Wednesday, September 22, 2021

CHESS & Starbucks Alert!


Hi Everyone !
Alert: (Info received thru Starbucks corporate channels, effective tomorrow, Wednesday, September 22, 2011, for perhaps as long as two weeks):

Starbucks, along with several other establishments with indoor dining facilities in local/county locations, will for perhaps as long as two weeks starting tomorrow, not permit indoor dining or drinking due to a new local/county requirement for all their employees to take specialized Covid-19 training.

Customers are still welcome to purchase Starbucks drinks, food and other products, (and use the bathroom as needed it's believed), but must leave the interior of the store with their goods.

Chess players, as are the other customers, are welcome to occupy the outside tables and chairs. Though there is no purchase requirement, I would recommend that players have a Starbucks product at or by the outside tables (to discourage any possible complaints from non-chess playing customers). Though we've taken over all the outside tables for chess before with no problem whatsoever, I guess we have to be more circumspect about it until the indoor facilities are once again open to everyone to enjoy.

Thanks for taking note,

-- Mike T.

CHESS this Wednesday Sept. 22 at Starbucks!


Hi Everyone...!

Chess over the boards is quite a going thing on Wednesdays at the Starbucks located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., in Clayton, CA (just up from the corner of Ygnacio Valley Rd. and Clayton Rd. in Concord) !! 20 players came by last Wednesday, and at least 9 players came by for the fun this past Sunday at the same venue ( the nine were: Art S., Irakli, Hasseb, Matthew, Mike T., Evan (long time no see, Evan!), Roger, Diego, and Maria!).

We meet at the above Starbucks every Wednesday and Sunday from 4:00p.m - 8:00 p.m. Come by anytime, the earlier the better for the better tables, more matches, and some really nice company! Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome, from beginners to masters and all in between! There are no dues, and there is no purchase required (but it would be nice).

*******For those arriving early, there will be a challenging chess puzzle to solve. First one to solve the puzzle on the first try (touch move!) wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice ! No player was able to solve last Sunday's puzzle ("mate in two") on the first try. We'll have a different one this Wednesday. While the try for the free tall drink is free, a try for a grande-size drink will have an "entry fee" of 50 cents (which goes toward future club Quads)!********

See you soon!

-- Mike T
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

Saturday, September 18, 2021

CHESS this Sunday Sept. 19th at Starbucks!!


Hi Everyone!

No less than 20 players came by our Starbucks venue last Wednesday to enjoy chess games over the boards! Sam C. was there early, and he was the first to solve the early-bird chess puzzle on his first try to win a free tall Starbucks drink of his choice!

After Sam came several players, namely Hasseb, Matthew, Mark, Irakli, Bert (long time no see, Bert!), Ranen, Armen, Alwyn, Mike T., Olaf (another new player!), John S., Chris Th., Maria, Arturo (yet another new player!), Michael J., Serena, Omar, Isaacqui, and Rich K. !! However, we will not be seeing Michael & Serena until the holidays, as they have now returned to their studies at UCLA in Southern California. A highlight of Wednesday's session was a grueling match between Mark and Rich, with Rich managing to eke out the win!

We meet again this Sunday, September 19, 2021, at the Starbucks located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., Clayton, CA (just up from the intersection of Ygnacio Valley Rd. and Clayton Rd.). Come by anytime between 4:00p.m. - 8:00 p.m. All ages and skill levels are welcome! There are no dues, and there is no purchase required (but it would be nice), so see you there!

The early bird chess puzzle will be a continuing feature. The first one to solve it on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink! Also: we'll be having USCF rated Quads in October, so stay tuned!!

-- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

Monday, September 13, 2021

CHESS this Wednesday Sept.15th at Starbucks!


Hi Everyone . . . !

More than a dozen players came by last Wednesday, and at least 9 players came by this past Sunday to enjoy the game of chess over the boards,despite the persistent summer heat, in the cool indoors of our Starbucks venue. Last Wednesday saw John S., Mike T., Tony T., Irakli, Hasseb, Diego, Sam C., Michael J., Serena, Jon, Omar, and Omar's pal Isaaqui at the long chess table there; and, this past Sunday saw Primo, Jocelyn, Jose, Hasseb, Diego, Maria, Irakli, Mike T., and Rich K. (one of our toughest players, long time no see, Rich!) enjoy the game's challenges!

