Sims Site

For chess players and students of Mr Sims

2009 MANAWATU PRIMARY (up to and including year 6) TEAMS INTERSCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS –

THE QUALIFIER FOR THE NZ CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

This is the third year for this chess event and it will be held in the hall of Awapuni Primary School, Rochester St, on Tuesday, 11 August. The event will go all day.

awapuniprim

The winning team will represent the Manawatu at the national finals which are being held on 26-27 September.

Previous winners have been:
    2007    Kimbolton
     2008    College Street
     2009    ???

 Details: 

  1. The event is for students up to and including year 6 (ie no years 7 and 8). The event is for students attending an educational institution ie no home schooled students.

  2. The format, number of rounds and length of games will be based on the number of entries. Ideally the event will be a round robin as this is the fairest but the number of entries will decide the format.

    Two things I can promise: (i) it will NOT be a knock out so if you lose in one round you still have a chance and (ii) whatever format is used, all players will be involved all day.

  3. The full rules of chess will apply. This includes touch move and it would help if the participants were familiar with en passant and castling as these cause most problems. I will have plenty of helpers available to sort out any confusion. The official rules of chess can be found at http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook and scroll down to section E.I Laws of Chess. En passant is article 3.7d and castling is 3.8aii.

    The biggest problem we had last year was players not knowing how to mate with King and Queen versus King. This is a win for the King and Queen but the player a Queen up must demonstrate that they know what they are doing and mate within 50 moves of the last capture or pawn move. Again, consult the laws of chess.

    Once the event settles into a routine I will run lessons in between rounds on basic mates.

  4. There will be a players meeting at 8.45am and we aim to finish around 3.30pm. As we need ONE team to represent the Manawatu there could be playoffs if teams are tied at the end. As a result players must be available until the final result is known.

  5. Schools can enter A MAXIMUM OF TWO TEAMS (a change from 2008). If entering two teams a school must put their 4 strongest players in their number 1 team. The purpose of the event is to find Manawatu’s top primary team so your school needs to be accurately represented.

  6. A team is 4 players. In each team the players must be ranked strongest to weakest ie the best player is on board 1, second strongest on board 2 and so on. Board order must not be changed once the event starts. No reserves please.

  7. Each team must be accompanied by an adult (teacher or parent) who stays with the team. If you are bringing two teams you need two adults.

8.    Entry fee is $16 per team and can be paid on the day. Cheques can be made out to Palmerston North Boys’ High.

9.    The tournament will be run by Martin Sims, on behalf of the NZ Chess Federation. I am an experienced tournament director and my rulings are final.

  1. The winning school will receive a trophy to hold until next year.

  2. Please be at the venue by 8.45am for a players meeting. There is no parking in the grounds so please park on the street.

  3. Participants should bring snacks and water. Players should bring their lunch as we will only take a short break for lunch.

  4. Players should be in school uniform if you have one. If not they could play in a school track suit so they can be identified (again, if you have one – if not that’s fine).

  5. Each TEAM must bring TWO chess sets and boards. They need to be regular sets – not “funny” sets (Simpsons, Lord of the Rings etc). If this is a problem let me know as we have a limited number of sets; but the event cannot run without teams bringing their own sets/boards.

  6. Entries close on Friday 7 August, but for planning purposes I would prefer to receive entries as soon as possible.

  7. To enter please send an email to Martin Sims at simsm@pnbhs.school.nz with the following information:

- School name

- Teacher name for contact prior to the event, and contact details (phone/email)

- Number of teams you are entering

- Adult who will accompany team(s) – only one person needed per school

- Whether you can bring two sets and boards per TEAM        

  1. I am away in Europe for term 2 on sabbatical. I will be reading my school email once a week.

 

Regards and looking forward to you playing

 Martin Sims

Palmerston North Boys’ High School

 Finally, 3 key points:

In entering you are committing yourself/your school to representing the Manawatu in the national finals. If the first place team declines then the second place team will be invited.

Schools must pay the entry fee ($16 per team), either before or on the day. If necessary I can print out a receipt on the day.

Each school must come with an adult per team – either a teacher or a parent. The adult must stay with their students the whole time.