Boulder County Chess School
Founded in August 2007, BCCS offers private lessons, classes, fund raising activities (family chess knights) and chess camps throughout Boulder County.
Chess Camps 2013
K-12
June 3-7
July 15-19
Full and half day
options available:
9:00 to 4:00 full
day
9:00 to 12:00 half
day mornings
1:00 to 4:00 half day
afternoons
To be held at:
http://bouldercountryday.org/PROGRAMS_SUMMER_PROGRAMS.php
Boulder Country Day School
4820 Nautilus Court
Boulder, CO (in Gunbarrel)
Cost
$335/wk
full day
$195/wk
half day
To request registration materials,
or for further information, email: pjjsz@lbtmail.com
Studies have shown that chess can: Strengthen
problem-solving skills, teaching how to make difficult and abstract decisions
independently. Enhance reading, memory, language, and mathematical abilities.
Foster critical, creative and original thinking. Provide practice at making
accurate and fast decisions under time pressure - a skill that can help improve
test scores at school. Teach how to think logically and efficiently, learning
to select the ‘best’ choice from a large number of options. Demonstrate the
importance of flexible planning, concentration and the consequences of
decisions. And it’s lots of fun!
Instructors:
(More will be added
as registration increases.)
A Certified Chess Coach
through the United States Chess Federation, Rick has coached the Louisville
Middle School Chess Club and Team for the past ten years. His team competes in
the Boulder Valley Chess League. He teaches classes for elementary age students
and is available to teach individuals. Rick is a retired teacher and principal
who uses sound educational practices in his instructional program.
I
have been playing chess 40+ years, playing in hundreds of
tournaments. I have played in 40 states and 10 countries, defeating
Masters from 5 continents. Among tournaments I have won are state
championships in Pennsylvania and Colorado, the Denver Open, and the Pittsburgh
Chess Club Championship. As proof there is some luck in chess, I even
scored a win at a simultaneous exhibition against GM Viktor Korchnoi.
My best moment in chess, though, has been leading the charge to
establish the Denker Fund in Colorado, which is now paired with the
Polgar Fund to ensure that Colorado supports its high school champions at
national level competition. I have also been teaching at chess
camps for 10 years, and I have written one chess book, Chess On The Ledge.
Josh
Romero
Has taught chess in the St. Vrain school district, and also at numerous BCCS workshops and camps. Among his tournament accomplishments is a Boulder event with a 9-0 score. His most memorable victory as part of that event was over National Master Brian Wall. Josh is currently pursuing a degree at CU.
Paul Szeligowski
An
experienced chess teacher, on an individual, class and camp level. Among his private students are seven Colorado Scholastic
State Champions. He is author of numerous chess articles, including the
original ones on the system now known as the Colorado Defense. He has achieved
the Expert USCF title and a peak rating of 2060.
About the
Camps
This is the sixth year for our summer chess program. The first camp this year will be held in June (3-7), and the second in July (15-19). Both camps are 5 days, Monday through Friday and will be held at the Boulder Country Day School in Gunbarrel. Campers can choose either full day or half-day options. Children are divided into groups (beginner, intermediate, advanced) based upon age and ability. Depending upon turnout, multiple levels within each group may be created, and group sizes may vary between levels. In addition to the teachers and director, there will also be assistant(s) to facilitate in the classrooms and also during breaks.
There is a core curriculum, which will be covered in both camps (such as thinking techniques), however the examples used will be different in each camp. Beyond that core curriculum, topics will vary for each group from camp to camp. The exception to that is the beginners group, where the material covered will be essentially the same. Children who completed the beginners group in June could move up to an advanced beginners group in July. The emphasis is very much on understanding and not memorization. For instance, in the opening phase of the game, control of the center, development and king safety are each important goals. Students will be shown why that is the case and not just to memorize it as a fact.
For the beginners group, the morning and afternoon sessions of each day will cover/review the same material (different examples), with the emphasis being on practice to insure a good grasp of what was discussed. For intermediate and advanced groups, topics covered will be different in the morning and afternoon sessions. For all groups there will be a repeating structure of a discussion topic and game play. For the beginners group the cycle time will be shorter than for the more advanced groups; they will also have more short breaks.
All campers will be able to play in an on going unrated multi round chess tournament within their group (two rounds each day). The beginners group will not start their tournament until Wednesday, as there will be a certain minimum proficiency desired prior to the first round. The intermediate and advanced groups will start game play the first morning; however the Monday morning game played in the intermediate group will be a practice game that will not count toward the final standings. The last round of the tournament (if necessary) will be Friday morning.
Other activities will include a problem solving competition, a set up competition and for the Advanced group a speed tournament. Bughouse is available for Intermediate and above. There will be a magical interlude.
Friday afternoon is reserved for the simultaneous exhibition (1:00) and the awards ceremony (3:45). There will be trophies awarded for the tournament, and special prizes (usually chess books) for the best game played (in each group) in the simultaneous exhibition. All campers will get a t-shirt, certificate of completion and a chess related item. There will also be a best overall camper prize and scorekeeping/ best game prizes for each group.
I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, you can reach me by email at: pjjsz@lbtmail.com or phone 303 652 8890.
See you at camp!
Paul Szeligowski
Director