For beginners, Dr. Root reviewed on the demonstration board how to checkmate with a king and two rooks against a king. Then Dr. Root played a simultaneous exhibition (simul) against them where they had two rooks and a king and Dr. Root had a king. Students were in groups of two against Dr. Root and were told to decide together on their next move as they were waiting for Dr. Root.
The match was played December 21, 2013 at the Denton Public LIbrary, North Branch. Time control was G/75. The first name listed played White. 1-0 means White won. 0-1 means Black won. 1/2-1/2 means draw.
Official Games (where a UNT student played a DHS student) resulted in a 3.5-1.5 win for UNT:
Eight students attended the last Denton High School chess club meeting of 2013, which meant two games of bughouse during the party. There was food and soda available too. Next event is the Denton High School chess match against the University of North Texas, December 21, North Branch Library.
Dr. Alexey Root taught the two-rook checkmate to the beginners. Then children partnered up to practice the checkmate or to be tested on it against Dr. Root. As children passed a two-rook test against Dr. Root, they became "testers" and tested/taught the others. Then Dr. Root reviewed the notated chess games of two pairs of intermediate/advanced chess players.
On Friday, November 22, Denton High School students reviewed games played at Dallas Chess Club, practiced basic endgame checkmates, and played chess for fun.
Follow the UT Dallas Grandmaster Invitational, which has a GM and an IM section, right here on Monroi.com. Also look for Dr. Alexey Root’s articles about the tournament on Chess Life Online and in Chess Life.
At St. Vincent’s School chess club, beginners and intermediates notated the four-move checkmate (Scholar's Mate) as Dr. Root showed it on the demonstration board. Then they replayed it with a partner and came up with a different third move to avoid the checkmate. The advanced group learned the King and Pawn vs. King win. Dr. Root showed it on the demonstration board (White: Ke3, Pe2; Black Ke5 and Black to move).
For the beginner and intermediate groups at St. Vincent's School, Dr. Alexey Root taught the Create challenge from Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14. In the Create challenge, children cooperatively create a 10-move chess game that includes three en passant captures. Both groups notated their games.
Upcoming event: On November 16, 2013 the public can play against (and learn from) Denton High School chess club students at International Games Day @your library, 1:00-5:00 p.m., Denton Public LIbrary (North Branch).
For the last chess session for fall 2013, Greenhill School students received awards, ate food, and played bughouse and regular chess games. Dr. Alexey Root talked with parents and students, supervised games, and helped with clean up.
All three St. Vincent’s chess groups tried the Game Theory lesson from Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14. Basically, the challenge is "whoever castles first wins." Dr. Root reviewed the rules of castling with the beginner and intermediate students beforehand. The advanced students already know the rules of castling.
Dr. Alexey Root taught Greenhill Chess Club students how to play bughouse chess. The first group of four to set up their chessmen became the models for how bughouse is played. Without clocks, all players playing White move, then all Blacks move, etc. As captures were made, Dr. Root explained that captured pieces could be placed on any empty square in lieu of a move.
