Photo in the Kansas City Star

The caption reads: Perhaps 6-year-old Adrian Castaner was trying to get the blood flowing to his brain Wednesday as he waited to start a match against chess camp instructor Ken Fee at The Chess Club, 2512 N.W. Vivion Road in Riverside. Fee competed against 12 chess campers at one time. The camp runs through Friday

The Chess Club Chess Camp Video

The Kansas City Star has posted a video of this summer's chess camp, which is running July 25-27. Here

MCA Region Two Hotly Contested

The 2007-2008 Missouri Chess Association Executive Board Elections are over. In Region 2 it was a battle royale and very hotly contested. Why not? This type of thing is as American as Baseball, Apple Pie, and Morphy's Mate. I have including the Election Report below:

2007-2008 Executive Board Election Report

Region 2 : 21 MCA members cast ballots.

Winners : Bob Holliman 12
Joe Conklin 10
Ken Fee 10

Others receiving votes :
Bryon McLaughlin 8
Ron Luther 8
John Skelton 7
Dave Kearns 1

Highlight names are member of The Chess Club

As you can see, The Chess Club is well represented in the Missouri Chess Association. Congratulations to the winners.

Late Night Ca$h Blitz...Tonight!!

The joys of late night blitz chess, plus the power of the all mighty dollar, will pull you along on a late night chess high. Yes, feel the ghosts of the chess greats of the past playing the royal game in a way that sparks the imagination. Can you command your chess army the way Mikhail Tal did? Do you have the chess genius of Bobby Fischer? Come on try! Go back to the days when the chess club was the central point of chess play across the lands. Smell the stale odor of years of cigarette smoke and unwashed chess players. Yes...yes...Uhm...I think we have made some improvements here at our chess club. The Chess Club is smoke free and I do believe everyone bathes regularly. Our goal is to make chess fun and ensure everyone has as a pleasant chess experience as possible. So come on...there will be cash prizes. Start time is 10 P.M. and will finish when the last game is played. Enjoy!!

Ca$h for the new loo

The time has come to put up the cash for the new toilet area. You will agree that an improvement is needed in capacity and layout. Last tournament I was in time trouble and in extremist...not pleasant! Ken has found a solution to our problem. A chess fund raiser of sorts and all the proceeds going to that upgrade depicted above. Who can ask for more? A chess tournament held in honor of the commode...the Bathroom Fundraiser Open I. Come out this Saturday to show your support. See you at The Chess Club.

What a Party it was...

Friday night The Chess Club celebrated it's 5th Birthday was a party and a little tournament...The Birthday Bash Open. The event was well attended with over 35 people enjoying the pre-tournament party. It all kicked off at 6 PM with Ken Fee thanking everybody for coming and free pizza and soft drinks soon followed. As everyone was getting well nourished, a beautiful birthday cake was introduced. Of course everyone had to get together for a group photograph so it could be file into the club's archives (I think a few people hid from the lens). After everyone said "Checkmate" for the camera-person about 5 times, the cake was cut. I have three words for the taste: "De-lici-ous".

At 7 PM the clocks were started and the Birthday Bash Open was underway. This was also well attended with 19 entrants. Every contest moved right along as it was Game 45 minutes. After round 2 Tim Steiner and John Quimby (both with a score of 2/2) were sharing the lead, Frank H. Smith was in the top position for the Under 2000 with a score of 1.5/2, and Frank Whitsell was leading the Under 1600 group with a score of 1.5/2. At this point I believe everyone was a little fatigued. Why not? It was getting close to 11 PM and there was one more round. Who would finish in the money? Prior to this last round several of the contestants were spied drinking coffee and having more cake. I wonder if this produce any unfair advantage or maybe it just made them more sleepy? Who knows if caffeine and sugar actually help simulate the brain and help you compute that extra ply in those tough positions?

It was 11 PM when the clocks were start for the final round. By 12:20 AM it was all over. The Open ended with Tim Steiner, John Quimby, and Frank H. Smith in a three way tie for first with a score of 2.5/3. Those three went home $50 richer! In the Under 1600 there was another three way tie with Joseph Conklin Jr., Daiki Sampei, and Todd Forbes sharing the prize with a score of 2/3. These three lined their pockets with $25! Well done gentlemen. Thank you to all of you for being with us to celebrate this important day!