4:45 p.m. Kid's Night
Suited for K-12 players who are new or rated under 1000, we offer a rated tournament with a medal to the winner, an unrated tournament for new players with a USCF membership to the winner, and free casual play. |
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| 7 p.m.: Rapid Quad Night! G/20+5. Quads place you in a group of four players as closely rated to you as possible, with three rounds to determine the winner. $20 Entry fee can win $40 ($45 for a perfect score). You must be registered by 6:40 p.m. to participate, so don't wait until it's too late! |
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Cheers & Chess, 6-9 p.m. at Hazelwood Brewing Company, Lexington
Come join us for a drink at Hazelwood Brewing and a game chess! Open to all skills levels. We love playing blitz and rapid as well as teaching newcomers to the game. |
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Main Meeting
- 5 p.m. Free Lessons
- 6 p.m. Quick I: 3-Rounds of 10+1.
- 7 p.m. April Classical Month, Week 2; G/60;+30
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S.C. Girl's Championship
Girls from all over the state battle it out to win the title of Girl's Scholastic State Champion and to qualify to the Haring National Tournament of State Champions. Girls of all skill levels welcome! |
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7:30 p.m. G/3+2 Diamond 5-Round SWISS on Chess.com
Changes have come to Sunday Nights, now a Swiss Tournament with Class Prizes! Be sure to register before 7:30 so you don't miss out!
First place, Top U1400 and Top U1000 win a 1-month diamond membership to chess.com, which can be used to upgrade your free account or extend an existing diamond membership for a month.
Make sure you're a member of the Columbia Chess Club at Chess.com. |
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NM Mike Sailer's Broadcasting Debut
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| NM Mike Sailer's live commentary of the 2025 SC Scholastic Finals was met with rave reviews! Mike was non-stop educational throughout the event, and had great insight on the game and the tension of the event. Well worth a watch for anyone wanting to peer into the mind of a National Master! |
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Columbia Chess Club's Foundations Chess Camps Open for Registration!
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Foundations Chess Camp is designed for students just starting out in chess, or those with limited knowledge beyond the basics. Camp sizes are limited to 12 students, so please act quickly if you are interested in attending.
For:
- Complete beginners
- Students who have only played chess at home
- Students who have not competed in a formal tournament
- Students with limited tournament experience (have played in US Chess in-person tournament but have a rating under 600)
- Children between the ages of 5-12
Instruction
The Chess Foundations camp is taught by Coach Brandon Jordan and other Columbia Chess Club coaches, with a class size limited to 12 students. The goal is to learn the rules, basic strategy, and beginner tactics and compete in a tournament setting.
Schedule
8:45 - 9:00 Drop Off
9:00 - 12:00 Instruction / Play
12:00 - 12:15 Pick Up
Where
Columbia Chess Club
6169 St. Andrews Road
Columbia, SC 29212
Dates
Monday, June 9, 2025 - Friday, June 13, 2025 - 9 Slots Remaining
Monday, June 23, 2025 - Friday, June 27, 2025 - 11 Slots Remaining
Monday, July 21, 2025 - Friday, July 25, 2025 - 11 Slots Remaining
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Kid's Night: Congratulations to Rio Saha for winning the Medal in the A rated Section, Alexander Holtzclaw in the B section, and to Lennon Mitchell for winning a membership to US Chess as our unrated player! Thank you to Coach Brandon for hosting our beginners learning the game, and Coach James for running the tournament.
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Rapid Quad Night: Our biggest Quad Night so far with four quads! Congratulations to Tamaghna Roy for winning the top quad even overcoming a National Master! Next we have Nicholas Ciriello winning his with a perfect score. Austin Stinecipher attained perfection as well in his quad. Rio Saha overcame the odds and won the bottom quad as the youngest player in the event. We already have a roster for two strong quads next week, so we will see you then!Quad Night Rating Report
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Thursday Main Meeting: We had four national masters visit the club on Thursday night, including NM Pete Peterson down from Pennsylvania, as well as our local favorites NM Kevin Cotreau, NM Mike Sailer, and NM Patrick Sciacca.Hand & Brain Recap:
Big congrats to NM Mike Sailer & NM Kevin Cotreau’s team for taking 1st place!
Sharing 2nd & 3rd:
- Paul Copeland & James Brandmair
- Dylan Wong & Nick Ciriello
- Brandon Jordan & Ellie Jordan
Classical: Meanwhile, we kicked off April’s classical round with 22 players! Major upsets from Thomas Kemp Jr. & Sr. in the top section, and strong wins from Lydia Nimmich & Abhyudaya Raj in the lower section.
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Final Results of Diamond Swiss I
Overall Winner: Jason Mashal, U1400 Winner: Ricky Panda, U1000 Winner: Rio Saha. Congratulations to these players winning a free 1-month Diamond membership!
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Ok! In classical this month we saw Mitch Nimmich gain 324 points after an going undefeated at Tunnelvision. Joseph George had the second biggest gain with 322 from the SC Scholastic championship by itself. David Floyd Jr had the 3rd biggest gain with 254 after large gains from both Tunnelvision and the SC Scholastic Championships. Jack Hannagan had the biggest breakout performance with a rating of 1493 after playing in the scholastic championship missing out on the qualifier by half a point.
In Rapid Lucas Encarnarcion played his first event at the PSCL. He then kept coming to kids night to improve by 332 points from his first appearance. Second most points gained was Joseph George after both the PSCL and SC Championship. Jack Roberts had the 3rd largest gain in rapid scoring 317 points at Tunnelvision scoring 3/4 in the U1600 section.The biggest breakout performance was once again Jack Hannigan at 1459 from the SC Scholastic, but a close second was Bose Kaikini at 1433 from his 3.5/4 performance at the PSCL.
In Blitz Jason Osborne was the biggest gainer with 115 points after going 3/4 with a nearly 400 point upset. Judah Stasi had the 2nd most points at 105 after pulling off an 180 point upset. Chace Nguyen had the 3rd most point gained with 91 after a 300 point upset. The biggest breakout performance was Vivaan Biswal with a rating of 841.
Paul Copeland
Number Nerd |
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Corny Jokes from the SCCA Archives
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| Chessable releases a Chess960 Opening Guide : |
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| Join our Discord to be part of our community chat. |
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Free Ways to Support the Club
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| The Columbia Chess Club is an affiliate of major chess retailers, like House of Staunton and others, and using our affiliate links can earn us a commission that helps us continue our efforts to enrich and grow the chess community in South Carolina! We also sell our own line of parody scorebooks, if you're looking to buy a notation book. You could also follow us on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and other social media--the Club earns partnership revenue from streaming services, so your viewership helps the club too. Consider also leaving us a Google business review! |
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| Thank you for all the support! Only 8 tables remain available for sponsorship. If you would like to sponsor a table, you can do so on our website. |
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| Saturday, April 12, 2025: |
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| Saturday, April 19, 2025: |
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| Every Thursday at 7pm in May, 2025: |
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