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Hey Kraken! Tonight's Splash will be streamed live on Facebook, so if you want friends and family to watch, go to NW Wa. Scholastic Chess at https://www.facebook.com/NW-Washington-Scholastic-Chess-107377609297777/ and share the link. Players, the elementary and middle school beginners section is https://www.chess.com/live#r=184626. If we don't have four players at 7:00, it won't fire, and you can then join the High School MS section at https://www.chess.com/live#r=184627. We're sticking with Arena format tonight (change of plan). And don't forget to sign up for Chess Jam before 7pm Friday. I just had more prizes from Chesskid.com and Chess4Life.com donated today!

Directions for Chess Jam Online players You've decided to play in Chess Jam. Excellent! Here are some rules, tips and useful information. 1. Join the appropriate section between 9am and 10am.Check the Kraken Messages to find the direct links to the various sections. Make sure you're joining the right section for your grade. If you want to play in an older grade section, you may. 2. Refresh your screen and be present at 10:00, and when each round starts.If you are browsing other websites or other parts of Chess.com when the round starts, your game might be scored as a loss due to "abandonment". If you've went browsing and come back right before the round, refresh the screen so Chess.com knows you're there. 3. Be prepared for rounds to start early.Each new round will start immediately after the last game of a round is finished. So a round could last over an hour, or if everyone is moving fast, ten minutes. You can watch other games, but be careful not to miss the start of your round. So be alert and ready! If you miss the start of a round, you're out of the whole tournament.To get a feel for how Chess.com Swiss pairing tournaments work, try one out on Chess.com in advance. 4. Chess.com pairings and results are final. If you mis-clicked your mouse, if your computer dies, if you accidentally offered a draw, if Chess.com thought you weren't there and gave you a loss by abandonment, then we have to accept it. It's handy to be able to play online, but it comes with occasional drawbacks, which we aim to minimize. 5. Submit a riddle to be eligible for the door prizes.Every year at Chess Jam, we have door prizes. To enter, you put a riddle on a card and drop it in the door prize box. Well, for Chess Jam Online, here's the spot to post your riddle and be eligible for the door prizes. Only one riddle per player. 6. Check out the live stream.You don't have to view it, it's just for fun. Watch for the link, that morning. Players, don't watch the stream while you're playing. It will just distract you. And if we talk about your game in progress while you're playing, and you hear, that's unfair. So you can watch the whole stream later, if you wish. The stream is mainly for parents and friends. Now what y'all can do, is Like and Share it on Facebook, so your relatives and friends can get in on the action. We'll be watching and enjoying the games in progress, checking on the standings and pairings, explaining basic chess strategy, answering questions from viewers, discussing the local scholastic chess scene with any guests we can arrange, showing viewers how to navigate Chess.com, reading some riddles, doing the door prize drawings, etc. Will it be professional? No way! It'll be local, cheesy and fun. 7. Submit a selfie for the Virtual Tournament Hall.In a normal Chess Jam, we're all hanging out in the cafeteria and enjoying the excitement, announcements, etc. But not this time, because we're social distancing! So, players, on the day of the tournament, we're going to create a Virtual Tournament Hall. Watch for a link where you can submit a selfie of yourself "at the board" (with your computer) or "in the skittles area" (wherever you play with a regular chessboard at home. Put the chessboard in the photo!) 8. After the final round, check the live stream.Probably the last game to finish will be in the Middle and High School division. After a few minutes to compute team standings, we'll recognize the champions and announce the awards on the live stream.

"Chess club online just isn't the same." True. To get a taste of the club vibe, that exciting chess scene sensation, here's four very short clips. Until social distancing subsides, these will have to do. Put on your virtual reality headsets, a.k.a. your imagination, and visualize the following videos when you play in a Kraken tourney. (click on the link, then click again on the image) You are at a high school chess club meeting. (clip of Ferndale HS club meeting this year) You are at a middle school chess club meeting. (clip of Vista-Horizon club meeting this year) You are at a big chess tournament. (clip of the most recent Elem/MS State in Tacoma) You win the chess match, and the crowd goes wild!

