Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays  & Happy New Year from MSCC!

Just a reminder, the first tournament of the new year will be IAC's St. Dominic's on Saturday, January 10. The sections are K3, K6, K12 & K5 (unrated). Please register at http://ia-chess.com/registration.

Also, the first club practice will be Wednesday, Jan 14.

Think Like a Strong Player!

I'd like to spend a little time going over how our kids should THINK about chess.  We see a lot of players looking at the board and not knowing 1) how to evaluate the position and 2) how to make the best move to improve their position.

The most important thing is to start by thinking "Why did they move there, and what can they do to me?"  We've been asking this question for years in Muskego chess.  The kids that DONT ask themselves this question have paid the price!  KNOW WHAT THE OTHER PLAYER IS DOING (and how the game has changed with their move) before you decide what you want to do.

Immediately after every move by your opponent, you should answer the following two
questions:

1) What are your opponent’s THREATS?
A threat can be:

• a mate attack or other threats against the king,
• a gain in material,
• gaining a very good position for a piece,
• getting control of an important square, line, or diagonal, or
• any other tactical or strategic advantage that the opponent can gain on the next move.

Then, you should evaluate which of the threats are real. Not all threats are REAL and
in this regard many chess players often make mistakes. For example, if your opponent is
threatening to gain the bishop-pair, you should evaluate whether this is really negative for
you in the concrete, exact position that you have on the board.  Only real threats should be taken into consideration. 

2) What are the CONSEQUENCES of your opponent’s last move?
Almost every move has a good effect and a secondary effect which may be negative.  Most chess moves have pluses and minuses. For example, by moving the bishop from c8 to
f5, Black gains control over the the b1-h7 diagonal, BUT at the same time, he looses the
protection of the b7-pawn.
Also, you should always evaluate the consequences of your own moves before playing
them.

The consequences of moves can be things like:

• opening a file or a diagonal,
• blocking one piece with another,
• weakening a square or a pawn structure,
• leaving a piece undefended, and
• many others that you will soon learn to notice very clearly. 

Lake Denoon Results

Hello MSCC players & parents!

Sorry for the delay, but here’s a summary of our own tournament last Saturday – we had good turnout, especially from our own club (36 players in total) and overall had a good day!  Also very importantly, we raised over $700 to help offset some of the clubs materials & lessons costs.  We really appreciate all those who volunteered to help plan & run the day – it went very smoothly!

Some highlights from the sections – I’ll try to keep it brief!

K3 USCF rated:

·         Michael Swiezynski (TC) was our top finisher with 2-1/2 points – 8^th place finish

K4 /K8 unrated (had to combine sections)

·         Evan Stachowiak (MV) was our top finisher with 4 points – 3^rd place finish.  Welcome to the RED division, Evan!

·         The Mill Valley team of Evan, Logan O’Leary (1^st tournament), Rachel Fredlund, Joshua Kierzek and Peter Morgan (also 1^st tournament) took 1^st place w/ 11 points !

K6 USCF rated:

·         David Bundy (BL) was our top finisher with 3 points – 6^th place finish

·         The Bay Lane team of David, Alyssa Przedwiecki, Noah Gover, Anoushka Prasad and Adam Putz took 3^rd place w/ 8-1/2 points

K12 USCF rated:

·         Evan Seghers (MHS) was our top finisher with an undefeated 5 points – 1^st place!, followed closely by Kyle Jain (LDMS) with 4 points – 2^nd place, and Reid Seghers (MHS) also with 4 points – 3^rd place.

·         The MHS team of Evan, Reid, Fernando Collahuazo, Kolt Otterbacher, Sam Miller and Julie Redlinger took first place with 15.5 points!

·         The LDMS team of Kyle, Brian Mark, Jack Bognar, Elliot Bognar, Will Schantz, Cole Zettel, Mathew Redlinger, Aaron Gibbs and Nick Schuster took 2^nd place with 10.5 points

Dan Schantz

Good Tournament!

We had a good turnout at today's tournament.
 The results will be posted either by Coach Seghers or Mr. Schantz.
 I just wanted to say thank you to all the volunteers that helped. I did post pictures on FB.

Jason hits 1800 in Quick Rating

Our highest rated player, Jason Markowski, just hit 1802 in a tournament at the Southwest chess club last night!  His performance included a win and a draw against 2000+ players.  Jason's regular rating for slower games is also the highest in the club, at 1777.
Great job Jason!

SMCA Conference Match Sign-up Form

High Schoolers and Parents - I have created a sign-up form for the High School matches.  We need 10 players for our 7 remaining matches, and 3 drivers for our three Away matches.  Please sign up on this form below so we know who can attend, and so we have drivers:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4baeaf2babfb6-conference

Muskego High School Beats St. John's

St. John's Military Academy is a very interesting place to visit.  We were there 2 years ago and returned again last night.
Their chess program is always starting and re-starting, because their players turn over quite regularly. It's hard for them to keep momentum going over the years.  However, they maintain a great program of very well mannered young men who give a good fight and are always both gracious hosts as well as visitors to any match they attend.
Muskego won all 5 of the Varsity games (ESeghers, Collahuazo, Markowski, RSeghers and RGomoll), and all 4 of the JV games (Jain, Schantz, Miller and EBognar), with one forfeit because we were a player short.  We won 40-0 in Varsity and 20-5 in JV, therefore, and are now 1-0 in the conference in both divisions.

NEXT UP: Jefferson High School will visit Muskego on 12/16 after school.

Open Spots for Lake Denoon

Hi All,
 These are the open slots, please sign up if you haven't already done so. Thanks!
 

