Wednesday, June 3, 2020

State of the CCCSA

State of the Charlotte Chess Center
Written by Founding Director, FM Peter Giannatos


Dear CCCSA Members and Center Supporters:

I miss you! It feels like it's been so long since we've seen one another. I am fortunate to have kept up with many of you virtually through email and streams. I wanted to draft a note about the current state of the CCCSA, what we have done, and where we are going. I hope you find this post helpful and informative.

 Peter Giannatos
Founder and Director
peter.giannatos@charlottechesscenter.org


Synopsis of Events Since March

  • Free Weekly Chess.com Tournaments

  • Free Live Weekly Lectures/Streams
    • Nearly 1800 followers on our Twitch channel
    • Over 40 streams with 70+ average viewers/stream
    • Instructional Content for Adults and Students
  • Matches Between CCCSA and Other Chess Clubs in the US
    • Team Matches Against: Saint Louis Chess Club, Mechanics Chess Institute, Memphis Chess Club and Marshall Chess Club.
    • Featured CCCSA member/players of all ratings levels
  • Custom Videos for CCCSA Students in Our School Programs
    • Coach Chris Callahan made over 30 videos for our students.
    • During the school year, the CCCSA taught 2000+ students weekly in school programs
    • In an effort to reach more students in need during the pandemic, the CCCSA offered these videos to all students in our member schools.
    • Sample video below:

  • Virtual Elite Day Camps
    • Top Instructor Names Include: GM Judit Polgar, GM Peter Svidler, GM Lenier Dominguez, GM Sam Shankland, GM Ruslan Ponomariov and many more!
    • (4) 2700 FIDE Rated GM Instructors, (15) 2600 FIDE Rated GM Instructors
    • Students all over the US participated in these camps

  • Online Academy Classes
    • The CCCSA moved all of its Academy Classes online.
    • Students received lessons via zoom and had supplement homework for each class
    • Coaches Alex Velasquez, David Cogswell and GM Daniel Naroditsky led the classes.


New Online Tournaments and Camps
  • Charlotte K-12 Online Championship Series (Begins June 13)

  • Chess Fundamentals Camps
    • Led by local masters: FM Peter Giannatos and NM Dominique Myers
    • Designed for rated players under 1300
    • Learn from instructors you will see again ☺
    • Distinct topics of discussion ranging from opening play to endgame play
    • More information here: https://www.charlottechesscenter.org/fundamentals

  • Chess and Art Camps

  • Elite Chess Camp (Week)
    • For the top juniors in the US.
    • Features top trainers: GM Jacob Aagaard, GM RB Ramesh, GM Boris Avrukh, GM Daniel Naroditsky
    • Camp is completely full with over 40 students.

  • Online Chess.com Tournaments + Lectures to Continue
Center Reopening
  • Plan on opening with limited offerings in mid July
  • Safety precautions will be taken, including but not limited to: temperature checks, mouth covers (masks), hand sanitizer stations, extra cleaning measures.
  • Activities likely to be offered:
    • Small classes
    • Small camps
    • Small tournaments
  • Online events will likely continue for a few months after the phased reopening of the CCCSA
  • All of the above contingent on recommendations of local health officials. At this time, the CCCSA is legally permitted to open, but we have decided to take additional precaution and wait until July.
Ways to Support

The CCCSA wants your support much more than it wants your donations. As you can see, we are offering quite a bit to our members and supporters (free and paid). I was a bit taken aback by the lack of participation of our local junior players in camps and classes. I'd like to hear from members about what they would like to see from the CCCSA moving forward (see meeting below).

 Ways to Support:


Why support your local club?
  1. You will have to see us again ☺
  2. We will continue to provide opportunities for years to come
  3. Students should become comfortable and familiar with local coaches who they will engage with throughout their chess growth
  4. Chess clubs do not grow on trees, OK, I say that with a bit of humor, but you get the point. We want to continue to provide the Charlotte area with the best in chess, in order to do that, we need your support!
  5. I would like your input. Therefore I have scheduled a live zoom meeting for this Saturday at 11:00am. All parents and members are welcome to attend this meeting. See link below:

Topic: CCCSA Members Meeting
Time: Jun 6, 2020 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

 Open to First 100 to Join

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86811372521


Should you want to donate to the CCCSA, please reach out to us. All donations ensure the longetivty of the CCCSA and support our instructors.


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1 comment:

  1. Michael KliberJune 4, 2020 at 8:21 AM

    Hey Pete, Hope you and yours are well. How do I go about making a donation? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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