Hanley's Chess Academy

West Coast Championships

2011-09-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

Our 3rd annual West Coast Championships are on October 15-16th, 2011 at Hanley Chess Academy. There are 9 total sections with over 100 trophies. There are also club trophies...a very popular part of tournaments. Do not worry...even if your child has never played before in tournaments, we have a Non-Rated beginners section on both Saturday and Sunday.

For the parents, there are free tennis lessons (Yes, tennis at a chess tournament!! :) ), free wifi, and bingo games.

Last year, we had 110 players competing. We expect even more this year. The early bird registration date for the lowest entry fees up is before September 15. Here is the link for all info and registration:

http://www.hanleychessacademy.org/WCC.html

It will be a great tournament!

HCA #71

2011-08-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Today we had 15 players competing in our morning and afternoon sessions. We have not had 15 players for a long time so it was good to see.

We have our Sunday Quad tournament each Sunday with the morning session from 10:30am-1:30pm and the afternoon session from 2pm-5pm.

For the results, Noah Gin won both sessions only giving up one game all day. Roshan Mandayam and Michael Wu tied for second in the afternoon session.

Finally, a big congratulations to Dominic Petraglia who raised his rating an amazing 295 points in one weekend. He started out at 545 and in three tournaments, he is now rated 840! Congratulations again Dominic!

Chess and Tennis Camp Next Week

2011-08-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Next week, we have 4 tennis campers from 8:30am-11:30am. Then, these plus 8 others are playing a chess camp in Irvine for a total of 10 campers. This will be a busy week! The format for our chess camp will be instruction, USCF rated play, review of games, break outside, plus more tactical study and rated play. If you wish to join us, please email me at hanleychessacademy@gmail.com.

Saturday Night Chess Club

2011-08-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight is our Sat Nite Chess Club, #101! We begin at 4pm and go to 8pm.

US Open Championship

2011-08-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

Kyle P. is playing America's best player and the number 10 player in the world, Hikaru Nakamura in round 1 of the 2011 US Open in Orlando, FL. He has an equal position after 9 moves!! Go Kyle!! You can follow the game on Monroi.com.

New Saturday Class

2011-07-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

A reminder that we have a new offering of another chess class on Saturdays. The time is from 2:30 - 3:45pm. For those who are on the monthly membership, they can then stay for 15 minutes to compete in the Saturday Night Chess Club from 4pm - 8pm.

We do still have the 10:45am - 12noon class.

Saturday Night Chess Club

2011-07-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we had our strongest SNCC ever. Our top quad had 1 1900, 2 1700 players, and one 1600. Our second quad had 2 1400 players, 1 1300, and 1 1200. Our third quad had a 900, a 700, a 300, and an UNR. All players had great competition and we will look forward to this Saturday Night.

The Saturday Night Chess Club is held every Saturday from 4pm-8pm. Cost of $25 includes dinner, trophies, and 3 USCF rated games. I review games after each round for everyone to learn from. We look forward to seeing you here!

Aaron Chang Wins Championship!!

2011-07-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

One of my better students, Aaron Chang from Arcadia won 1st place this past weekend in the Under 1800 section. He started out winning 5 straight games only to lose in the last round to the Co-Champion. Many of these wins were against players higher rated than he.

Aaron works extremely hard and does basically everything I ask for homework. My guess is this tournament will put him over the 1800 rating level.

Congratulations Aaron!!

1st Week of Camp a Success

2011-06-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

We had 5 campers this week. All learned a lot and had a great time. Next week, we start at 8am with our tennis portion. We do have 4 campers for next week as well.

Solomon Does It!

2011-05-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

Solomon won his last two games to win the whole section with a score of 5.5 out of 6. He won this section ahead of other adults that have played so much longer than him. We actually had him play up a section because he was ready for this level of competition. CONGRATULATIONS Solomon! I am very proud of you!

When I first started working with him in November of 2009 and he was only 6 years old, I already knew he was very skilled. He asked me the other day what was my first impression when I first met him and I told him, "My first impression was this boy has a ton of potential." He already saw many possibilities on the board at that time and he was only rated 869. Now, this result will take him over 1600...all in only 1 and a half years.

The future is very bright for you Solomon. Keep up the great work!

New Time for Saturday Night Chess Club

2011-05-30T14:25:00.001-07:00

We are changing the time of our Saturday Night Chess Club from 5-9pm to 2-6pm. We are starting this change this coming Saturday. I look forward to seeing you all there.

San Jose Tournament

2011-05-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

In just his second adult chess tournament at the Fairmont Marriott, Solomon Ge, only 8 years old has started with a perfect 3 - 0 score!! He has beaten a 1598, a 1530, and a 1200. He is a great student in that he always works hard on what I ask him to work on. Plus, he is religious with the homework I assign him. I am so proud of him and know he can be as good as he wants to be.

2011 Summer Sleepover Camp and Las Vegas Scholastics

2011-05-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

A reminder that the early bird discount for our 2011 Summer Sleepover Camp is May 15. The discount is 5% off either the commuter option or the sleepover option.

Next, remember if you are making plans to attend the Las Vegas tournaments on June 10-12 that the entry fees increase after May 18th.

Finally, my entry fees for our 1st American Stars Scholastic increase on May 17th. We are expecting a big crowd with over 90 trophies!

Sat Night Chess Club #93 and HCA #61 on Sunday

2011-05-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

A reminder to everyone that our Sunday format has reverted back to the 5 game, 11am-4:30pm format. We also are in the midst of our HCA Sat Night Chess Club #93 here.

Next, we had our May camp today with Kyle and Ryan P participating and Daniel P. We worked hard and these students will see the benefits of their work. I host this camp each month. Our next is June 4-5th, the week before the National Open Scholastic tournaments in Las Vegas.

HCA #61 This Coming Sunday - May 15

2011-05-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

HCA #61, a 5 round scholastic tournament is this coming Sunday from 11am - 4:30pm. The cost is $20 until Friday. On Friday or after, the cost is $26. There are two sections along with a Non-Rated tournament for those novice and beginner players. We look forward to seeing you here.

Sunday Scholastic Tournaments

2011-05-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

We are moving back to the 11am - 4:30pm, one session, 5 rounds, G/30 with a 5 second delay, tournaments.

We are re-starting these beginning Sunday May 15th. The entry fee is $20 up to the Saturday day before. On Saturday or after (onsite), the entry fee is $26.

The sections are the Championship section which is open to everyone and the Under 800 section.

For any questions, please email me at hanleychessacademy@gmail.com.

San Jose Scholastic #2

2011-04-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Just finished our 2nd scholastic tournament in San Jose. We had 14 players in our 1st event 3 weeks ago and this time, 8 players showed.

