TCAMA Summer Chess Skills Development Programs for Summer 2018

Don’t let your child spend another month stuck at their current rating level! Help them to grow in chess and prepare for success.

 

In one week of training with Chris Torres your child will gain:

• The Valuable tools and skills needed to excel as a chess player.
• An extraordinary chess camp experience with a top-tier chess instructor.
• The confidence and motivation necessary to surpass their chess goals and fast track improvement.

 

Chris Torres has been teaching chess in the Bay Area since 1998. For 20 years his meticulous approach has paved the way for the success of his students regardless of their entry skill level. A true leader in California chess, Chris Torres creates unique a curriculum perfectly suited for each and every class he teaches. View his resume here: https://chessmusings.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/chris-torres-chess-resume/

 

The Torres Chess and Music Academy’s week-long chess skills development program helps equip elementary and middle school aged chess players with the ideal balance of foundational skills and advanced knowledge necessary to achieve sustainable improvement in chess. Sign up for these chess camps and get connected with the leading chess coach who is passionate about creating winners in every student he teaches. Classes are limited to just 10 students so every child receives personal attention. Each week long program is only $150!

Program	Dates	Times	Location	Address
P1	June 25-29	3:30 to 6:30	Fremont Hub	160 Fremont Hub Courtyard, Fremont
P2	July 9-13	12:30 to 3:30	Newark	34904 Newark Blvd., Newark
P3	July 9-13	4:00 to 7:00	Fremont Hub	160 Fremont Hub Courtyard, Fremont
P4	July 16-20	12:30 to 3:30	Newark	34904 Newark Blvd., Newark
P5	July 16-20	4:00 to 7:00	Warm Springs	46517 Mission Blvd., Fremont
P6	July 23-27	1:00 to 4:00	Pleasanton	4460 Black Ave., Suite A, Pleasanton
P7	July 30-Aug 3	12:30 to 3:30	Newark	34904 Newark Blvd., Newark
P8	July 30-Aug 3	4:00 to 7:00	Fremont Hub	160 Fremont Hub Courtyard, Fremont
P9	August 6-10	12:30 to 3:30	Newark	34904 Newark Blvd., Newark
P10	August 6-10	4:00 to 7:00	Warm Springs	46517 Mission Blvd., Fremont
P11	August 13-17	12:30 to 3:30	Warm Springs	46517 Mission Blvd., Fremont
P12	August 13-17	4:00 to 7:00	Fremont Hub	160 Fremont Hub Courtyard, Fremont

Please contact Chris Torres at chesslessons@aol.com if you have any questions. Checks should be made payable to the TCAMA 16691 Colonial Trail, Lathrop, CA, 95330, OR visit http://www.chessandmusic.com to register online.

For more information on Nurture Kids (510) 364-9322 http://www.wenurturekids.com

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Fremont Summer Chess Camp: Week 1

The first week of the Torres Chess and Music Academy’s Fremont Summer Camp was a smashing success. One parent even asked me why our camp was so much better than the other chess classes in the Bay Area. I answered, “The real secret is in enthusiasm. It is the magic we use to transform challenges into accomplishments.”

 

Students learn more when they are having fun.

 

 

 

TCAMA Director of Instruction, James Paquette, teaches his students the secrets to Paul Morphy’s success.

 

 

 

Tans Hylkema taught our youngest campers how to play chess and notate their moves.

 

 

 

Students at the Fremont Summer Chess Camp were constantly challenged.

 

 

 

Joe Lonsdale has been overlooking chess games at MSJE for nearly thirty years!

 

 

 

Francisco Anchondo teaches his students how to turn chess advantages into stunning combinations.

 

 

 

Our campers learn first hand why International Master Emory Tate is a chess teacher of the highest quality.

 

 

 

After just one week, our youngest players understand the most important endgame positions.

 

 

 

Every game played at our camp is turned into a custom lesson for the children who played it.

 

 

 

All of our hard work pays off during the next school year.

 

 

Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur

Front cover of the classic chess book, Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur

“Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur” is one of the best books I have read on the subject of crime and punishment in chess. The author, former World Chess Champion Max Euwe, elucidates common mistakes of “amateur” chess players with great authority. The layout of “Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur” progresses from analyses of games in which the amateur player is fish, continues through games with tournament calibre amateurs and finishes with games of a chess master facing expert chess players. Throughout the book the Max Euwe teaches the reader how the amateur’s chess crimes were punished by the master player. “Chess Master vs Chess Amateur” is an excellent treatise on chess that belongs on the shelf in any serious chess library.

Often times, after reading a great chess book I continue to find examples that would fit well within its pages. Below is a more modern game between (chess master) Eric Schiller and (chess amateur) Ted Castro that would fit well in the beginning of “Chess Master vs Chess Amateur.” National Master Eric Schiller PhD is a prolific chess author and incredible chess coach. Ted Castro has won amateur chess titles, instructed many beginner chess players and runs fairly popular chess classes at the Norcal House of Chess.

When playing through the chess game below, pay attention to the occasions where chess amateur Ted Castro violates the opening guidelines in the “Thirty Rules of Chess” and how Eric Schiller is able to easily punish these mistakes.

