Posted By Martin Stahl on May 21, 2010
Category: General |
1 Comment »
There is a new chess club starting up in the Neosho area meeting on Tuesday’s from, 4 until 8 pm at the Neosho Recreation Center, room 102. Everyone is welcome, from beginners to hobby players.
More details can be found on the Clubs page
Posted By Martin Stahl on March 4, 2010
Category: Tournaments |
1 Comment »
Date: Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
Location: MSSU Spiva Library Coffee Shop
3950 Newman Road
Joplin, MO 64801
Note: Located on the bottom floor of the library, with an entrance available on the East side of the building. Campus map available at http://www.mssu.edu/map.htm (building 16)
Hosted by the Joplin Chess Club USCF affiliate
Format: 3 round Swiss, Game in 60 (G/60), rated
Two sections (based on average rating), players paired within their section
Round Times: 9:30, 11:30, 2:30. 1 hour lunch break at 1:30
Entry fee: $10 if pre-registered, $15 at site
Prizes: Based on total entries but at least 50% of total entry fees
Registration: Advance Registration requested. Entry fees may be paid in cash in person on 4/3/2010, or checks (payable to Martin Stahl) can be mailed, to be received by 4/2/2010. It is preferred that all players be current USCF members by 4/2/2010 and current through 4/3/2010. USCF membership can be processed online at uschess.org and membership can be accepted on site for CASH ONLY. Please check the USCF site for rates or contact TD for details about membership renewal or purchase on site.
Registration info can be sent to:
or
Joplin Chess Club
2609 New Hampshire
Joplin, Mo 64804
Please include name, address, phone, e-mail, USCF ID# and rating.
On-site registration begins at 9:00 a.m., first round at 9:30
TD: Martin Stahl (417) 781-9091; (417) 483-1554 day of the tournament
Please bring set, clock, board, and score sheets.
Lunch – Players may bring their own food and drink.
Posted By Martin Stahl on February 1, 2010
Category: Articles |
No Comments »
“Of chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not chess.” —attributed to both Irving Chernev and William Ewart Napier (source Wikiquotes)
It has been a month since I laid out my plan to really begin my chess improvement. As I expected, one of the most challenging things in this endeavor has been finding time to complete each task.
My first goal, tactics training, has been my easiest one so far. I have been able to maintain at least 30 minutes a day, pretty much every day, of tactics training with the Chess.com Tactics Trainer. I’m noticing some common errors in my recognition/calculation of the solutions, that are helping my thought processes, and have seen my ratings fluctuate between 1400 and almost 2000, depending on the day. Based on the puzzles so far, I have noticed a need to increase the ranges of puzzles as I get better. I find myself missing many of the lower rated puzzles and need to make sure I’m not missing fundamental patterns in my practice.
Analysis with Solitaire Chess and my own games has been less productive. I have managed to complete three Solitaire Chess columns and start another one. However, I have only been able to analyze one of my games at this point. My hope is to catch up on both, even if I don’t get one completed of each type every week and can only average one a week.
Games have also been in shorter supply than I originally intended. Had to skip a week of club play and have only been able to complete two games a week for the most part. I’ll either need to decrease my goal or play faster chess to get in three games I guess.
Finally, I have been able to read close to a chapter a week but haven’t focused on it as much as I originally wanted. Hopefully I’ll be able to get into more fully through the year.
I plan on continuing and feel that I’m actually getting benefit from my efforts. Seeing weaknesses in my tactical vision and pattern recognition is certainly helpful and I hope I’ll begin to see continued improvements there. Any suggestions or recommendations are always welcome.
Posted By Martin Stahl on December 27, 2009
Category: Articles |
No Comments »
“Amateurs practice until they get it right. Masters practice until they can’t get it wrong.”
I have seen the the above quote, or variations of it, a number of times in different places. I don’t know who originally said it, only that it struck a chord with me. In my experience, I have found that I fit the amateur moniker in many of my endeavors, especially chess. Even when I feel that I’m good at something, I rarely take that extra effort to truly master it.
So, while this isn’t really a set of New Years Resolutions, I have made some decisions, a game plan as it is, for chess throughout the next year. At least, this is a start and a personal plan to get better; to practice until I can’t get it wrong. If you are interested, read on:
Posted By Martin Stahl on December 8, 2009
Category: Tournaments |
2 Comments »
December Springfield Open
Unrated 3 round Swiss Game/60
100% payout (40%, 25%, 15%, 10%, 6%, 4%)
Free soft drinks
Date: 12/12/09
Location: Southside Senior Center
2215 South Fremont Avenue
Springfield, MO 65804-3101
Registration: 8am
Rounds: 8:30am, 11am and 2:30pm
Entry Fees: Depends on your rating;
Unrated and under 1100 $1
1200 $2
1300 $3
1400 $4
1500 $5
1600 $6
1700 $7
1800 $8
1900 $9
2000 $15
2100 and above $25
Contact: Tha Dun, thadun2008@gmail.com
Posted By Martin Stahl on October 16, 2009
Category: Tournaments |
6 Comments »
Date: Saturday, November 7th, 2009
Location: Southside Senior Center
2215 South Fremont Avenue
Springfield, MO
65804-3101
Format: 3 round swiss, Game/90, USCF rated. Possible scholastic and non-USCF sections
Entry Fee: $3
Registration: Saturday, 9:15-9:30 AM
Round Times: 9:45 AM, 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM
Prizes: (based on 15 entries): $20 first, $10 U1400+unrated, and $10 for best female.