Our winner in the rated quad was Takahito U. He finished a perfect 3-0. Second place was Albert H. from Graystone Elem.

In the non-rated section, 1st place was won by Calvin H. and 2nd place was won by Ethan Y., only a kindergartner.

Congratulations to everyone and I look forward to seeing you all at our next event on Saturday May 28 at 1pm.

2nd Annual Dewain Barber Scholastic

2011-04-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

We had 75 players competing in this tournament. It seems like everyone had fun. We gave out more than 40 trophies in the Non-Rated and USCF Rated sections. Here are the results.

Non-Rated Tournament (56 Players)

Kindergarten

1st Place – Timothy Cao 7 pts.
2nd Place – Keith Daniels 5 pts.
3rd Place – Brian Chuang 4 pts.

1st Grade

1st Place – Ethan Aquino 6 pts.
2nd Place – Ryan McCloskey 5 pts.
3rd Place – Nomar Martinez & David McBride 2.5 pts.

2nd Grade

1st Place – Emilien Trottier 8 pts.
2nd Place – AJ Luesebrink 4.5 pts.
3rd Place – Kyle Kee 4 pts.

3rd Grade

1st Place – Robert McGraham 7 pts.
2nd Place – Levin, Alexander 6.5 pts.
3rd Place – Trottier, Adam-Phillipe 3.5 pts.

4th Grade – Group 1

1st Place – Davityan, Monte 4.5 pts.
2nd Place – Chao, Ethan 3.5 pts.
3rd Place – Alpizar, Fernando, Cuevas, Cesar, Cashmen, Jackson 3.5 pts.

4th Grade – Group 2

1st Place – Sevilla, Larson 5 pts.
2nd Place – Chen, Nathan 4 pts.
3rd Place – Alexan, Christopher 3 pts.

5th Grade

1st Place – Johnson, Kristoffer 7 pts.
2nd Place – Kim, Alex 6 pts.
3rd Place – Kelley, Matthew 5 pts.

6th Grade

1st Place – Aguilar, Santiago 6 pts.
2nd Place – Dhyasami, Kavya 6 pts.

8th Grade

1st Place – Danley, Quinn 3.5 pts.
2nd Place – Avetisyan, Harry 3.5 pts.

9th Grade

1st Place – Shenk, Jonathan 5 pts

10th Grade

1st Place – Soto, Isaiah 7 pts

11th Grade

1st Place – Castillo, Rabel 3 pts
2nd Place – Gonzalez, Marcos 2 pts

12th Grade

1st Place – Hall, David 6 pts

USCF Rated Tournament (19 Players)

1st Place Overall – Daniel Pascoe (USCF Rating = 1631) 3.5 pts.
2nd Place Overall – Perkins, Joaquin (1286) 3.5 pts.
3rd Place Overall - John Howard Parker (1348) 3 pts.

1st Place U1200 – Aaron Laxamana (1137) 2.5 pts.
1st Place U1000 – Benjamin Quincey (993) 2 pts.

Final Note: I congratulate all players on their participation and great sportsmanship! Thank you for coming out to honor Mr. Barber and his service to scholastic chess for 37 years. We are looking forward to next year's tournament.

2011 Summer Sleepover Chess Camp

2011-03-12T10:18:00.001-08:00

Our 2011 Summer Sleepover Chess Camp is scheduled for July 18-22, 2011. As part of this camp, we will all be going to an Angels baseball game! This year, we are seeing their rival, the Texas Rangers. Due to losing money on last year’s unused tickets, we are able to offer 8 tickets this year…to the first fully paid 8 campers.
Other activities include 16 USCF rated games, a ton of instruction aimed to help each student make large improvements, bowling, swimming at the hotel (our sleeping location) pool, movies with smores, bughouse tournament, a blitz tournament…a fun time!

March HCA Chess Camp

2011-03-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

Our monthly chess camp is scheduled for March 26-27^th. This camp has a goal of making great strides of improvement for each camper. We work hard in several areas as well as identify for each camper two to three areas of improvement to work on. There are several USCF rated games during the weekend. The times are from 10am-9pm on Saturday March 26 and then 10am-5pm on Saturday March 27th.

AAA Scholastic Tournament

2011-03-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

     Last Saturday, we attended the AAA Scholastic Tournament. We had 8 students participate. The tournament itself was great as there were many students and our students had a chance to compete against people they have never met before. The students seemed to enjoy the experience as well as do real well in the tournament.      William Wang won the 2nd section with a perfect score of 5-0! He is such a good kid and student and is always willing to learn and listen. I am happy to see his efforts pay off.
     Next, Kyle P. won 2nd place in the K-12 Championship section with a 4-1 score. Daniel P. also had a 4-1 score and finished 4th overall. They both are over 1500 and 1600 respectively and had a chance to compete against others in this rating range.
     Finally, we did not want to complete the tournament without a final fun activity that they all enjoyed…ice cream! Congratulations to all of you on your accomplishments!

Sunday HCA Quads

2011-03-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we have our two sessions of USCF rated quad tournaments. Session 1 is from 9:30am-12:30pm and session 2 is from 1pm-4pm. We do have players registered already. Hope to see you here at HCA.

Saturday Night Chess Club

2011-03-03T17:02:00.001-08:00

Hello All,

This Saturday's Chess Club is cancelled this week. It is due to us going to Glendale to compete in a tournament for most of the day. We will resume the following Saturday.

2011 HCA Summer Sleepover Chess Camp

2011-02-27T12:28:00.000-08:00

16 USCF rated games,
Swimming every day,
An Angels vs. Texas Rangers baseball game,
Bowling,
Instruction from myself,
Hotel stay for 4 nights,
Smores
& 12 meals

....Yes, all included at our HCA Summer Sleepover Chess Camp this July 18 - 22. That sounds like so much fun that I think I would rather be a camper than the organizer and chief instructor.

The location for all instruction is at Hanley Chess Academy. The location of the hotel is the Hotel Huntington Beach one block up the street from us. This year we already have commitments from USCF rated players of 1700, 1600, 1500 and we believe there will be many more.

We have a lot to offer in terms of chess instruction as well as when it comes to the chess, this camp will become effort and learning.

Here is the link for all information and the registration form:

www.hanleychessacademy.org/2011 HCA Summer Sleepover Chess Camp.pdf

Parent Chess Class Has Begun

2011-02-27T12:17:00.000-08:00

We are happy to announce we have our first adult/youth chess class starting. The first week is next Saturday from 12:15pm - 1:30pm. The cost is $12.50/class or $75 for the 6 weeks. This class will take place after our Children Class is completed.

This is a great opportunity for parents or adults to learn how to play in a comfortable environment.

Hope everyone who has never played but has wanted to learn will come and try it out. Everyone is welcome.

