Author: Alex Huang

The ACC I Love Chess Rapid Friday 4th October

Hi everyone,

It’s been so long since the time we used to run junior rapid chess tournaments here at the Auckland Chess Centre, before the year 2020 when COVID hit us. In July 2024 last school holiday, I have rebooted an entirely new series of junior chess tournaments called ‘The I Love Chess Rapid Tournaments’. At first the idea is just to invite all of my chess students (and invited players) to see how many would be interested, and run the tournament as a training ground. It was a last minute decision, as I only planned the tournament about a week or two prior. We had around 30 entries and the kids really enjoyed it. One kid she told me at the end of the tournament: “Alex, I think you should run more chess tournaments”. I believe she is right. For those interested, here are the results from The I Love Chess Rapid July: https://www.vegaresult.com/vega/index.php?id=4024

I would like to invite you all to come along to play at our junior chess tournament starting on Oct 4th.

The ACC I Love Chess Rapid Tournament (October Edition)
Date: Friday 4th October 2024
Venue: Auckland Chess Centre, 17 Cromwell Street, Mt Eden
Restrictions: Juniors only (Under 18)
Rounds: 6 rounds, NZCF Nationally rated
Time Control: 15+5
Schedule: Tournament starts at 9:30am and to finish by 1:30pm
Cost: $20 per player

Entry Form: Link
Entries: Link

If you would like to register, please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks.

Regards,
Alex Huang
National Arbiter & Tournament Organiser

Our Junior Club starts Jul 27 for Term 3, all are welcome.

Hi everyone, we are starting this weekend with our newly rebooted Junior Club programme. Exciting lectures and fun chess play is on the way. We run from 5:00pm to 6:15pm. Our topic for this week is: “These Three Squares For Your Knights”.

The first lecture is free for everyone (parents are also welcome) to attend. Our junior club programme costs $40/term. If you’re interested in our programme please sign up: https://www.trybooking.com/nz/TGH

More info: https://www.aucklandchess.nz/junior-club/

Our lectures are designed mostly for players who already knows how to move all the pieces, but if demand is here we will also consider simpler topics in the future.

SJN Schedule Term 3 Created, New Format Explained.

Hi everyone, for many years we ran the junior club as a very casual-play style event where players just came and played for an hour or 1.5 hours at the very beginning. It attracted a lot of attention and our junior players throughout the years got stronger. Some went up to the Monday Nights and played there instead. However, as we ran it more and more, I found that newer players often felt discouraged when they came to the event when they lose their first game. Sometimes they don’t come back again. It’s a shame that this happens and we all remember our first chess playing experience (maybe it’s against your father, or your grandfather, or maybe your brother etc) and many people quit chess the first time they are exposed to it. It’s too hard they think, I’m not smart enough for chess. or so they think.

I’ve always looked for ways to make chess interesting, or fun to children. We are planning to make it more beginner friendly starting next term, by including a short lecture as a part of our session. We will teach them ways to win, ways to become more confident and actually they start to realise that everyone has this hurdle to overcome. Some have their own shadows they have to defeat (I certainly do, and Gothamchess does too), others have their confidence issues when they are watched by the opponent.

Starting in Term 3, we are running our regular Saturday Junior Night on Saturdays from 5PM to 6:15PM (lecture starts at 5:00PM to 5:25PM), but occasionally when there is a clash with a weekend tournament, we will run on a Friday (the day prior) from 5PM to 6:15PM instead. There is a cost of $40/Term and there is going to be a Trybooking link (here: https://www.trybooking.com/nz/TGH) for payment.

The schedule has been updated on the main junior club page: https://www.aucklandchess.nz/saturday-night-junior-chess/

Thanks. Alex