When & Where     Tuition and Registration    Weibel Club-Tuesdays    Weibel Team-Fridays     Tournament Play Only Option    

ABOUT WEIBEL CHESS:

At Weibel Chess, classes are held once a week to study chess tactics and strategy and to spend time playing chess under tournament conditions. Children who join Weibel Chess know they are a part of the largest and best known school program in the State of California. More important, parents know their children will be part of an educational system designed to improve their children’s academic performance while they have fun. Our chess program is an after-school enrichment program, not merely recreational.

Weibel Chess is not affiliated with any other chess program or school.  We are an after school program supported by the Parent Teacher Organization and funded by the parents. Our wonderful parent helpers and some of our teachers' aides and instructors are volunteers.

Weibel Chess provides financial aid to any family that is in need as we will not turn away any child who desires to learn and play chess.  Weibel Chess will fund any player in need of financial support that wants to attend chess tournaments. If you have any questions on our financial aid program, please contact our directror, Dr. Alan Kirshner: Alan@WeibelChess.org

INTRODUCTION
For those who attended last year, I hope continue to keep your children interested in chess.  As has been my practice in past years, I do not send out the information or the applications until August, usually the end, but I thought I would try to get the information up a bit earlier this summer. So, for those of you excited about re-joining or joining us for the 21st year of Weibel Chess, this page provides, I hope, all the information you will need. Please read it over carefully.   At the request of the parents who hold the end of the year awards ceremony I am also planning on running a Horner Junior High School Chess Team, with their own distinctive logo this year, at the same time as our Weibel Chess Team.

WHEN & WHERE
We start the Weibel Chess Club on Tuesday, September 28 (2:55 to 4:10 PM) until May 31 (for year memberships) and the Weibel Chess Team on Friday, September 24 (2:55 to 5:30 PM) until June 3 (for year memberships).   Yes, for those who noticed, that start date for the team is a week earlier than usual. The first semester for the Weibel Club will end February 1 and for the Weibel Team on January 21.  The second semester for the Club starts on February 8 and for the Team on January 28.  Students from Junior High School and High School will be permitted to attend Team meetings (not the Club) as long as they meet the conditions listed online. Any children  wanting to participate only in the after instruction tournaments (this option does not exist for Weibel students) can attend on Friday during the Team playing time. Chess will not be held on official school holidays. We do hold chess when Weibel has a half-day schedule. We do not change the time of our chess classes.

All children should come to the Multi-Use Room on the first day of chess. Actually, we will always start in the Multi-Use Room before heading to the various classrooms. Unless you hear otherwise, please be sure your child is there on the proper date and time for the first meeting. This may be your only notice. If for some reason s/he cannot be there on the first day, please send an e-mail to alan@WeibelChess.org so that your child is not dropped from the Team/Club. All children except the Raw Beginners and Beginners can be picked up from the Multi-Use Room at the end of chess.  Raw Beginners and Beginners should be picked up at their instruction classroom. If a child in the Raw Beginners or Beginners class is not picked up from the assigned classroom within ten minutes after the class ends (by 4:20), they will be brought to the Multi-Use Room. Any parent who is consistently tardy (more than 4 times) will be charged an extra $30 each half  hour to cover the instructor's overtime.

TUITION & REGISTRATION
To register for Weibel Chess, please go to our secure site, https://CalNorthYouth.powweb.com/WeibelChess/Registration2010-2011.html.  You might wish to complete the online registration form as early as possible as those who were with Weibel Chess last year will have first priority only until September 8.  After that date all registrations will be accepted based upon the date the application was received.  For many years our enrollment caused us to create a waiting list.  We anticipate that we will have room for all those interested joining this year.  Yet, I did write this last year and found that after we started chess I had to start a waiting list. There will be a late fee of $30 for anyone registering after September 22 unless they have been placed on a waitlist.

