Play Team 45 45 on ICC This Summer

The Team 45 45 League on the Internet Chess Club is accepting signups for a new tournament! Every participant plays one game each week for 6 weeks (plus playoffs) against different opponents at a mutually negotiated time. The time control is 45 minutes plus a 45 second increment for every move; thus, a typical game lasts 2-3 hours. The league, which has been active on ICC for over 15 years, offers sections at 200 rating point intervals, allowing everyone the opportunity to play near their own rating.  There is no cost to join the league, but ICC membership is required.  You also must first obtain a non-provisional ICC standard rating based on at least 20 games.

I have played in Team 4545 off and on for a decade, and I also volunteer as a TD. Over the years, many of my students have played in the league for tournament practice! Many Bay Area youngsters play on ICC and in the league. Highly recommended and fun to play!

Don't try this at home!

Before joining, please carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The league has some strict rules that require a modest degree of personal responsibility.  You have 7 days to play each round.  While negotiating a time to play, it helps to be a little flexible in your availability, either after work or school on several days of the week, or on most weekends. If you're busy at a big weekend tournament, or out of town on vacation, you may wish to ask your captain to sit out that week. Please contact me with further questions.

T69 Schedule 

• Team Entries Open May 17
• Team Entries Close May 31
• Round 1 Begins on June7
• End of Round 6 on July 19
• Playoffs Begin July 26

Warning: The league administration takes computer cheating very seriously, and a Computer Use committee carefully checks all games against chess engines.

Play Team 45 45 on ICC This Summer

The Team 45 45 League on the Internet Chess Club is accepting signups for a new tournament! Every participant plays one game each week for 6 weeks (plus playoffs) against different opponents at a mutually negotiated time. The time control is 45 minutes plus a 45 second increment for every move; thus, a typical game lasts 2-3 hours. The league, which has been active on ICC for over 15 years, offers sections at 200 rating point intervals, allowing everyone the opportunity to play near their own rating.  There is no cost to join the league, but ICC membership is required.  You also must achieve a non-provisional ICC standard rating based on at least 20 games.

I have played in T4545L off and on for a decade, and I also volunteer as a TD. Over the years, many of my students have played in the league--great for tournament practice! There are several local teams. Please email me for contacts. The league is both highly recommended and fun to play!

Don't try this at home!

Before joining, please carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The T4545L has a few strict rules that require a modest degree of personal responsibility.  You have 7 days to play each round.  When negotiating a time to play, it helps to be a little flexible in your availability, either after work or school on several days of the week, or on most weekends. If you're busy at a big weekend tournament, or out of town on vacation, you may wish to ask your captain to sit out that week. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

T65 Schedule 

• Team Entries Open May 12
• Team Entries Close May 26
• Round 1 Begins on June 2
• End of Round 6 on July 14
• Playoffs Begin July 21

Warning: The league takes computer cheating very seriously, and checks all games.

Join Team 45 45 on ICC for Practice

The Team 45 45 League on the Internet Chess Club is accepting signups for a new tournament! Each person plays one game each week for six weeks (plus playoffs) against different opponents at a mutually negotiated time. The time control is 45 minutes plus a 45 second increment for every move; thus, a typical game may last 2-3 hours. The league, which has been active on ICC for 15 years now, offers sections at 200 rating point intervals to allow everyone the opportunity to play opponents near their own rating.  There is no cost to join the league, but ICC membership is required.

I have played in T4545L for quite a few years and I also volunteer as a section TD. Over the years, many of my students have played in the league--great for tournament practice! There are several teams of Bay Area kids, both elementary school and middle school. Please email me for references. The league is both highly recommended and fun to play!

Before joining, please carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The T4545L has some strict rules which require a modest level of personal responsibility.  They take computer cheating very seriously and check all games played.  When negotiating a time to play, it helps to be somewhat flexible in your availability, either after work or school on several days of the week, or on most weekends. If you're busy at a big weekend tournament, you may wish to ask your captain to sit out that week. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

Practice Slow Chess on ICC

Shankypanky before he became a GM.