Front door usher (8-10) (1 slot)

cashier 8 – 10 (2 slots)

cashier 2 – 4 (1 slot)

hall monitor 9 – 11 (1 slot)

hall monitor 11 – 1 (2 slots)

hall monitor 1 – 3 (1 slot)

hall minotor 3 – 5 (1 slot)

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4eafa928a3ff2-lake

Still need volunteers

There's still a few more slots that are open for the Lake Denoon Tournament, December 13. If you haven't done so already, please sign up. Thank you. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4eafa928a3ff2-lake

LAKE DENOON CHESS TOURNAMENT - Registration Link

The hallowed grounds of Lake Denoon Middle School

>>CLICK HERE<< to register for the next IAC Grand Prix tournament to be held at LDMS on December 13, 2014.

5 Divisions:
USCF Rated: K-3, K-6 and K-12
NON Rated: K-4 and K-8.  Grades 9-12 must play USCF Rated K-12 division.

Lake Denoon Middle School
W216S10586 Crowbar Dr, Muskego, WI 53150

Check In: 8:30-9:15 AM  -  Round 1: 9:30 AM

Entry Fee:

• $20 Early Registration
• $25 On-Site

ALL PAYMENT IS MADE ON SITE

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Kyle earns BLACK level!

The MSCC welcomes a new player to the BLACK division, our highest wrist-band level in the MSCC.
This weekend, at the University School tournament, Kyle Jain did very well and raised his rating to 1309!  When a player reaches 1300 after a tournament, this qualifies the player for the black level!
Kyle joins Evan, Jason, Reid, and Fernando at the Black level.
Reminder: the Purple and Black wristbands can only be earned by competing in USCF-rated tournaments and earning a certain rating.  900 is the rating for Purple, and 1300 is the required rating for Black.

Congratulations Kyle!!!

OTHER RATINGS NOTES: in the USM tournament, Will Schantz raised his rating over 100 points to 1,111!  Will is also approaching the Black level.  Evan Seghers raised his rating also, to 1754, passing Jason Markowski by ONE point... Evan and Jason have been neck and neck this past year for 1st board Varsity!

MSCC owns K-12 at USM

Evan, Jason and Fernando = 1st, 2nd, 3rd in K-12

Muskego players flexed their "chess muscles" and did well at University School on Saturday.

In the K-12 division, Muskego High School took first place, and Lake Denoon Middle School took 2nd place. Individually, Evan Seghers took first place, with 4.5 out of a possible 5.0. 2nd place was MHS' Jason Markowski with 4.0, 3rd place was MHS' Fernando Collahuazo (who played a great game against Evan to a draw in the final match), and 4th place went to LDMS' Kyle Jain. Will Schantz finished 10th with a trophy (3.0) and Kolton Otterbacher also had 3.0 and finished 13th.

In the very tough K-6 division, Alyssa Przedwiecki took 18th out of 41 players by going 3.0, and her BLMS teammate Anoushka Prasad also won 3/5 to finish 20th. Several other MSCC players competed and nobody finished with 0 points.

In the equally difficult K-3 division, congratulations to Nate May for winning 3 out of 5 games.

This was a very tough tournament to start the season with, and we congratulate everyone who had the courage to jump into the mix in the tough USCF-rated tournament. We especially praise the kids who took notation and can therefore LEARN from their losses! Chess notation is very important for players who wish to improve their game!

NEXT UP: OUR OWN TOURNAMENT on December 13th at Lake Denoon! We'll have the signup form up today or tomorrow. This tournament will also have UNRATED divisions for beginners (both K-4 and K-8 divisions), as well as the usual USCF-rated K-3, K-6, and K-12.

Hello MSCC players & parents!

The annual tournament at LDMS is getting close - Dec. 13th!  Aside from being a great local tournament for both beginners and more advanced players, it's the Club's main fundraiser for the year, and to be successful we need your help!

Karla Klein has set up something called "Sign up Genius" as a way for people to sign up for time slots to help out with everything from player check-in to the concessions stand.

Please check this out and consider signing up for what you can - we really appeciate it!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4eafa928a3ff2-lake

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me (dan.schantz@aptar.com) or Mark (segers@gmail.com) with any questions about the tournament details overall, or Leah (leahmike@ymail.com) about anything related to concessions.

Thank you!
Dan

MSCC Apparal

If you haven't done so already,  please pick up your MSCC apparal on Wed, Nov 19.
There's no class Wed, Nov 26.

Demonstration game for WHITE tonight

Below is a game we are going through for the WHITE division tonight.

Upcoming Tournaments!

• The UNIVERSITY SCHOOL tournament is on Nov 22nd!  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
• Our own LAKE DENOON tournament is on Dec 13th!  Mark the calendar!   Registration will be open on 11/24.

Top Four MHS boards do well at Junior Open!

Congrats to our top 4 boards for our Muskego High School chess team for doing extremely well at the Junior Open in Oshkosh this weekend!
Special congrats to Fernando Collahuazo, who established a brand new USCF rating of 1748 by going 3.5 - 1.5 in the 5-round tournament, beating an 1163, a 1406, a 1542, then ALMOST beating a 2021 (a slight miscalculation in the endgame only), then drawing a 1652.
Evan Seghers went 4-1 to finish 5th in the 73-player Open division and take home a trophy.  Jason Markowski finished 3.5-1.5 and Reid Seghers finished 3-2.
Muskego Chess made a statement on Sat/Sun, nice work boys!

Mr. Matt's Homework from Nov. 5th Lecture

Analyze The Following Position

White to Move
Black has just played 9. ... e5

This past week's lecture was about the Greek Gift. A thematic sacrifice, it is called the Greek Gift as it is similar to the idea of the Trojan Horse from the Trojan War.

The above position is from Sharma, K vs Nielson, C. at the USM Tournament in 2013.

Homework: Analyze the Bxh7 sacrifice and show in notation if it is correct or incorrect. If it is correct, make sure to show all of Black's best responses. No bad moves for Black! If it is incorrect, what should White play instead?