Chess tuition covers the cost of our exceptional instruction staff, the chess instruction equipment, chess sets and pieces, paperwork, donations to the Weibel School classrooms, and the trophies, certificates and door prizes our students receive at the end of the year. Parents in the past have contributed a few dollars extra for the food and gifts for the end of the year awards ceremony and to honor all the volunteers and the Weibel classroom teacher who allow us to use their rooms.  The parent organizers requested that I add a surcharge on the tuition this year due to the problem they have confronted in collecting the cost for the end of the year thank you's. I have agreed to add $6 to each membership tuition. I will turn that amount over to the parents committee when we start chess.

During the registration process you will be given a mailing address if you wish to pay by check, or you can pay online using your credit card. 

Although registration can be done one semester at a time, please consider joining for the whole school year.   The tuition for the year's Club program is $368 ($11.50 per session x 32) + $6 surcharge to the Parent Awards' Committee. If you only pay $184 ($190 with the surcharge) for one semester for the Club we will send you the second semester’s tuition bill ($184) in mid-January. The tuition for the year's Team program is $420 ($14.00 per session x 30) + $6 surcharge to the Parent Awards' Committee. If you only pay $210 for one semester($216 with the surcharge) for the Team we will send you the second semester’s tuition bill ($210) in mid-January.  We encourage and expect children who enroll for the first semester to also enroll the following semester. Those who pay tuition for the full year in advance will receive a Weibel Chess logo T-shirt gratis.  For those joining for a semester, they can purchase a T-shirt on the application form. Once again I will have a second Team class on Tuesday for those that meet the criteria listed below. The initial cost for this class will be $200 for the year with possible refunds as noted in the "Extra Team Option" section.

If a student cannot get to Weibel by 2:55 PM, they can take the play only option.  This option will allow the children from any other schools to get to Weibel by 3:40 and join the Friday Team tournament.  Any non-Weibel player taking this option must pay for the year in advance. S/he must also meet the criteria set forth below. The cost for this option is $270 ($9 per session) + $6 surcharge. There will be no refunds after the second meeting.  Students in the play only section will be mixed in with Weibel students based upon their ability. 

If you have volunteered to help the Weibel Chess Club or Team set up or take down equipment or worked the Weibel Chess Quads last year and are doing so again this year, please select the gratis box on the Weibel Registration form.  New helpers are, of course, always welcome and needed, and tuition for one child will be refunded after the first semester of  help. Please, I beg you, do not sign up to help and then stop after a couple of weeks. Four parents volunteered to help last year in the Club and and stopped after a few weeks. If you do volunteer to help please do so with the full intention of staying with the program as that means a lot to our instructors.

Anyone registering late can deduct the tuition for any days missed, but will be charged a $25 late registration fee. Late registration starts the day before the first class for the semester is scheduled to meet. There will be no late registration fee for anyone who was placed on a Waiting List and then admitted to class.

No semester refunds will be provided after the second meeting of chess. When a refund is provided for a semester registration the per diem tuition rate will be deducted for each day your child attended, plus a $20 registration fee for the data entry. If you registered for the complete year and want to withdraw before the second semester, a full refund  for that semester will be provided minus the cost of the T-shirt you received gratis for joining for the full year. There is no semester option for the Play Only Option.  If we decide within the first few lessons that your child is not yet ready to learn chess, your full tuition will be refunded. There will not be a refund for any child removed from the program due to discipline issues or because they failed to meet the Team commitments.

Financial Aid (full or partial tuition) based on need is always available.  I will not turn any child away from chess due to the cost of our program. To apply for Financial Aid, please send a letter to Dr. Kirshner (66 Indian Hill Place, Fremont, CA 94539) detailing the reasons you believe you need financial aid for your child. Any information received is kept in complete confidence. If the child is on the state or federal lunch programs, full financial aid is automatically awarded when requested. 

WHO
Children of all Weibel grades and chess experience levels are welcome. Please read the conditions on page two carefully before deciding to register your child in one of  the three options. Weibel Chess is limited to Weibel students, former Weibel chess students or home-schooled children.  Dr. Kirshner may make exceptions for children who attend other schools that do not have a chess program or the level of  their program fails to meet quality chess standards.  It is unlikely any exception will be made for students that do not attend Weibel to be accepted for the Club as there generally is not enough room for Weibel students. Students who are admitted to the Team must meet the Team requirements and if they do not do so they will be removed without a refund for the semester.

