Caissa Hong Kong Chess Club

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Tag Archives: Hong Kong chess youth

Welcome to the New Season

August 19th, 2015

Welcome back all! We are about ready for the start the 2015-16 season. First lessons commencing on Saturday 22 August.

We do have some changes though. After 3 years of experience, we now have a better feeling of what works. As such we have decided to discontinue the membership system for only playing on Saturday in DB from 1.30pm.

Instead of membership, we will focus on increasing quality of play so our students remain interested as they learn more. We have occasionally seen interest go down with members who only play once a week for an hour and thus make no motivating progress. We will simply follow many other activities or sports like musical instruments, football, rugby or tennis where training is an integral part of the activity, before and during competition – in fact, no competition when no training seems a healthy norm.

While from September 2015 on we will thus focus on training we will also introduce a “Last Saturday of the Month” (in DB) and “Last Sunday of the Month” (in Sheung Wan) competition, only for our students enrolled in a course. Our students will thus, on a monthly basis, still be able to practice what has been learned. Saturday DB students can participate in the Sunday SW competition and the other way around. Private students or students at other locations can join also in both the DB and the SW last week of the month competition. We will give out small prizes like a trophy or medal for each such monthly competition.

All our students will be entitled to the discounts for Caissa events that were given to members previously.

Note finally that classes will start in August but only on Saturday and Sunday as per last year’s schedule. From September on we will start with a more extensive schedule which will also include weekdays after school both in DB and SW.

The tentative training schedule is already online  and we aim to have the finalized training schedule for September finished by the end of this week. In the meanwhile I hope to start seeing some of you already this weekend!

Updated (5 June) – YGP3 has 6 Players with 3 points after 4 rounds

June 4th, 2015

Differences are minimal in the top half of the YGP cycle. Just like in the YGP1 and YGP2 editions, there surely won’t be a walk-over for any player and we need to sit tight until the final round to see what will eventually happen.

Such tight competition makes this tournament one of the most worthwhile events for our youth as it is also the only event in Hong Kong for youth with regular/standard time control of 90 minutes.

The ranking after 4 rounds here below:

Cross Table Rank after Round 5

Cross Table Rank after Round 5

 

Below the pairing of round 5:

Pairing Round 5 Caissa Hong Kong YGP 3

 

 

Spring YGP3 Round 1 Results and Pairing

April 23rd, 2015

In the Spring Cycle events the Youth Grand Prix 3 started last Sunday with. The addition of a few new faces of upcoming talents mixed with some of the more familiar faces will surely make this 3rd and last YGP Standard chess event a worthy conclusion.

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Familiar and New Faces behind the Boards

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Cross Tabel after R 1 Spring 2015 Caissa Hk

Cross Table after Round 1

 

After round 1 not so much can be concluded yet. On the other hand, for round 2 we already have a clash of previous YGP champions in their age groups: Miguel Angel with white against James with black. We look forward to it!

Below the rest of the pairing.

Caissa HK Spring 2015 YGP

Caissa and Discovery College continue to collect Prizes

April 2nd, 2015

March was a good month for youth chess in Hong Kong. First of all we played out the Caissa Winter YGP with our Teddy emerging as champion.

A week later we had a dozen of our players participate in the Aktive Kids event bringing home personal and school trophies.

The week thereafter, on March 22, our kids again booked success, for school and personal, in the HKCF official inter-school event.

On 28-29 March it was HK Chess Juniors’ turn to hold an inter-school event and it went smooth. Compared to the official HKCF tournament a week earlier the venue was very crowded and too many parents within ‘intervening’ distance but the advantage was that the location offered outdoor areas where children in between their rounds could play.

 

Coach Matthew making sure the team is ready – and they were!

 

Discovery College participated with one team in Lower Primary and these Caissa pupils showed great spirit.