Players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to experts and masters, are welcome to join us anytime from 4:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m. at Starbucks located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., Clayton, CA, just a couple driveways up from the Concord, CA corner of Ygnacio Valley Rd. and Clayton Rd. There are no dues, nor is there any purchase required (but it would be nice).

Beginning with this Wednesday's session, early birds will have a chance to solve a chess puzzle. First one to solve it on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink! If you haven't been by in a while, the weather's going to get better, and the company's quite good, as usual!

See you soon,

-- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

Sunday, September 12, 2021

CHESS this Sunday Sept. 12th at Starbucks !!


Hi Everyone . . . !!

There's also fun, challenging chess over the boards every Sunday now at Starbucks, located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., Clayton, CA (just up from the corner of Clayton Rd. and Ygnacio Valley Rd. in Concord, CA.) ! Come by anytime between 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and enjoy chess with players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to experts and masters!

Despite the brutal heat last Sunday, at least 8 players dropped in to enjoy the air-conditioned coffee-house setting to play the game of chess indoors (usually players are seen both indoors and outdoors there). We welcomed Primo and his sister Jocelyn, along with Art S., Matthew (who brought his daughter Emmaline earlier); and, Irakli, Hasseb, Chris B., and Mike T.!

Join us this Sunday, September 12, 2021 -- and for early birds, there will be a chess puzzle to be solved: first one to solve it on the first try gets a free tall drink from Starbucks!!

We meet at the above Starbucks every Sunday and Wednesday, from 4pm - 8pm. Those who play indoors are requested to keep their pandemic masks on (unless eating and drinking, of course). Masks are optional for those playing outdoors, but players who are not vaccinated need to keep their masks on, with our thanks for their consideration.

There are no dues, nor is there a requirement to purchase anything (but it would be nice).

Stay tuned for news regarding our rated club tournaments, regarding format, time control, entry fee, prizes, and tournament date and venue. The US Chess Federation just today renewed my US Chess Tournament Director (TD) Certification for another term of 3 years, so get ready! To be eligible to play, players must be current members of USCF. Let me know if you need more info or help regarding joining or renewing membership.

See you soon!

-- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
ID #A6024746

Saturday, September 4, 2021

CHESS on SUNDAY Afternoons at Starbucks, Starts this Sunday Sept. 5th!!!


Hi Everyone . . . !

Our chess club now meets on both Sundays and Wednesdays at our Starbucks venue at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., Clayton, (just up from the intersection of Clayton Rd. and Ygnacio Valley Rd.)!!

Beginning this Sunday September 5, 2021, and every Sunday hereon, we meet at Starbucks starting at 3:30 pm thru to closing time! Come by anytime, the earlier the better for the better tables, more matches, and some very nice, interesting company.

As usual, there is no purchase requirement (but it would be nice), and there are no dues. However, masks are required due to the pandemic if you're inside, unless you are eating or drinking, of course. Masks are optional outside, but those who are not vaccinated are requested to keep masks on.

See you there this Sunday, and/or have a very fine Labor Day weekend!!

-- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday Sept. 1st at Starbucks!!


Hi Everyone !

About 18 players of all ages and skill levels came by to enjoy chess over the boards at our usual venue, Starbucks, located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd, Clayton, just a couple of driveways up from the intersection of Clayton Rd. & Ygnacio Valley Rd., in Concord!

We meet again this Wednesday, September 1, 2021, at our usual Starbucks noted above, from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Come by anytime, the earlier the better for the better tables, more games, more challenging fun...!

We welcomed 3 or 4 new players to the club last week, namely Sam C., Haseeb, Greg, and young Greg Jr.! On hand to welcome them were Tony T., Irakli, Ranen, Travis, Diego, Armen, Patrick, Max and Jon, Michael J., Serena, Maria, Chris B., and Mike T...!

Looking ahead, figure club quads or other types of USCF-rated tournaments can be expected to start happening sometime during September or October. Additionally, we may very well have a regular venue for chess over the boards on Sunday afternoons, and it could very well be our regular Starbucks place (meaning it's possible to have both Wednesdays & Sundays at our Starbuck!).

Stay tuned, and see you soon !!

-- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
ID #A6024746