GENERAL CONDITIONS
Children will respect the Weibel School rules, each other, and the instructors. Failure to do so can result in a suspension or immediate expulsion. Obviously, we will discuss behavioral problems with the children and their parents before suspension. If a student's action places another student, an instructor or themselves in serious physical danger, immediate expulsion from the program can occur without any pre-notification. 

Please discuss with your child whether the Chess Club or the Chess Team is more appropriate. Weibel Chess instructors do not make assignments.  If you want some guidance on your child’s placement, give Dr. Kirshner a call at (510) 659-0358 or write him at Alan@WeibelChess.org

WEIBEL CHESS CLUB PARTICIPATION:
1. Club members must attend Weibel or be home-schooled and may range from absolute beginners to experienced players. We will welcome kindergarten through sixth grade students into the Weibel Chess Club.
2. Little or no knowledge of chess is required of  Club members. We will teach chess to beginners in the first eight weeks and then all students will obtain instruction in chess tactics and strategy. After all students know how to play they may join other Club members for half the session in tournament style play.
3, There is no homework requirement for Club members, though extra credit assignments will be available on the web through Success Chess School.
4. Since Club members are not required to enter competitions they do not need a Weibel  Chess T-shirt as the Team members do, but they are welcome to order  and wear  one. I have placed a location to order the T-shirt on the form.  Those children paying a full year’s tuition in advance will receive a T-shirt gratis.  The design will remain the same as in previous years, but the back will read “National Champions 2010" and below that "CalChess State or Regional Champions in Various Divisions, 1990-2010.”

WEIBEL AND HORNER CHESS TEAM PARTICIPATION:
1. Parents must agree to have their children compete in at least six United States Chess Federation  (USCF) Tournaments before the CalChess State Championships that will be held on April 1 & 2 in Santa Clara. Of these six tournaments I recommend that a minimum of three of them be in Swiss format and at least two within six weeks of the State Championships. Any summer chess tournaments do meet this requirement. We hope that we will not have to remove players for not completing this requirement as we did last year. We will, generally, distribute information on tournaments or you can look online at: http://www.CalNorthYouthChess.org/Tournaments.html.  Team members must keep their USCF memberships current.  New members to the Team that are not yet USCF members must join by going to https://secure.uschess.org/webstore/member.php?wkmemtp=R1

2. Team members must attend the CalChess Grade Level in Stockton on December 4 and/or December 5.  All Team girls must play in the CalChess State Scholastic Girl's Championships in San Rafael at the end of January or the first week of February--I do not have a date yet. All Team players must wear a Weibel Chess T-shirt to any tournaments they attend.  Please--pretty please—see that they do so this year.

3. Parents must agree to have their children compete in the CalChess State Scholastic Championships on April 1 & 2 (most Kindergarten through Third Grade students play only on Saturday, April 1.  Unrated and novice players in the 4 through 6 grades may be playing only on Sunday this year.  Those in the Primary School Championship K-3 Section and other varsity divisions compete on both Saturday and Sunday). Team members who fail to attend the State Championships will be removed from Weibel Chess.  Do not register your child on the Chess Team if you believe another activity might interfere with keeping this commitment.

