Greetings everyone!

Many of you have received this announcement with the attached PDF file announcing the Dave Meier Memorial Chess Tournament. I apologize to the others for not having sent it to you the first time. Let me just say that having stepped into Mr. Meier's (my friend and mentor, God rest his soul) shoes has not been easy. Please forgive me for some of the mistakes I've made along the way. Namely, not getting a couple of tournaments in in a timely fashion. I assure you that from now on I will endeavor to submit every tournament we run or sponsor as an affiliate of the the USCF in the time required by the USCF.

I hope you will give me the chance to prove this by your continuing support of the Chess Community in El Paso, and the El Paso Chess Association. We want Chess in El Paso to be great again. We have a lot of great players, be it the beginners, the hobbiests, the club players and the professionals. I look forward to seeing you all at our many upcoming events.

This years event to be held at the Holiday Inn on Airway Blvd. will for the first time have a separate tournament area for the El Paso Scholastic City Championship, (the beautiful Atrium Ballroom). With our Local Tournament Director Status we can accomodate no more than 120 rated tournament participants. So please register early. You will also save $10 for registering early. Again, thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you all there at this beautiful facility on Saturday March 27th.

Good luck.

Todd Williams

UTPB has it's own Police force patroling on campus. One of the many things they do is enforce parking regulations. Certain areas are marked for Staff, Faculty, Vistors and others, the rest of the parking is for students. The consern with ticketing seems to be controling where the students park. When the Police find a car parked anywhere but the vistiors WITHOUT a pass, it can be ticketed. If you (the vistor) take the ticket to the Security Office, and tell them you are (were)a visitor AND NOT A STUDENT, you should not be fined. If you would like to make sure you avoid the greef of the ticket and the trips back and forth to explain:

A - Park in the visitor parking when possible (yes it is woefully inadequate)

B - Stop by the Security Office when you first come in (first floor, on your right, towards the back, as you enter) and tell them your a visitor and a brief description of your car.

To date only one chess player (to my knowlege) has been ticketed, and he did not have to pay a fine.

We are guests, let's play by the house rules.
Thank you.
Steve Dudley

I'm urging anyone and everyone to bring that old chess book that you have in your closet, you know the one, The Latvian Gambit, The Orangutan, The Pelikan, and my personal favorite The Fried Liver Attack( this is not a cook book), to the chess club so we can distribute them as prizes in addition the cash prizes. Any and all donations must be given from the heart for the love of the game and will be deeply appreciated.

Please bring them to the weekly club meeting or to the next tournament you attend and I will collect them from you. Just think you could be the recipient of one of these classics.

Brian Farrell

We held our regular monthly tournament for November (the PBCC Power Struggle).   Nine players competed, including one Junior. During the tournament some Juniors, and their parents, showed up (most left without playing).   Clearly some were expecting a scholastic event.   The PBCC is very sorry for any misunderstanding about this months event. In our listing (web site and email) we always list Scholastic Events separately.   There might be confusion if two events are held at once, as there often are.

Also, please know that ANY USCF MEMBER, of whatever age, is welcome at the regular tournaments.   It is common practice among Tournament Directors to relax custom and even the letter of some rules in scholastic settings.   In a non-scholastic tournament, Juniors would be expected to comport themselves (behave) more nearly like adults.   But they are welcome, and encouraged, to play in the regular tournaments.   Parents should evaluate their own child's desire to play and their level of maturity.

Having said that, most Juniors will feel a bit overwhelmed playing against more experienced adults, but playing tougher opponents is the number one factor in developing greater skills.   I think part of the problem is that most Juniors only participate in the official tournaments.   Imagine if you participated in any other activity in that manner, you run Track, but only by showing up on the days of the Meet and running.   Make sense?

The only other available forum (that I know of) at present is to come to our club meetings.   You can play there , against many of the same people, in a relaxed environment, free of charge.   The PBCC does not babysit, minors should be accompanied by a guardian.

Dr. Capocyan and I would welcome any questions, comments, and especially ideas you might have about furthering Scholastic Chess.

Thank You,

Steve Dudley

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