James on board 1 faced tough opponents and scored a good 3 points. On board 2 Seth, after a small dip after round 1, won a few in a row and ended with 4 points. Nathan on board 4 was less distracted now by the clocks and also scored 4 points, very good for a P1 student. Noah on board 3 was in top form and scored the full 7 out of 7 – and like last week collected a personal prize, but this time the top scorer prize!

 

James (back), Seth (standing) and Nathan and Noah analysing during the breaks

 

Noah, Nathan, James and Seth celebrate with Matthew

Noah, Nathan, James and Seth celebrate with Matthew

 

Proud coach Michel with happy Nathan and Noah

Proud coach Michel with happy Nathan and Noah

 

The team ended 5th out of 22 teams and that is a great result – well done DC team!

But Caissa also has students who do not go to Discovery College. In the Lower Primary Ritvik ended 7th with his Swiss German team and with 5.5 points got a personal prize: 3rd prize topscorer board 1. Nice!

Jake, who just started 3 weeks ago as Caissa student from scratch played on board 2 of the Hong Kong International C in his 1st tournament and for him this tournament was about getting experience only.

Caissa’s players in the Upper Primary were also active. Caissa student Howard played a great tournament and in his Quarry Bay School team B got 2nd top scorer prize on board 1 with 6.5  points. Impressive!

On board 2, Caissa member Toby Mak in the Quarry Bay School A Team, scored 6 points and got 2nd Prize Topscorer board 2 and 2nd prize for the team. Anika from Swiss German team A scored 5 points on board 2 – and with some more luck would have had a full point more.

Finally, in the Secondary we are very proud of Melvin Cheung who got shared 1st prize topscorer on board 1 of HK International Team A with 6 points. That is by any standard an impressive score. Congrats Melvin.

Melvin with 6 points on board 1 wins 2nd Prize

Melvin with 6 points on board 1 wins and wears 2nd Prize medal

Seven Caissa Players in Hong Kong Delegation to World School Chess Championship 2015 in Pattaya

March 20th, 2015

The FIDE World School Chess Championship in 2015 will take place in Pattaya, Thailand, from 6-15 May. It is truly great to see that HKCF leapfrogged in terms of supporting so many Hong Kong players to attend the event.

A group of 13 of our top youth players, accompanied by 16 persons, shall defend our honor. These heroes (and we are very proud to have seven Caissa kids among them!) are:

  • Benjamin Oh U15
  • Katrina Lee G15
  • Oliver Yau U13 (Caissa Member)
  • Richard Takasumi U13 (Caissa Member and Student)
  • James Kwong U11 (Caissa Member)
  • Miguel Angel Garceran Wang U11 (Caissa Member and Student)
  • Huang Ho Pang U11
  • Mei Jing Garceran Wang G9 (Caissa Member and Student)
  • Deng, Yu Dong Michael U9
  • Harold Kwong U9 (Caissa Member)
  • Anika Roy G9 (Caissa Student)
  • Alan, Pang Bo U7 (Caissa Student)
  • Bao, Jinwen U7

We will be updating regularly.

Dusit Thani Pattaya World School Chess Championship 2015 - what a terrible place to go to :)

Dusit Thani Pattaya World School Chess Championship 2015 – what a terrible place to go to :)

Teddy Wins Winter YGP2

March 12th, 2015

By defeating Marco, Teddy became the winner of U10 and the Champion of the YGP2 with 5.5. points. Teddy, our Caissa pupil, has developed strongly in the last couple of months. Well done!

 

Front: Harsh (white) vs. Oliver. Back: Marco (white) vs. Teddy

Front: Harsh (white) vs. Oliver. Back: Marco (white) vs. Teddy

 

James, who won against Richard, became winner of U12 and also got 5.5 points but ended 2nd overall on the 4th tie-break, that is, Teddy had more wins with black.

Andy defeated Miguel Angel by a good occupation of Miguel’s back rank with his white rook. Herewith Andy ended 2nd in U10 and Miguel Angel 3rd.

