May 30, 2019
 
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
 
Our Chess Club party is coming up on Tue. June 4.  I am asking that each player bring a drink or snack to share.  I will be providing pizza for everybody.  We will be celebrating our successful school year of chess. 
          This is also a reminder that our annual Chess-a-thon is Tue. June 11.  Chess Team members can participate by hosting a board on one of the tables that will be set up at the Bateman park.  Other Bateman students, parents, and community members can play against any of the Chess Team members.  Non-Bateman Team kids will pay $1 per game, while adults can play for $2 (or more if they want to donate).  I will be meeting the students at the park at 3:15 to begin setting up for the event, which opens to the public at 3:30.  A separate permission slip will be sent home for that event next week.
The final tournament of the school year is the CCF All-Girls tournament at Skinner North on June 8.  This event was a big success last year, and we expect another great experience this year!  Any girl on the chess team will receive an information sheet and permission slip.  Unfortunately, I will be out of town that weekend, so any Bateman players will need to be accompanied by a parent.  Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope that we have a big group of Bateman girls to represent our school! 
  The CCF Summer Camps (for rising 3rd-8th graders) are booking up fast!  If you are interested, you may register at the following website: http://chicagolandchess.org/2018-chess-camps/.  Bateman has 15 spots reserved for the camp that we are hosting the week of June 24-28.  Reach out to me directly if you have any questions or concerns.
          Encourage your child to keep their chess game sharp by using their Chesskid accounts throughout the summer.  Look out for online tournaments and other over-the-board chess opportunities by checking out the Bateman Chess Team website: http://bateman.cps.edu/bateman-chess.html.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact me at [email protected] or (773)534-5055.
 
Sincerely,
Mr. Geisler  (Member: United States Chess Federation, Illinois Chess Association, Chicago Chess Foundation)



Download Newsletter

Download Permission Slip

Download CCF All-Girls Tournament Info                                                                                                            CC_19

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May 23, 2019
 
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
 
          Congratulations to the players who participated at the final CCF tournament of the year at Nobel School.  For those who were not able to play in a tournament this year, you will be on the waiting list for next year’s Chess program.  As a reminder, this Thursday (5/23) will be our final practice of the school year. Also, unfortunately due to another scheduling conflict, there will be no Free Chess this Friday (5/24).
After a week of no chess activities at Bateman, we will have our Chess Club Party on Tue. June 4.  I am asking that each player bring a drink or snack to share.  I will be providing pizza for everybody.  We will be celebrating our successful school year of chess.  I am very proud of the accomplishments of our team and its incredible individuals. 
          This is a reminder that our annual Chess-a-thon is Tue. June 11.  All-stars can participate by hosting a board on one of the tables that will be set up at the Bateman park.  Other Bateman students, parents, and community members can play against any of the Chess Team members.  Non-Bateman Team kids will pay $1 per game, while adults can play for $2 (or more if they want to donate).  I will be meeting the students at the park at 3:15 to begin setting up for the event, which opens to the public at 3:30.  We will be sending home more information soon about the event.
The final tournament of the school year is the CCF All-Girls tournament at Skinner North on June 8.  More information will be shared as we get closer to that event.  The CCF Summer Camps (for rising 3rd-8th graders) are booking up fast!  If you are interested, you may register at the following website: http://chicagolandchess.org/2018-chess-camps/.  Bateman has 15 spots reserved for the camp that we are hosting the week of June 24-28.  Reach out to me directly if you have any questions or concerns.
          Please also remember that the Chesskid accounts will be active all summer long.  I encourage you to have your child keep their chess skills sharp by occasionally working on lessons, puzzles, and online games.  Of course, it’s always great to play with family members over the board with real chess sets too!
          It has been another great year for Bateman’s chess program!  I appreciate all of the support and commitment from the parents and guardians.  We are looking to continue our Bateman Chess Team achievements next year and beyond! 
          There may be some other summer chess opportunities.  You can stay informed by bookmarking the Illinois Chess Association website: http://il-chess.org/all-events.  This is also linked to our own Bateman Chess Team website: http://bateman.cps.edu/bateman-chess.html.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact me at [email protected] or (773)534-5055.
 
Sincerely,
Mr. Geisler  (Member: United States Chess Federation, Illinois Chess Association, Chicago Chess Foundation)



Download Newsletter                                                                                                                                             CC_18