TEN OPENING RULES
1. Open with a center pawn.
2. Develop with threats.
3. Knights before Bishops.
4. Don’t move the same piece twice.
5. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.
6. Don’t bring your Queen out too early.
7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the Kingside.
8. Always play to gain control, of the center.
9. Try to maintain at least one pawn in the center.
10. Don’t sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason.
For a sacrificed pawn you must :
a) Gain three tempo, or
b) Deflect the enemy Queen, or
c) Prevent castling, or
d) Build up a strong attack.

 

[Event “St. Amant Memorial”]
[Site “San Francisco CA USA”]
[Date “2003.11.22”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Eric Schiller (Chess Master)”]
[Black “Ted Castro (Chess Amateur”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “E14”]
[Opening “Queen’s Indian”]
[Variation “4.e3”]

Chess Master Eric Schiller “Opens with a center pawn.”

 

Chess Amateur Ted Castro does not.

 

“Knights Before Bishops.”

 

Still no center pawn for Chess Amateur Ted Castro.

 

Chess Master Eric Schiller has written books about this line!

 

Chess Amateur Ted Castro makes another pawn move. “Try and make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.”

 

Chess Master Eric Schiller plays a useful pawn move which grabs more space in the center of the board. “Always play to gain control of the center.”

 

Chess Amateur Ted Castro finally moves a pawn to the center on his third pawn move in just four moves. Some players may be successful employing chess openings such as Ted’s, but the vast majority of amateur chess players would do better to simply follow the Ten Opening Rules.

 

Chess Master Eric Schiller now leads in piece development and space.

 

The adage, “Knight’s before bishops,” means that the amateur chess player should bring out a knight on a particular side of the board before he places a bishop on that same side. Here, Chess Amateur Ted Castro places an undefended bishop where it can fall victim to a fork. Mistakes like these are very common among amateur chess players.

 

The rule of not bringing the queen out too early is ignored for the purpose of punishing Ted Castro’s mistake. There is now nothing Chess Amateur Ted Castro can do to avoid losing a piece in the opening phase of the game. 

Of course, Chess Master Eric Schiller went on to win this game easily.

 

Eric Schiller is a fantastic chess coach and respected author.

National Master Eric Schiller PhD  will be teaching at the Fremont Summer Chess Camp at MSJE this summer. To sign up, Please visit the Torres Chess and Music Academy’s web page.

 

Ted Castro, multi-winner of the Amateur Team West Championship,  also will be teaching at a summer camp in Fremont this summer.

 

For more on choosing a good chess camp for your child please read:

Nothing Amateur about the TCAMA Summer Chess Classes and Tournaments

 

“Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur” by Max Euwe and Walter Meiden is available anywhere chess books are sold.

 

 

 

Fremont Chess Schools Set New Standard for Success

Have you ever heard of Fremont, California? Chances are, if you follow scholastic chess in the United States, you have. Schools from Fremont have historically used schools from other California cities as punching bags in the local scholastic chess arena. Recently, there has been a major effort made in exposing the rest of the United States to California’s best kept chess secret.

In 2010, Weibel Elementary School tied for first in the K-3 Championship section at the USCF National Elementary Chess Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. Weibel Elementary School also finished third in the K-6 Championship section.  Weibel Elementary School was the only school to place in the top three of two different championship sections.

Not to be outdone by Weibel, The Mission San Jose Elementary School team placed second in the K-1 Championship Section, tied for fourth place in the K-3 Championship Section, finished third in the K-5 Championship Section and placed 9^th in the K-6 Championship section.  Mission San Jose Elementary School was the only school at the 2010 National Elementary Chess Championship to place in the top ten of all four championship sections. All this just one year after winning the National Elementary (k-6) Chess Championship in 2009.

   With all this recent success it is natural that children from other areas are very interested in becoming a part of the Fremont chess scene. The summer is the perfect time for this to occur. Young chess players can find out about upcoming tournaments and ongoing chess clubs by visiting www.FremontChess.com.  Chess players can sign up for the Mission San Jose Elementary School Summer Chess Camp by visiting www.ChessAndMusic.com.

National Elementary Chess Championship: Part Three

The 2010 edition of the Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship is now history.  Once Again, Northern California has proven itself to be an ideal location for budding young chess players to grow into national champions.  Below is a list of the 2010 National Chess Champions from Northern California:

Daniel Lu scored 6/7 at the  2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship and is a national chess champion in the K-6 section.

Allan Beilin scored 6.5/7 at the  2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship and is a national chess champion in the K-5 section.

Weibel Elementary School Chess Team scored 17 points at the  2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship and is a national chess champion in the K-3 section.  Michael Wang scored 5.5/7. Joanna Liu scored 4/7. Alisha Crawla scored 4/7. Serafina Show scored 3.3/7.

California also had a few second place finishes at the 2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship. Below is a list of our runner-up players:

Art Zhao tied for second place at the  2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship in the K-5 section. 

