Free School Chess Club
Wayne McDougall (World Chess Federation National Instructor) is responsible for the chess club and this web page. It is not an official school project.
What if you can't attend chess club on Thursdays after school?
If you are quite good at chess you should register anyway. Before any chess tournament we will arrange a trial to see if you are good enough to qualify.
Contents
- We are sending two teams to compete in the NZCF Auckland Central Championship on 22 August
- We have qualified for the ChessPower National Finals to be held on 21 October
- Chess coach is Wayne McDougall - mobile 021669768. This chess club is free. Mr McDougall does this as an uinpaid volunteer.
- We meet every Thursday after school from 3pm to 5pm during school term in the school library. No child will be left unattended after 5pm but may be left with SKIDS in the school hall if you are very late to pickup and you may have to pay a casual care fee.
- The chess lessons are free. There is no charge. If your child is selected to play in tournaments, there are usually entry fees. You do not have to compete in these tournaments.
- There is no age limit. Any child attending Mt Roskill Primary may attend. Very young children may not wish to stay the for the while 2 hours.
If your child does not know how to play chess, but wishes to learn we will teach them. They can start at any age.
- Phone or text if you need to contact Wayne during club meeting time - Wayne is busy teaching chess and won't be checking emails.
- We play chess with face to face contact and at close range for extended periods. Masks are recommended but not required. I recommend all students are vaccinated against covid, but this is not required.
Mr McDougall will be masked and students are encouraged to wear masks for their own protection. This is not required. Please let me know if this makes you and your child feel excluded from participation.
Doors and windows will be open to ensure good ventilation and dilute any airborne viruses. This will make the room cold so please ensure your child has warm clothing to wear.
Your child should not attend chess club when sick. Any obviously sick child arriving at 3pm will be sent to the school office sickbay for collection by parents/caregivers. This includes any regular coughing, sniffing and runny noses.
- Wayne will monitor CO2 levels to ensure ventilation is adequate. If this becomes a problem we may need to take extra steps, such as limiting the number of students who may attend.
- No sick children may attend chess club. If your child becomes sick while at school then you will need to pick them up. If you are unable to do so they may be held at the school office, school sick bay or at SKIDS and you may be have casual care fees to pay.
- Sick children includes those with running noses, continual sniffing, sneezing, coughing, headaches. Even if they are allowed to attend school with those symptoms, they may not attend chess club.
- If your child has had covid they may not return to chess club until they have no more symptoms AND either completed a negative RAT test or 10 days after they tested positive or symptoms started.
- Parents and caregivers are welcome to be present for some or all of the time provided they also meet the same health requirements as the children.
- We do not take a roll - children are often away due to conflicting events; we expect your child to be responsible to attend and not go off to play somewhere while you think they are at chess
- You may want to pack after-school snacks
- You must register every child who will attend chess club
Chess Club Rules
- All school rules apply
- Breaking these rules may result in a ban from chess club for a week, a month, a term or the rest of the school year
- Treat everyone with respect. If you have a problem that you can't immediately quietly resolve, talk to the adult in charge (Wayne aka Chess Coach)
- No deliberate knocking over pieces, upsetting boards, or throwing chess pieces
- Only one player should leave a chess board when a game is playing - to get assistance, go toilet, etc
- When a game is finished, and both players agree on the result, set the pieces up ready for a new game
- Do not start playing on a chess board that is not set up ready for a game in case someone is still playing and both left the board
- All rules of chess apply to every game, including "touch move". This means if you deliberately touch one of your pieces you must move it if you legally can. If you touch an opponent's piece (including knocking against it with a piece you are holding) you must take it if you legally can. You cannot change a legal move once you let go of your piece.
- You must not do anything that annoys your opponent or other players
- You may watch other games but you must not say anything, communicate in any way (like shaking your head) or touch any of the pieces
- The only things you should say during a game are: "Would you like a draw?", "May I adjust a piece?", "Illegal move"
- You do not have to attend every week. You can arrive late. You can leave early
We want information about your child so we may
- contact you in the unlikely event of a problem
- keep your child safe
- notify you about upcoming chess competitions
This information will only ever be used for school chess purposes. We collect birth dates as some chess competitions are divided into age groups.
You can contact us at any time to review and correct information we have stored about your child or to have that information removed.
Photos and video recordings may be taken of your children in accordance with New Zealand law. These photos may be used for promoting the school and chess. Photos and recordings may be taken of your children as they compete in chess competitions in public places run by other organisations.
We're going to have fun playing chess and get better at chess.
We're going to enter chess competitions. There will often be entry fees. There may be transport costs. Some competitions are open to anyone. Some have restricted entries so we will choose our best players to attend. Attending outside competitions is not required but will make you better and give you a goal.
If the cost of competition is a problem for your family, you can discuss in private Mr McDougall. We don't want anyone with ability and determination to miss out because of the cost.
- Respect - we treat everyone with respect, including our opponents - the people we play with
- Honesty - we play fair. We don't cheat. We don't accuse others of cheating
- Friendliness - we win graciously. We lose graciously
- Curiosity - we ask for help when we need help
- Excellence - We play with honour and do our best
- We stay safe. We don't throw pieces
- We tell an adult if we have a problem
- All school rules still apply