November Directors Report

Dear Chess Families & Friends,

Our Team Tournament calendar kicked off this last weekend, with almost 500 players hitting the field in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. Please see our report here, with results and pictures.

Our goal is very simple: we want to make it possible for kids to set goals and then achieve them, and there is no path towards this except through United States Chess Federation rated training, where a beginner player may have an entry-level rating of 101, all the way up to nationally ranked players whose ratings can break 2200 (master level). See our top rating lists here and here.

With all the big city, state, and nationals championships still coming up, we are eager to give our players as many opportunities as possible to strengthen their skills and be ready for whatever level of play they aim for.

Starting next Saturday, November 8th, and continuing through the first week of December, we want high-quality training to be as accessible as possible to all ICN players, regardless of their age or playing level.

This means connecting our two main training resources together: every player on every team has a gold membership to ChessKid.com, where they can train at home. And every Saturday we host Grand Prix chess training gyms near all of our teams.

For five weekends, starting November 8th, our Grand Prix training matches will be free each week to all players who complete 75 PLW by the Friday night before each training session.

We know that more ChessKid training combined with club lessons translates into more USCF rating growth. Starting next week, if your child completes 75 points or more worth of Puzzles, Lessons, or Workouts by each Friday, they may then play at any of our Grand Prix sites (including Elite Quads for 1000+ USCF) for free that Saturday.

Here are all of our open sites. Starting next week, use the code PLW75 when you register:

This benefits all of our teams and players in multiple ways.

  1. It gets our kids practicing more using the ChessKid training tool

  2. It gives our kids more rated games

  3. It increases the scope of each team's competitive edge, by getting to see more competitors from more schools

  4. It elevates everyone -- kids, parents, coaches -- to a higher plateau of knowledge, confidence, and engagement with the team culture of scholastic chess

  5. And of course, it prepares our kids and teams to succeed at any big event they may travel to this year

Come with friends, come with teammates, come in team gear, and let's have a great year!

We have other excellent training opportunities as well, with two camp days and a major team tournament to use as training and fun for all levels of players.

Chess Camps in November:

November 4th

November 11th

November will culminate with a Grades-style Team Tournament, in which players get to play against ONLY players in their own grades, and we will get to crown a champion for each grade level (K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6+).

November 24th


Russ Makofsky