4.  Weibel Team members must do homework each week. This will mean that they must take the tournament game they played on Friday (or an equivalent one with my permission) and enter it into a computer program and add commentary to all the moves.  I will explain this to the students at our first meeting and provide those that need it with a program they can use to enter their games in the computer.  If for some reason the computer is down or the printer broken they will have to do it all by hand.  The analyzed game must be turned in the next Friday.  If the sheet is not brought to the Friday meeting or the student does not do the homework, the student will have eight points deducted from their ranking. Students who repeatedly fail to do the homework or fail to remember to turn it in will be suspended for one week and will not be allowed to return to chess until they make-up in a satisfactory manner all the missed homework. After three suspensions, we will send the Team member to the Chess Club or remove the student from Weibel Chess.  Some instructors may still require their students to do homework they assign.  This instructor homework will be required along with the analysis of the Friday games. Our instructors know not to assign excessive work.  Translation, the total of each weeks homework should not be much more then one hours work and definitely not more then two hours.   Team members may obtain points per hour for extra homework--this will be based upon 2 points per hour of acceptable homework.  The homework forms that we used in past years will be made available to record the extra credit homework.  Playing chess online or with someone else is not chess homework--it is playing chess.  I will provide the SCS homework passwords this year for extra assignments.   Parents, as with any school assignment, must remember to check to see that the homework is done. Junior High School and High School students are exempt from this requirement and so are any students who come only for the tournament play option. However, they must keep all signed sheets in a folder that can be produced if I ask the player to do so. If the player cannot produce a folder with the signded notation sheets, s/he will be suspended.

5.  Team members must be willing to remain until 5:30 PM.  Pick-up can begin at 4:45 PM if the player has completed his/her game, gone over the recorded game and discussed the game with his/her opponent and with an instructor if one is available. Ideas on what the Team member will place in the computer must be placed on the back of the score sheet or on another piece of paper. I must sign this sheet or another instructor before the player may leave. This signed sheet must be stapled with the computer homework the next week. If a player leaves the Multi-Use Room before all of these requirements have been completed s/he will face suspension from the Chess Team. If a player continues to leave before completing the required activities s/he will be removed from the Chess Team.

6. Students from other schools can join the regular Team with instruction as described above. They can only come to the Team instruction if they were former Weibel students, home-schooled, in Junior High School or High School or with permission from Dr. Kirshner.  This will only be granted if their school does not have a chess program and they can get to Weibel within five minutes of when chess begins (2:55 PM).  If a student from another school cannot meet these criteria, they can take the Team Tournament Play Option below.

WEIBEL CHESS TUESDAY EXTRA TEAM OPTION

This option is only available for players:

Meeting the initial established goals will mean that half the tuition for this program will be refunded! Meeting a second goal will mean the restoration of half the remaining tuition.

At this writing I do not know how many Friday students I can accommodate with the Extra Team option. The number will depend on how many Team instructors I can get to teach on Tuesday. I would like to limit each Tuesday class to ten players or less. If I have more players than I can accommodate, I will accept those who registered first. Other players applying will have there money refunded and I will place them on the Waiting List for the Extra Team Option.

TOURNAMENT PLAY ONLY OPTION:

1. A student wanting to participate in the Team Tournament Play Option must have a provisional or permanent U.S. Chess Federation rating. I will only accept Play Option students after interviewing both the student and his/her parents. A student selecting this option must be willing to record (notate) the games played and analyze them with his/her opponent. S/he must also have the game sheets initialed before s/he leave. A Play Option student does not have to return homework, but must keep all signed sheets in a folder that can be produced if I ask the player to do so.

3. A student selecting this option must be able to be at Weibel by 3:40 and willing to remain until 5:30 PM. If the student arrives before 3:40 s/he must sit quietly in  the MUR away from any instruction until tournament play begins.

4. Pick-up can begin at 4:45 PM if the player has completed his/her game, gone over the recorded game and discussed the game with his/her opponent and with an instructor if one is available. If a player leaves the Multi-Use Room before all of these requirements have been completed s/he will face suspension from the Weibel Chess Team. If a player continues to leave before completing the required activities s/he will be removed from the Weibel Chess Team.

Any questions, concerns or communications regarding the Weibel Chess program should be directed to Alan M. Kirshner, Ph.D. He can be reached at (510) 659-0358 or via e-mail: alan@WeibelChess.org

TO JOIN WEIBEL CHESS FOR 2010-2011 GO TO: https://CalNorthYouth.powweb.com/WeibelChess/Registration2010-2011.html