Supporting Local Chess: Some Announcements

The Katonah Library in Lewisboro, New York is sponsoring chess classes this summer: Reading, chess programs at Katonah Library Written by Matt Dalen Sunday, June 29, 2008 “Learn How to Play Chess” is for second grade students and older. John Gallagher will teach the basic rules and strategies of chess. All levels of experience are welcome and there will be a number of practice games. The library is at 26 Bedford Road in Katonah. There is some street parking and, on weekends, nearby municipal parking. Information: 232-3508 or katonahlibrary.org. ****************************************************************************************** The Aiken County Chess Club (Aiken, South Carolina) was featured in the Carolina Chronicle: Aiken County Chess Club Special Sunday, June 29, 2008 MEETS: Every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Stoplight Deli on Laurens Street in downtown Aiken. MEMBERSHIP: Anyone may join the group; membership is free.

MISSION: The Aiken County Chess Club is a forum where chess enthusiasts can participate in friendly competition. Anyone interested in the game of chess is urged to come out and play.

QUOTE: "Chess brings back the art of conversation," said David Whatley, the secretary of the club. INFORMATION: Contact Mr. Whatley at whatleydavid@bellsouth.net.

Here is the website for the Aiken County Chess Club! ************************************************************************************************ Want to pick up a casual game of chess in Portland, Oregon? Visit Anna Banannas. Love the name! Here are the details from the PortlandMercury.com:

Anna Bannanas 1214 NW 21st Avenue Portland, OR 97209 503.274.2559 Website Hours: Mon-Thu 7:30am-11pm, Fri 7:30am-midnight, Sat 8am-midnight, Sun 8am-11pm

Supporting Local Chess: Some Announcements

Hola darlings! I have a vacation day today - a three day weekend stretches before me like the Promised Land, ahhhhh.... I have lots to do around this house. I am seriously thinking about hiring a cleaning service. I have hired a landscape contractor to come in and tame the wilderness that is my back yard, now even more overgrown than usual due to the record rains we had this month. Today I must cut the grass, vacuum, visit the supermarket and do some laundry. Yech. Normally I don't mind yard work, but with the record rainfall came a record crop of mosquitoes, and they are all thirsting for my blood. They bite even through the strongest insect repellant - and the way I sweat in this heat and humidity the stuff runs off of me in rivulets anyway, leaving me unprotected. Oh, I forgot, I'm not supposed to mention that I sweat - har :) A retirement to Las Vegas (despite the lack of potable water issues) is looking more and more appealing all the time... By choice, I spend so much time doing Goddesschess-related things (including this blog) that the normal things in life (such as housework and grocery shopping and sleeping) fall by the wayside. But - what the heck. Once the trees have been trimmed and the weeds whacked out of the flower beds and everything properly edged and half a ton of mulch laid down, things will begin to look semi-civilized around here, and my economic stimulus check will pay for it all... I'm also seriously considering buying one of those large screened tents and affixing it so that I can once again sit on my deck without a spray can of RAID in hand. So, as I'm girding myself and building up the resolution to go outdoors and face the swarming hungry hordes of skeeters, I'm checking out the chess news.

LOCAL CHESS LOCAL CHESS LOCAL CHESS LOCAL CHESS

• Susan Polgar blogged on June 26th about giving a plug for your local chess club and (thus far) 15 people have posted about their chess clubs. Robin posted about the Hales Corners, Wisconsin Southwest Chess Club.
• The SWCC has a convenient email service that announces upcoming events. Casual chess was hosted last night at the Barnes & Noble bookstore not too far from where I live - I can actually get to it from here using public transportation and footpower (I don't own an automobile and never learned to drive - talk about being an ANTIQUE!) I've yet to meet any of the folks from the SWCC and would love to do so - and there's a perfect opportunity coming up September 4th when Barnes & Noble will once again be the site of an evening of SWCC chess. If you see a gorgeous slightly-overweight woman of a "certain age" with dark chin length hair (I had my Xena length tresses chopped off for the summer) in sunglasses - that's me.

I love libraries. For some strange reason - strange since none in my family were great readers - I developed a love of reading as a wee child and as far back as I can remember, made heavy use of the local book mobiles that used to regularly visit the neighborhoods when I was a kid; later, when I was old enough to venture out several blocks away from home, I walked to neighborhood branch libraries (all of which, sadly, were closed over the years due to budgetary constraints and the often wonderful buildings with rotundas and corinthian columns were sold off, one by one) to spend blissful hours in the card catalogs and the stacks. This was when I first developed a taste for science fiction, historical romances and tomes on ancient history!