Although Oliver won his game against Harsh, it was Ronald by defeating Mei Jing who with 4.5 points could claim 2nd prize in U12.

 

Final Ranking Cross Table Winter 2015 YGP2

Final Ranking Cross Table Winter 2015 YGP2

 

Ronald had left earlier and did not get his prize handed out – but the other prize winners got their trophy and cash prizes handed out by coach Michel.

Miguel Angel 3rd place U10 YGP 2

Miguel Angel 3rd place U10 YGP 2

 

Andy Au 2nd Prize U10

Andy Au 2nd Prize U10

 

Teddy Yang, Winner U10 and Tournament Winner

Teddy Yang, Winner U10 and Tournament Winner

 

James Kwong Champion U12

James Kwong Champion U12

 

Finally the ranking of the YGP:

Ranking YGP per 8 March 2015

Ranking YGP per 8 March 2015

Excitement and Drama in Round 6 of YGP 2 – Anything can happen in next round

March 4th, 2015

Unfortunately Ulysses could not make it today (resulting in an automatic win for Andy) but apart from that we had action on all other boards in round 6.

 

The Start of Caissa YGP Round 6

The Start of Caissa YGP Round 6 – Time to wake up Anika!

 

This was a round with highs and dramatic lows. To start with, on board 1 Teddy could have freed himself up to pole position for round 7 by beating James. His ferocious attack led to win of a piece and just-not-check-mate. However, possibly Teddy forgot that he was a piece up when he accepted James’ draw offer when his immediate check mate didn’t work.

On table 2 even more drama. Given the above, by winning from Ronald, Richard could have pushed himself up to first place instead of Teddy. But at the end of a long pawn endgame battle Richie let his completely winning position of King + Queen against Ronald’s King + pawn end in a draw. Tension and pressure must be high in this event as we all know Richard’s qualities to be way above this to happen – and similar things were to happen on other boards too…

 

Ronald (white) vs. Richard and Miguel Angel (white) vs. Harsh in the background

Ronald (white) vs. Richard and Miguel Angel (white) vs. Harsh in the background

 

These results were definitely useful to Miguel Angel who beat Harsh by timing his king-side attack well enough to gain some pawns for free. It was also calmer and more straightforward to winning routes on the boards where Marco beat Toby and Mei Jing beat Harold after both Toby and Harold had made some early mistakes.

Samuel came with lots of advantage out of the opening with white against Anika but the excitement of having a good position could work against you if you lose patience and that is what might explain why Samuel lost the game.

 

Samuel against Anika on the foreground, followed by Seteven against Pak, mei Jing against Harold and Marco against Toby

Samuel against Anika on the foreground, followed by Steven against Pak, Mei Jing against Harold and Marco against Toby

 

Finally, the most impressive game seen in a while on any chess board was between Steven and Pak. Steven had developed his white pieces in such a harmonious way that when he lost his queen through a knight double attack check, he managed to create immediate counterplay. Allowing pins, creating new ones, trading few pieces in the way of several checks he wanted to give with his combined bishops, Steven suddenly had pushed the black king back to the middle of the board where it was checkmated by a combination of 3 minor pieces and a rook. Pak probably could have done something about it 10 moves earlier, e.g., by sacrificing something back, but the last 5 moves were already part of a forced win.

As can be seen from below ranking tables in the coming last round, anything can happen.

Cross Table Ranking after Round 6

Cross Table Ranking after Round 6

Ranking after Round 6

Ranking after Round 6

Pairing Round 7

Pairing Round 7

Teddy and and James share first place in YGP2 … and meet next Sunday

February 25th, 2015

With Miguel Angel drawing against Richard in round 5 Teddy has emerged on the top position again after his win against Ronald in that same round, sharing 1st place with James who won against Marco. The game to watch in round 6 will be James against Teddy!

