Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; blaz, kruupy, chessrascal, bob-hicks, kolibandi, juca4466, Northridgehawk, mfeatherston, john-beebs and chess2k7

Round 6 of The LeChess Club Championship Swiss Tourney is now well under way but there are still several players who have not arranged their games.  Players who have not yet contacted their opponents are reminded that they have until 22 Dec to arrange and play their games or risk a forfeit.

The winner of this week LeChess Club Chocco Bunny Tourney was saltoflife

The Kumara and Chocco Bunnie Tournies are run by LeChess club but are open to all members if ICC.  For more information take a look at the Weekly Knockout Tournies page

Eds LeChess Cuttings are the only team in the t4545 league finals.  Lets get behind our boys and cheer them on to a championship win.

If you are interested in playing for a LeChess Club team in t36 then send an ICC message to Parrot9. For more information on the t4545 league visit their website at http://team4545league.org/.  The LeChess Club Teams Page contains the teams for the current tournament and archives of previous tournies.

UK and most of Europe mark the end of BST on Sunday Morning at 02:00 and their times will revert to GMT. This is ICC+4 for UK and ICC+5 for the rest of Europe. ICC will follow suit the following weekend (Nov 4th) thus the time difference will revert back to ICC+5 for UK and ICC+6 for the rest of Europe.

T35 Results for Round 1

A mixed bunch of results with 3 match wins, 3 draws and 4 losses with 2 games to play that will decide match results.  Mr Forfeit arrived on time this round THREE times.  Many players put a great deal of commitment into playing in the league, it is for them that I sympathise with as they feel strongly let down.  Lets banish Mr Forfeit to the bench unless he wants to appear for our opponents!

Le President is pleased to announce that two lecture series have been added to the LeChess Club schedule.

Every Thursday at 18:00 (starting on 18 October) ChessOptimist will be lecturing for LeChess Club. His first few lectures will cover the Art of Sacrifices.

Every Thursday at 20:00 (starting on 25 October) TrickyBishop will be lecturing for LeChess Club using a voice server. He will be lecturing on Chess Endings.

Le President congratulates Legendary on becoming a LeChess Club Mentor

The next t4545 tourney (t35) has arrived and again Parrot9 has pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and produced 12 potentially great teams that should do well in the tourney.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see LeChess Club team winners in all sections.  However, remember that win or lose, we are all striving to improve our chess skills.  In order to improve it is important for us all to take something from every game that we play.  Be sure to examine your games when they have finished and take any questions that you have to the mentors.  They are always willing to help.

Many LeChessies play on non LeChess Club teams but they are are also on the road to improvement.  I should remind one and all that the activities run by LeChess Club apply equally to all members regardless of the team for which they play.

I wish all LeChessies good luck and success in t35.

Legendary will be running a simul for LeChess Club on Fridays at 18:00. The time control will be 35 15. After the simul one game will be selected for analysis where members can kibitz their ideas.

Le President congratulates Fledermaus on becoming a LeChess Club Mentor

Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; Legendary, DctSccr, and Civilization

Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; Endgamer, MeansToAnEnd, bubabar, Ayleid, danenez, gwg and Malihini

The results of round 2 of LCC1 and the pairings for round 3 have been posted on the LeChess Club Championship page.  Remember that you need to arrange your round 3 games in the forum and play your games by 06 October 2007.  There are some great games in prospect in this round. Good luck to all players.

LeChess Club is sponsoring a new event. End Game Lectures will be run by TrickyBishop on Thursdays at 20:00.  The lectures will be delivered using the ICC interface in conjunction with Skype.  These skype lectures will last about an hour and are open to LeChess Club members on a first come first served basis.  A list of some of the lectures may be seen on the lectures page. Some of the lectures may be recorded and placed on the chess lecture video page

LePresident congratulates LeChess Maestros and LeKing Klubbers for reaching the semi final  stages of the playoffs in their sections.Lets all get behind our boys and cheer them on to the championship

The result of the banter match between captain and corsair was 0-1. LeChess Club members are encouraged to take part in banter matches which have value in helping players improve their game.

As a supplement to runnning banter matches, LeChess Club hope to run post banter analysis lectures where the lecturer will examine the game as well as looking at the ideas put forward by the players in their banter.  More information will be posted in due course.

LeChess Club hope to enter up to 12 teams into the next t4545 tourney, (t35).  If any LeChess Club members are interested in playing for a LeChess Club team in t35 then they are to send an ICC message to Parrot9 (LeChess Club Teams Manager).

TrickyBishop has taken up the post of LeChess Club Banter Manager.  Members of all ratings are encouraged to take part in Banter Matches.  Any body wishing to take part in a Monday Banter Match should contact TrickyBishop.

Le President congratulates LeChess Maestros, LeChocco Bunnies, LeKing Klubbers and LeBeastial Bishops for making it through to the playoffs in t34.  LeChocco Bunnies are going for two in a row! Lets cheer the guys on in the playoffs which start on 4th September.

