The subject is also intriguing: Improving your TACTICAL VISION
That means working on variety of subjects such as combinations, calculations, general tactics and intuitive feel.

It will as usual have 3 different groups based on rating and sometimes age. The top group might be adjusted to better fit the majority of sign-ups so it might be as low as 1200 or as high as for 1800 USCF rated players. If you are in that category, please e-mail me with a request and I’ll check about who else is planning to join and adjust the group that way.

It is great fun for any age and we hope to see you there!

Please download the file here and good luck!January 2012 monthly camp color

Check it out and hope to see you there!
Below is the link in a PDF format: Tucson Open 2012

Thanks you to everyone who helped organize it and all the players and parents who spent the entire day there supporting students and teammates!

Here are some highlights from the Arizona Chess For Schools as well as my student’s results:
Some are new and some were previously with ACFS, so we are still very proud of them!

Blitz Tournament Results for the ACFS students: January 6th, 2012

K-12:

1st place: Soren Aletheia-Zomlefer
2nd place: Derek Chen
3rd place: Thomas Mathine
4th place: Kinsleigh Wong
5th place: Sreekar Bommireddy

Main Event: January 7th, 2012

Individual:

Kindergarten: Co-Champion: Matthew Tajeda, Trophy:Gavin Jump

1st Grade: 2nd place: Arun Moorthy, 3rd: Rishik Pranav
2nd Grade: 4th place: Yulia Savine, 10th: Andres Oliva-Martinez
3rd Grade: 2nd place: Robert Young, 5th: Arjun Moorthy, 7th: Quinn Hudson, 10th place: Andrew Smith
4th Grade: 9th place: Rahul Pranav
5th Grade: 4th place: Ryan Thompson, 5th place: Daniel Shevelev, 6th place: Thayer Aletheia-Zomlefer
6th Grade: Co-Champions: Ethan Li and Prateek Pinisetti, 4th place: Sreekar Bommireddy
8th grade: Co-Champion Bohan Li, 5th place: Rohan Mittal, 6th place: Sumhith Aradhyula
High School: 2nd place: Kinsleigh Wong, 4th place: Soren Aletheia-Zomlefer, 5th place: Derek Chen

Teams:

2nd Grade: 3rd place: Castlehill Country Day School
3rd Grade: Co-Champions: Harelson Elementary and International Schools of Tucson

The link to the USCF website with the results can be found here: http://main.uschess.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,181/

Below are some pictures from the event and good luck to everyone!

We are very glad this event once again will be in Tucson (and not in one of the far away places like Flagstaff and  Pinetop).

The important difference between the State Championships and State Grades for Tucson players (and in general) are listed below. Hopefully you take advantage of it!

1. It is only 1 day as supposed to 2

2. You do not need to qualify for it

3. You ONLY play kids of your grade level

4. It is in Tucson so no need to travel or if you do need to- hotel rates where the even takes place  are very affordable

5. An average player has a better chance to win a prize because they compete only with same age kids

Now, this is both Team and Individual event, so the more kids show up at the event from each school, the better chance that school has of winning trophies and placing high in the finisher’s list.

It is usually great fun being there and if you have problems with registration, please let us know and we will gladly help.

Because of some recent changes, please read the flyer, times, registration conditions carefully and let your coach know.

Good luck and see you there!

BLITZ EVENT: DOWNLOAD HERE-January 6 Blitz

MAIN EVENT:STATE GRADES:DOWNLOAD HERE-January 7th State Grades

The duo with Coach Ken Larsen all these years has been working very well, as we compliment each other’s styles of teaching. Once again we had a record breaking numbers, especially in the groups 1 (Wildcats) and 2 (Coyotes), while the group 3 (Hawks) actually worked out very well too. But as my previous article discusses, the top groups is always hard filling in. At the end, we had completely full groups 1 and 2 and about 12 people in the top group.

I think everyone had a blast and we even got some wonderful responses from the students and parents.

The 3 Camp days were divided between “Openings”, “Middlegame” and “Endgame” lectures and lessons and were geared towards helping students succeed at the upcoming State Grades in January.

Each day students were encouraged to participate in the discussions and offer their own ideas about concepts discussed. Being able to win prizes each day as well as competing with each other for the top trophies and medals was yet another way to maximize their potential.

Thank you all for coming and my personal thanks to Ken for doing such a wonderful coaching job at the camp!

