School Chess tournament

rothai

Hi all,

I decided to set up a chess tournament in out secondary school because I thought there wasn't really anything like it. But now I realised I haven't really got a clue what I'm doing. I have 3 cheap boards, but i was wondering should I look for a clock? I have about 30 signed up for it so I'm going to set up fixtures and just have a knockout tournament. Do I need a clock? im afriad of games dragging on? is there anything else I should know? TIA

L1m1tless

Great that you have so many sign ups.

Ideally you should have a clock, but you could in a pinch, have a time limit and after that give victory to whoever is winning.

Is there a chess club local to you? Maybe you could borrow some clocks. I could give you some if you are nearby.

Have you a set of rules laid out to stop any hassle, in case of disputes.

Knock out means half will only get one game. Could you do 2 mini leagues and the top two from each go to semi finals?

Redders8282

Can I suggest that you give whoever signs up as many games as possible. You may be nurturing the future masters of the sport. Nothing pisses lads off than getting one game and told 'good luck you're gone'. League base always keeps lads interested.

rothai

Ended up with over 60 in the tournament. It was Savage. Well its not over yet. I'm down to the last 8. I'll finish it after Christmas. I did run it straight knock out but everyone stays on and they play against each other and teaching each other and really was amazing to be there to witness it. I had to beg borrow and steal enough boards to keep going, that was probably the hardest part. But we'll worth it. I have go begging again after Christmas 😊. Thanks for the advice everyone.

rothai

I meant to say I did look at running a league or a shield competition but I just don't have the time with the other clubs I run and teams I coach, I just don't have enough lunch times in the week 😕

sodacat11

A good way to get games finished is the "3 check rule", If one player checks the other 3 times he wins the game. Usually what i do is give kids about 15 minutes for the game then I go round and count up the points, if a player is +3 or more I award a win, otherwise it's a draw.

Ficheall are running inter school tournaments again and while these are great events and very welcome it is completely ridiculous that they don't have any winners or losers or any prizes. Do people think that children are so soft and weak these days that they can't accept defeat? I've coached many hundreds of children and I have run dozens of tournaments and I always reward winners with medals and trophies. The children who don't win anything invariably put in twice the effort in their next competitions. Life is full of ups and downs and sports like chess are a great way of preparing children for that, it teaches them resilience and the value of effort. This molly coddle, wrap em in cotton wool and make everyone equal approach by Ficheall is just plain stupid and does more harm than good to children. I saw a similar ICU event a couple of years ago with the same carry on i.e no winners and no losers. It is no wonder that so many people have "mental health difficulties" these days. Children are a lot more competitive than some adults seem to think, when I told one of my teams today that there would be no prizes at the Ficheall tournament they booed and hissed with derision, they don't mind if they lose but they definitely want a chance to win something. Chess is a battle for Christ's sake, there is no point in playing it or any other sport if you take competition out of the equation.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120054312#Comment_120054312

Fair play to you and your dedication OP, fond memories of my school chess team back in the day.

sodacat11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120096330#Comment_120096330

I used to play chess as a kid with the captain of our school chess team and I would usually beat him but I always refused to attend the school chess club or play for the school team, despite he repeated requests, because in those days chess was seen as just for nerds. Ironically after I left school I found a chess set in a store room at work and I started to play with a workmate at lunchtimes. A few weeks later there was an advert in the newspaper looking for people to join Dalkey C.C and I've been hooked ever since. I'm retired now and play and study chess more than ever even if it hasn't been reflected in my results...........yet😈

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120096198#Comment_120096198

I prefer to get the parents get involved as well.

Much better to have rampant snowplough parenting rather than just simple competition.

https://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/style/snowplow-parenting-pros-and-cons-according-to-experts/