Alpha Zero Lecture – By David Hayes
A reminder, the chess club will be meeting in the library auditorium on Monday, August 5th (turn right as soon as you enter the library and proceed down the hall). David Hayes will be providing a lecture on Alpha Zero at 6pm and how its play can help us improve our own games. Don’t miss it! Casual chess games can be played before and after the lecture in the auditorium.
Library Chess Club Display Case
Chris and David Hayes have been working hard to assemble a display case to showcase in the library for the month of August. It will be available for viewing from 6-31 August. Please be sure to check it out! Thank you to all who graciously let us borrow items to be displayed.
Kansas City Chess Club Visit
I had the privilege to stop by the Kansas City Chess Club while travelling this weekend on military duty. I was greeted by Ken Fee, who has operated the club for over 20 years who gave me a brief tour and history of their club. I was able to participate in their weekly Friday night G30 d5 tournament. The walls were lined with photos from past GM simuls at the club. Quickly recognizable names and faces included Josh Waitzkin (of Searching for Bobby Fischer) and Roman Dzindzichashvili.
The club has a heavy scholastic presence across KC and the surrounding areas. Memberships are $10 per month, $50 per year, and required to participate in the club tournaments. They use a different rating system for many of their club tournaments, called ChessExpress. There are no fees for memberships to file ratings reports and statistics are made available to all players. This allows clubs to run tournaments in a similar fashion to the USCF, but without the added fees. It allows players to get rating feedback on their over-the-board chess play without a risk to their standard rating. It’s a neat concept!
It is always interesting to see how other chess clubs around the country run their day-to-day operations, and especially cool when they’re able to operate in their own location. The club was clean, well-organized, and inviting. I’d highly recommend stopping by if you’re ever in Kansas City!