What a wonderful tournament! In addition to a record breaking participation, we also had a great turn-out in the “Master” section. It is a section that is notoriously hard to organize, since many professionals are not only often unavailable for playing, but also usually want even stronger people committed before they decide. This “which came first: chicken or the egg” problem often makes the highest section of tournaments a problem for the organizers. Not this time though.

This officially became the strongest midsize USCF tournament in Tucson (2 IMs, 1 FM, 4 Masters and Experts)!

With the addition of  one of the ACFS new coaches- International Master Mac Molner, we were able to draw other strong players (scuh as GM Pedram Atoufi and IM Joel Banawa from Scottsdale) in and then the group of 1900-2100 poured in. We even had Kiana Arab coming from Scottsdale (one of the strongest girls in AZ) What was wonderful to see is that the heavy favourites were given very hard tasks to solve by the much lower rated “A” players and that is a wonderful and encouraging sign for any coach to see.

The lower groups had the usual division by rating  and many times by age: you could see a 7 year old battle a 60 year old!

Trophies and medals as usual were in abandon (3 class trophies and 3 medals per group) and they were given often based on performance rather than exact tie break spot they got. We believe that helps us motivate lower rated players to shoot for the stars and not be afraid to be in the same section as the “big boys”. An example from the last round (shown below)- Mac could not go past the stabborn defense lines of Ethan Li.

Thank you all for coming, for bringing your kids to the tournament and spending several hours there watching them. Also my gratitude goes to Mac, Pedram, Joel and the TCCC administration for helping us run such a nice event.

The link to the tournament result can be found here: http://main.uschess.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,181/

We have wonderful news: For the Tucson Chinese Center Winter Open we have 2 great additions (players) for the “Master” section and 2 general additions to make the even even more exciting!

International Master Mac Molner (who recently moved to Tucson)  and FM Pedram Atoufi ( funder of the Scottsdale Unity Chess Club) will be playing at the event. We do hope to attract as many strong 2000+ players as possible for this event to make this one memorable chess tournament in Tucson! If you know players who would qualify for the “Master Section” or for the other 3 sections (see the flyer below) please let us know immediately.

2 more additions include:

A. Coaches with groups of registrant students will receive a 10% back for their club chess expenses.

B. Players and parents will have a chance to ask questions to the Masters during the event. So whatever bothers you or need advice with- it will all be answered!

Flyer for the event: TCCC WINTER OPEN 11

If you enjoy a fairly quick time control where at the same time you are in no rush to make moves, this might be a tournament for you. Add to it the fact it is USCF rated and is held at one of the most comfortable and prestigious chess playing sites in Tucson and numerous Individual and sectional trophies and medals and it is easy to see why this event has been always popular for last 3 years.

As usual, there will be special “best performance”  and most of the pairings will be adjusted by hand to make sure players get best possible pairings. No one likes playing too high or too low when it comes to USCF rated tournaments and addressing that is just one of the unique advantages this Tournament provides the players.

The event is open for all the brand new and experienced (up to Master level) players in several sections and is perfect for young players.

In other words, do not miss it!

For the downloadable flyer, click here:TCCC WINTER OPEN 11

It is hard to believe, but this “new” idea is in its 8th year of making! The word “Anaconda” refers to the slow and methodical way of “squeezing” a win out of even slightest chances and ideas.

This camp is traditionally one of the most attended and fun camps on the year in Tucson. From learning chess and drinking hot chocolate, from studying positions and winning prizes, kids love coming to these. Many times this Camp is jointly run with Coach Ken Larsen and we are proud to say that this year is no exception. Students will get the distinct advantage of dealing with two most prominent Tucson coaches who actually vary quite a bit in their styles of teaching.

Below is the flyer for all the days and the groups.

The ratings may be adjusted if we have enough people to push the group towards higher levels. For example, Under 1600 may become Under 1800 if enough 1700′s join.

For discounts and group by rating divisions, please check the flyer and then we can work out the rest through e-mail.

Winter Anaconda Flyer:anaconda december 2011

League Match 3 was held on December 3 at the BASIS Oro Valley. It hosted about 160 players from many neighboring Tucson and Oro Valley schools. The formats for the tournament as well as the prizes were similar to League matches 1 and 2 and allowed players to compete in individual formats yet go for Team trophies also.

I was very proud of the students from our ACFS schools for making the heroic efforts to win prizes and gain rating. Some succeeded and some didn’t but everyone had great fun doing so.

Below is the link to the event on the USCF site (to see your new ratings)

http://main.uschess.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,181/

Here are some of the pictures from the event. Unfortunately we cannot publish as many as we would like to.

