December 2007 Scholastic Side

  Since Thansgiving was just a week ago, I want to use this column to give thanks to many of the people who have helped IASCA scholastic chess the past few months.

  The impending ice storm that caused the cancellation of Prairie High School’s activities this weekend also caused the cancellation of the Individual Scholastic Tournament. Thanks to the efforts of Jim Jones and Jim Hodina, the Prairie chess coaches, the tournament has been rescheduled for December 15th. And because IASCA webmaster Rusty Davis developed such an excellent IASCA web site, I was able to post the tournament cancellation within 15 minutes. It is always a very tough call to decide to cancel a scholastic tournament. I was inclined to let the tournament go ahead since most of the entries were from Cedar Rapids but was not too sorry to have the decision taken out of my hands. As I am writing this at 7:45, the decision is looking better by the minute as the ice is just starting to come down.

  We had a spectacular turnout of 131 players for the 2007-2008 Iowa Grade Championships in West Des Moines last month. Congratulations to our new state champions. I hope you will take the time to see pictures of all the prize winners. I was not expecting that kind of turnout and was nearly overwhelmed trying to get pairings, helping watch the playing floor, tell players where the bathrooms were, and assemble the prize lists. There were plenty of ties for medals and trophies and thanks to Kathy Trail of Crown Trophy in Urbandale, I think we have gotten everyone the prizes they earned. If you need trophies or ribbons for your events, I can vouch for the excellent service Kathy provides.

  Joe Stull did a super job directing the playing floor. Joe is a selfless friend of Iowa Chess and is planning a youth chess tournament in Creston later this winter. When it is announced I hope you will be able to support it.

  A large part of the increase in attendance was due to Pete Karagianis of the Iowa Chess Center. Pete held a K-9 open tournament at St. Theresa’s in Des Moines the week before the grades. Sometimes tournaments held too close together in the same town take on a competitive aspect, but Pete very generously encouraged the parents of the many schools he teaches chess at to enter the Grades championships. It was a pleasure to have such a cooperative arrangement. My son Matt played in the tournament and it was very well run. There were over 50 players, plenty of prizes, chess equipment for sale, and food from the St. Theresa’s cafeteria. It was everything a chess parent could ask for and was a lot of fun for me to just hang out and relax.

  Chuck Lierman, coach of the 3-time state champion Ankeny High School Chess Team, has been instrumental in having Ankeny High School host the 2007-2008 Iowa High School Individual Championship on Janury 19th. This tournament is open only to Iowa students in grades 9-12. The High School tournament has had declining attendance in recent years, so this year we will be offering a $3 entry fee and waive the USCF membership requirement for a $5 surcharge. Along with the HS tournament, Chuck and Ankeny High School will be sponsoring a youth trophy tournament, open to all players 21 and under. There will be 23 trophies for players of all rating levels. Please contact me at anzis@prodigy.net for more information.

  The 2007-2008 Iowa Primary (K-3) and Elementary (K-6) Team Championships are scheduled for February 9th at Jordan Creek Elementary in West Des Moines. Last year, I had many comments from schools whose elementary programs only go to Grade 5 feeling they were at a disadvantage opposing schools whose elementary programs go from K-6. I agree with this sentiment and this year will have 1st and 2nd place team and individual trophies for K-5 schools. If the top scoring K-5 school does not win the K-6 championship, they will be the state K-5 champions. The second highest scoring K-5 school will win the 2nd place K-5 trophies. Please contact me at anzis@prodigy.net for more information about this tournament.