Those local library branches that have survived to this day are the situs of much chess activity, which is logical given that the distinctive smell of books and the generally quite atmosphere is conducive to concentration and thought, two hallmarks of chess. Here are some announcements of local chess activities centered in libraries:

• The Batavia Library in Batavia, Illinois is hosting a summer series of chess events as part of a reading promotion program, a great idea and sounds like a lot of fun: "Chess Knights" will be offered from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Aug. 5 at the library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. Participants may attend as many game nights as they'd like. Tables will be set up in different areas on the library's lower level, including the outdoor Reading Garden, weather permitting. Players are welcome to bring a friend or relative, or they may come alone. Library staff will make sure everyone who wants to play has an opponent. Participants may bring their own chess set, or use one provided by the library. The program is free and registration is not required. "After July 4, the library will host a chess tournament with prizes. Tournament play is optional," Zillman said. Tournament information will be available at the end of June. For details, call (630) 879-4775.
• The Burlinginton, Massachusetts Public Library is also featuring Chess Basics for children and teens begins Monday, June 23, 7 to 8:45 p.m. Burlington High School graduate, Peter Hovey, teaches chess. Registration encouraged but drop-ins welcome. Also, July 7 and 21, and Aug. 4. This program is sponsored by The Friends of the Burlington Public Library and is free and open to the public.
• From Berkeley, California - aaaahhhhh, Berkeley, Goddess bless you! An announcement in the Berkeley Daily Planet: The Berkeley Chess Club meets every Sun. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150.
• From Tuscon, Arizona, an announcement at AZstarnet.com (Community Calendar): Chess Club — Oro Valley Public Library, 1305 W. Naranja Drive. For adults and serious youth players. 1-5 p.m. Fridays except July 4. Free. 229-5300.

Local Chess: Southwest Chess Club

Milwaukee is the city of festivals and the season is rolling along now. The Big Gig (Summerfest) starts June 26th and runs through July 6th but opening at noon today and running through Sunday night, Polish Fest holds sway over the lakefront festival grounds. The Southwest Chess Club (Hales Corners, Wisconsin) has been invited to have a chess booth at this weekend's Polish Fest. Several local masters and experts will be giving simultaneous exhibitions as part of their activities over the weekend. If you're in the area, stop by for a game of chess. More Southwest Chess Club news (received via email): Due to some water damage at the Hales Corners Village Hall, here is our schedule the next 2 weeks: Tonight: 1-night Action Chess event, at Layton State Bank, Moorland & Beloit, New Berlin. June 26: Casual Chess at Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 76th Street, Greenfield. Club Championship starts JULY 10 (we should be back in our usual Hales Corners Village Hall location by then).

Supporting Local Chess: The Southwest Chess Club, Hales Corners, WI

Hola! I'm once again dodging downpours, lightning strikes and tornado warnings. I'll stay online as long as I can. Tonight I want to blog a little about supporting local chess. Every now and then I do some searching online to see if I can find out anything about local chess clubs. Scholastic chess has an online presence in Wisconsin, but not so much local adult chess. The website for our state chess association is hit-or-miss and not up to date in many sections. Milwaukee, which used to host some premiere events back in the 1950's, has been out of the loop for years. The most recent prestigious event we hosted here was a few years ago, when the Midwest Airlines Convention Center was the site for the U.S. Scholastic Chess Championships. The thing is, I know that people get together here and play chess - everywhere. But it's all informal, and the locations are in the corners of bars, church basements and a few tables at local eateries in back rooms, out of the way and out of view. And none of these groups are formal "clubs", and no one has a website, so I can't find out about them! I was therefore highly gratified to find the website of a purely local chess club in Hales Corners, Wisconsin: The Southwest Chess Club. The club has been active for a number of years and hosts regular events. It also hosts USCF Grand Prix events - this year sponsored by World Chess Live with total prizes of $20,000! Yeah, it's website could use some work; on the other hand, it's run entirely by volunteers (hey, I know how that works, being a Goddesschess draftee myself) and some sections are very up-to-date, which is good news for me! I'll be posting more about this club and one of its upcoming events: The Hales Corners Challenge VIII, on October 4, 2008, which qualifies for 10 Grand Prix points. It's four rounds in a single day (eek!). Here's some info from the website: 4SS, G/60. 2 Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600). Village Hall, 5635 S. New Berlin Rd., Hales Corners, WI (Milwaukee Area). EF: $35-Open, $25-Reserve, both $5 more after 10/1. Comp EF for USCF 2200+, contact TD for details. $$ Open (b/25)=1st-$325 (guaranteed), 2nd-$175 (guaranteed), A-$100, B & Below-$75; $$ Reserve b/25) =1st-$100, 2nd-$75, D-$50, E & Below-$40. Reg: 8:30-9:30, Rds: 10-1-3:30-6. Ent: Payable to SWCC, c/o Allen Becker, 6105 Thorncrest Drive, Greendale, WI 53129 ( allenbecker@wi.rr.com ). Questions to TD Gary Wright 414-226-5753. Goddesschess has cooked up a little something special for this club and this event. Stay tuned!