And so the 8th Annual Anaconda Summer Chess Camp that took place August 13-15th , 2010, came to close.

This Camp is a traditional event that is usually held on the week when most schools start (mid-August) and is designed to help students get their “groove” back in chess, so to speak. Arizona Chess For Schools holds 2 different “Anaconda Camps” per year: Summer and Winter ones. The Summer Camp also has a specific mission and that is getting players back to chess and bringing back the excitement surrounding chess. Many players are familiar with the feeling of falling behind in chess during the summer time and therefore finding it hard and even unpleasant getting back to their chess routine once the school year starts back. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and underprepared. Considering Tucson is so big on chess with events scheduled for nearly every weekend, one of the goals of this particular Camp was to provide a positive emotional environment for everyone, of course coupled with serious chess studies. The Camp had 4 different groups and was open to everyone Under 1600 USCF. I was amazed and pleased to see so many new and young players at the Anaconda Camp, as well as having so many sign-ups in the Group 1. I was also very happy to see three chess “veterans” get back to chess and have so much fun doing so (it is about time!).

Day 1 (Friday) saw us tackle the issues of Opening principles, tactics and tricks. Day 2 (Saturday) dealt more with Middlegame planning, tactics and sacrifices. Day 3 (Sunday) was dedicated to chess questions, Endgames and some more tactics, while the top groups also dealt with pawn structures arising from most common openings. Overall it went great and thank you all for coming.

It was such a pleasure getting e-mails from so many parents saying they “had a blast at the Camp!”

As always, you are more than welcome to write a short article describing your experience at the Camp. Best ones will find their way into our web publishing area.

Thank you all for coming and we will hope to see you at the upcoming chess events organized by Arizona Chess For Schools.

Levon Altounian

Camp Organizer