AM Session

2011-02-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

We have 4 very good players in our AM session. They are:

Ed Townsend - 1980
Daniel Pascoe - (HCA student who gained from 1345 - 1563 in our camp last week!)
Jonathan Quach - 1415
Sachil Verma - 1115

Our afternoon session begins at 1pm and we will have a good group for that as well...lead by a 1563, a 1415, and a 1115. So far, we have 8 coming...so at least 2 quads.

Come on down and join us!

Chess Class

2011-02-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

We just finished our chess class here from 10:45am-12noon. We have 14 students having fun learning. This class is held every week from 10:45am-12noon. Come on in and check it out to see if it is something that can work for you.

I am now heading over to help with the Morrison Scholastic in Fullerton. This is the free tournament organized by Mr. Dewain Barber every year. There is still time to play in the afternoon session.

Tonight, I come back for our Saturday Night Chess Club. It appears again that we will have a strong group as a 1900, 1700, 1600, 1300 head the list. Should be strong competition. Hope to see you here from 5-9pm.

FREE Morrison Scholastic This Coming Saturday

2011-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

A reminder that this coming Saturday is the FREE Morrison Scholastic tournament. It is a great opportunity, especially for those who have not played in a lot of chess tournaments. It is grade based. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies are going to the top finishers. No clocks, no keeping score, nothing except playing a lot of chess and getting great experience. I hope everyone attends!

President's Day Weekend Camp

2011-02-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend saw 11 players attend the three day weekend camp. The players were:

Kyle Perkovich - 1720
Ryan Perkovich - 1608
Daniel Pascoe - 1435
Aaron Ge - 1425
Kyle Mori - 1376
Solomon Ge - 1309
Aaron Laxamana - 1164
Benjamin Quincey - 960
William Wang - 889
Grant Harris - 645
Cade Utterback - UNR

21 hours later and a lot of work later, all the students are very much improved! Great to see!

Next, there were a fair amount of parents who asked if I would be having more of these camps? Yes, we would be happy to. We are planning more now.

HCA Sat Nite #90

2011-02-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

It is going to be a very strong Sat Nite Chess Club this evening as we have a 1900, 1700, 1700, and 1600 in Quad 1. Our Quad 2 right now is slated to be a 1400, another 1400, a 1300, and another 1300! Come on down and join this great competition. We begin at 5pm!

HCA Orange County Saturday Morning Chess Classes

2011-02-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

We have had students ask us about having our HCA Orange County Chess Classes at different times other than 10:45am - 12noon. If you have another time you would like us to open a class, we only need 4 students to do so. We are open to start these Orange County Chess Classes on evenings (for example, 6pm - 7pm), I am available to do so on either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights. Please contact me at refchess@gmail.com.

HCA President's Weekend Camp

2011-02-14T10:26:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

This coming Saturday and Sunday, we are offering a chess camp. The times are 10am - 9pm on Saturday and 10am - 5pm on Sunday. The format is for intensive study along with extensive tactical/calculation study.

Chess camps, if conducted appropriately, are great opportunities in one weekend to make great strides in improvement. My camps have rigorous study that focus on each individual's games (making sure each student has at least 2-3 areas of improvement to work on during the weekend) along with an effort to balance the camp out with a few fun activities.

For costs, please email me at refchess@gmail.com. We hope you can make it!

Sunday Quad Tournament - USCF Rated

2011-02-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday, we offer a 3 round, USCF rated, quad format scholastic tournament. The entry is $20/player and trophies go to 1st and 2nd place in each quad. It is only 3 hours long with the following sessions being offered:

Session 1 - 9:3oam/12:30pm
Session 2 - 1pm/4pm

We hope to see you here!

HCA Sat Nite Chess Club

2011-02-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

This coming Saturday Night is our Saturday Night Chess Club. For those who may be new to this tournament/club, it is a 3 round, Quad format. It is USCF rated. It also includes:

-Dinner
-Instruction
-Trophies to 1st and 2nd place in each quad.

The cost is $25/player. We hope to see you here!

Hikaru Nakamura Wins One of Biggest Tournaments of the Year!

2011-02-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hikaru Nakamura, considered the USA brightest hope for competing for the World Championship has won one of the biggest tournaments held every year, the Wijkan Zee tournament sponsored by Tata Steel this year.

This may be old news already for many who may have heard about his amazing and shocking result...shocking because he was competing against most, if not all, of the world's best in Viswanathan Anand (India), Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Alexander Grishuk (Russia) and others. His final score was 9 - 4. His only loss was to Magnus Carlsen, no shame considering Carlsen was the highest rated player and considered by many to be the best player in the world today. He is actually being trained and coached by Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest players ever...maybe even the best.

This was the best result notched by an American player in a LONG time. We have not had a player the strength of Nakamura since...probably Bobby Fischer. Congratulations to you Hikaru and I among many are rooting for your continued success and hope to see you compete for the World Championship soon!

Here is the link to the results as well as a game played by Nakamura in the tournament. He was white and played against Vachier-Legrave in round 10. Vachier-Legrave is rated 2715 FIDE and Nakamura was rated 2751.

Results: http://www.tatasteelchess.com/tournament/crosstable/group/1

(show chess board)(hide chess board)

37th Annual Morrison Scholastic

2011-02-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

Mr. Dewain Barber is organizing and directing the 37th Annual Morrison Scholastic. It is a great tournament to play in, get valuable experience, maybe win a trophy, and...best of all, it is FREE! The date for the tournament is February 26 in Fullerton, CA.

To register online, please go to http://www.amchesseq.com/.

So. Cal. Junior Invitational - Revised Invite List

2011-02-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here is our revised list of invites. Please remember that the field is filled as soon as I receive confirmation plus the $35 entry from 10 players. Please mail the entry to:

Hanley Chess Academy

7390 Center Ave.

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Round Schedule:

Round 1 - March 5 @10am

Round 2 - March 5 @ 1pm

Round 3 - March 5 @ 4pm

Round 4 - March 6 @10am

Round 5 - March 6 @1pm

Round 6 - March 6 @ 4pm

Round 7 - March 27 @10am

Round 8 - March 27 @1pm

Round 9 - March 27 @4pm

Invitees

Kyron Griffith (new invitee)

Albert Lu (new invitee)

Varun Krishnan (new invitee)

Michael Brown

Austin Hughes

Ryan Hughes

Winston Zeng

Craig Hilby

Jimmy Revelino

Joaquin Perkins (exception for being 2 time USA champion)

Leo Kamgar

Aaron Chang

Tony Kukavica

Ryan Perkovich

Kyle Perkovich

Aaron Householder

Timothy Chou

Time control for all games is G/75 with a 5 second delay.

