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Columbia Chess Club Newsletter 9/29/25

Columbia Chess Club Newsletter 9/29/25

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Columbia Chess Club Newsletter

2025 SC State Championship This Weekend!

In This Issue:
  • State Championship This Weekend
  • This Week's Club Events (Adults-Only and Advanced Classes start this week!)
  • Thank You to NM Mike Sailer
  • Weekly Results Corner
  • Want an Icon?
  • From the Discord
  • Some Chess Content
  • On the Horizon Schedule
View the Club Calendar >
State Championship This Weekend!
At the time this publication goes to print, the tournament is near capacity and only two slots remain. The average rating of top-10 registrants is 2210, which includes all active titled players in the state and suggests this is the strongest championship ever in SC, coupled with the largest-known prize fund. The excitement building at the club is palpable! If you are unable to attend, you can watch the tournament live on Twitch.
This Week's Club Events
5:15 p.m. Developmental Class (Sign Up)
6:15 p.m. Developmental Class (Sign Up)
Suited for new players and players rated under 1000.
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.
Kid's Night Registration
6:30 p.m.: Quad Night! G/25+10. 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 6:20 p.m. to participate, so don't wait until it's too late!
Quad Night Registration
6:00 p.m.: Adults-Only Class. Adults-only class officially kicks off this week, starring NM Mike Sailer.
Adults-Only Class Registration
7:00 p.m.: Advanced Class. The advanced class also gets underway this Wednesday, starring NM Mike Sailer.
Advanced Class Registration
Main Meeting
  • 5 p.m. Free Lessons
  • 6 p.m. Hand & Brain: 2-player teams, one player says name of piece to move, other decides where to move. Registration on-site only.
  • 7 p.m. October Classical Month Round 1 - one round of G/60+30 each week during the month of October, join any week!
Register Online
7:30 p.m.: Round 1 of State Championship 3-day format
10:00 a.m.: Round 1 of State Championship 2-day format; Round 2 of 3-day format.

1:00 p.m.: Round 2 of 2-day format.

3:30 p.m.: Round 3 (Merged).

7:30 p.m.: SC Blitz Championship.
10:00 a.m.: Round 4 of State Championship.

2:00 p.m.: SC Chess Association Annual Meeting.

3:30 p.m.: Round 5 of State Championship, followed by tiebreak games if necessary.
Thank You to Mike Sailer
This past Friday turned into a Mike-Sailer-Appreciation-Night with a pot luck and big turnout for his lecture on "Learning From Your Defeats" inspired by his encounter with GM Daniel Naroditsky. Mike offers a lot of himself to the club, from his upcoming classes for adults and advanced players, to his regular attendance at our Thursday-night events and Tunnelvision tournaments, to being a wonderful ambassador for the club. Thank you Mike!
Weekly Results Corner
Kid's Night: 
This week’s Kids Night featured a fun tournament with 14 competitors, directed by Coach James. While the games were in full swing, Coaches Brandon and Sean introduced brand-new students to the game of chess.
In the A Section, Robert Mareska captured the medal.
In the B Section, Lucas Encarnacion earned top honors.
And in the Unrated Section, Sammy Morgan won a US Chess membership!

Kid's Night Rating Report
Quad Night: Congrats to Aarush Panda and Sean Miller for winning their quads!
 
Quad Night Rating Report
Thursday Main Meeting:  Rapid Tournament (17 players), Thomas Kemp Jr. scored a perfect 1st place finish! Tyler Murrah and Jason Cheng shared 2nd & 3rd.

Rapid Rating Report

Classical Tournament (24 players), Upper Section:
🥇 Arnav Singh (3.0 points)
🥈 Sean Miller (2.5 points)
🥉 Tamaghna Roy & Jason Cheng (shared 3rd & 4th)
⭐ Highlight: Thomas Kemp Jr. earned a 100-point upset win!
Lower Section:
🥇 Rio Saha & Logan Santos (shared 1st & 2nd)
⭐ Highlight: Logan Santos scored a 173-point upset victory!
 
 
Want an Icon?
Get your icon before you join our event so we have time to add it to our system. The Columbia Chess Club's next generation of streaming setup is live, and you can create your own personal icon to have displayed during our events. Follow the link to submit us your photo.
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From the Discord
Join our Discord to be part of our community chat.
Some Chess Content
Answer at the end of the newsletter . . .
On the Horizon
Friday-Sunday, October 3-5, 2025:
Saturday, October 11, 2025:
See Club Calendar for Full List of Upcoming Events
Answer to historical puzzle: 1. Bh3 (blocking the advancement of black's a-pawn) b5, 2. c8=N ... if a6 then 3. Nb6# or if 2...b4 then 3. Bd7#

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