On February 1st, the CCC kicked off it's club ladder. On this very cold Friday night, 16 people showed up, of which 12 players participated. All the rating classes were represented with one master, 2 experts, one A player and the rest of the classes on down. Time control was game in 45 (minutes). York Peppermint Patties were given to each player along with the option of extra strong coffee.

The beauty of our club ladder is that it allows for USCF rated games for $1 per game per person on a Friday night (time controls can be adjusted). A member can show up and play a similarly rated opponent in a rated game; if they win against a higher rated opponent, they climb the CCC ladder and pick up rating points. Very attractive for the active tournament player looking to pick up fat cat rating points. Now that we have the club ladder in place, CCC members don't have to wait for a tournament to play rated games and can guarantee a competitive game against chess with someone around their same skill level.

A chess board and pieces, along with books we donated as prizes for the winners of this Ladder Kickoff Tournament. A few pictures of the event are posted below.

-Robert Chenault