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Jim Lee, owner of Signage & Beyond Products at the Keaau Market is starting up a weekly (every Saturday) chess meetup starting on the 23rd of April. It's called Chess Fun Day. He is also going to have a chess tournament date to be announced soon.
If anyone is interested in either one or both of these events I can forward you an email with the information. Email me at birdmove@yahoo.com, or email Jim at keaauchess@gmail.com. Jim's phone numbers are 982-9998 and 640-5845, or you can find him at the Keaau Market Tuesdays through Saturdays.
I might mention that on Tuesdays from 4:00 to closing there are chess players meeting at the Pahoa Village Museum to play also.
Thanks, and I'd love to see chess expanding in the area.
Jon
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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My self and at least 6-8 other players showed up yesterday at the above mentioned chess fun day. This was the first of many (not every) Saturdays for the event. Everyone had a fine time and many worked out the cobwebs in their brain (as one player put it) to get back into chess playing. There were players of all different playing abilities (no world class players that day-certainly not me!), and if anyone would like to learn about the game, I would be happy to go through the basics with them. I had the fun and honor of coaching a K-6th grade chess club for 5-6 years on the mainland, and both I and the kids really enjoyed it.
Chess can be enjoyed by all players at any playing level. Playing strong players can also improve ones own ability as they find out what the weaknesses in their game may be.
If anyone would like to come out send me an email at birdmove@yahoo.com and I'll forward the information to you.
Thanks to Jim Lee for putting this together.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
birdmove, glad you posted this here. I signed up for the Village tourney whenever that happens. Put up posters at the university and left one at the Hilo Library (don't know if it got approved). I might make one of the "for fun" Saturdays.
Wish they'd get the chess for elementary kids program going in the schools. Studies have shown that chess makes kids smart and it even turns lives around as documented in the New York area.
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That's what I did was coach at a K-6th grade school near Tacoma, Wa. There was a huge scholastic chess interest there. There were tournaments for K-6 within easy driving distances most weekends and with large turnouts. we had over 600 entrants when we hosted the K-6 state championship one year. Here, other than a Kona chess club, it's taken me from September till recently to locate anything here in or near the Puna District.
By all means come out for some of the Saturday fun days and play some chess. Everyone welcome. I'll post the dates, as it isn't quite every Saturday. Here they are: April 28, May 5,19, June 2,9,23 and the tournament begins on June 30 continuing on July 7,14,21,28, August 4,18,25, September 15,22,29, October 13,20,27, November 3,17.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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Is there an age limit? We're moving there next month and I have a teenage daughter that loves to play chess!
Dayna
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Dayna, by all means bring her. Just check the dates I wrote in above, as Jim is skipping a few Saturdays.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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Jon, do you ever see any other teens there?
Dayna
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Dayna Robertson
At Home Hawaii
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So far I don't think I've seen any teens yet. But Jim has quite a few people signed up for the tournament and I haven't met most of them. Bring your daughter by when she arrives to the Keaau Market and let her see what's going on and have her bring a set if she has one. It's quite informal at this point. Jim is having us keep track of who we play and the results. That is to assist him in making the pairings for the tournament. But one doesn't have to play in the tournament to take part in the chess fun days.
Jon
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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