4-H Chess Club

In the winter months we have 4-H Chess Club twice a week. Mondays is grades k-3, Tuesdays I meet with grades 4-6. I have been the chess leader since Shelagh was in 2nd grade, at least that's what I remember.

The philosophy of 4-H is that we teach kids how to think, not what to think. My goal is to produce a group that has a better grasp of chess and its possibilities and, more importantly, to give some insight on how to learn new things and think hard.

I have been using instruction material from Chess for Kids. In the beginning of the year kids all need a lot of instruction, so I make it a point to play a “teaching game” with each of them. I talk them through these games, offering them the chance to rescind bad moves and explaining to them what my strategy is and how they might thwart it. I make it a point to castle early, to allow them to capture en passant, and to mention pawn promotion. They all really need end game practice so all games are played to the end, even if it is lone king vs. king rook. When there is time between games I will set them to working out basic end games, starting with king-rook-rook against a lone king.

Kids in the younger group are addicted to queen promotion and will senselessly acquire more queens because they can’t figure out how to use the material they have. Challenging them to “mate in six moves” is sometimes helpful.

If a kid gets discouraged to the point that they look like they want to quit, I like to offer to trade sides. (This works very well with the younger set because they soon forget that we switched and are so happy to win a game.) Doing this gives end game experience for kids who don’t often make it to the endgame.

I try to keep my commentary to short, factual statements:

Knights are more useful in the center of the board.
Don’t attack with your queen if another piece can do the job.
Control the center, attack on the side.
You can’t castle in check; you can’t castle through check.

After a while I hear the kids repeating these statements to each other as they play.

Checkmate vs stalemate is a hard concept to get across, especially for the K-3 set. They instinctively feel that the object of the game should be to physically grab their opponent’s king by any means possible. I check out a finished game by asking them “how did it happen?” If the conquering player did not say “check” then they need to go back to that point and play it over again.

If they come to me and ask “Is this checkmate?” I refrain from answering that question for them, but ask them the three questions: “Can you move? Can you block? Can you capture?” as in moving the king, blocking the check, or capturing the attacking piece. If the answer is "no", then it is checkmate, but often it turns out that there is a way out of the mate. Eventually they start asking themselves the question, instead of just moving the king when they are checked. Nothing like being trained to consider all options when under stress.

I encourage “touch moves” but I make it clear that we are here for chess playing, not lawyering. I will get kids who want their opponent to be bound to a ridiculously bad move because “he took his hand off.” I avoid adjudicating these deals but point out that if they won’t cut their opponent some slack then they can’t expect courtesy from their opponent in the future. I discourage bad etiquette like touching pieces before you have decided your move and (ARGHHH!) mindlessly tapping pieces on the table.

We often forget to start games with a handshake but I try to make sure that they end by shaking hands. I insist on a real handshake: palms together, good grip, eye contact; not the phony hand slaps after the ball game.

Chess is unique among the activities available to kids because in chess you make your own decisions and then live with the consequences of your actions. Eventually I get a few kids in each group who think so hard about their games that you can almost see the steam coming out of their ears. These are my favorite moments, knowing I am helping to produce kids who can stick with it in the face of adversity and who are not afraid to think.

Eight pounder!

The fish and the fisherman. He was baiting with minnows on a very light rod. The minnows would swim enough that he could usually see the rod tip move, but when he glanced over at this one there was no action. He tried to wiggle the line and arouse the minnow but there was something on the line. The weight of the fish bent the little rod almost double. He didn't think he could land it, but was hoping to "just see it." It took half an hour, but he got it on the ice. The hook had never set, it was just lightly hooked thorough the side of the mouth. "The only thing keeping it on the line was the pressure of trying to swim away"


The fish is bigger than the rod that caught it

Saturday Night

Yesterday was an 11 plus hour shift. We are in the midst of a four day poker tournament, we had the Grassroots in the showroom, we had Luther Gravy and the Soul Biscuits in the new lounge. But above all, we are coming into Cabin Fever season, the time when everyone is sick of staying home and even the folks who can't mention the the casino without looking like they're smelling a fart are sighted there, actually having a good time.

Anyway it was busy. Way busy. Lots of people, lots of money. I was dealing roulette on a jam up game, trying to keep track of eighty things at once. My favorite moment was when the pit boss came up behind me and said "What are those people all looking at? Oh, that lady's in handcuffs!" I never got to see what she was looking at, too much going on on my game.