REGISTER NOW for University School Nov 22!

CLICK HERE to register for USM!

The Muskego Scholastic Chess Club will register players as a group - just CLICK HERE to fill out the quick form to let us know of your child's interest to play.

We have emailed a flyer to all parents - let us know if you don't have one, and we will email it to you.

Check In: 8:30-9:15 AM
Round 1: 9:30 AM
Entry Fee:  $20 Online - $25 On-Site

Wisconsin Junior Open this weekend

A few players just decided to go to the Wisconsin Junior Open this weekend at UW-Oshkosh.  It's a Saturday/Sunday, 5-round tournament... LONG games... let Mr. Seghers know if you're interested- seghers@gmail.com.  This is for Red Division and up, primarily, and there is both an Open Division and a Reserve Division.

CHESS CANCELLED FOR WED OCT 22

Chess is CANCELLED on Wed Oct 22 due to Parent Teacher conferences.  We weren't told about this date having changed late Summer to tomorrow.  Thanks to Mel Redlinger for the alert!!  See you all next week.  Also sending an email to this effect.

Purple & Black Homework from Oct. 15th Class

Purple & Black Homework Oct. 15th Class

(Red can try too!)

Sorry this is a day late everyone! I'm finally feeling better from Wednesday night and almost have my voice at 100%. With that, I sat down and put together the position and tactics homework I promised!

Position Analysis

White to Move

Please make sure to write any variations you believe are important.

Hint: This position does relate to the lecture last Wednesday (Oct 15), BUT always double check to make sure your move is correct. Sometimes you have to do other things to make what you want to do work...

I had a tactics worksheet I wanted to attach, but that may not be possible without linking out of the website. I'll bring the worksheet on Wednesday for everyone. 

PIZZA TONIGHT!!!!

PIZZA 6:00 PM

CHESS 6:30 PM

PIZZA TONIGHT!!!!

PIZZA 6:00 PM

CHESS 6:30 PM

Apparel orders due now!

Have you seen our awesome Muskego Chess apparel?  These are available for a LIMITED TIME ONLY - then they're gone! We need your orders before the end of the day next Wednesday 10/15.  

Help show your Muskego pride, your love of chess, and your support of the club - by purchasing some awesome MSCC t-shirts, hats, PJ pants (yes, our high school kids wear these to matches) and more.  This year the PJ pants have pockets - by popular request.  :)

Need an order form?  Check your email or email Leah at leahmike@Ymail.com.  Please print and fill out the order form, then send the form and check payment to:

Leah Przedwiecki

S78 W18424 Lions Park Dr Apt #6

Muskego WI 53150

You can also use Paypal, and pay to leahmike@Ymail.com.  This is also the email for any questions, or to scan/email your order form.

P.S. Chuck Norris wears Muskego Chess PJs to bed every night.

Muskego High School Team

Muskego High School has its own chess team, which exists as part of the overall club.   We play in the SMCA - Scenic Moraine Chess Association.  Two years ago, we won it.  Last year, we took third. The TOP TEN high school players by rating (starting with USCF rating, then continuing by using the SMCA rating after that) have first priority for the 10 boards each week in our match.
Generally, there are extra matches kids can come and play even though they may not be on one of the top 10 boards.  Anyone in 7th grade or above may play for the team, but preference is given to a player who attends Muskego High School.  In general, we will try to give the board to an MHS player unless we have an open board in which case 7th/8th graders will be invited.
Dan Gomoll and Mark Seghers will help this year with the high school team.  Let us know if you have any questions, or you can post them here.
I have updated the Chess Calendar (see the right of this website) with all our matches for the year. The first event is the pre-season tournament at Arrowhead on 12/6.  Our first high school match is then on Dec 9th visiting St. John's Military Academy.  Matches run on Tuesdays after school, from 12/9 thru 2/24 with a break for the holidays.

New Division = PURPLE DIVISION

  We have a new Division and a new Wrist Band!  It's Purple!

So, overall, we have several divisions that kids in the MSCC can earn:

GREEN - no wrist band yet - this division is for beginners.   Details

WHITE - ready to play chess!  Kids TEST into this division during class.  Details

BLUE- ready for tournaments!  Kids TEST into this division during class.   Details

RED- proven tournament player.  Kids must win 3.5 out of 5 in a tournament, or 4 / 6.  Details

PURPLE- NEW - Kids must raise their USCF rating to 900 or above.

BLACK- Kids must raise their USCF rating to 1300 or above.  This is usually the top few high school players on the team.

Let the chess season begin!

We're looking forward to seeing new & familiar faces tonight & this season.

Just a few notes:

1)  If your child's in 4th grader or younger, we ask for the parents to stay for the class. If that's not possible, please designate another parent.

2) Hopefully everyone's registered. If you're not sure about the club, feel free to come for the first 2 wks as a "trial" period. After that, we'll ask you to register.

3) If you haven't received an e-mail from me w/the MSCC order form attached, I will have extra order forms tonight. All orders are due by 10/8/14.

4) October 15, we'll have our annual begining of the year pizza party. This is open to the chess players, their siblings & parents. If you're intersted in helping out/bringing something, please let me know at leahmike@ymail.com or at the next couple of classes. I would also like to get an idea of how many people will be eating pizza so if you could rsvp by 10/13/14, I'd greatly appreciate it. Next to the chess tournament & the MSCC Merchandise Order, this is our third biggest fundraiser for the club. The suggested donation is $5/person.

Thank you & see you tonight!

Leah

MSCC Tournament delay

Hi MSCC Players & Parents,

I wanted to inform you that the tournament has been delayed until Saturday December 13th, but it will still be held at LDMS.

We simply had too many open details remaining, and not enough time to properly advertise to make this a successful tournament.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

Looking forward to seeing you all next Wednesday the 1st for our first class at MHS!