HCA Sunday Quads

2011-02-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are offering Quads tomorrow on Super Bowl Sunday. The first session is 9:30am-12:30 pm and Session 2 is from 1pm - 4pm. Kickoff is right around 3:30pm but we should be finished by 3:30pm. There are entries for session 2 already in.

Saturday Night Chess Club #88

2011-02-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight is our 88th Sat Nite Chess Club...wow! Anyways, we have 12 players with 2 quads and 4 players who are just learning how the pieces move. Fun, fun, fun... :)

So. Cal. Junior Invitational

2011-02-03T11:05:00.001-08:00

We are organizing and running our 1st So. Cal. Junior Invitational on the weekends of March 5-6 and March 12. It is a 10 player round robin with the requirements being the junior must be 1600 or higher. The time control is G/75 with a 5 second delay. Here is the initial list of invitees:

Michael Brown
Austin Hughes
Ryan Hughes
Winston Zeng (has accepted invite)
Craig Hilby
Jimmy Revelino
Joaquin Perkins (exception for being 2 time USA champion)
Leo Kamgar
Aaron Chang
Tony Kukavica
Ryan Perkovich
Kyle Perkovich
Aaron Householder
Timothy Chou

If there are any other players (I am pretty sure this list is not exhaustive, will you please remind me? Those players I may be missing are invited as well.)

The field will be filled when the first 10 players accept the invitation.

Should be a great event!

HCA Saturday Night Chess Club

2011-01-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

We resume Saturday Night Chess Club this coming Saturday. Here is what is included:

Dinner
3 round USCF rated tournament
Instruction
Review of games
Tactical instruction
Trophies to 1st and 2nd place in each quad.

Time is from 5pm - 9pm and the cost is $25/player. We hope to see you here!

HCA Sunday Quads

2011-01-31T14:16:00.000-08:00

We are offering the Sunday Quad tournaments this Sunday even though the Super Bowl is scheduled. Reason is the game does not begin until 3:30pm. Our 1st session goes from 9:30am-12:3opm while Session 2 goes from 1pm - 4pm meaning we will only miss a few minutes of the game. We will also have the game on at the Academy (on mute).

The entry fee is $20/player and it is a Quad format. We hope to see you here!

California Scholastic Chess Championship Results

2011-01-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

72 players competed in our 9 sections this past weekend. It appeared everyone had a great time and learned much from their games. 42 players competed in our USCF rated sections and 30 newcomers came to compete in our Non-Rated/Capture the King sections. To see all of the results plus the team/club results, here is the link:

http://www.hanleychessacademy.org/Final%20Standings%20-%20CSCC.html

California Scholastic Chess Championship

2011-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

The early entry deadline to receive the discounted entry fees is approaching on January 26th. After this date, the cost increases by $5/entry and $10 for the Open, U1300, and U1000 sections. Registration can be done at:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/CSCC.html

We hope to see you at the tournament. There will be activities for the parents as well!

Golden State Open Tournament

2011-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

There is another good tournament in Concord, CA over this weekend. There are close to 300 players and $30,000 being paid out in prizes. Here is the link for all of the standings:

http://chesstournamentservices.com/cca/category/golden-state-open/golden-state-open-standings/

New Sunday Scholastic Format

2011-01-15T13:54:00.001-08:00

In order to get everyone in and out in 3 hours or less, we have changed our HCA Scholastic tournaments to the Quad format. How this works is we list all players from highest to lowest in rating. We then place the top 4 in Quad 1, the next 4 highest rated in Quad 2, etc. We are awarding trophies to first and second place in each Quad.

We have 2 sessions. The first one is from 9:30am-12:30pm. Session 2 is from 1pm-4pm. Entry fee for each is $20 while if you wish to play in both, the entry fee is $30 for the two events...a 25% discount. Best of all, you are out of there in 3 hours!

We are offering these events each Sunday for the near future. Hope to see you here!

Saturday Classes

2011-01-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today was week two of our Saturday Chess Classes from 10:45am-12noon. We have 17 Beginner/Novice and Advanced kids in the class. If you would like to try our class to see if you like it, you are welcome to try it out.

Friday Night Chess Club

2011-01-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

We are still open each Friday night for the adults (and youth) club. Right now, Mr. Townsend (a strong player) is helping players with their chess and playing USCF games with them. If you are interested in coming out having him help you, he is there each Friday from 7:15pm to about 11pm.

Sunday HCA #60 - Advanced Entries

2011-01-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

So far we have 7 entrants in the Premier and Championship sections for HCA #60. Here is the link:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/Adv%20Reg%2060.html.

You can still register onsite from 10am-10:45am.

Sunday Action Tournament

2011-01-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, there is another HCA Action tournament. It is open to players rated over 1500. The format is 4 rounds, G/45 with a 5 second delay. The tournament begins at 11am. Registration is onsite from 10:30am-10:45am. Prizes are HCA Gift Certificates (good for entry fees, books or equipment).

HCA Saturday Chess Classes

2011-01-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, we continue with a new 6 week session of chess classes. The Beginner/Novice Chess Class is from 9:45am-11am while the Adult/Advanced Chess Class is from 11:15am-12:30pm. We hope you can make it. We offer a trial of one class (paid) to see if you wish to continue. We will skip the 1/29 class due to our California Scholastic Chess Championship.

The format of the classes are we have levels with skills at each level we teach each student. When the student feels he is ready to test, we do this and then award the student with an award when he/she passes. All of our levels and students are listed at our Academy. Please email if you have any questions.

Nice Tactical Exercise

2011-01-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a great tactical exercise to work out. It was shown to me by one of my teachers. It is white to move.

HCA #60

2011-01-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

HCA #60, a 5 round scholastic chess tournament will be held January 9th at Hanley Chess Academy. There are two sections, the Championship for players rated over 800 USCF and the Premier for players rated U800 USCF. There will be 10 total trophies being awarded. Round 1 begins at 11am and the tournament goes until 4:30pm.

Cost is $20 before January 7th. All details and registration are available at:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/HCA%2060.html

Next, if you are above 15oo USCF and wish to play in this section (usually adults), they are playing 4 games of chess at a time control of G/45 with a 5 second delay. HCA gift certificates will be awarded as prizes.

HCA Student Accomplishments

2011-01-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

Seeing any accomplishments from any of my students is great to see! Two students that have not been mentioned deserve a ton of credit for what they have been able to accomplish.

First, Grant H. who is a student who began taking our Saturday Morning Chess classes this year. Grant began at our Beginner level because his experience was at the level where he knew how the pieces moved but had not been taught anything else. We taught him all of the basics of our Pawn level, he passed the test and then moved to the next level. He also wanted to try to compete in tournaments.

