romeos to push the point total to 11.

Here are the final standing for the Summer League:

1^st - 300 Spartans  5 – 0……..14.5 team points

2^nd - Four Aces  3 – 2……..11 team points

3^rd – Gamma Rays 3 – 2……..10.5 team points

4^th – Red Dragons 2 – 3……..9.5 team points

5^th – Its Your Move 2 - 3……..9 team points

6^th – Unnamed Team 0 – 5……..5.5 team points

Congratulations again to the 2014 Summer League Champs – 300 Spartans

Board 1 – Aaron Jagt

Board 2 – Dave Sybert

Board 3 – Sam Thompson

Board 4 – Marcello Milani

Week 5 of the LCCC League – The Grand Finale Next Week!

Aaron (left-300 Spartans) and Gus (Red Dragons) battle on board 1. 

Well we are set up for a great finish!

The Four Aces defeated the Unnamed Team 2.5 – 1.5 as a late draw on the 1^st board clinched the win for the Aces.

Meanwhile, in the other match, it also came down to the last game to finish with the 300 Spartans winning 3 -1 and clinching at least a tie for the Summer League title!

As luck would have it, next week the 300 Spartans (4 points and 11 team points) play the Gamma Rays (3 points and 10 team points). If the Gamma Rays win they at least tie for the league title. And a 3 – 1 or better win gives them the title outright!

Of course the 300 Spartans only need a drawn match to win the league outright. This is very exciting stuff. Stop by LCCC next Monday to watch all the action.

Black to move. Find the best one.

In the other match next week, the Four Aces (2 points and 8 points) battle Its Your Move (2 points and 8 points) to see who finishes tied for second or finishes third in the league.

Games from Round 5 and 6 will be highlighted on this blog soon. Stay tuned.

 

Here is a puzzle and a tough one. Find the best move for Black.

The answer will be posted in the comment section later.

 

Round Four of the LCCC 2014 Summer League

League Action is fun for everyone at LCCC!

Another exciting evening of league chess as twenty-two players were on hand for the action. Several casual games were played also.

But in League play;
The Red Dragons defeated the 1st place Gamma Rays 3 – 1 and that leaves the door open for 300 Spartans to take control of the league lead if they defeat the Gamma Rays next week! The 300 Spartans had a bye this week.

It’s Your Move defeated the Unnamed Team 3 – 1 and tying them with the Red Dragons for 3^rd place. Two games in this match lasted the full 2 hours and both ended in hard fought draws. Well done players.



Two intense games - both ending in draws! 

Next week the Four Aces will play the Unnamed Team. A victory for the Aces will put them in sole possession of 2^nd place, and the Aces have a match in hand!

The match of the week next week is 300 Spartans vs The Red Dragons. A must win for the Dragons and a possible league clincher for the Spartans!

Great excitement at LCCC. Stop by and be a part of it next Monday. Full League standings on the right side of the blog.

Here is a puzzle. Answer to be given in the comments in a few days.

Black to move and win in three moves.

 

Good luck!