May 21, 2019
 
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
 
          Congratulations to the All-Stars who participated at the final CCF tournament of the year at Nobel School.  For those who were not able to play in a tournament this year, you will be on the waiting list for next year’s All-Stars program.  If a student is entering 4th grade, they have the option of joining the after school Chess Club.  As a reminder, this Thursday (5/23) will be our final practice of the school year. Also, unfortunately due to another scheduling conflict, there will be no Free Chess this Friday (5/24).
          This is a reminder that our annual Chess-a-thon is Tue. June 11.  All-stars can participate by hosting a board on one of the tables that will be set up at the Bateman park.  Other Bateman students, parents, and community members can play against any of the Chess Team members.  Non-Bateman Team kids will pay $1 per game, while adults can play for $2 (or more if they want to donate).  I will be meeting the students at the park at 3:15 to begin setting up for the event, which opens to the public at 3:30.  We will be sending home more information soon about the event.
The final tournament of the school year is the CCF All-Girls tournament at Skinner North on June 8.  More information will be shared as we get closer to that event.
          The CCF Summer Camps (for rising 3rd-8th graders) are booking up fast!  If you are interested, you may register at the following website: http://chicagolandchess.org/2018-chess-camps/.  Bateman has 15 spots reserved for the camp that we are hosting the week of June 24-28.  Reach out to me directly if you have any questions or concerns.
          Please also remember that the Chesskid accounts will be active all summer long.  I encourage you to have your child keep their chess skills sharp by occasionally working on lessons, puzzles, and online games.  Of course, it’s always great to play with family members over the board with real chess sets too!
          It has been another great year for Bateman’s chess program!  I appreciate all of the support and commitment from the parents and guardians.  We are looking to continue our Bateman Chess Team achievements next year and beyond! 
          There may be some other summer chess opportunities.  You can stay informed by bookmarking the Illinois Chess Association website: http://il-chess.org/all-events.  This is also linked to our own Bateman Chess Team website: http://bateman.cps.edu/bateman-chess.html.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact me at [email protected] or (773)534-5055.
 
Sincerely,
Mr. Geisler
Member: United States Chess Federation, Illinois Chess Association, Chicago Chess Foundation

​
Download Newsletter                                                                                                                                              AS_3 

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May 9, 2019
 
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
 
    Thank you to all of the Bateman families that were able to make it out for the Chicago Chess Foundation tournament that we hosted on Apr. 27.  Congratulations to the 3rd / 4th grade team who earned the 1st place team trophy!  The K-2nd team also had an outstanding performance claiming the 2nd place prize!  The Intermediate and Advanced teams finished in 2nd as well, but just missed out on the only team trophy in those sections.  We also had two individual champions: Gabriel J. in the K-2, and Andrey N. in the Advanced, both of whom had perfect scores!  We have one more whole team CCF tournament, with the details listed below.  Let’s also wish good luck to the Bateman players who are traveling down to Nashville, TN for the Elementary Nationals tournament!  As a reminder, our final practices will be Thu. May 23.  Please see the important notes in the rest of this letter about the wrap up for our successful chess season.

• Please note that there will be no Free Chess this Friday (Some of us will be Nashville!), and the Free Chess on May 17 had to be canceled due to a scheduling conflict.
• Remember that we will be wrapping up our chess practice program in a couple weeks with our final practices on May 23.  However, we do have some events left on the calendar, and we had to make a few changes to the June portion of the schedule that was sent home before Spring Break.  There is an updated calendar on the back of this letter for your reference.  All changes and updates are also available on our website: http://bateman.cps.edu/bateman-chess.html
• Due to some other schedule conflicts, one of the necessary changes was to move our Chess-a-thon to Tue, June 11, after school.  Stay tuned for more information.
• The Chicago Chess Foundation will be hosting some chess camps for rising 3rd-8th graders this summer.  Bateman is planning to be the host site for the first camp June 24-28.  The advanced registration is now full, but there will be 15 spots reserved for Bateman players, and you can be added to the waiting list by signing up at https://chicagolandchess.org/2019-free-summer-chess-camps/ .  You can also email me if you have any questions or concerns.
• We have one final CCF tournament for all K-8 players at Nobel School on Sat. May 18.  I hope that we can have a large team for this last event, especially those who have not had an opportunity to play in many tournaments this year.  See the details are below.
• CCF is also sponsoring another special Chicago All-Girls event at Skinner North Elementary on Sat. June 8.  More information will be shared when available.
• Don’t forget that the Northwest Side Chess Club (at the Jefferson Park Field House - 4822 N. Long Ave.) will continue to meet every other Wednesday (see the calendar).  I even got to enjoy some good games this week.  The next round will be on May 22.

 
Free CCF K-8 Tournament (Sat. May 18)
Alfred Nobel Elementary School
4127 W. Hirsch (1400 N)
 
Schedule:  Check-in   8:30 - 9:15am            -All players must check-in at the tournament site by 9:15!
                  Tournament  10:15am - 3:00pm      -Late arrivals will not be paired in the first round.
                  Trophy Presentation  3:30 (est.)
  
Sections:  Novice K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, Intermediate, Advanced       
   -Unrated, no entry fee    -Swiss-style, 5 rounds (est.)
   -USCF standard tiebreaks      -G/20 + 3 sec. increment in Advanced section (Bring clocks if possible)
 
Awards:  Individual trophies to the top 7 in all sections.  Team trophies to the top two teams in all novice sections, top team in Intermediate and Advanced.  Team score calculated by top four scores in novice sections, top three scores in advanced.
 
Please return the permission slip by Tue. May 14.  Be prepared to spend the day with us, as we wrap up another successful year for the Bateman Chess Team.  As a reminder, I am not allowed to drive any students, so please make all drop-off and pick-up arrangements.