As everyone knows, chess tournament players are much more experienced and so each player usually takes some time to learn how to succeed at the tournament level. Grant faced these same learning curves. The great part about him is he did not give up even though there was this new frustrating part. It is my message always to all of my students that no one ever fails, they only stop trying. It was simply a matter that Grant had not learned and not practiced the necessary skills to be successful at that level. I knew that if Grant learned these skills, learned from his mistakes he was making in his games and persevered, he would achieve success. Grant did not give up and soon began seeing his efforts pay off. He now is rated 588, he passed our Knight level, is working on passing our Bishop level, and on his way to bigger accomplishments. The biggest lessons I hoped he learned are the life lessons that chess helps us learn...that he/we can accomplish anything as long as he/we does not give up, learn from his mistakes, and persevere. Congratulations Grant!

Second, I have a 9 year old private student who I began working with in May of 2010. He was rated 1288 at the time. Today, he is rated 1761 and just beat his first player rated over 2000 (expert level) at the Arcadia Chess Club. He is a very bright student, learns quick, and works very hard. I would not be surprised if he achieves an expert level soon himself. Congratulations to him as well!

I am very happy and proud of you two!

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011!

North American Open - Results

2010-12-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

My two students finished very well at the North American Open that just finished December 29th. Charles began the tournament rated 1561. He won 5 out of 7 games winning money for his finish. Best of all, he gained 110 rating points to take him to an all time high of 1671. When I started working with in late October, he was rated 1377. In two months, he has gained 290 points!

Next, his brother Andrew won 5.5 out of 7 games as well at the North American Open. He finished tied for 2nd place in the U1000 rated section. Again, the icing on the cake was he gained 101 points going from 1046 to 1147...a new high all time for him as well. I started with Andrew when he was rated 747...so a 400 point gain for him. Congratulations to both of you!!

What is obviously helping is we are working in San Jose at a camp I host for 6 hours every Friday afternoon/evening. The camp times are from 3:30pm-9:30pm. If anyone is interested in joining, please email me at refchess@gmail.com. We begin a new session January 14.

Again, congratulations Andrew and Charles! I am happy for your accomplishments and proud of you two!

2011 Morrison Scholastic - Free to All!

2010-12-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

Mr. Dewain Barber runs two free scholastic tournaments each year. The first was the Staser Scholastic at the Irvine Great Park back in November. This coming February 26th is his Morrison Scholastic in Fullerton.

It is a grade level tournament where 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies will be awarded to each grade. It is a very good tournament to attend.

Here is the link to the flyer:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/2011Morrison.pdf

North American Chess Tournament in Las Vegas

2010-12-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

Two of my students from No. Calif., Charles T. and Andrew T. are competing in the North American Open at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas. It is a tournament with $90,000 prize fund and with over 600 players from all over the country coming to compete.

It is great to see Charles and Andrew doing well. Currently after 5 rounds, Charles is tied for 3rd place in the U1700 section! What makes this even cooler is he was actually eligible for the U1500 section because his rating going into the tournament was 1377. He chose to play up a section so he would get tougher competition. He has won 3 games, all against players rated 1600 or higher and drawn 2 others...not losing one game!

In the U1000 section, his brother Andrew is currently tied for 3rd place as well! His score is also 4/5 winning (interestingly the same as Charles) 3 games and drawing 2 others...again not losing one game!

With two games remaining, I am keeping my fingers crossed for them. However, whatever the results of these last two games, they are to be proud of themselves for their accomplishments...I know I am!

All the standings can be found here: http://chesstournamentservices.com/cca/category/north-american-open/nao-standings/

Winter Recess Camp

2010-12-20T22:22:00.001-08:00

This week and next is our Winter Recess Camp. Options are half days of either morning or afternoon. We go the full week with only the morning on December 24. If you have any questions, please email at refchess@gmail.com.

HCA #59 Tomorrow and Sat Night Chess Club Tonight

2010-12-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, we have our HCA #59 from 11am-5pm. We now can add Tony Kukavica to the Over 1500 section. There are now 4 with maybe some more coming tomorrow.

For the Scholastic, we will begin at 11am as well.

Hope to see you here !

Advanced Entries - HCA #59

2010-12-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

Over 1500 Section

1. Ed Townsend - 1946
2. Jimmy Revelino - 1810
3. Kele Perkins - 1751
4. Tony Kukavica - 1683

Open Scholastic

1. Joaquin Perkins

Early Bird Discount Date Coming Up for California Scholastic Chess Championships!

2010-12-16T13:08:00.001-08:00

To save money on the discounted price for our 2nd Annual California Scholastic Chess Championships, you will need to register by December 28. Here is the link for registration and all information.

http://hanleychessacademy.org/CSCC.html

HCA Chess Class This Saturday

2010-12-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Each Saturday we have a Beginner/Novice & Intermediate class from 9:45am - 11am. We have 9 students in different age ranges so there is something for everyone. If you are interested, please email me at refchess@gmail.com.

A New Event at HCA this Sunday

2010-12-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Alongside our HCA #59 Scholastic Tournament this Sunday, we are having an Above 1500 USCF Rated, 4 round, G/45 with a 5 second delay, tournament. The cost is $20 and prizes are HCA gift certificate(s). The players who are committed as of now are:

Ed Townsend - 1946 USCF
Jimmy Revelino - 1810 USCF
Kele Perkins - 1751 USCF

Anyone rated above 1500 USCF is invited to play. We start at 11am.

HCA #59 This Sunday

2010-12-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

HCA #59, a 5 round scholastic tournament is this coming Sunday. It starts at 11am and finishes around 4:30pm. The cost is $20/player until Saturday. On Saturday or after, the cost is $25.

There is also a Non-Rated, Capture The King section for the players who are just beginning or have little experience. There is no clock nor keeping score of the moves of the game. The cost for this is $15 until Saturday. After is $20.

Here is the link to register:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/HCA%2059.html

Hope to see you here!

Joaquin is National Champion....Again!!

2010-12-12T22:33:00.000-08:00

Joaquin Perkins has repeated as National Champion this past weekend in Orlando, FL.! His won the 1st grade Championship with a winning score was 6.5 out of 7 games...giving up only one draw. This is amazing considering this year's competition was even more challenging than last year. Counting last year and this year's championships, Joaquin has only given up one draw while winning 13 games to all the players in his grades in the United States.

In his grade, there were 101 competitors while the whole tournament attracted 1350 players. There were many tough challengers in his section and a credit to all of these players who are only 6 years old. One of them was in round 6, Rohan S. who is from Connecticut and actually slightly higher than Joaquin in rating. Rohan's rating going in to the tournament was 1421 while Joaquin's was 1392. The game saw Joaquin see some very nice tactics to win material and then mating Rohan's king in the middle of the board.

