Welcome to Prairieland Chess Club!

The primary goal of the Prairieland Chess Club -- Learn how to play chess or get better at playing chess in an encouraging, fun, and safe environment. Chess encourages life skills such as critical thinking, strategy, pattern recognition and friendly competition

General Information – No chess experience necessary to participate in the club. Everyone is welcome! The fee for the 2014/2015 school year is $40.00. Checks can be made payable to Prairieland Chess Club. Your fee covers the lessons, informational chess handouts; a chess notating pad, t-shirt and the Parkside/Prairieland tournament and one other area tournament (excluding All Grade and State). Prairieland Chess T-Shirt All chess players will receive one free t-shirt this school year. Any additional t-shirts, sweatshirts or tote bags can be purchased. The order form must be turned into the office by Friday, September 26th. PRACTICES Practices will be Tuesdays after school until 4:45. Please pick up your child by 4:45 on Tuesdays. Please follow the same pick-up guidelines as after school by pulling around to the back of the school, stay in your car and your child will come to you. PRACTICE SCHEDULE October 28 November 4, 11, 18 (no practice on November 25) December 2, 9 & 16 January 6, 13, 20 & 27 February 3, 10, & 24 March 3 (for State Tournament players only) Any practice that is cancelled due to weather will not be rescheduled. GROUPINGS We will place students into practice groups based on their level of experience and ability. We will have 3 groups this year meeting in the commons areas of the school. At the first practice, we will start with an all-club meeting. At that time, we will place the students in their groups. We want practices to be fun for everyone! SNACKS Students are welcome to pack a snack. We will allow them to eat the snack before they begin playing. Once play begins, snacks will have to be put away. Please do not send drinks. Please notify me of any allergies!

VOLUNTEERS There will be adequate adult supervision at chess club practices. We ask each family to volunteer to supervise at two chess club lessons. You do not need to know how to play chess to volunteer. Here is the link to sign up for chess club practices. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b4aa9aa2da75-prairieland5 TOURNAMENTS Children from all age groups are welcome to participate in tournaments (most are in town or close to town), but it is not required by any means. Each child will get 2 free tournaments: the first in-town tournament they play in (excluding All-Grade and State) and the Prairieland tournament. Tournaments can be a lot of fun in a very friendly encouraging atmosphere. You get a chance to play students outside of our club, learn a lot about chess and sportsmanship, along with many other skills. With the exception of the two free tournaments mentioned above, students are responsible for the fee for each tournament you enter -- typically $15-$18 per tournament. Save the Dates (more dates to come soon): October 25 or November 1 – Metcalf November 8, 2014 – Illinois All Grade at Benjamin School in West Chicago January 10 – Prairieland/Parkside Tournament January 19 – 28th MLK tournament at ISU Bone Student Center January 31 – Epiphany February 27 – Benjamin February 21 – Glenn March 7 – K-8 State Chess Tournament at ISU Bone Student Center We are excited to say that the Illinois K-8 Championships will be here in town at the ISU Bone Student Center March 6-8, 2014 We would love to have Prairieland well represented. You do not have to qualify to play. The cost is usually $30-$50 for registration. More details will come the closer we get to that date. 4th & 5th Graders – To participate in tournaments, you must be registered with the United States Chess Federation. You can register or renew your membership at the tournaments or online at https://secure2.uschess.org/webstore/member.php. The cost is $17.00 for the year. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. I can be contacted by email at bendavis71@me.com or by phone at 309-846-3821. I’m looking forward to a great year of chess! Ben Davis

Player’s Name ___________________ Last Name_______________________ Home Phone # _______________________

Date of Birth _______________________ Grade _________ Teacher __________________________Room Code________

Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Circle One: Mother / Father Circle One: Mother / FatherName__________________________________________

Work Phone # ___________________________________

Cell Phone # ____________________________________

E-mail _________________________________________

Name__________________________________________

Work Phone # ___________________________________

Cell Phone # ____________________________________

E-mail _________________________________________

Most communications for chess club will occur over e-mail. Please provide an e-mail address where we can contact you for chess-related information.

Emergency Contact Name _____________________________ Relationship ________________ Phone # ______________

I give my child ___________________________________________ permission to stay after school on Tuesdays to participate in the Prairieland Chess Club.

Check one: ! ☐ My child will be picked up following chess ☐ My child will return to the after school program

Parent Signature _____________________________________________ Date _____________________________________

So we can accurately determine which group your child should be in, please take a few minutes for your child or you to help your child answer the following questions.

Check one of the below:

☐ I am a new chess player. I’ve never played before, but I’m ready to learn!☐ I’ve played chess before. I know the basic rules of moving pieces, but I need some help at times.☐ I’ve played chess quite a bit. I know the rules of piece movement and some basic to intermediate strategy.☐ I’ve played chess extensively and am pretty good. I can easily beat most people and I know intermediate to advanced strategy.

Check all that apply:

☐ I know how much each piece is worth. ☐ I can explain this saying -- “Queen on her own color.”☐ I know what “Check” is. ☐ I know what “Checkmate” is

I understand the following terms:

☐ Rank ☐ File ☐ Diagonal ☐ Promotion ☐ En Passant ☐ Stalemate☐ Castling Queenside ☐ Castling Kingside ☐ Draw

Using algebraic notation I can:

☐ name each square ☐ record my moves☐ I know the restrictions of Castling ☐ I can name the common ways a game can end in a draw

I understand the following tactics:☐ En Prise ☐ Fork ☐ Pin ☐ Skewer ☐ Discovery ☐ Trapping☐ I know the “Fools Mate” ☐ I can defend against it

Prairieland Chess Club 2014 / 2015 Sign Up

Office Only $___________ Check # _____