Dan Schantz

MSCC Tournament volunteers needed

HI MSCC parents!

The upcoming tournament at LDMS on October 25th will be here before you know it!  You may be aware that, aside from being a great tournament for our players and representation of Muskego chess, this is our main fundraiser for the club.  But in order for it to be successful, we need a lot of volunteers.  I will bring a sign up sheet to the first class on October 1st, but in the meantime if you know that you can help, please let me (dan.schantz@aptar.com) and/or Leah (leahmike@ymail.com) know.

We will need volunteers for:

• Friday night set up (1 hr)
• Saturday morning set up (1 hr)
• Saturday afternoon clean up
• Saturday concessions (2 hr time slots)
• Runners, greeters, general helpers
• and more..

Thank you!
Dan

MSCC Merchandise Fundrasising Orders

If you'd like to place your Chess Merchandise Order before the season begins, please e-mail me at leahmike@ymail.com & I will give you my address. I also acccept PayPal.

1/2 Chess Lessons Wednesday September 10th and 17th!

Hey everyone!

Mr. Matt here! Resident Chess Instructor. Wednesdays I'm at the Muskego Public Library for Chess Lessons and normally I'm entirely full. However, due to some conflicts (many of my clients are in cross country), I've got two time slots with no lessons!

I'm offering 1/2 off my normal rate for lessons for anyone that wants to take one or two (or all) of these four time slots.

Location: Muskego Public Library
Rate: $35 (My rate is normally $70)

Wed. September 10th - 4 - 5 PM
Wed. September 10th - 7:30 - 8:30 PM
Wed. September 17th - 4 - 5 PM
Wed. September 17th - 7:30 - 8:30 PM

If interested, please e-mail me at Matt@IA-Chess.com or send me a message on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MattSchladweiler)! The slots will go to those who contact me first! (I'll update here and on Facebook when they are grabbed).

If you don't know me: I've been a Professional Chess Instructor for over 10 years now and am the Owner of the International Academy of Chess (www.ia-chess.com). My students and teams are State Champions at all scholastic levels.

Note: We just relaunched the site, so it is a little bare, but expect it to fill up with tons of information on upcoming camps, tournaments and articles soon!

Lake Denoon Tournament cancelled for Oct 25- we'll have it later in year!

MSCC Merchandise

I have finalized the MSCC Merchanise form. If you would like to get ahead start & look at the cool clothing, please e-mail me at leahmike@ymail.com. Just like last yr, the club will get $2 from every piece of clothing (w/the exception of the track jackets). Due date's Wed, Oct 8. Thanks!

New - online registration

This year, we will be offering online registration for the MSCC for the 2014-15 school season.  See the red button on the upper-right hand corner of our MuskegoChess.com web site!
There will be a $20 per student fee which covers class, and materials use, for the full year.  Classes will start October 1st and will be held Wednesdays during the school year from 6:30-8:00pm in the Muskego High School cafeteria.

Another year of High School conference chess begins!

While it's interesting to see that we have a good chance in our conference and maybe even the championship this year, I'm just as excited about our next "crop" of kids coming up in the wings!
It's great so see so many kids who will be ready to jump into the high school team once our successful Muskego Chess pioneers (Jason, Reid, Evan, Rachel, Kolt, Sam, etc) have graduated!
In addition to some strong 8th and 9th graders (Bognars, Brian, etc), we have several 6th and 7th graders who have shown a lot of potential and interest in chess - players like Aaron, Kyle, Willow, Matthew, Will, Nick, David, Noah, Bill, Kenny, Kolton, Anoushka, Alyssa, Mitchell, Makayla and more!
The high school team every week plays against other high schools - the top 10 available players will get an "official" board, and others are welcome to play practice matches. The Top 5 rated players every year play for the state Varsity championship!
High School Conference matches start sometime in November, and the state championship is in April at UW-Oshkosh.
Who will step up in the next couple of years to continue our tradition of high school chess?

BC OPEN - Sat 8/16 - Last call!

Several Muskego players already signed up for the BC OPEN this Saturday!

For those who haven't yet registered, now's the time to try a nice local USCF-rated tournament!

Warm up for the season and work on that rating!

This one is at the Country Inn and Suites in Brookfield. 

This one is awesome because there is an "RBO" which is Rated Beginner section - for players whose ratings are below 1000 !!!

There is also a Reserve section for players whose ratings are below 1600.

Several kids from Muskego have already signed up, including our top 3 boards, Jason, Evan and Reid. Registration is $35 now, but raises to $40 after 8/14.

Advance entries: (Make check payable to BenzoChess) - call/email Ben directly for this one!

Benjamin Corcoran

2711 N. University Dr. #64 Waukesha, WI 53188

Have questions? Ask Ben at (262) 506-4203 or send an E-mail to benzochess@gmail.com

For other informations, check out www.benzochess.com

Last Jammin for 2014

Tonight didn`t last too long thanks to Mother Nature but we did have fun while it lasted and it was nice to meet new faces.
 

Last Open Chess Class

Tonight was the last Open chess class for the summer & it was very well attended.

Thank you to all that came through the summer.

Just a reminder for July 30 & August 1

Just a reminder that this Wednesday, July 30 will be the last Open Chess at the Library. Please come & have some fun.


Also on Friday August 1, we'll be at Jammin (same place before, library's parking lot). Please come & help get the word out about the Chess Club. If you do come, please also bring chairs.

Chess club night at the Muskego Library - full house!  Many from the MSCC attended and a couple of new faces as well, was a fun night.
 
Don't forget - next week Wednesday the 30th is the last night, and be sure to visit MSCC in the library parking lot Friday the 1st for Jammin' on Janesville !

August 17 - Renaissance Knights (Knights Quest)

If anyone's interested in attending this tournament, please let me know at leahmike@ymail.com. We can register as a club & save $5.


