Welcome to Bangor Chess Club Scholastic Chess informational page. Here you’ll find information of special interest to junior players, from stories about today’s young chess superstars.
22 Year Old US Champion played for World Title
This feature story from 1996 includes coverage of the FIDE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! This event pitted Gata Kamsky, a US Champion who just turned 22 on June 2nd, as the challenger against FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov, 45, of Russia in a 20 game match for the World Title. At age 14, Bobby Fischer startled the world by winning BOTH the US Jr. and regular US Championships, eventually going on to win the World Title. Gata Kamsky sidestepped junior events altogether, and won his US championship at age 17. In this event, he had his chance to become the next American World Champion. The odds were against him, and after losing, Kamsky announced that he was retiring from chess in order to go to Medical school.
1996 US Junior Championship for Players under 20 Years Old
This exciting event included 12 of the top American players ranging from age 16 to 19. Special feature coverage includes the final standings and biographies of the players. For the 1997 event now underway, see US Chess Federation news feature.
Charity Chess Events Benefit Chernobyl and Bosnia’s Children
Chess is an international sport, and its grandmasters often step forward to help the world’s children. While many charity events, like the amazing US Chessathon, focus on getting chess equipment and lessons into schools, others take a more direct approach. In 1996, two separate groups of grandmasters worked on charity events to benefit children more directly.
World Champion Helps Collect Toys for Chernobyl
FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov held a simul exhibition in mid-1996 to benefit the children of Chernobyl, who were affected by an accident at a Russian nuclear plant a number of years ago. These children still show a much higher rate of cancer than typical, and need medical assistance. The Champion raised funds by giving a simultaneous exhibition. Adults were asked to pay a fee: children were asked to bring a new toy.
Norway, Bosnia, play a match to help clear Bosnia of mines
One of the biggest problems in Bosnia is left-over landmines. Recently, a special match was staged between a team of two Norwegian Grandmasters and two Bosnian Grandmasters, to help raise funds to assist in clearing these mines. The match, which featured a lot of exciting chess, ended up tied at 4-4: but the children of Bosnia will be the real winners. For game scores and commentary in Norwegian, see the Norwegian news site at http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/forste/sjakk.htm.
Just for Fun
Fun Sayings About Chess
The Chess Coaches Homepage at Exeter has put together a great collection of sayings on chess.
You may know this:
“When I have White, I win because I am white;
When I have Black, I win because I am Bogolyubov.”
–Bogolyubov
But who said:
“Chess is mental torture.”
[Hint: He was the youngest World Champion in chess history, and he recently played a match against the strongest chess-playing computer on the planet–and won! ]
More Information on the 1st Man/Machine match!
Some of the world’s best junior players participated in the Internet World Student Chess Championship.
The winner was the number one junior player in the US, Grandmaster Gabriel Schwartzman, age 19, who had a perfect 6-0 Result! This event was played online at the Internet Chess Club, and included players from a dozen countries around the world.
Planning a vacation? Check these out!
- Chess Museum in Washington, DC
Scholastic Tournaments & Chess Magazines for Kids
United States
Think you’re ready for tournaments? The US Chess Federation has a number of scholastic events around the United States. You can get a rating, play with kids from other schools, and have a lot of fun! They also publish a bi-monthly chess newsletter just for kids called SCHOOL MATES.
Canada
Canada also has a scholastic chess association, the Chess and Math Association. (Epileptics beware–this site uses WAY too many “blink” tags!)
The Chess’n Math Association (CMA) is a non-profit organization with provincial coordinators dedicated to bringing the game of chess to schools across Canada.
Lots of information on scholastic chess in Canada, including reports on local tournaments and how Canadian juniors did in important international events. They also publish Scholar’s Mate, a chess magazine aimed at kids ages 7-12, published 5 times a year for about $12 Canadian.
Scholastic Resources at Other Chess Sites
These resources are available at other Scholastic Chess Sites
- An Online Chess Encyclopedia–from Italy!
This online chess encyclopedia (in English) has entries on famous players, special events, and country information. Although it doesn’t cover everything, you’ll find lots of fun facts here. Check the listing under “World Championship” for all world champions up through 1995.
More Fun Stuff
Duif also writes articles for several other chess sites. The US Chess Federation has started a new Fun Facts feature as part of its Chess Buzz each week. These include trivia questions, the lighter side of the chess news, and features on junior superstars. See Chess Life Online Index for a list of features available.