Ocean View Chess Club November 22, 2008
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Ocean View Chess Club was officially launched at the Ocean View Library on Saturday 8th November 2008!!
20 boards and sets were donated at the launch which is very helpful and over 30 people have already registered and they are sending a team to play in the SA Club Champs.
More details on this blog here.
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SA team in Dresden November 16, 2008
Posted by marcashton in Uncategorized.Tags: Daniel Cawdery, Johanne Mayedi Mabusela, Kenny Solomon, Watu Kobese
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After three rounds the South African team is in 78th place out of 100 players in Dresden.
The SA team consists of:
- Watu Kobese
- Kenny Solomon
- Daniel Cawdery
- Henry Robert Steel
- Johanne Mayedi Mabusela
Its amazing to log on to the Dresden tournament website and see how much effort and integration has gone into putting together such a high scale tournament.
The sponsors are there, there is an integrated package for travel and accommodation which the city has bought into. The city has realised the economic importance of having people from all these different nations arriving and supporting their economy and they’ve gone all out to make sure that they provide supporting infrastructure.
For SA tournament organisers, they should take a leaf out of this book if they ever decide to get a large scale international chess tournament off the ground….
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Dresden Olympiad gaffe November 16, 2008
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Oh the delicious irony…after FIDE had insisted that all players should turn up exactly on time for their games or be defaulted, the second round was delayed by an hour due to errors by the organisers. If you made that story up, no-one would believe you.
Read the full story here on Chess.com!
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2008 AFRICAN JUNIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS October 18, 2008
Posted by marcashton in Uncategorized.Tags: competitions, Juniors
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Under the auspices of the African Chess Union, Chess South Africa has the honour of inviting African Federations affiliated to FIDE to participate in the 2008 African Junior Chess Championship and African Girls Chess Championship.
The 2008 African Junior Chess Championships will be held from 28th December 2008 (arrival) to 6th January 2009 (departure) at the malaria-free Amanzintaba Resort “Water from the Mountain”, in Bronkhorstspruit, a town in the Gauteng Province, a forty minute journey from Pretoria, or less than an hour from Oliver Tambo International airport, Johannesburg.
Not only is South Africa an important emerging economy, it is also the gateway to other African markets.
For full details please click here:
http://www.chessa.co.za/Africanjuniors.html
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The benefits of chess September 9, 2008
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Chess development in South African schools will soon receive international support following a visit from the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Chess South Africa (CHESSA) arranged the brief visit and showcased a leading Pretoria chess school and its chess development projects in previously disadvantaged areas.
Read the complete Barry Bateman article here.
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SA Ladies Open 2008 - Round 3 results August 10, 2008
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The top 10:
1 HATTINGH, A - 1658
2 DE JAGER, C - 1834
3 ROOS, E - 1675
4 VAN WYK, L - 1555
5 GROBBELAAR, C - 1359
6 MENDES, M - 1473
7 KHALO, SI - 1384
8 PETERS, CK - 1476
9 JANSEN VAN RENSBURG, M - 1345
10 SCHOLTZ, S - 1434
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Top SA Chess Players July 26, 2008
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Chess suffers from the same problem that all small scale sports do - they battle to market themselves or their successful players. Little exposure for the players or sponsors or events and the interest in the sport wanes.
I thought I would do my little bit for Chess in SA and give you rankings of the Top 5 male and female players as of the end of June.
Ladies First:
1.Melissa Greef
2. Monique Sischy
3. Riani Pistorius
4. Carmen De Jager
5. Anzel Solomons
Men:
1. Kenneth Solomon
2. Henry Steel
3. Daniel Cawdery
4. Stephan Wagner
5. Johan Steenkamp
Chess SA has these rankings on their site as well so check them out here:
http://www.chessa.co.za/Top200.html
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Major SA Chess tournaments July 26, 2008
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I just wandered over to the Chess SA website (www.chesssa.co.za) and got an update of the major tournaments coming up…
Best of luck for all those taking part!
Malmesbury Open 25-26 July
JAKARANDA OPE 26 JULY
Reinderman Open 2-3 August A-Section / B-Section
SA Women’s Open 8 - 10 August
Youth with a Vision 15 Aug
Uitenhage Chess Tournament 29-30th August
Mrs Elizabeth Muller on 041 9941257
Malbork Castle Cup Poland 19 - 21 September
SA Masters 24th - 27th September
SA Inter-Provincial Swellendam 26 – 28 September
SAJCA NATIONALS 2008 07 - 17 December
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Interesting Chess Facts July 9, 2008
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Because the chess game is being one of the oldest games created there are many interesting facts surrounding this game? Many researchers say that chess originates from India, due to its similarities to a Hindu game called Chaturanga that has been around just as long. However, there are some that believe it originates from China, 2nd century BC and the word ‘checkmate’ actually derives from a Persian phrase ‘shah mat,’ translating into ‘the king is defeated.’ The game is so lost in its antiquity that no-one really knows where its origins lay.