Tanuj Vasudeva tied for second place at the  2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship in the K-3 section.  Times are interesting when a third grade Fide Master comes up short in a K-3 chess tournament!

Mission San Jose Elementary School placed second at the  2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship in the K-1 section.  John Chan scored 5.5/7. Luke Zhao Scored 5/7. Mihir Bhuptani scored 5/7. Soorya Kuppam scored 4/7. 

This is the second year in a row that a school from Fremont, California has won a national chess championship. In 2009, Mission San Jose Elementary School was crowned National Elementary Chess Champion by the United States Chess Federation at the National Elementary Chess Championship. This year Weibel Elementary School tied for first in the K-3 section at the 2010  Burt Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship. I am one of the lucky few chess coaches to have taught chess at both of these schools and am proud that Fremont is now surpassing New York City as the Scholastic Chess Capital of the United States.  Bay Area scholastic chess players are invited to participate in a summer chess camp at Mission San Jose Elementary School in Fremont. Visit www.ChessAndMusic.com for more details.

National Elementary Chess Championship: Part 2

Day Two of the 2010 Bert Lerner National Elementary Chess Championship is complete.  California has several chess players who have a good chance to be crowned Nation Champion. In the K-5 Championship section, Allan Beilin is in first place with a perfect score. In the K-3 Championship section, California’s Tanuj Vasudeva  and Aaron Householder  are both 5/5. Finaly, in the K-1 Championship section, Luke Zhao is only a half game back with 4.5/5. Also worth noting is the fact that Mission San Jose Elementary School is currently the second place team in the K-1 Championship section.  This is an incredible accomplishment given the fact that they only have four team members while the first place and third place teams have 9 and 8 participants respectively.  Should Mission San Jose Elementary stage a successful comeback, it will be their second National Championship title in two years.   

For information on chess summer camps in California please visit www.ChessAndMusic.com

CalChess Scholastic Chess Championship: Part Four

   Tonight I attended the  Monday night chess team meeting at Mission San Jose Elementary School. Head Coach Joe Lonsdale was very pleased with the teams results at the CalChess Scholastic Chess Championship and took time at the beginning of class to congratulate all of our top finishers. Below is a list of Mission San Jose’s best individual scorers. I see many of these children several times a week and will make sure to post some of their favorite games from the CalChess State Championships.  I will soon post more complete results from the 2010 CalChess Scholastic Chess Championship.

Kindergarden section

Soorya Kuppam 4/5

grades 1-3 novice

Edward Liu 4/5

grades 1-3 junior varsity

Luke Zhao 4/5

grades 4-5 varsity

Armaan Kalyanpur 5/6 (first place)

Alex Yin 5/6 (first place)

Shalin Shah 4/6

grades k-6 unrated

Sayan Das 5/5 (first place)

grades k-6 novice

John Yao 5/5 (first place)

grades 4-6 varsity

Emily Zhu 4/6

   Any young chess players in the bay area have the opportunity to train with me this summer at the Torres Chess and Music Academy’s many summer camps and weekly classes. For a list of these summer chess classes visit www.ChessAndMusic.com

CalChess Scholastic Chess Championships: Part Two

The 2010 CalChess Scholastic Chess Championships got underway this morning. This years Calchess Scholastic State Championship drew around 900 players and was noticeably smaller in size than some previous years. Even with the smaller turn out, it is clear that scholastic chess is alive and well in Northern California.

Mission San Jose Elementary School of Fremont has 49 participants to carry on the proud tradition of the MSJE chess team at the Calches Scholastic Chess Championships. Soorya Kuppam, a MSJE kindergardener was one of the top scorers in his section barely missing a first place finish with a score of 4/5. Mission San Jose Elementary once again has gotten off to a good start in all of the championship sections and will likely  be a force to be reckoned with on Sunday.

It was nice having the Calchess Scholastic State Championship return to the Santa Clara convention center this year. A free parking garage and affordable restaurants within walking distance have always made this location a parent favorite. Unfortunately, internet access can only be had if you are willing to pay $12 and the convention center apparently has discontinued the practice of providing water coolers in all the major game and team rooms.  Eric Schiller was once again on hand to sell his chess books but later found his stand  literally surrounded by a chess simul. Another unfortunate incident occurred in round 3 when each board decided when they felt like starting their clocks rather than a tournament director instructing all the boards in a section to commence their games simultaneously. Some parents were still having discussions with their children several moves into the game. Other players found the haphazard start to be to distracting and took extra minutes in obvious opening positions to wait until the room quieted. Finally, there was one incident of a player using a Dell pda at the chess board to record his chess moves. Allowing players to use devices that could aid them in their play to record their moves sets a dangerous precedent and should be against the rules of the United States Chess Federation.

I was pleased to have so many chess parents seek me out to answer their chess questions and inquire about the Torres Chess and Music Academy summer offerings. A complete list of our summer chess programs and summer chess camps can be found at http://www.ChessAndMusic.com We are still accepting applications for all of our California Summer chess camps including our Fremont camp at Mission San Jose Elementary School. Mission San Jose Elementary School is the home of the 2009 National Elementary Chess Champions.