If you go, don't forget to have change for the tolls. :)


www.rknights.org

August 16 - 4th annual BC Open

If you slowly want to get back into playing tournaments before the chess season starts, there's one close to home.


Country Inn & Suites Brookfield, 1250 South Moorland Rd., Brookfield, WI 53005

TROPHIES PLUS GRAND PRIX POINTS: 6
Country Inn & Suites Brookfield, 1250 South Moorland Rd., Brookfield, WI 53005, (262)782-1400. All Sections, TC: G/60 d5. Rds.: 10-1-3:30-6. EF: Open: $35 by 8-14, $40 after 8-14, Reserve (U1600) & RBO (U1000). Non Rated K-12 and Non Rated Adults $25 by 8-14, after 8-14 $30. $$Guarant...eed!: Open: 1st $300 - 2nd $175 - A $110 - U1800 $110. Reserve (U1600): 1st $100- 2nd $75. RBO (U1000): 1st $100 - 2nd $75. Both Non rated sections are book prizes. Reg.: Aug 16th 8:30 - 9:30. Entries to: ( make payable to Benzochess) Ben Corcoran, 2711 N. University Dr. #64, Waukesha, WI 53188. Q&A: Ask for Ben 262-506-4203 or benzochess@gmail.com also more info at www.benzochess.com.

If you're interested in attending, please let me know at leahmike@ymail.com. I'll register as a club. Thank you.

Just a reminder about August 1 - Jammin

Hi All,
 Just  a reminder that we'll be at Jammin again on August 1 in the same location.
 If you're able to help out, please shoot me an e-mail at leahmike@ymail.com.
 Thanks!
 Leah

Chess TONIGHT at Library! 6:30pm

Hello all- having an OPEN CHESS PLAY at the library tonight - hope you can make it! This will continue Wed eve's thru the 30th of July!

Muskego Public Library
6:30 - 8:00PM TONIGHT WED 7/9 - may go longer depending on interest
Address: S73W16663 Janesville Rd, Muskego, WI 53150
Phone:(262) 971-2100

Thanks!

NO CHESS TONIGHT

NO CHESS AT LIBRARY tonight - we will resume next wed 7/9 at 6:30 !!

Chess at the Muskego Public Library starts June 25th!

CHESS AT THE LIBRARY starts tomorrow night (Wed June 25)!  This is mostly OPEN chess at the Muskego Public Library.  We'll have boards, pieces and clocks.  The rest is up to you.
This open chess session - with some impromptu lessons available as instructors appear - will be held at 6:30 pm every Wednesday starting June 25 and going thru July 30.  Please email Mark Seghers = seghers@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Thanks!

July 13 - Renaissance Knights (Knights Quest)

If anyone's interested in attending this tournament, please let me know at leahmike@ymail.com. We can register as a club & save $5.


http://rknights.org/registration/tournaments/

Jammin in June

Thank you to all those that helped & make the night a success. Hopefully we'll see you August 1 for another round of Jammin. If you'd like to see pictures of that night, you'll have to check out the FB page.

We Be Jammaaannnn

We be Jammin on Janesville June 6!

Hey it looks like "Jammin Joe" here on the left is kibitzing on a game.  It looks like he's saying "hey don't move there, you'll lose your rook!"  Be quiet, construction dude!

The Muskego Scholastic Chess Club will be located in front of the Muskego Public Library from 5pm - 9pm on Friday June 6th - wear your MSCC apparel and make sure to stop by/hang out! Let's make sure people are all walking around saying "what is all this stuff about CHESS?"   heh heh .

We'll have a simultaneous chess exhibit and some open boards to play on, and some chess tattoos and other fun stuff.  Hope to see you then - it should be a blast!

Milwaukee Summer Challenge III

From Alan Becker at the Southwest Chess Club:

Dear Chessplayers, 

Attached is a flyer for the Milwaukee Summer Challenge III, our third annual summer event coming up onSaturday & Sunday, June 21-22, 2014:

5-Round Swiss; G/120 with 5 second delay;
4 Sections: Master/Expert (closed), U2000, U1500, and U1000;

Chess Magnet School Junior Grand Prix!

Trophies Plus Grand Prix Points: 10

Master/Expert Section:  Bill Williams Fighting Chess Prize ($50 for Best Game) 

The event will be held at the Olympia Resort Hotel, 1350 Royale Mile Rd., Oconomowoc, WI; 1-800-558-9573; (Mention Southwest Chess Club for $99 room rate).  (This is the same location as our recent Hales Corners Challenge event in April 2014).

We hope you will attend this event (brought to you by the Southwest Chess Club, organizers of the Hales Corners Challenge series).

You can print the attached flyer, or use the version at the bottom of this email, or print the online version.

Watch for pre-registration news on our blog:
http://swccchess.blogspot.com/2014/05/milwaukee-summer-challenge-iii-june-21.html, and also round-by-round pairings and news while the tournament is in progress.

Summer Chess - Lots Going on!

Lots of Summer Events going on for the MSCC! We hope you can participate!  Please see the calendar to the right for chess events including the Milwaukee Summer Challenge in June, the Green Bay Open in July, as well as MSCC Events such as Jammin' on Janesville, where we will have some tables set up at the Library!

We will also be offering a weekly chess club on Summer evenings at the Muskego Library, look for info on that.  We'll be teaching some beginners, and having some chess games.  Wednesday evenings during June and July.

Also Mr. Seghers is teaching a chess course for the Rec Dept for beginners, and Mr. Geiger from Mill Valley is holding a Summer School class about chess as well.

Watch for updates on this site, and on email, as they arise.  Thanks!   - Mark/Mr. Seghers

6th Graders Commended by City

Congratulations to our 6th grade teammates from Lake Denoon who received a commendation from the City of Muskego School board for winning the 6th Grade Wisconsin Grade level tournament this year.

