Frequently asked questions

1. Can my child join the Turtle Lake chess club in the middle of the year?

Yes, kids are welcome to join us at any meeting. Feel free to visit the club a couple of times before officially signing up.

2. I'm a parent, but I'm not a knowledgeable chess player. Could the club still use my help?

Yes, parents can help the club run smoothly by recording the results of games, helping match kids up with opponents, keeping the equipment organized, etc.

3. Where can my child play chess online, against a computer?

Try chess.com here.

Chess Quest – a very nice iPhone App containing 1200 puzzles

[As of this posting, it cost $2.99] Put simply, Chess Quest is a collection of chess puzzles arranged by difficulty level. For those who don’t already know, chess puzzles are a pre-arranged chess board with an identified solution. The idea of a chess puzzle is to improve the endgame, helping a player to find checkmate more easily.

There are six levels of difficulty for players of differing ability levels. Novices will want to start with the “basic” level puzzles before moving on to more challenging puzzles. More advanced players may start on an advanced level or jump from level to level to get more variety.

Report from statewide primary/elementary tournament

Our team of second graders-Alexander, Mason, and Matt -took 20th out of 61 schools in the primary (K-3) division at this two-day tournament. We had only three players, but as you know, up to four players can score for each team. We finished with 9.5 points; it took 15 points to place 10th and win a large team trophy.

All three players had 3 or 3.5 points and finished in the middle of the 196-player field. More importantly, they seemed to have an absolute blast at this tournament, sharing their results with each other and then generally heading to one of the two open gyms at Breck to run around, throw balls, play on gym mats, etc.

I think next year, with more players, Turtle Lake would have a very good chance at winning a top-ten trophy at this tournament!
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Mounds View District Chess Tournament 2010

(This is for 5th grade players and under)
Date: Saturday, May 1st, 2010
Time: 8:15 am – 1:30pm Targeting Noon to end.
Check in: 8:15-8:30
The first game will start promptly at 8:30 am. If a player is not checked in by 8:30 an alternate will substitute for them.
Location:
Chippewa Middle School Cafeteria
5000 Hodgson Road
North Oaks, MN 55126
Doors on right of building front, go down hallway, turn left at center hallway toward the Cafeteria.
$2 fee per player to cover drinks and snacks, any remainder to offset Trophy expenses.
Trophies: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Individual trophies and 1st place Traveling Team trophy. 4th-8th will receive Honorable Mention Trophies.
Five six-player teams this year (teams may have one or two alternates who may participate in their own Alternate tournament.)

Thinking about national chess tournaments?

2010 Burt Lerner National Elementary (K-6) Championship, 7 – 9 May, 2010 · Atlanta, GA

Note that the 2011 National Elementary tournament will be in Dallas:
May 6-8, 2011: National Elementary (K-6) Championship - Dallas, TX (N)

2010 School Chess Association Minnesota Statewide Primary/Elementary Championship

April 24-25, 2010
Breck School
123 Ottawa Ave N
Golden Valley MN 55422-5124
Google map

This is not a grade-level tournament. It has divisions for elementary (4-6) and primary (K-3) players.
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Tournament Rules and Directions will be announced on Saturday at about 8:45a.m.
Tournament rounds start about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and 10:00am on Sunday.
Saturday: Primary play will be done by about 5:15 p.m. Elementary play done by about 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: Primary play will be done by about 2:30 p.m. Elementary play done by about 2:30 p.m.
Award ceremony will start about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the tournament.
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Registration form with additional info [PDF]
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Update: Our team of second graders Alexander Bonsager, Mason Ekblad, and Matt Nelson took 20th out of 61 schools in the primary (K-3) division at this tournament. We had only three players, but up to four players can score for each team. We finished with 9.5 points; it took 15 points to place 10th and win a large team trophy.