Then, he had to win in round 7 over the previously unbeaten Corwin Cheung from New York, another strong opponent. If he drew or lost that game, he would not repeat. He would then have finished in a tie for 6th place. To know this and have to win with all this pressure for the National Championship is nothing short of amazing to me...all at only 6 years old!

His father Kele, mom, aunt and I were all there helping him to get ready for games, get enough sleep, good food, and review of his games so that he could just focus on playing. I am not sure how many players have repeated as National Champions but I am guessing there are not many as it is a very difficult thing to do....congratulations Joaquin, Kele, and Tish.

For all results for the tournament, here is the link:

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201012123311

HCA #58

2010-12-06T23:04:00.001-08:00

We had 9 players competing in our HCA #59 Scholastic tournament yesterday. Everyone actually played 7 games, a round robin.

Wesley W., a new player at HCA finished with 6 out of 7, losing only to Joaquin. Joaquin wound up with 5 pts to finish in 2nd place. Here is the link with the rating results:

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201012050901-13732183

Our next Scholastic is December 19th. We hope to see you here!

USA Grade Level Championship This Weekend

2010-12-06T22:52:00.000-08:00

This Thursday through Sunday is the US National Grade Level Championship in Orlando, FL. We have 5 students going with Joaquin P. looking to repeat as National Champion...this time in 1st grade. He is a great kid, a hard worker, and a great student. You can do it Joaquin!

We are looking forward to the tournament and it should be a lot of fun! Last time I looked, there were 1236 competitors from all over the United States. The location is the Walt Disney Coronado Springs Resort. I will blog during the event and give updates as to how we are doing.

HCA Winter Chess Camp

2010-12-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

Hello,
December 20-24 and December 27-31 is our Winter Chess Camp. Here is the link with all of the information.

http://hanleychessacademy.org/Winter%20Recess%20Camp.pdf

No. Cal Chess Grade Level

2010-12-05T00:08:00.000-08:00

Solomon Ge, one of my private students won State Championship today with a perfect score of 5 -0 in Sacramento. He works very hard at improving and I could tell he was ready for a nice breakthrough. Congratulations Solomon and I am very proud and happy for you!!

US Open Chess Championship

2010-08-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

The US Open Championship just finished this past Sunday. There were a total of 468 players at the Hyatt Regency. We had 8 students compete and they all did very well. Here are their finishes:

Ryan P. - 4 pts.; 1st Place Overall in Class D!; Rating gain from 1217 to 1326. Congratulations Ryan on your great performance.

Aaron C., - 4pts.; Rating gain from 1460 to 1481.

Kyle P. - 3.5 pts.; Rating gain from 1412 to 1487. Also, won prize money for his 4th place finish in the Class D section.

Joaquin P., 3 pts.; However, big story is he increased his rating from 1187 to 1447...and amazing jump of 260 points. He beat 3, 1900 rated players as well as a 1500. He won prize money in both the Weekend Swiss as well as the Class E section. He is only 6 years old which means he will probably be the highest rated 6 year old in the United States!

Yongsoo K. 3 pts and a rating increase from 1368 to 1436.

Aaron G. - 3 pts. and a rating increase from 1252 to 1301.

Matthew Harris - 2.5 pts. and a rating increase from 1156 to 1205.

Matt Rommel - 2.5 pts and a rating increase from 968 to 1115.

Solomon G. - 2 pts. and a rating increase from 1080 to 1122. He also beat a 1700 rated player who wrote about this game on her blog. She talks about Solomon's skill as well as show the game. Here is the link to this story:

http://castlingqueenside.blogspot.com/

HCA #49

2010-07-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday, July 11th is our HCA #49 from 11am-5pm. We are trying a new format. There will be the Championship section open to all players rated over 800 and the Premier section which will be open to players rated under 800. Here is the link for the registration page as well as all of the details. We hope to see you here!

http://hanleychessacademy.org/HCA%2049.html

Here are the advanced entries as of now:

Advance Registrations - HCA #49 (4 players) - 7/4/2010
Name Section Rating ID USCF Exp. Byes Memo Grade

Quijada, Danjoseph Keeny Bont Championship 1278 14251191 9/30/2010
Harris, Matthew Championship 1218 13744673
Velmanikandan, Nijanth Premier 542 13589100
Velmanikandan, Sri Ram Premier 369 13589095

HCA Summer Sleepover Camp and Invitational Camp

2010-07-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

Just finished these two camps. All had a great time and learned much from the camp. I am almost certain each of the students will increase their rating in the next few tournaments from the information they have learned.

We also had side events such as bowling, going to the Angels game (they won!), going to Boomer's where they played minituare golf, went go carting, and went into the batting cages to hit some home runs.

Some notable events are that Matthew Harris has raised his rating from 1017 to 1218 in the two weeks he has been here. He is scheduled for another 3 weeks so we will see where his rating will go from here. Right now, he is playing a match against our Kindergarten USA Champion, Joaquin Perkins.

Kyle Perkovich had a great camp as well. He finished 1st place overall. He is a very talented player who definitely will only get better. His brother, Ryan, kept us all on our toes with his jokes and great sense of humor.

No Saturday Night Chess Club

2010-06-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Due to the Summer Sleepover Campers going to the Angels baseball game this evening, there is no Saturday Night Chess Club this evening. We will resume again next Saturday.

1st Annual Dewain Barber Scholastic

2010-06-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

We had 47 players competing in this tournament. It seems like everyone had fun. We gave out more than 30 trophies in the Non-Rated and USCF Rated sections. Here are the results:

Non-Rated Tournament (31 Players)

Kindergarten

1st Place: Kedrik Calaguas 7 pts.
2nd Place - Ethan Aquino 6.5 pts.
3rd Place - Jake Wiczyk 5. 5 pts.

1st Grade

1st Place - Eric Markarian 5 pts.
2nd Place - Joshua Yang 5 pts.
3rd Place - Justin Silberman 3 pts.

2nd Grade

1st Place - Brandon Hendrie 4.5 pts.
2nd Place - Kai Schroeder 2 pts.
3rd Place - Lexi Trujillo .5 pts.

3rd Grade

1st Place - Joshua Yoo 5 pts.
2nd Place - Avinash Gala 4 pts.
3rd Place - Jae Hyeon Lee 3.5 pts.

4th Grade

1st Place - Dylan Mongan 6 pts.
2nd Place - Alex Kim 5 pts.
3rd Place - Elijah Bess 3.5 pts.

7th Grade

1st Place - Matt Rommel 5.5 pts.
2nd Place - Edward Barrera 5.5 pts.
3rd Place - Neelai Bobba 5.5 pts.