Receiving the award were Kyle, Nick and Chloe.  Great job kids!

Jason and Evan break the 1700 barrier?

Congratulations to Jason Markowski for his stellar performance in his recent Southwest Chess Club 4-game/4 week tournament... He beat a 2000+ player (!) and an 1800+ player. Evan also did extremely well, earning a draw against a 2100. Ratings come out today, and guessing both he and Evan are now over 1700.
Nothing like a friendly rivalry to spur kids forward to excel. Nice job boys!

MSCC at ASA Clark - Check out the hardware!!

Click picture for larger version

MSCC had a fun & successful day at ASA Clark in Pewaukee for the final scholastic tournament of the school year and final Grand Prix event as well.

Congratulations to:

K3 unrated

• Alex Swiezynski for taking 1st plact trophy with 4 wins!
• Michael Swiezynski for taking 6th place in his FIRST tournament w/ 2-1/2 points!
• Colin Mies for finishing 7th w/ a strong 2 wins
• Augie Dunbar for taking 9th place w/ 2 wins in his FIRST tournament
• Rachel Fredlund hung in there and got her first win !
• Alabhya Prasad showed great determination & sportmanship, hung in there and got a draw

K3 Team took 2nd place!  Tess Corners team of Alabhya, Alex & Michael

K6 unrated

• Anoushka Prasad had no losses (3 wins, 2 draws) and took the 3rd place trophy!
• Alyssa Przedwiecki took 6th place with 3 wins!

K6 USCF

• Kyle Jain took the 5th place trophy with 3-1/2 points in a very strong section
• Will Schantz took 6th place, also with 3-1/2 points
• Kenny Mies took 13th with two strong wins. 

K6 Team took 2nd place!  Lake Denoon team of Kyle, Kenny & Will

• Special shout out to Kenny who chose to play in the stronger USCF division so that he could be on Kyle's and Will's team.  His wins pushed the 3 person team into 2nd place!

K12 USCF

• Jason Markowski took 2nd place with no losses, only missing first place on tie breakers with 4-1/2 points!
• Jacob Gomoll took 12th with 2 strong wins
• Rachel Gomoll started with a win but didn't feel well and had to leave after 3rd game

K12 Team took 1st place!  MHS team of Jason, Jacob and Rachel

And now, the GRAND PRIX year-long awards. 

Congratulations to:

K3

• special mention to Nelson Klein & Gavin Joers who played strong all year but just couldn't make the tournament because of spring break

K6

• Will Schantz took the 3rd place trophy in a very close finish!  He gave up his 1st  place traveling cup from last year and was given his replacement engraved trophy to keep.
• Kyle Jain took 10th place with a strong year, especially considering his late start in the year!

K6 team - Lake Denoon took the 2nd place team trophy!

K12

• Jason Markowski took the 1st place trophy / traveling cup in a very close race!  The trophy, with his name engraved on the plaque is his for the year, until the winner of next year is announced
• Even Seghers hung on to 2nd place after a very strong year, and he could not be at the tournament because of spring break.  He was given a replacement trophy to keep as he turned in his first place traveling cup from last year.
• Jacob Gomoll took 5th place w/ a strong showing on Saturday
• Reid Seghers hung on to 6th place also after a strong year and not being able to play Saturday because of spring break
• Rachel Gomoll hung on to 10th place, despite not being able to finish the tournament

K12 Team - MHS finished the strong year with a 1st place team trophy!

WHEW ! 

Congratulations again to the MSCC for very strong year of playing and demonstration of good sportsmanship!

Hello MSCC!

For ASA Clark this Saturday, here's who I have:
K3 unrated

• A. Dunbar - LE
• A. Prasad - TC
• A. Swiezynski - TC
• M. Swiezynski - TC

K6 unrated

• A. Prasad - BL
• A. Przedwieki - BL

K3 USCF

• n/a/

K6 USCF

• K. Jain - LD
• W. Schantz - LD

K12 USCF

• J. Gomoll - MH
• R. Gomoll - MH
• J. Markowski - MH

As you can see we need some more students to make some teams!!  Last club event of the season - please let me know if you can make it and I'll sign you up.  I can take one or two with me if that would help, or, if you can drive but can't be there for the day I would be happy to keep an eye on the players during the day.  I'll be there the whole time w/ Will.

If you can make it, please email me directly at dan.schantz@aptar.com and I'll sign you up.

Thanks!!!

Sign Up Form- April 26th ASA Clark

Please sign up for ASA Clark on April 26th by using the form below.  Remember to choose the division- there are K-3 and K-6 unrated, and K-3, K-6 and K-12 rated (USCF).
Here is a link to the flyer!    Click here for flyer.  <<< click here for all information

Hi MSCC parents!  I just wanted to say thank you very much for the gift card, candy and card given at the last class - it's very much appreciated.  My travel the last few weeks has unfortunately kept me away from the last classes and tournaments, but we'll be at the upcoming ASA Clark Tournament and hope to see a big group there!

It has been a real pleasure being a part of the MSCC growth this year, and seeing such a great group of students progressing and really becoming a dominating club at the tournaments.  I'm already looking forward to the next year!! 

Dan Schantz

Muskego Takes State All Girls!

Muskego sent 7 girls to the annual Wisconsin All Girls tournament.

In the OPEN section, we had two participants - Rachel G and Alyssa.  The top THREE scores count, and we only had 2 players, but we still tied for 1st place with a team with 5 players!  Rachel went 4-1 and took 2nd in the state!  Alyssa also did well, winning 2 against some very strong players in this top division.

We had one full team- in K6 U450- and the team of Julia, Willow and Anoushka finished in 2nd place out of 7 full teams.  Anoushka finished 2nd place individually out of 30 kids, going 4-1 and earning her RED wristband!  Anoushka has been a very strong player in this, her first year of chess!  Willow finished in 6th place, and Julia finished 9th.