Tournament play is one of the best ways to combine fun, competitive nature of the game and learning all in one. League Matches provide a nice venue towards that goal as couple of hundred players in K-12 show up to compete for numerous Individual and team trophies and medals.

The registration can be done by the school or a club coach or the parent. The USCF membership for all the players is required and it can be obtained at the uschess.org website or through the link on the PDF.  There is a slightly complicated but completely acceptable way to get a free trial USCf membership in K-8.

If you are not sure how to do it, please contact your coach.

The tournament is both Individual and Team so the more players you have from your school in your section, the better chance you have of winning team trophies also.

Download the file here:LM3

See you there!

Levon Altounian

The Annual Thanksgiving Camp took place November 26th and 27th.

As usual, the Camp catered to strong and new, old and young and consisted of 3 sections, up to 1600 USCF.

Day 1 saw “Middlegame” as the theme of discussion and day 2 subject was “Endgames”. Campers got to try their abilities and wits in solving puzzles, guessing the best moves and tactical sequences and even play some opening, middlegame and endgame positions in 5 and 10 minute games. At the end of each class students got printout of the covered material and prizes.

It was great fun and hope to see many of you at the next events.

Below are few of the Camp pictures for your enjoyment.

Coach Levon Altounian

DAY 1/ MIDDLEGAME
DAY 2/ ENDGAME

INSTRUCTOR: LEVON ALTOUNIAN
OTHER INSTRUCTORS MAY JOIN TOO

Indians (100-500) 9:30 – 11:30 a.m $60 for both days or $35 per day
Pilgrims (600-1000) 11:45 – 1:45 p.m $60 for both days or $35 per day
Turkeys (1100-1500) 2:00 – 4:00 p.m $60 for both days or $35 per day

SPECIAL PRIZES AVAILABLE / SIGN UP EARLY / 5-15 PER GROUP

Family discounts available / Automatic discount for attending both days

To Register: Contact Levon Altounian at (520) 891-3632, or e-mail laltounian@msn.com

Site: 2772 N. Neruda Ln. (Craycroft and Glenn, heading East on Glenn)

DOWNLOADABLE FLYER:THANKSGIVING CAMP 2011

Congratulations to all the Arizona Chess For Schools students and school teams for doing so well!

Click on the link here to see the rating changes after this event: http://main.uschess.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,181/

What a fun chess Camp! The costumes, masks and visual imagery was simply outstanding and it was extremely hard to pick the winner in each group for the best Costume. At the end we had to vote and see which one got the most nods.

The Chess part was wonderful also: students tested their skills in attacking and tactical puzzles and the costumes helped. A Superman was attacking the medieval Knight and the WonderWoman was pressuring the Pirate, while the Dart Vader was sacrificing a Queen against a Magician. Good job guys!

Date: November 5, 2011

Location: 826 West Chapala Drive, Tucson, AZ

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Tournament Flyer not yet available.

Chess U is an amazing new resource for beginners and advanced players alike. Developed by a team of international players, Chess U allows you to play through free 10 lessons that will bring a new edge to your attacking game. Improve your game on your own terms in your own time, as you tap through the games, with variations played out on the animated board. In-app expansion courses teach you the secrets masters use to turn losses into draws, and draws into wins.

HOW TO PURCHASE THE APPS

1) Download Chess u for FREE at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chess-u/id416507647?mt=8
for your iPad or iPhone

2) Select your courses from the course list:
Courses by IM Levon Altounian:
Early Carlsen 201
World Cup 201
World Cup 202

3) Use your 1Tunes account to buy them inside the app. The cost of each is only $.99.

4) Enjoy!

CHECKMATE
PRINCIPLES / BEST SYSTEMS / SACRIFICES / KING SAFETY

Monsters (100-400)    $35       9:30 -11:30 a.m.
Ghosts (500-800)        $35       11:45- 1:45 p.m.
Zombies (900-1250)    $35        2:00- 4:00 p.m.

SPECIAL PRIZE FOR BEST COSTUME
PRIZES
SIGN UP EARLY- 5-15 PER GROUP!
FAMILY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE.

To register, contact Levon Altounian
(520) 891-3632
email:laltounian@msn.com

Site: 2772 N. Neruda Ln. (Craycroft and Glenn, heading East on Glenn)

Click here to download event flyer

Date: October 15, 2011

Location: St. Cyril School 4725 E Pima St Tucson, AZ 85712.

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Click here to download event flyer