USCF Rated Tournament (16 Players)

1st Place Overall - Sean Manross (USCF Rating = 1726) 4 pts.
2nd Place Overall - Yongoo Kim (1414) 3 pts.
3rd Place Overall - John Howard Parker (1252) 3 pts.

1st Place U1200 - Mitchell Wernhart (926) 3 pts.
2nd Place U1200 - Kyle Mori (1091) 2 pts.

Final Note: Mr. Barber and I both thank all of you who came out to honor him and his service to scholastic chess for 36 years. We are looking forward to next year's tournament.

California Scholastic Chess Open

2010-05-19T00:08:00.001-07:00

We had over 70 players competing in our 1st annual California Scholastic Chess Open. The link to the invididual and club/team scores are at this link:

www.hanleychessacademy.org/All Sections Standings.html

We here at HCA, thank each and every one of you for attending. We hope your stay with us was enjoyable and we look forward to seeing you here again soon...hopefully for our 1st Annual Dewain Barber Scholastic on June 6th. This tournament honors a man who has made scholastic chess his mission for 36 years now. He will be in attendance and I encourage all of you to introduce yourself and meet him. He is very easy to speak with.

Finally, please mark your calendars for January 28-30, 2011 for our 2nd California Scholastic Chess Open. We hope to see you there as well.

California Scholastic Chess Open

2010-04-29T00:47:00.000-07:00

Our California Scholastic Chess Open is coming quickly. The dates are May 15-16th here at HCA. As of now, we have 32 entries. You can check out who is currently registerd at this link: http://hanleychessacademy.org/CSCO%20Adv%20Reg.html

Next, our HCA #47 drew 17 players. Yongsoo Kim came out on top yielding only one draw to young John Carson Brown. John had a great tournament himself gaining almost 200 rating points. Congratulations Yongsoo and John. Here are the trophy winners:

1st Overall - Yongsoo Kim 4.5 pts.
2nd Overall - Kyle Perkovich 4 pts.
1st U1000 - John Carson Brown 4 pts.
2nd U1000 - Aaron Laxaman 2.5 pts.
1st U800 - Jacob Harkey 2 pts.
2nd U800 - Michael Zhang 2 pts.
1st U550 - Brett Bonin 1.5 pts.
2nd U550 - Alex Safavi 1.5 pts.
1st U300/UNR - Joshua Harkey 1.5 pts.

HCA #47 Advanced Entries

2010-04-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

HCA #47 looks like it will be one of our strongest events in a long time. Right now, we have 13 registered and the players are strong! Yongsoo Kim heads up the group rated 1402. Here is the link to the rest of the list as of now:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/HCA%2047%20Adv%20Reg.html

We hope to see you here on Sunday! Onsite registration is from 10:15-10:45am.

Tuesday Fun Nite Chess Club

2010-04-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

We have received many people (mostly young adults/adults)come in and ask me, "Is there a place where one can go who just simply wants to play chess without having to enter a tournament?" and until now, I have not had any casual play night for these adults and have had to turn them away.

We are now offering Tuesday Night for this. From 6pm-11pm, we are offering anyone to come and play just for the fun of it. Second, United States Expert rated player, Ed Townsend, will be offering free lessons to anyone who comes...no matter your experience or skill level. Mr. Townsend will also organize nightly tournaments if there are rated players who show and wish to play rated games. Other than this, this night is for fun, playing, and perhaps learning a thing or two from Mr. Townsend.

The cost for this is only $5/visit. The location is Hanley Chess Academy, 7390 Center Ave, Huntington Beach. The phone number is 714-894-4204.

HCA Scholastic #47

2010-04-20T17:47:00.001-07:00

This Sunday is our HCA Scholastic #47 at HCA. The tournament begins at 11am and ends near 5pm. We should have a good turnout and hope you can make it. It is at Hanley Chess Academy in Huntington Beach.

HCA #47

2010-04-19T13:47:00.001-07:00

This coming Sunday, April 25th is our Hanley Chess Academy #47 Scholastic Chess Tournament. The tournament begins at 11am and goes until about 4:30pm. The entry fee is $20 before April 23rd. If you wish to register, here is the link:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/HCA%2047.html

There are 2 clubs competing along with some of my students so there should be a good turnout. We hope to see you here at Hanley Chess Academy.

HCA FIDE Invitational #1

2010-04-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

We began our first FIDE Invitational yesterday with 8 strong players (mostly masters) and the games were hard fought. After two of 7 rounds are completed, here are the standings:

1st Place - 1.5 pts.
Ankit Gupta (2206)

2nd Place - 1 pt.
Konstantin Kavuitsky (2231)
Joe Hanley (2196)
Craig Clawitter (2207)
Cau Le (2219)

6th Place - .5 pts.
Tatev Abrahamyan (2369)
Sergey Yurenok (2225)
Jeff Phillips (2175)

Our 3rd and 4th rounds are May 2nd. If you wish to see these players compete, the games begin at 10am and 4:30pm. The tournament is taking place at Hanley Chess Academy in Huntington Beach. The address is 7390 Center Ave (cross streets are Gothard and Center).

HCA #45

2010-03-06T21:06:00.001-08:00

Sunday we have our next Sunday Scholastic. The time is from 11am-approx 4:30pm. Cost is $25 and is 5 games with a time control of G/30.

Next, we will be offering a Summer Sleep Over Camp here at HCA on June 21-25, 2010. We are trying to make arrangements to see the Angels vs. LA Dodgers game at Anaheim Stadium either Monday night, Tuesday night, or Wednesday night. This game is part of the camp. We will be offering sleep over arrangements at the Huntington Hotel up the street from our location. For commuters, the cost will less. More news to follow.

We hope to see you here at HCA soon.

Very best,
Joe

This Weekend

2010-02-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

We have three events this weekend at HCA. First, we have our National Team Training Session on Saturday from 9am-1pm.

Second, we have our Saturday Night Chess Club from 5-9pm.

Finally, our Sunday Scholastic #45 is Sunday from 11am-5pm.

We hope to see you here.

HCA Sunday #1 - Final Results

2010-02-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

Here are the final results:

www.hanleychessacademy.org/HCASunday1Standings.html

Our next tournament is February 28th. We hope to see you here.

Finally, our President's Day Weekend Chess Camp (scholastic only) is Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Here is the link for all info:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/President's%20Day%20Weekend%20Camp.html

Standings After Round3

2010-02-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

www.hanleychessacademy.org/HCASunday1Standings.html

Standings After Round 2

2010-02-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

www.hanleychessacademy.org/HCASunday1Standings.html

HCA Sunday #1

2010-02-07T12:50:00.001-08:00

Hello,
Here are the current standings after round 1. Round 2 is underway.

www.hanleychessacademy.org/HCASunday1Standings.html

HCA Sunday #1

2010-02-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hello,
Today is our first HCA Sunday tournament. We have 10 players competing for the prize fund. The standings will be listed with hopefully a game or two. Our next HCA Sunday tournament is Sunday February 28th. These tournaments are a G/60, 4 round, $500 b/20 entries.