In the K-4 division, we had 2 players - Rachel F and Alabhya.  This was Rachel's FIRST chess tournament, and Alabhya's second!  The girls did very well, earning several draws.

Way to go MUSKEGO GIRLS!

Good Luck to Muskego Girls tomorrow at the ALL GIRLS!

Here are the girls from the MSCC who are attending the All Girls tournament at US-M tomorrow (Sat Apr 5).

GOOD LUCK GIRLS!

OPEN

- Rachel Gomoll

- Alyssa Przedwiecki 

K-12 U600

- Julia Redlinger

- Willow Otterbacher

- Anoushka Prasad

K-4 U300

- Alabhya Prasad

- Rachel Fredlund

We have a full team in K-12 U600, and partial teams in the other two divisions.  Of course the girls are all participating as individuals as well.  This is a great annual tournament!

Kyle earns 2 draws at SouthWest Club

Congrats to Kyle Jain who endured a late school night to earn 2 draws against very strong players and raise his rating to over 1100!
Way to go, Kyle!

We strongly recommend the Southwest Chess Challenge - on Saturday April 12th - Kyle is signed up, and Reid and Evan are also.  I might also play (*GULP!*)...  HERE IS A LINK TO DETAILS: http://swccchess.blogspot.com/2014/03/hales-corners-challenge-xix.html

Hope you'll join us on Saturday April 12th - fun for all ages - tournament is USCF rated and recommended to Red Division and Up primarily.

Elliot, Jack and Daphne take 3rd

High Schoolers next year!  Jack, Elliot and Daphne take 3rd in 8th grade, way to go!

One-night Event Thursday at SWCC

USCF rated three-game event Thursday night at Southwest Chess Club

3-Round Swiss in Two Sections (G/30 Minutes and G/24 Minutes).  USCF Rated.  EF: $5.00.  (½ Point Bye available for only first round if requested prior to round)  TD is Becker; ATD is Grochowski.

Evan and Jason should be at this event.  Join us!  One night, three short games.  If you choose G/30, your game will count against your regular rating.  G/24, it will count against your Quick rating. Scholastic players often do well at these types of games because they are used to playing lots of short games.

To join, just show up at the Hales Corners police station at around 6:30 or so on Thursday evening.

6th Graders Take State Grade Level!

Several of our Red level players were missing for Grade Level - including Will and Aaron in our very strong group of LDMS 6th graders - but with the smaller team of Kyle Jain (4 wins), Nick Schuster (3 wins) and Chloe Adamson (2 wins), we took 1st place in the state for 6th Grade!   Way to go LDMS!  This is a state championship for that grade.

The team of Jack Bognar (3 wins), Elliot Bognar (2 wins) and Daphne Adamson (2 wins) also did well, taking 3rd place for 8th grade.

Overall, and outside of the results above, several of our normal top performers did not see as strong of results at this Grade Level tournament.  If we are to praise our own accomplishments, we must also recognize when we didn't do as well as we could have, and we must learn from these times.  It's the losses that make us appreciate the wins that much more.  It's a very difficult tournament as scholastic tournaments go, and it's the end of a VERY successful first year for the Muskego program.  We should feel very happy for what we have built, and very proud of all the kids who jumped into chess brand new this year, and competed so hard and so successfully in tournaments throughout a very fun year.  Chess is FUN - and that is the main thing to remember.  If we can have fun regardless of whether we win or lose, then we ALWAYS win.

I'm very proud of our kids- every one of them- and am very thankful to be a part of their experience.

- Mark/Mr. Seghers

Tournaments in April

• ALL GIRLS - Sat Apr 5 - USM - Email seghers@gmail.com if you'd still like to register!
• HALES CORNERS CHALLENGE - Sat Apr 12 - Olympia Resort Hotel in Oconomowoc.-Recommended for Red Division and Up - USCF rated tournament - This is your chance to play against a master - or at least to watch them play!  There are two divisions - OPEN and RESERVE (under 1600).  Goddesschess is sponsoring great cash prizes for girls too. Sheldon Gelbart is there to analyze your games for free.  Read the flyer for registration and all other details - cost for tournament goes up after 4/9.   DETAILS HERE: http://www.southwestchessclub.com/HC%20Challenge%20XIX.pdf
• ASA CLARK Middle School - Sat Apr 26 - our last "Official" MSCC tournament of the year, and the last stop for Mr. Matt's IAC Grand Prix!!   This is for ALL players (Blue and up recommended).  The flyer will be out soon for this- reply to this email if you would like me to register you for ASA Clark.

congrats MHS varsity teams!!

congrats to D1 for taking 5th out of 14 teams in state, and our D2 for taking 9th ... big things coming the next 2 years!

5 long years ago...

A windy day in Oshkosh, March of 2009, LDMS 5th Graders took the K-5 state championship!
Who are these kids?   Hint- 7 of them are going to state this weekend to play for the Varsity D1 championship!   Ah, memories...

Jason takes top MSCC board - Friendly Rivals and Teammates!

With his 5-0 showing at Elmwood, Jason Markowski bumped his USCF rating up to 1643 which is now the top rating in the club!  Evan Seghers is now #2 at 1587.  (Note that both players are involved in a 4-week tournament in which they should both go up a bit...) 
Close on Evan's and Jason's heels now is our third board, Reid Seghers, who moved up 168 points at Elmwood to earn a 1425 rating!  Rachel Gomoll also did extremely well at Elmwood and moved up 120 points to go to 1196.
These friendly rivalries keep chess interesting, AND help the players to work harder on their games.
While on the topic of friendly rivalries,... how about Will Schantz and Kyle Jain BOTH going a perfect 6-0 at Elmwood?  Wow!!  Way to go, guys!