Below is a list of chess entities that have donated prizes to Chess Jam Online. And they're substantial prizes. These websites require a premium membership to unlock the many classes, videos or interactive instructional content that they've created. CHESS4LIFEBased in Seattle, the Chess4Life staff directs dozens of after-school chess programs in the greater Seattle area. Their Chess4Life Online Learning guides students through six skill levels (Pawn to King) and features founder Elliott Neff's excellent videos. They've freshly begun online classes and clubs recently also, to accommodate social distancing.Chess4Life is donating several offerings to give away as Chess Jam Online prizes. Thank you Chess4Life! CHESSKIDProbably the largest youth chess website out there, ChessKid.com has everything -- a safe place to play, structured lessons, instructive articles and videos, puzzles to solve, clubs to join, all with a kid friendly presentation. They're also hosting the Washington State Elementary Championships.ChessKid.com are getting their Chess Jam Online prizes set up. Thank you ChessKid.com! CHESS24Originating in Europe, Chess24 is one of the largest online chess websites for all ages. They have a chess school, video series from Grandmasters, tactics trainer, openings database, regular online tournaments, the works.Chess24 is in the process of determining their Chess Jam Online prizes. Thank you Chess24! INTERNET CHESS CLUBThe original and longest running chess club on the web. "Where the Grandmasters play." They have an unparalleled library of instructional videos. Of particular note for scholastic players, the videos from Master chess teacher Dan Heisman are only found here.The ICC has donated several ICC memberships to give away as Chess Jam Online prizes. Thank you ICC! CHESSITYExcellent European based website for youth. They are pioneers in the gamification of chess learning, featuring a developed set of engaging chess mini-games. They also have a structured set of lessons, inspired by the renowned Steps chess curriculum.Chessity has donated several Chessity accounts of different types to give away as Chess Jam Online prizes. Thanks Chessity! CHESSABLEExploding in popularity. Their MoveTrainer uses interactive learning, with carefully spaced repetition, to efficiently teach chess concepts. IMHO, fastest growing chess website currently.Chessable has donated several 1-year PRO memberships to give away as Chess Jam Online prizes. Thank you Chessable! ZOOM CHESSChess Magnet School came first. Zoom Chess modified that excellent content and tailored the presentation to an elementary school audience, with excellent results.Zoom Chess has donated several six-month memberships to give away as Chess Jam Online prizes. Thanks Zoom Chess!

Welcome to The Kraken! Glad you can join us. We hope you enjoy playing and learning chess with other students from Northwest Washington. Here's some tips and info. 1. If you haven't yet done so, find an image to replace the boring gray pawn next to your name. (Go to Settings or Profile, and click on the boring gray pawn.) Makes it more colorful, gives you a visual identity, helps build community. Thanks! 2. To see who you're playing, check the Kraken Member Index. 3. Parents, you can adjust the safety settings (chat, messages, visibility) if you'd like. See this forum post. 4. It's a litte tricky trying to navigate to our onine tournaments for the first time. Here's a forum post with directions. 5. Monday evenings we play Crazyhouse Chess. It's like regular chess, except when you capture a piece, it joins your team and you can use it. When it's your turn, you can either make a normal move, or place a captured piece on any empty square. That piece is now your color, and it works for you! In Chess.com, if you want to place a piece, drag it from the left side of the board and release it on the desired square. 6. If you "Friend" others, you'll see when they're online, so you can challenge them to a live game. 7. Kraken tourneys may have sections, so look to join the appropriate section when you join a Kraken tournament. If you're a high school player or an experienced middle schooler, join the (MS, High School) or Upper section. (Elementary players can join too, if they want tough competition.) If you're an elementary school student, or a middle school beginner, then join the (Elementary) or Lower section. If the Lower section doesn't get four players, it will not begin, in which case you can then join the Upper section in progress. (Tip: Click on the In Progress tab to find a tourney that has already started.) That's it! Have fun, and feel free to message me with any ideas, suggestions or comments! MooseMouse (Randy Kaech), Kraken director