You could pretty much tell how old people were by whether they knew who the Grassroots were. People who went to the show said it was excellent. I played chess on my break, a speed game, whupping one of the valet guys soundly even though we are usually neck and neck. I was just all on. I love the job on busy nights.

Riverbend Blog

Lately I have been reading Baghdad Burning, a blog written by a young woman in Iraq. It is so different to read news written by the "girl on the street".

The author is anonymous by neccessity. She is a good writer and seems to be authentic. Today she was writing about how she can tell what is going on on the various routes in and out of Baghdad by seeing what is available at the corner produce cart.

She describes living under siege with the sort of wondering and practical activities that we usually only experience for a short time during snowstorms. Her stance is that of a modern woman who is terrified of seeing her nation commandeered by religious fundamentalists. I empathize with her.

Check her out and tell me what you think. On the internet you can pretend to be anyone at all, but I think this is the real deal. (Her sidebar "Something's Burning" includes recipes. They also look authentic to me.)

Loose ends

Shelagh returned safely from her road trip Saturday afternoon. She said the drive was "long and boring" and that the exam was "humbling." We wait a few weeks for test results, but since 600 people sat for the exam it was probably just a learning experience.

Still it was a learning experience. When you go to an extremely small school like Leland (her graduating class is 35 kids) it is easy to think you are something special because you outperform your peers. She knows now that she will have some catching up to do wherever she goes to college. She did like hanging out at the Honors College, but her friends who live in the regular dorms say that there is nothing much to do there except sit in the dorm and watch MTV.

Sunday night I drove home in an ice storm. Monday there was no school, but the roads seemed to be melting off nicely. Liz left for the bank about 11 am, but called 45 minutes later to say that she was stuck in a ditch. She apparently saw some interesting steam rising off of Lake Michigan and drove out of her way to see it. When she tried to turn around in an unplowed driveway she found herself slowly sliding into the ditch. But being young and cute is often helpful; a guy in a truck stopped, chained a winch to a tree and pulled her out. (I guess Anna's "man" finally showed up.) By the time her father arrived she was on the road again. Now Dad calls her "Crash."

Old Garden, New Garden

Anna playing in the pea patch

This time of year I am planning next summer's garden while still using the last of last year's garden.

Last year's garden grew lots of winter squash and Cinderella pumpkins. There are a few more in the basement but they really started to go bad during the last warm spell. The people in this house are a little tired of squash but the chickens still love them, seeds and all, and the fresh vegis help to give the egg yolks some good orange color. I also have a lot of garlic in the basement, in fact I wish I had less in the basement and more in the ground since back trouble prevented me from planting next year's crop last fall.

I planted a package of mixed basils last spring which ultimately yielded many jars of pesto in the freezer. This has been an important "default meal", something everyone will eat and anyone can make easily. We make pesto pasta and use pesto instead of tomato sauce for "green pizza." Without these "default meals" we tend to make a half-hearted attempt to find something for dinner, then give up and go down to the store for something quick, expensive, and really not that good (like frozen pizza or corn dogs).

It is almost time to start lettuce and basil and tomatos for containers. I ordered seeds last week from Pinetree Garden Seeds. They have a nice selection of seeds and their smallest packet price is around a dollar each which is great for my smaller garden. Their only drawback is that they take a little longer to process orders. I ordered the basil mix again, thinking I might start it earlier this year and have potted basils to sell. I ordered gold and red cherry tomatoes with the same idea, also Thai bird peppers. Minnesota Midget melons were a success last year, the first time in 15 years that I have been able to ripen melons. I will try Healthmaster carrots this year, as it is less work to store and clean big carrots than small ones. Cutting celery is something I wish I had grown and dried last summer for winter soups and casseroles. I dried leeks and kale last fall and have been using them in potato soup.

Starting lettuce now it may end up in the ground if the weather warms early, or I may harvest it right out of the flats. I have a two shelf system for my seed flats with regular fluorescent shop lights. I would love one of those high-output plant growing lights but they are coveted by dope growers and have been stolen from neighborhood greenhouses. There is no sense in owning such a crime magnet. I may spring for the ten bucks and replace one of my tubes with a real plant light this year.

I usually buy produce from Meier in the wintertime, but this year the shipped in greens are expensive and look tired. It may be the effect of last fall's hurricanes or I may be getting pickier. Each year I stretch the garden out longer in the fall and start it earlier in the spring, so it's only a matter of time before the year links up.