FOUR new kids in RED division!

As you know, the RED division is for kids who earn 4 points or more in a 6 game tournament, or 3.5 in a 5 game tournament.  This level is for players who have proven themselves in a tournament setting.  This is the level where a child moves to our advanced training segment under Matt Schladweiler.

Congratulations to our new members of the RED division!

• Aaron Gibbs - 4 wins
• Nick Schuster - 4 wins
• Isaac Terrence - 4 wins
• Brian Mark (previously had earned exemption) - 4.5 wins

Way to go, guys!

For our Red Division kids, the next step is black, which you receive when your USCF rating goes over 1300.  A USCF rating shows a lifetime commitment to chess, and a 1300 rating shows that you are a solid, high school level player.
Brian Mark had previously earned his Red division as an exemption, per Mark/Matt's decision, and based on what we felt was his readiness.  He proved us right by getting 4.5 out of a possible 5 in the USCF U800 division!

LAST CLASS and PIZZA PARTY March 26!!

The Last Class of the Year and PIZZA PARTY will be held on March 26th!!

Two more classes remaining - Mar 19th and Mar 26th.  For the last class on the 26th we will have a PIZZA PARTY (suggested donation of $5 per person to eat/drink).

We will also be having other kinds of fun things going on, on the 26th - including:

• Bughouse (2-player team chess)
• Blitz (with clocks)
• Puzzles
• ... and more!

See you there for the last couple classes including the pizza night on the 26th!

-Mr. Seghers

P.S.   Just because it's the last Wednesday class of the year does not mean we are done with tournaments! Don't forget these final events of the year:

• State GRADE LEVEL tournament MSOE 3/29  (recommended for K-8: email Mr. Seghers)
• ALL GIRLS tournament 4/5  (recommended for all Girls!)- Email Leah (leahmike@ymail.com)
• HALES CORNERS CHALLENGE 4/12 (USCF rated- Red division and up recommended)
• ASA CLARK (Our Last IAC Grand Prix tournament- Blue and up) 4/26

32 registered for Elmwood! (map and info)

UPDATE- I am still waiting for the final results sheet from Randy and Matt - stay tuned!  Everybody did really well, and I'll update the site when all the information is given to me.  Thanks! - Mark

The Elmwood tournament is getting BIG quickly!  CLICK HERE to see Flyer with all Info.

The MSCC has 37 kids registered overall so far - and we have FIVE full teams in the following groups:

• K-12 open - Muskego High School 
• K-3 - Mill Valley 
• K-6- Bay Lane 
• K-6- Lake Denoon 
• K-3- Tess Corners 

Click here to see the full list of everyone who is all registered!  Let me know if there is anybody not yet registered that should be - just shoot me an email.

Everyone PLEASE BE THERE BY 8:15 so you can sign in/pay, and so we can get settled and get our "chess minds" working.  This should be a great tournament!

Don't forget to wear your Muskego Scholastic Chess spirit wear!

The address for the school is 5900 S Sunnyslope Rd, New Berlin.< click for map.



- Mark/ Mr. Seghers

SMCA Conference Tourney Results

Fun season for our High School team this year!  Muskego took 3rd place this year in Varsity, and 4th in JV.  Brookfield Academy now has the traveling cup... but we will get it back next year!
For the year, Evan Seghers finished in the first-team All Conference (the top 5 players in the conference according to coaches).  Jason Markowski finished in the second team All Conference (getting one first team vote, even though Jason played board 2).  Reid Seghers earned Honorable Mention.
Evan also won the "Coaches Choice" award for promoting chess in general, and for helping other kids with their questions.
In the end of year conference tournament, we had several of our players show up and do well.  Congrats especially to Kyle Jain who won 3 out of his 4 games in JV, and to Jason Markowski for earning a draw against Conference MVP Troy Zimmerman!
At the high school level, Jason and Evan are really coming on lately.  Evan earned a draw against a Master (2145 rated) last Thursday at the SWCC, and Jason also earned a draw against a near Master.
High School Kids - it's TIME TO PRACTICE!!!  State coming up on 3/21-22!

Elmwood Roll Call - need a few more to make teams

I have registered everyone I heard from, for the Elmwood tournament on 3/15....   see the link to see who is registered, and please let me know if I have forgotten anyone (or if you haven't told me yet!):

Click here to see who is registered: http://ia-chess.com/registration/participants.html?id=28

Should be a great tournament!  We'll have an area for Muskego players to congregate.  Still need a few more kids to complete some teams, hope you can make it!  Email me if you would like to be registered.

Thanks!   Mark/Mr Seghers

SMCA High School Conference End-Year Tournament this Sat 3/8

SMCA Post-season tournament

Date: March 8

Time: 8:30 check-in, 9:00 start, 4:00 completion

Where: Brookfield Academy HS

Rounds: 4

Time control: G45 + 5sec

We will play four rounds of G45. That will take us to 3:00-3:30 and allow 30 minutes for awards and be done by 4:00.

Time Running Out for 2014 Muskego Chess Apparel!

HELP SPREAD THE WORD about Muskego Chess this Spring & Summer by proudly wearing your new Muskego Chess merchandise. The new flyer includes shorts & baseball caps. If you're still interested in the fall/winter form (w/the pj & sweat pants & bag, we still have that available too).
These aren't just for the chess players, but are also for their families & friends too. Would make great presents for people w/mother’s day, father’s day, grandparents day, etc coming up. $2 from every item goes to support Muskego Chess, to pay for Matt/Danny's instruction, wrist bands, boards, pieces, clocks, etc.
NOTE: One typo on the order form. Youth track jackets are $32, like adults.
Contact Leah Przedwiecki (leahmike@ymail.com) for further info- she'll have the forms at next class, or she could email you one.
Act quickly! Only one more batch of orders this season, then we're done with merchandise until next year!