Chess originated in India in the 6th century. It was called “chaturanga”, which means literary “four divisions of the military”. Another theory is that is started in China around the 2nd century BC. Chess reached Europe and Russia around the 10th century. What we do know is that today Chess Games are held any where, in homes, at clubs, online and by mail either for recreation or in a competition or tournament. The most important aim of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s king!
Most chess players, who evolved into masters, became students at an early age. World chess champion Jose Capablanca began to play chess at the age of four after watching his father, Anatoly Karpov was taught the moves of chess also at four years old and then went on to become a grandmaster and world champion, and Boris Spassky learned the strategies of the game at the age of five. International grandmaster is one of the highest titles you can receive, Judit Polgar achieved this at 15 years old and Bobby Fischer was awarded the title of international master at 14 years old. Of course chess isn’t only for the very young; it’s popular with all ages. Gyorgy Negyesy who died in 1992, just before his 99th birthday, was the longest living master chess player.
Chess games can last hours or minutes depending on the skill of the players or even their fortune. It is unbelievable but there have been games which involved only 1 move, amazing! A famous game like this was held between Rogoff and Huber in 1972. But the longest game ever recorded was between Nikolic and Arsovic, held in Yugoslavia in 1989. This chess game involved 269 moves and took over 20 hours and no one won.
Not only men but women regularly win championships and claim world titles as well. Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to win a men’s chess tournament in 1977. Here she tied for first place and after this went on to achieve men’s international grandmaster status in 1978. Maia Chiburdanidze who was 17 years old was the youngest women’s world champion of all when she won the women’s title in 1978. The first woman in history to qualify for the men’s world championship was Susan Polgar in the year 1986. Again is does not matter what age you are because Edith Price was 76 when she won the British ladies championship in 1946.
Not satisfied with a ‘normal’ game of chess, some players like to set themselves a challenge and that’s exactly what George Koltanowski did when he played 56 consecutive games in 1960. In 1977, Czechoslovakian Vlastimil Hort played 550 opponents, 201 of them simultaneously. He won all but 10 games in just over thirty hours. He won 50 and drew the other 6. He also played blindfolded! In 1997, Dimitrije Bjelica played 312 games simultaneously, winning 219, losing 1 and drawing 92. Not everyone is a winner of course as was proved when Austrian master Josef Krejcik played 25 games simultaneously in 1910 and lost every one.
Chess sets are not only simple and practical, many of them are beautifully hand crafted. A unique chess set was discovered in 1170. Carved from walrus tusks, each of the characters is shown in a bad mood, ranging from anger to depression. If you are looking for unique chess pieces, Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali’s did an amazing job with a design that exchanged the traditional chessmen with fingers and thumbs made of silver based on his own digits.
Interested in the game of chess now? All you need to do is purchase yourself a basic chess set and you can start learning how to play chess today. Oh, and you will need a willing partner of course! Or if you already know how to play why not treat yourself and upgrade your chess board and chess pieces with a quality set?
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Michiel Van Kets provides articles for John Sokol, who is the owner of Quality Chess, a website selling quality chess boards and chess sets.
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Basic Strategies And Tactics On Chess June 28, 2008
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Basic Strategies And Tactics On Chess by Robert Michael
Improving your Chess Strategy
Chess is a game about strategy and tactics above all. Each player commands an army of 16 chess pieces. In the opening, the players bring up their forces as they prepare for battle. Players maneuver for strategic positions and carry out attacks and counterattacks in the middle game. During the endgame is when, with fewer pawns and pieces left on the board, it’s finally safe for kings to come out and join the combat. Here are some ways to improve your chess strategy.
1. Plan. Your chess pieces need to work in harmony as a team with you as a coach. You need to work all your pieces together so that their strengths support one another. Your opponent will have an easy time defending themselves if your strategy appears to be haphazard.
2. Know what each piece is worth. Consider the value of your pieces when thinking about giving up pieces for some of your opponents. The player who has the most pieces of great value usually has a significant advantage.
3. Consider your opponents move. Every time your opponent moves stop to consider what might be their strategy. Ask yourself why that move was chosen. Are one of your pieces in danger?
4. Develop quickly and well. One most important elements of chassis timing. Your pieces should be ready for action and then they will be able to quickly control the course of the game. You need to be able to get your pieces into key strategic positions as quickly as possible.
5. Keep your king save at all times. The object of this game is to capture the opponent’s king. If you forget this you have lost.
6. Make the best possible move by asking yourself a few questions. Will I improve my position by making this move? Will this move put my pieces in danger?
7. If it is a pawn you are about to move consider if you can keep it protected from attack.
8. If it is another piece consider whether the enemy can drive it away.
9. Be alert. Once you’ve reached a good strategic position in the game do not relax. Be on the lookout for your opponents threats.
10. Know when to trade pieces. The best time to trade pieces is when you can capture pieces that are worth more than the one you will be giving up.
11. Think about the endgame. You should remember that every time you make a move it might affect your chances in the endgame.
12. Control the center. The player who controls the four squares that are in the middle of the board will have a better game in many cases the victory.
Use these tips to help you improve your chess strategy. Now go practice and have fun.
Robert Michael is a writer for
Ray Chess
which is an excellent place to find chess links,
resources and articles. For more information go to:
Article Source: http://www.articlecube.com
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