A special mention goes to LePresident's LeChess Men who missed a playoff place by the narrowest of margins. I hope to see you all back next time for another crack at the title.

As many of you may know I was involved in a personal crisis that led to a six week absence from LeChess Club activities.  Many thanks for the messages of support that I received during this time.  It is great to be back and I look forward to speaking to you all in the channel.

Many thanks to Forketta who ran a tight ship in my absence and I am pleased that the management team kept the club going.

In my absence the LeChess Club Swiss Tournament has got underway under the guiding hand of JimGrange.  We are now in round 2 and it is time that the players made their way to the forum to start arranging their games, remember that all round 2 games are to be played by the 15 September.

Some success in t4545.  Congratulations to LeChocco Bunnies and LeKing Kubbers who have made it through to the playoffs.  It is possible that LePresident LeChess Men and LeBeastial Bishops can join them.  The final matches are on Sunday and Monday, watch for the channel announcements to observe the games and cheer our boys on.

LENNA will be recommencing her Play the Master event on Wednesdays at 12:00. If you would like to play her in one of her sessions then please send an ICC message to Invicta-Knight or LeChessClub.

Voja will be giving his final lecture of his series on Tuesday 04 September where he will be examining a LeChessies game or two.  If you have a game that you feel should be considered for analysis during his lecture then please let me know by ICC message.

MrPetrov will be giving a lecture on Wednesday 5th September at 18:00 ICC time. The lecture will be entitled "Improving Your Middle Game Planning and Thinking"

LeChess Club will be running a Championship Swiss Tournament which will be open to all members of LeChess Club.  Prizes are being negotiated and will be awarded to the LeChess Club Champion (1900+) and to the highest placed u1900, u1600 and u1300 players.  The tourney will last for 7 rounds and each round will last for 3 weeks.  Registration will start in the next 2 or 3 weeks. You must register with the LeChess Club forum prior to registration as this is where you will arrange the games with your opponent.  The TD for the Tourney is JimGrange

The winners of the LeChess Club Weekly Knockouts on Saturday 14 July;

Remember Invicta-Knights t4545 training program that will enable you to keep in trim and ready for t34

1   Ten TrainingBot problems each day

2.   At least one game a day which should be mentored

t34 is here and the LeChess Club teams are primed and ready to go.  Again Parrot9 has wielded his magic and produced twelve potentially competitive teams.  Well done parrot9, and thanks!

The target this tourney is to exceed the great performance of t33 by getting more than five teams into the playoffs.

Not only should LeChess Club members play their best chess and strive to win their matches, they should also remember the underlying ethos of the club, to aim to improve your chess.  We have a mentor program which is designed to help all members examine their games to identify where improvements in their games can be made.  The road to improvement can be made smoother with the words of wisdom provided by the mentors.

Remember also that we have an annotated games page where bragging rights may be claimed and errors identified.  Simply annotate your games and send the .pgn file to the webmaster. 

Before the tourney starts all players are reminded to refresh themselves with the t4545 players handbook and the LeChess Club teams page.  Remember that the tourney is designed for your enjoyment. Play well and good luck to all lechessies

The STD Bunch Sunday Swiss Grand Prix results for June revealed that only the u1600 section was won by a LeChessie. Well done to  Invicta-Knight. A breakdown of the results can be seen at http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/sunday-swiss/sundayswiss.txt. For more information on STC events take a look at http://www.stcbunch.net

The winners of the LeChess Club Weekly Knockouts on Saturday 07 July;

Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; hmp1, Bega, Nyctrius, joshua9 and sg51ph

The winners of the LeChess Club Weekly Knockouts on Saturday 30 June;

The summary of t33 has now been archived on the website for prosperity.  Included are all the team lists, match results as well as the all important pgn downloads of all games played so that you can research your opponents in future tournies. The heroes of the t33 LeChess Club teams are listed below;

Schweppz (Chessics LeChess Students) 7/8

Bort (LeChess Magisters) 5/6

Mikey29a (LePawn Stars) 5/6

oldsj (Chessics LeChess Students) 6.5/8

EyeAm (Chessics LeChess Students) 6.5/8

The team lists for t34 are nearing completion and will be posted shortly!

The LeChess Club teams are very nearly completion with only one or two team places yet to be finalised.  If you are interested in playing for a LeChess Club team in t34 then please message parrot9. Those of you that have put your names forward please be patient and announcements will be made in due course.

Due to unforseen technical difficulties the first in Voja's lecture series (A study of Sicilian Najdorf Variations Using Games played by Fischer and Kasparov)will be delivered tomorrow at 17:00

LeChess club is currently in the process of trialling voice lectures which combine the use of the ICC interface with Skype.  These lectures are open to all members of LeChess Club who support the latest version of skype (presently version 3.2) which can be downloaded from www.skype.com

Voja will be giving the first series of voice lectures for LeChess club starting tonight at 17:00 and is titled "A study of Sicilian Najdorf Variations Using Games played by Fischer and Kasparov"The full lecture program may be seen on the lectures page.

