A Celebration of Chess

The Route 20 Chess Club in Freeport, Ill., teamed up with the Freeport Public Library, City Coffee Co. and Freeport Golden K Kiwanis Club to put on a morning-till-night National Chess Day celebration that drew more than two dozen tournament participants, plus family and friends, from as far away as Princeton, Ill., and Cambridge, Wis.

While Gallery Café owner Sandi Schubert provided coffee, refreshments and lunch and artist Jennifer Marshall was on hand to paint young celebrants' faces, players faced off in a free four-round, G/30 community tournament comprising three sections: a USCF-rated sections for grades K–3, an unrated section for grades 4–8 and an unrated open section that included one high schooler and five adults. USCF member Finn Buck of Cambridge won first place in the primary section, followed by Sam Knaup of Belvidere and Finn's sister, Pria. The intermediate section was swept by Demetrio Velazco and brothers Bill and John Werkheiser, all of Pearl City. Matthew Coomber of Freeport won the open section; Roger Wedekind of Princeton took second place, and William Wedekind of Sterling and 11th-grader Zach Woll of Belvidere tied for third.

Thanks to a donation from Golden K, the Route 20 Chess Club was able to purchase an inventory of chess equipment for sale at the event. Tournament carry-all bags were the hottest item -- they were sold out before lunchtime.

Route 20 club member Gary Sargent of Rockford provided absolute-beginner chess instruction, and the library put on display more than two dozen chess books acquired for the occasion. After the tournament, library visitors were treated to a free showing of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.

In the evening, we relocated to City Coffee Co. for an evening G/5 speed chess tournament. Seven players, including yours truly, competed in a single round-robin . . . which I swept. As the tournament director, I considered it unseemly of me to have earned the day's only cash prize of $20 -- besides which, I had defeated second-place finisher Gary on a technicality when, having failed to notice that his king and queen were misplaced, he played Kd1xd4 -- and so I offered him a two-minute honor match for the prize. He defeated me on time with just 9 seconds remaining on his own clock, in what would have been an exciting game even at a regular time control (thanks to photographer Jennifer Marshall for making it possible to reconstruct the moves!):

K.Ammann–G.Sargent

National Chess Day Speed Chess at City Coffee Co.

Freeport, Ill., Oct. 9, 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 dxc4 5.Bxc4 Bb4 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Nbd7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 Nd5 10.Bxd5 exd5 11.Bb2 Nf6 12.Rc1 b5 13.a4 Ba6 14.Re1 bxa4 15.Qxa4 Bc4 16.Qc8 Qb8 17.Ba3 Re8 18.Nd2 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4? 20.d5? Bxd5? 21.Qxd5 Qd8 22.c4 Rb8 23.Rb1 Rb6 24.Red1 Rd6? 25.Qb5? Qc8? 26.Kf1? Rxd1+ 27.Rxd1 a6 28.Qc6 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Ke2? Qd3+ 31.Ke1 Qb1+ 32.Kd2 Qd3+ 33.Kc1 Qf1+? time 0-1

Club member Ryan Ekvall of Freeport took third. (Click the Tournament Results tab above for crosstables of the day's events.)

The Route 20 Chess Club is just over one year old, and this is the largest event we've hosted to date. To capture the momentum, we're following it up in two weeks with our National Chess Day "Delayed Blast" rated beginners' open and open Swiss tournament, a concurrently run pair of USCF-sanctioned and rated events. Winners of trophies in the community tournament are entitled to free entry into the RBO section.

Pictures of the speed chess tournament are up on our Photos page; check back for more photos of the day's festivities.

Proposed Amendment to Bylaws

We are hereby providing notice of a proposed motion to amend the bylaws, to be voted on at our next regular meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 2. To be adopted, the motion to amend must pass by a vote of two-thirds of members present.

Motion to amend the following sections of the Route 20 Chess Club bylaws:

Article III. Membership

Section 2. (Amended) Dues. Dues are payment for society membership for a period lasting until the end of the April annual meeting of the following calendar year. Members may choose to enroll as Regular or Supporting members. For Regular members, the annual dues shall be $5 for an Individual, $3.50 for a Senior, $3 for a Student, and $6 for a Family, payable upon joining and to be renewed on or before the anniversary of membership the date of the annual meeting of the next calendar year. For Supporting members, the annual dues shall be $10 for an Individual, $7 for a Senior, $6 for a Student, and $12.50 for a Family, payable upon joining and to be renewed on or before the anniversary of membership the date of the annual meeting of the next calendar year. A member may choose to change his status from Regular to Supporting or vice versa by paying dues at the alternative level when the dues become due, the change becoming effective as of the anniversary of membership the start of the membership period. The Treasurer shall notify members who are two months in arrears, and those whose dues are not paid within one month thereafter shall be automatically dropped from membership in the society.

National Chess Day Is THIS SATURDAY!

The Route 20 Chess Club and the Freeport Public Library, along with Freeport Golden K and City Coffee Co., will celebrate National Chess Day, Saturday, Oct. 9, with an all-day community event featuring an open tournament, a speed chess tournament and exhibition, free chess lessons for beginners, and a screening of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer (rated PG).

The community celebration will be held at the library, 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, Ill. (map). All activities will be free and open to the general public. Players may register for the tournament between 9 and 9:45 AM on the day of the event or sign up in advance at the library’s Youth Services desk (limit 48 players). The first round will begin at 10 AM. The tournament will be a four-round Swiss with a 30-minute time control and will be divided into three youth-only sections (grades K–3, 4–8 and 9–12) and one open section for all ages. The K–3 section will be rated by the USCF. Winners will receive trophies and free entry to the National Chess Day Delayed Blast Rated Beginners' Open on Oct. 23. Beginners’ lessons will be held in two sessions, starting at 10:15 AM and 12:45 PM, and the movie will start at 3 PM. The celebration will then move to City Coffee Co., 15 N. Chicago Ave., Freeport (map), for a six-round Swiss blitz tournament (bring clocks). Registration will be open until 7:15 PM, and the first round will begin at 7:30. The first-place winner will receive a $20 prize; runners-up will receive coupons for coffee drinks.

We look forward to your celebrating the game of chess with us this Saturday!