As a parent of 3 young chess apprentices, I’m questioning the omittance of the Morphy section in the NM Memorial Senior Championship Open on 1/31. This weekend (1/23) my sons will be playing at the Winter Warm-up, where the flyer promotes it as a time for “everybody to stretch their chess muscles” in preparation for the following NM Senior Championship Open. Apparently, pivotal changes were made after this flyer was created, namely by leaving out some of the most enthusiastic of your chess players (the Morphy section). While I do not play chess, I have been pleased up until this point with the fact that NMCO has treated the sport as an apprenticeship–issuing in the youngest of players and having them shadow their elders. The move to omit any Morphy section from any NMCO function works to distance this intimate NM chess community, while limiting the potential of the youngest of players. This is not only an unsound financial decision (Wouldn’t you want to grow and then support your patrons?), it is also a decision that reflects badly upon the many NMCO chess teachers who have worked to make chess functions a multi-generational affair. Please consider the youngest of your players when making decisions to omit an entire division–they are learning from you, even if it is only by your example.
Morphy Section
by Dr. Sarah Santillanes | Jan 24, 2016 | 5 comments
Hi, I would like to know why the Morphy section was disregarded and omitted from the tournament at the Meadowlark Chess Memorial Open. I have 2 young USCF chess players who are interested and played last 2 years at this event. Our school has an elementary team and the players are interested in playing as many rated tournaments as available. They are not in league with U1200 folks. please correct this omission for our kids.
I wish to correct a few misunderstandings and/or misrepresentations regarding NMCO and the ‘Morphy Section’.
I am a non-board member who has attended every meeting, (which are all open to all members of the chess community), and am the individual who suggested to the board that there should be ONE tournament per year where the emphasis is on serious slow chess geared towards adults and seniors but still open to any chess player of any age who would like to play in such an ‘atmosphere’. The issue was discussed and approved several months ago when the tournament format was designed and advertised in Chess Life magazine. Please note that Steve Perea and Oren Stevens (the Morphy sponsors) missed several of these meetings. The section was not removed at the last moment. …”pivotal changes were made after this flyer was created” as you stated in your post, nor was it intended to …”limit the potential of the youngest players”. There are dozens of tournaments both scholastic and NMCO sponsored that cater to beginners. In fact the highest rated scholastic K-12 player in the state (now only in grade seven) never even entered a ‘Morphy Section’ but starting in fourth grade played exclusively in NMCO tournaments from which he could most profit and develop.
Regarding the proximity of the section to the main playing area and its consequent positive effect on the development of the young players: I have attended every tournament that had a Morphy section since its inception and have yet to witness any of the young players visit the main tournament area and …”shadow their elders” as you state, that is; watch/discuss games or ask for explanations, etc. Perhaps by osmosis ?? Instead after hastily played games they are anxious to play outside or engage their ‘game boy’ machines, etc.
Several board members who voted for the above have contributed most of their adult lives towards our youth and most of it without payment contrary to other coaches.
Your three young aspiring ‘chess apprentices’ are certainly welcome to play in the Memorial Senior tournament.
And you are certainly welcome to contact me for additional details regarding the above decision and the history of the Memorial/Senior tournament or any other chess related matters.
‘enquiring minds want to know’,
I’m going to chime in with Art here and say that as a kid growing up in New Mexico, I only started seriously improving my chess when I embraced playing in majority-adult sections with slow time controls. Adult players tend to be more disciplined in using up their thinking time, forcing younger players to do the same if they want to compete. This provides vastly more understanding than winning a G/45 game in 30 minutes and being bored for the next hour and a half. A u1200 at G/120 should be considered a great opportunity for an up-and-coming player.
The problem is the site not the kids, something I have openly mentioned. The senior center does not accommodate NMCO’s needs, we pay money to meet THEIR requirements and needs. I have secured Hotel Cascada for NMCO’s next 3 large tournaments, Hotel Cascada will me our needs (that is their job, not the other way around). At Hotel Cascada will allow us to start at 8 a.m. morning and stay late until 10 p.m. both days! Now we can have 5 or 6 rounds for a tournament. There will be locations for the kids to go off to if that is your concern far from all playing areas. I have four kids, when our current car did not accommodate my family I got a different car, not get rid of a kid. So why are we still at a location that is totally wrong for tournaments? I missed 2 “official” meetings, 1 was due to scholastic events and the other from a death in the family.
I don’t know why the Morphy section is non-existent (I haven’t been paying close attention), but if you would like an alternative great tournament for scholastic players on the same weekend, you could try the LA County Championship (nmchess.dyndns.org has the details) in addition to the NMSCO Scholastic Championships in the upcoming months. I usually play in the LA Country (and I’m 15, from Albuquerque, so it’s not like I’m local or have an easy drive over) – it’s a great tourney for scholastic players. The time controls for all of the sections are much shorter than the main sections of the NM Memorial, but it’s a great environment for especially young or new-to-chess kids. I’m still playing chess partially because of the wonderful encouragement Dave Poston provides kids.