The winners of the LeChess Club Weekly Knockouts on Saturday 16 June;

Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; hmp1, Bega, Nyctrius, joshua9 and sg51ph

The mentor program has been one of the key elements of LeChess Club for several years and has provided many members with much needed help and assistance.  It is one of the success stories of the club and this has been largely due to the time and effort kindly given by our Chief Mentor Sir-Knightly.  He has recently started a new job and is just about to move house and is therefore, presently unable to continue giving the time and effort that the mentor program needs to run smoothly and effectively.

Although he will not be running the mentor program he will be online, albeit a lot less often, and he has agreed to continue as a mentor.  On behalf of LeChess Club members,  Le President thanks Sir-Knightly for all the hard work that he has done to make the mentor system so successful and for his contribution to LeChess Club as a whole.

Saltoflife will take over as Chief Mentor and Izit will fill the vacancy of Assistant, both with immediate effect.

LePresident thanks both Saltoflife and izit for committing their efforts to the continued success of the mentor system and LeChess Club and wishes them the best of luck.

Saltoflife has started two threads on the LeChess Club forum where he hopes LeChess Club members will indicate what they want from the Mentor System and give feed back on mentor sessions that are undertaken.  If any LeChess Club member has any issues with any aspect of the Mentor System then feel free to contact either The Chief Mentor or his assistant.

Voja (IM) will be giving a series of  ten lectures for LeChess Club.  The series will start on Tuesday 26 June and will start at 17:00.  Each lecture will incorporate the use of a skypecast in conjuction with the ICC interface.  To listen to the lectures you must be running Skype version 3.2 which can be downloaded from www.skype.com

The full list of lectures will be posted on the Lectures Page as soon as it has been decided.

It is forbidden to join a skypecast if you are playing a game on ICC.  You should leave the skypcast if you subsequently start a game.  Hosts are requested to remove players from their skypecasts if they notice that members who are listening in are playing a game.  Please be reminded that playing a game while taking part in a skypecast may be construed as using outside help and may be dealt with by SpeedTrap.

Congratulations to LeChess Maestros and LeChocco Bunnies who are through to their respective section finals in t33. Goooooo LeChessies!!!

It is proposed to use skypecast for LeChess Club members to meet and discuss games that are being played on ICC.  To use skypecast you need to download the latest skype.exe from www.skype.com.

In addition, it is intended to run voice lectures using this medium.  TrickyBishop will be delivering a lecture at 16:00 on Tuesday 19 June 2007.  If this pilot is successful  LeChess Club will consider using skypecast in conjunction with the ICC interface to bring voice lectures to its members on a regular basis.

Note that during these lectures only the lecturer will be invited to speak and questions will be asked using kibitz console.

It is forbidden to join a skypecast if you are playing a game on ICC.  You should leave the skypcast if you subsequently start a game.  Hosts are requested to remove players from their skypecasts if they notice that members who are listening in are playing a game.  Please be reminded that playing a game while taking part in a skypecast may be construed as using outside help and may be dealt with by SpeedTrap.

Congratulations to Chessics LeChess Students who are the t33 u1300 section champions.  Well played to all of you and I hope to see you again in t34.

The winners of the LeChess Club Weekly Knockouts on Saturday 16 June;

Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; proof27h, NachoAveragKid, phoenix7, king4aknight, rkaebi, Boswhoosta, STY7NK, jacktripperccc, samssky, icetea, LeSacAttack, outbacker5, camembert, schluppy, bczero3, Russ and IronWill

There are two new pages that have been added to the website.

The Annotated games page is now up and running. If you annotate one of your games, played either on ICC or over the board, then feel free to  send it to the webmaster in .pgn format and it will be posted onto the website.  It is proposed to employ a team of annotators to assist LeChess Club members annotate their games.  Members are encouraged to have their games mentored and then annotate them themselves.  Games can be annotated using chess data bases or on ICC using the annotate command (see "help Annotate")

We now have video streaming on the Chess Lecture Video page.  All members are welcome to make a lecture using Windows Media Player and send it to the webmaster for uploading to the host site for streaming. There is a small selection of videos on our web sight for viewing.  All videos are hosted at http://www.blip.tv/.  You do not need to register at the site to perform a search for "LeChess Club" and view the videos.

LeBeastial Bishops were knocked out of the playoff 1/4 final in the under 1600 section but the rest of the LeChess Club teams go marching on. Chessics LeChess Students are in the final of the u1300 section and LeChess Magisters take on LeChess Maestros in the semi final of the u2000 section

The winners of the LeChess Club Weekly Knockouts on Saturday 09 June;

Le President welcomes the following players to LeChess Club; proof27h, NachoAveragKid, phoenix7, king4aknight, rkaebi, Boswhoosta, STY7NK, jacktripperccc, samssky, icetea, LeSacAttack, outbacker5, camembert, schluppy, bczero3, Russ and IronWill

Le President congratulates the teams that have made it through to the playoffs of t33;

u2000 section; LeChess Magisters and LeChess Maestros