Club Championship to Start Sept. 13 – and Michigan Open Labor Day Weekend

LCCC is doing well! Sorry for the delay in posting. Summer activities, weddings, new child arrivals and family activities you know.

Our chess club is going strong! We had 14 players two meetings ago, 12 players two meetings ago and 14 again this last meeting on Monday August 23. A nice and friendly group of players to hang around with.

Our next meeting is Monday September 13, 2021, starting at 4pm until 8:30pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Brighton. Please feel free to attend. It’s free! Well except BWW would like you to order something.

We might go longer than 8:30 if possible. But remember, this is a restaurant that must turn tables to make a profit. We are there only by their generosity and our patronage. And we were a nice source of business during the summer. It was a win-win for all of us.

But now, Monday Night Football will be on the TV’s there and it is a sports bar. We may have to vacate when the football crowd wants to move in. We will have to play it by ear and see how busy it gets. Hopefully the NFL has over saturated, and then insulted enough fans where it will not matter and they will not fill up. We will see.

Meanwhile, that night will be the start of our annual Club Championship. There is no cost to enter! Depending on the number of entries, it will be a 3, 4 or 5 round tournament. You only play one round every club meeting until the tournament is over. The time limit is (yes clocks will be used if possible) 45 minutes/ 5 second delay - for both players. We are shooting for as close to a 6pm start as possible. But as always, we are flexible and last minute entries and late entries are no problem.

This leaves time and room for the usual casual games and conversation. We are not real hard and fast on the playing times either. If you cannot make a regular meeting, and if your opponent agrees, you two can make up the game either in person or on line.

All except the first night’s pairings will be posted here. So if you have an issue for any round after the first one, you can contact the club email, me personally, or your opponent. We will supply their contact information.

Just finish before the next meeting and let the TD know the result. Then, there is no forfeit. And as far as I know, no LCCC player has ever not tried to accommodate the player that had to miss the regular round.

In other less important events (lol):

Michigan Open – Labor Day, Lansing Michigan, at the Raddison Hotel

Your humble scribe was looking forward to returning to tournament chess in this year’s Michigan Open over Labor Day weekend. Those hopes were dashed as there was a near last minute mandate issued by someone. It demanded that everyone wear masks during the tournament.

Some people do not want to attempt to play chess while forced to breath their own exhaust for 5 hours every round, so I withdrew. Some of our LCCC members are going to play anyway, and I wish them all the best.

If you do not mind wearing a mask, please consider entering this tournament. Or the Booster (beginners) tournament that runs on Saturday only.

Or simply stop up and watch the action.

LCCC is Meeting Monday. Club Championship Soon! And Some Curious Facts!

 

Our club meetings at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Brighton continue to be a success! We are averaging 14 members a night, so you will be sure to get a game against a choice of many opponents.

Our next meeting is this coming Monday, August 9, 2021 at 4pm until 10pm. Hope to see you all there. 

As an added bonus, the Club has spared no expense and is making arrangements to fly in a State Champion from Colorado to appear at our chess club this Monday! We are hoping he will accept our offer.

 This offer comes from the MSTV Trust Fund (formed from club officers, President excluded), and it was most generous! This trust fund was put in place by the law firm of Dewey, Cheetam and Howe.

The 2021 LCCC Club Championship will begin on Monday September 13, 2021. The time limit for the game will be 45 minutes with a 5 second delay. Touch move rule in effect.

How the tournament works is we will play one round of the tournament per meeting. Since we meet every other week, one round will be played every two weeks. 

We are a friendly group and this is a friendly tournament with no entry fee, so if you have to miss your scheduled round, you do have almost two weeks to make up the game - as long as your opponent agrees and you can both find an agreeable make up date and time.

This usually works out as we have never had a member say no to a make up game.....yet.

This format also allows time after the tournament round for you to review the game with your opponent and/or other club members or play some 'casual' chess after your round - or both!

Please be sure to enter! It's free, fun and is a great opportunity to play some serious (semi-serious) chess. Besides if the last person to win the LCCC Club Championship is any indication, anyone can win it. So don't be shy. 

Now for some strange chess facts:

• A Russian chess grandmaster Alexander Ilyin-Genevski, who actually defeated and drew World Champion Jose Capablanca in their only two games, had to learn how to play chess twice. The reason? A bullet to the head suffered during the Russian civil war as Stalin rose to power. 
• In a tournament in 1912, Nimzovitch and Rubinstein played a game to settle first place in the last round. During that game, Nimzovitch made a move that allowed Rubinstein an easy mate in two. Rubinstein missed it but went on to win the game anyway.
• In 1911 Spielmann and Alapin played a match in Munich of 10 games. It was played with the strange option that each player could have a second chess board on the side in which to study. You could not move the pieces, but you could look at the position without having your opponent directly across from you. Alapin used the option. Spielmann did not. Spielmann won the match 6.5 to 3.5.
• That same year Schlechter and Tarrasch played a match in Cologne, which chess experts have said was one of the finest matches ever played as far as the quality of the games. This is amazing from the standpoint that the temperatures during the entire match were in the high 90's and air conditioning was not yet invented for another 20 years.
•  A chess handbook written by IM Dufresne and GM Mieses in the mid 1800's had the following line of play:

        1. d4           d5

        2. c4            e6

        3. Nc3         c5

        4. Nf3          cxd

        5. Nxd4        e5

        6. Nb5          d4

        7. Nd5          Na6

        8. Qa4          Bd7

        9. e3              Ne7

"and Black has a superior position." 

I guess computers and even proof readers were non existent in the 1850's.

10. Nd6 mate was missed by both masters! And if they meant to say "White has a superior position", it would be an extreme understatement. Thank you Captain Obvious!'