Here are the ten players:

Standings. HCA Sunday #1: Open - Sunday #1 # Name Rtng Post Tot Prize
1 Sergey Yurenok 2221 2221 0.0
2 Jeff Phillips 2109 2109 0.0
3 Gregg Fritchle 2050 2050 0.0
4 Robert Hutchinson 1940 1940 0.0
5 Winston Zeng 1786 1786 0.0
6 Inn Sohn 1754 1754 0.0
7 Kele Perkins 1699 1699 0.0
8 George Stearns 1508 1508 0.0
9 Joaquin Perkins 1064 1064 0.0
10 Iosif Khanukayev unr. 750 0.0

Final Results- Orange County Open

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here are the final results from our Orange County Open. A "thank you" to all who came out to compete. I hope all had a great time and enjoyed themselves.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201001241901

Also, our first HCA/Cardinal Medical Group one day tournament is Sunday February 7th. The prize fund is $500 b/20 and is 4 rounds at G/60. Please go to www.hanleychessacademy.org and then click on the tab of HCA/Cardinal Medical Group tournaments.

Orange County Open - After Round 4

2010-01-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

Here are the standings after round 4 as well as the pairings.

www.hanleychessacademy.org/OpenStandings.html

Round Three

2010-01-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

After three rounds, we have a 3 way tie for first place. Here are the current standings, another game followed by our Round 4 pairings.

www.hanleychessacademy.org/OpenStandings.html

Round Two - Orange County

2010-01-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

After two rounds, there is a 6 way tie for first place. For all standings and a round two game, please click here.

www.hanleychessacademy.org/OpenStandings.html

Tomorrow, there is our Scholastic Tournament. As of now, there are 14 players registered for this event. This tournament begins at 10am and will go to about 4pm. There are 5 games and a total of 10 trophies being awarded. We hope to see you here!

Finally, we also have our Hexes tournament which begins at 10:30. Cost to entere this 3 round, G/90 with a 5 sec delay is $30. Cash prizes are awarded.

Orange County Open

2010-01-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

A total of 38 players came out for our first Orange County Open, a tournament generously sponsored by Dr. Harold Valery and his Cardinal Medical Group. 3 Masters, lead by IM Emory Tate lead the group. They play 3 games today followed by 2 games tomorrow. I will be posting the standings here as well as a few games played by the top players. Here is the game of our top player.

Here are our current standings after round 1.

www.hanleychessacademy.org/OpenStandings.html

Round two is at 1:45pm.

Chess Camp

2010-01-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow is our New Year's Chess Camp. We begin at 8:30am and go to 4:30. Half days are available as well from either 8:30-12:30 or 12:30-4:30.

Next, January 9th is HCA #42. We are offering this tournament on Saturday with the options of a morning session and/or an afternoon session. In the past, these seemed to be what people liked as they did not take 6 hours to finish.

Happy New Year to All!

HCA/Cardinal Medical Group Tournaments

2009-12-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

All info is up for the Sunday $500 or $1000 prize fund tournaments. Here is the link for all details:

http://hanleychessacademy.org/HCA-Cardinal%20Medical%20Group.html

Next, tomorrow is our camp from 8:30am-4:30am. There is also an option of half days. The cost is $60 for the full day and $40 for the half day. Hope to see you here.

Updates

2009-12-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have posted on this blog...so much to keep up with. Here are some highlights of what has happened along with what is coming up.

1. One of my private students, Joaquin Perkins, has become the National Champion in Kindergarten. He won all 7 of his games at the K-12 National Championship in Dallas, TX. He has worked very hard, his father has done an amazing job with his beginning, and everything he has accomplished thus far is well deserved! Congraulations Joaquin, Kele, and Tish!

2. We are moving our Thursday Night Adult Chess Club from Thursday to Friday. We are offering cash prizes in all of these upcoming tournaments. Our first tournament will start January 8 and will run for 6 weeks. We start at 7:30pm. The time control is G/100.

3. Dr. Harold Valery, a special man and special donor to chess has donated money for us to hold our $5,000 Orange County Open. It is January 23-24, 2010. It is 5 rounds. There is also a Scholastic Trophy tournament on Sunday January 24 as well as 3 round Hex tournament. All details are at the "Tournaments, Classes, & Camps" tab. Thank you Dr. Valery!

4. Dr. Valery is also sponsoring our bi-monthly $500 or $1000 one day tournaments. These are 4 rounds at G/60 (no time delay) on Sundays. I will be posting these on our "Tournaments, Classes, and Camps tab" as well. These tournaments will begin in February.

5. Our New Year's Camp will be on December 29, 30 and January 2, and 3. Details are online as well under this same tab.

This Week at Hanley Chess Academy

2009-08-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Here are this week's events:

Monday - Friday (8:30am-12:30am) -- HCA Morning Camp (Scholastic Players)

Thursday (7:30pm-11:30pm) -- HCA Thursday Night Adult Club #5 This is the first round of a 6 round tournament. The time control is G/90 with a 5 sec delay. (Adult and Scholastic Players)

Saturday (5pm-9pm) - Saturday Night Chess Club (Scholastic Players)

Sunday (11am-4pm) -- HCA #34 (Scholastic Players)

We hope to see you here.

HCA Training Tournament

2009-08-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Today, we had a training tournament, a group of 4 guys who wanted to play USCF games in order to work on what we are all trying to work on to improve. The results were as follows with a game from today's event.

Final Standings - HCA Training Tournament #1

#	Name	Rating	Post	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total	Prize
1	Joe Hanley	2199	2203	W4	W2	D3	2.5
2	Jeff Phillips	2116	2118	W3	L1	W4	2.0
3	Gregg Fritchle	2031	2024	L2	D4	D1	1.0
4	Daniel Stephens	1807	1808	L1	D3	L2	0.5

Here is a game from the tournament.

More Great Accomplishments by HCA Students

2009-08-10T21:26:00.000-07:00
The new "Most Improved USCF Ratings in California" list (last 3 months) came out and we have students in the top 10. Here they are with their rating gain:

William Wang - 2nd highest most improved with a rating gain of 418 points.

Joaquin Perkins - 5th highest most improved with a rating gain of 358 points.

Andrew Palmer - 9th most improved with a rating gain of 323 points.

Jae Han Cho - 48th most improved with a rating gain of 218 points.

Paul Novak - 68th most improved with a rating gain of 185 points.

Congratulations to all of these HCA students from myself and Coach Bear!