October 2007 Scholastic Side

  I have added the first ever IASCA Parents tournament to the 2007-2008 Iowa Grades Championship at West Des Moines Valley High School on November 10th. There is no entry fee (but you must bring a child to the Grades tournament) and there will be medals for the top 3 overall scores, the top 3 scores by non-USCF members, and the top 3 ladies scores. I hope you can take the time to play in the Parents tournament. Just as the USCF recommends that tournament directors remain active as tournament players to retain the ‘players’ perspective’, it is good for us chess parents to play in an occasional tournament to understand what stresses our children are going through during the rough and tumble of tournament play. The tournament is not rated and there is not USCF membership requirement. Don’t forget that even non-USCF members can play in the Grades tournament for a $5 surcharge, so if you child has any friends who would like to play, please invite them. You can get an entry form/flyer by following this link

  Pete Karagianis of the Iowa Chess Center will be hosting a warm up tournament for the Iowa Grades Championships on November 3rd, at St. Theresa's in Des Moines.  This tournament will be for grades K-8. At the time of this writing details are still being finalized, but you may get more information from Pete at karagianis@gmail.com.

  Thanks to the efforts of Jim Jones, Prarie High School of Cedar Rapids will again host the K-3, K-6, and K-9 Individual Championships in Cedar Rapids> The tournamnent will be on December 1st this year. I am still looking for sites to hold the Ladies Championship and the High School Championships. If you know of an available site or your school would like to host these events, please contact me at anzis@prodigy.net. Thanks.