Contact: Michael Clark, mochessnow@yahoo.com
Posted By Martin Stahl on October 16, 2009
Category: Tournaments |
1 Comment »
Date: Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Location: Dalton-Killinger Construction
1301 W 4th St
Joplin, MO 64801
Hosted by the Joplin Chess Club USCF affiliate
Format: 5 round Swiss, Game in 60 (G/60), rated
Two sections (based on average rating)
Round Times: 9:00, 11:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00. 1 hour lunch break at 1:00
Entry fee: $10 if pre-registered, $15 at site
Prizes: Based on total entries but at least 50% of total entry fees
Registration: Advance Registration requested. Entry fees may be paid in cash in person on 11/21, or checks (payable to Martin Stahl) can be mailed, to be received by 11/20. Preference that all players must be current USCF members by 11/20 and current through 11/21. USCF membership can be processed online at uschess.org and membership can be accepted on site for CASH ONLY. Please check the USCF site for rates or contact TD for details for membership renewal or purchase on site.
Registration info can be sent to:
or
Joplin Chess Club
2609 New Hampshire
Joplin, Mo 64804
Please include name, address, phone, e-mail, USCF ID# and rating.
On-site registration begins at 8:00 a.m., first round at 9:00
TD: Martin Stahl (417) 781-9091; (417) 483-1554 day of the tournament
Please bring set, clock, board, and score sheets.
Lunch – Players may bring their own food and drink.
Posted By Martin Stahl on October 16, 2009
Category: Tournaments |
2 Comments »
Date: Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Location: Dalton-Killinger Construction
1301 W 4th St
Joplin, MO 64801
Hosted by the Joplin Chess Club USCF affiliate
Format: 5 or 6 round Swiss, depending on turnout, Game in 25 (G/25), Quick rated
Round Times: 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00. 1 hour lunch break at 12:00
Entry fee: $1
Prizes: No Prizes
Registration: Advance Registration requested. Preferred that all players must be current USCF members by 10/23 and current through 10/24. USCF membership can be processed online at uschess.org and membership can be accepted on site for CASH ONLY. Please check the USCF site for rates or contact TD for details for membership renewal or purchase on site.
Registration info can be sent to:
Please include name, address, phone, e-mail, USCF ID# and quick rating.
On-site registration begins at 9:30 a.m., first round at 10:00
TD: Martin Stahl (417) 781-9091; (417) 483-1554 day of the tournament
Please bring set, clock, board, and score sheets.
Lunch – Players may bring their own food and drink.
Posted By Martin Stahl on October 2, 2009
Category: Tournaments |
No Comments »
Sorry for the late notice on this, I got it two days ago and for some reason thought I had another week to post it.
Date: October 3-4, 2009
Location: Southside Senior Center
2215 South Fremont Avenue
Springfield, MO
65804-3101
Format: 5 round, Game/120, USCF rated. Possible scholastic and non-USCF sections on the 3rd (Saturday)
Entry Fee: $10. $2 for scholastic, unrated or only playing in one day of main section (not eligible for prizes)
Registration: 10/3 (Saturday) 9:15-9:25 AM
Round Times: Saturday 9:30 AM, 2 PM, and 6 PM. Sunday 10 AM and 2:30 PM
Prizes: (based on 20 entries) $100 first, $40 u1700 and $40 U1250+unrated
Contact: Michael Clark, mochessnow@yahoo.com
Posted By Martin Stahl on September 27, 2009
Category: General, Site Info |
2 Comments »
Well, the site has been up for almost a year already ( September the 29th it will be a year). I haven’t done as much as I wanted to when it comes to modifications on the site or in posting articles, yet I feel that it has been a useful tool to get information out about chess in the area.
I hope this year to be a bit more productive and finally talk some other local players to contribute some articles, games, etc to the site. I have renewed the domain name, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, I hope we will be around for many years to come.
So please, if you have any news, tournaments or anything else you feel would benefit local chess or is about chess in the area, please let me know. Remember, this site is geared to chess in the area in general, is not dedicated to any particular club or group and welcomes your participation.
Thank you for continuing to visit and I look forward to continuing the chess journey with all of you.