Teddy with white against Ronald

Teddy with white against Ronald breaking through the center

 

Below the ranking after round 5 and the pairing for round 6:

Cross Table Ranking after Round 5

Cross Table Ranking after Round 5

Pairing Round 6

 

 

Pairing Round 5 Winter Open and Youth Grand Prix 2

February 4th, 2015

Coming Friday, Long and David, the only two players without a loss yet will meet to what would likely end with a fierce battle for the full point. Can Miguel Angel show against Conrad that his excellent win against Henry last week was not a coincidence? Will Koji push on after his clear win last week at cost of Michel? James and Henry will be eager to avoid 2 consecutive losses, but who will succeed, or is a draw good enough as Melvin with a BYE point will surely move up? All the answers coming Friday!

 

Pairing Caissa Winter Open 2015 Round 5

Pairing Caissa Winter Open 2015 Round 5

 

In the YGP2 round 5 Richard catapulted himself to board 1 where he will meet his Discovery Bay Caissa club mate Miguel Angel who seems to be in great from. Teddy, ranked second, will have to give it his all against Ronald who hasn’t lost yet. James will find a strongly ascending Marco as his opponent this time and Ulysses, who played a game less and still ranks high, will have to deal with Oliver who also hasn’t lost yet with 3 draws and a win out of his 4 games. Toby and Andy’s match outcome will be decisive in regard to staying in the top half or below as is the case with Harsh who can stay in the top half if he manages to beat Steven. Both girls Anika and Mei Jing will try to prove against Pak and Samuel respectively that it doesn’t happen all (Sun)days both girls lose! Harold can enjoy a free Sunday and point being the player with a BYE due to odd number of players.

 

Pairing Caissa Winter YGP2 2015 Round 5

Pairing Caissa Winter YGP2 2015 Round 5

 

No player with hundred percent score after round 3 YGP2

January 26th, 2015

The results of the YGP1, in which all players over just 7 rounds had had to concede at least 1.5 point loss, remind us of the width of the player strength in this event. Also in YGP 2, there will be no walk-over with some of Hong Kong’s finest youth players competing here. Already after only round 3 there are no players with a hundred percent score.

 

Steven, enjoing his checkmate composition, had a BYE due to odd number of players today.

Steven, enjoying his checkmate composition, had a BYE due to odd number of players today.

 

On the top boards James, the YGP leader in U12, and Ronald played a cautious game, keeping pawns on the board and maneuvering their pieces behind their own lines which resulted after 2.5 hours in a draw.

 

James with white against Ronald

Board 1: James with white against Ronald

Teddy with white against Miguel Angel

Board 2: Teddy with white against Miguel Angel close to the critical moment of trades on d6

 

On board 2, Teddy, who was leading the pack after round 2 and who is 2nd place in YGP ranking U10, played aggressively with white against Miguel Angel, the YGP leader in U10. When teddy could play 16. Rxd6 he took on 16. cxd6 and that lonely pawn was enough for Miguel Angel to bite on and get his pieces out on the queen side such that Teddy had to sacrifice a knight with 33. Nxb5 to not get check mated.

 

 

On the other boards Oliver and Marco had a quick draw and Mei Jing could not repeat her excellent result against Richard from YGP1 and gave a away the draw in a completely draw rook endgame.

Toby, in a winning position, started to follow Ulysses speed and unnecessarily lost materials and the game in the end. Andy’s attack came too close to Pak’s king for Pak to avoid a loss and Harsh won the game against Harold  quickly once he got a piece up.

 

Harsh prepared his white pieces for entry into Harold's black territory

Harsh prepares his white pieces for entry into Harold’s black territory

 

The pairing for round 4 will be done Wednesday noon – the final BYE in this tournament to be requested before then.

See below the results and the cross-table ranking after round 3.

Pairing and Results Round 3

Pairing and Results Round 3

Cross-Table and Ranking after Round 3

Cross-Table and Ranking after Round 3