Hello NW WA youth chess players and parents! Have we got news for you! Five Big Items. 1. STATE WILL HAPPEN! ONLINE! This is the culmination of the chess season, usually at the Tacoma Convention Center, with over 1400 players, who had to qualify to get there. This year you don't have to qualify, any child can attend! Even high schoolers and adults, in the "I Love Chess 2" sections. It's on Saturday, May 4, two weeks after Chess Jam. See https://wsecc.org/ . 2. CHESS JAM ONLINE, RATED, PRIZES, LIVE-STREAMED It's big, and getting bigger. I'm impressed with the prizes that the various online chess websites have donated. By special permission, it will be WSRS rated. And it'll be live-streamed. Register in advance, and come play: http://northwestchess.info/jam20online.html. 3. DEEP DIVE STARTS APRIL 1 Every two months, we Deep Dive. It's called "Daily Chess", and it used to be called "Correspondence Chess." If you like to actually think about your moves, this is for you! Get in on the first Deep Dive - sign up by March 31, because the slow clocks start on April 1. https://www.chess.com/tournament/kraken-deep-dive-i 4. NEW KRAKEN EVENT ON THURSDAYS The Kraken is rockin'. Monday Crazyhouse, Wednesday Splash and Saturday Battles are great. But when can you play a real game with a normal time control, that's not Blitz chess? At the Thursday evening Kraken Duels, that's when. 7pm. One game only, 25 minutes per side, with a 5 second increment. We'll have two divisions, and then you're at the mercy of the Chess.com Arena pairings. 5. KRAKEN TOURNEYS MAY HAVE SECTIONS We've gotten to the size where we have A) lots of players, and B) players of very different strengths, ranging from kindergarteners who have just learned the moves, to experienced high school league players, even NWL All-Stars. So, Kraken tourneys may now have sections. Look to join the appropriate section when you join a Kraken tournament. If you're a high school player or an experienced middle schooler, join the (MS, High School) or Upper section. Elementary players can join too, if they want tough competition. If you're an elementary school student, or a middle school beginner, then join the (Elementary) or Lower section. If the Lower section doesn't get four players, it will not begin, in which case you can then join the Upper section in progress. (Tip: Click on the In Progress tab to find a tourney that has already started.)

Parents and students, since school has been cancelled for awhile, you should consider attending a Chess School at home. There are a number of good places with structured chess lessons. Find one you like, take a lesson or attend a class daily, and your chess progress will be amazing. Some may require a modest fee. For elementary students: Take chess lessons at ChessKid.com Get Chess4Life Online Instruction For MS and HS students: Take chess lessons at Chess.com For all kids K-12 who can read (free): Take classes at ChessKID Academy UK

Here's the information you need to join the Kraken Deep Dive I, our "Daily" chess tournament that starts on April 1. https://www.chess.com/tournament/kraken-deep-dive-i Invitations to join will automatically be sent to Kraken members. Or, click on the JOIN button, and you'll be admitted soon. (Unless you're a parent -- the tourney is for K-12 youth only.)

First off, it's best to enter before the event starts, since we need four or more players for the tournament to happen. Plus, it increases your chance of earning a medal. To enter a live tournament like Kraken Splash or Kraken Battle, here's what you do: Hover your mouse over the Hand icon... ...and click on Live Chess . Now find the tab in the upper right that says Tournaments, and click on it: Now, is your tournament Upcoming, or In Progress? You may need to click on the appropriate tab. Then look for the tournament you want to join, click on it, and you're in! Some tournaments, like the Kraken Splash on Wednesday evenings, have two divisions. So look at both and enter the one appropriate to your rating. If you have a lower rating, you can enter either section. If you're rating is fairly high, you must play in the upper division.

Parents, consider doing the following. 1. Review online safety advice with your child. 2. Turn on Safe Mode.On the left, hover your mouse over the player's avatar, then find and click on Settings. Click on Privacy. Turn on Safe Mode, which prevents social interaction by disabling messages, chat, and comments. You could also individually control messages, chat, visibility, etc. with the individual controls listed above the Safe Mode toggle.