One big advantage that young chess players have today over their counterparts 15 or 20 years ago is the internet. In the old days, a parent had to drive to chess club one evening each week. Now children log into an online play site from home and can train as much as they want. Most people find that the more time you devote to study and practice, the faster you will improve. As an extreme example, GM Sam Shankland played over 5000 standard games on ICC in a year and a half. While averaging 10 slow games a day is a bit too much, no doubt the effort contributed to his accelerated improvement from 1500 to 2200 and beyond.

To play standard games on ICC, I recommend several several options.

• The fastest and most popular standard time control on the internet is 15 0, commonly denoted G/15.  People argue that this rapid pace is too fast for serious practice, but I disagree.  G/15 serves for opening and tactics practice, but allows enough time for a handful of extended calculations.  I recommend joining the 15-minute pool on ICC (automatic pairings, no computers, no adjournments) by clicking on the 15 pool ball.  Take your time! 
• The Tuesday night STtourney runs four rounds monthly at 60 0 time control (aka G/60). California players will prefer the 8pm and 11pm sections (ICC uses EST). To play, log in before the round and add channel 32 (type: /tell 32 hello!). Join Pear robot (type: /tell Pear join), or if U1500, join Automato robot (type: /tell Automato join).  Ask questions and watch for announcements in channel 32.

• The best organized standard club is the Team 45 45 League.  Volunteers run four tournaments a year, with six rounds followed by 2-3 rounds of playoffs.  The next tournament starts on February 19, but teams must register by February 12.  Each round players contact their opponent to schedule the game at a mutually convenient time and day.  This is approximately a 2-3 hour commitment each week (but a long endgame could exceed 4 hours).  The league, which began nearly 15 years ago, has sections at 200 point intervals from 2200 on down, based on the average rating of top 4 players on each team.  Before joining, carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The league enforces strict rules requiring personal responsibility and parental/family support. I enjoy playing and know more than a dozen Bay Area players who are active in this league.

Questions?  Do not hesitate to send an ICC message to "fpawn" or email to michael(at)fpawn.com (no spam). Good luck in your standard games!

Slow Chess League on ICC

The Team 45 45 League on ICC is accepting signups for a new tournament! You play one game each week for six weeks (plus playoffs) against different opponents at a mutually negotiated time. The time control is 45 minutes plus a 45 second increment for every move; a typical game may last 2-3 hours. The league, which has been active on ICC for a dozen years now, offers sections at 200 rating point intervals to allow everyone the opportunity to play opponents near their own rating.

I have played in T4545L for quite a few years and I also volunteer as a section TD. About 15 of my students have played in the league--great practice! There are several teams of Bay Area kids, both elementary school and middle school. Please email me for references. The league is both highly recommended and fun to play!

Before joining, please carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The T4545L has some strict rules which require a modest level of personal responsibility. It also helps if you are somewhat flexible in your availability to play, either after school on several days of the week or on most weekends. If you're busy at a big weekend tournament, you may wish to ask your captain to sit out that week. Feel free to contact me with further questions.

Team 45 45 League on ICC

The Team 45 45 League on ICC is currently accepting signups for a new tournament! You play one game each week for six weeks (plus playoffs) against different opponents at a mutually agreed time. The time control is 45 minutes plus a 45 second increment for every move; a typical game may last 2-3 hours or more. The league, which has been active on ICC for nearly ten years now, has sections at 200 rating point intervals, allowing everyone the opportunity to play people near their own rating.

I have played in T4545L for several years and I also volunteer as a section TD plus on the Steering Committee. A half dozen of my students played last tournament as well: Gregory, Steven, Yian, James, Andrew and Rebekah. Yian's father serves as captain of several teams. Highly recommended and fun! Who will play this time?

Before joining, please carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The T4545L has some strict rules which require a minimum level of personal responsibility. It also helps if you are somewhat flexible in your availability to play, either after school on several days of the week or on most weekends. If you're busy at a multi-day tournament, you may wish to ask your captain to sit out that week. Feel free to contact me with further questions.