1695814
05-18-2005, 09:50 AM
Saw this in the paper today.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/362/5409260.html
Last update: May 18, 2005 at 7:11 AM
Chess kings, commoners make a move for $500,000
Rene Sanchez, Star Tribune May 18, 2005 CHESS0518
?OAS_AD('Button20');?They are coming from Siberia and Minnetonka. From Switzerland and St. Paul. All for the same rare reason: to try to get rich quick -- playing chess.
Some of the world's best players, and about 1,500 other devoted amateurs, are converging on the Minneapolis Convention Center today to compete in one of the largest and most lucrative tournaments in the game's long history.
A half-million dollars in prize money is up for grabs, and first-place winners in some competitive classes will get $50,000 or $20,000. The huge pot, which is twice as big as what other prestigious chess tourneys boast, has the game's cerebral players in an unusual mood: They sound giddy.
Well, almost.
For weeks, even months, many of them have been immersed in mental workouts, meticulously plotting or memorizing winning moves in preparation for the tournament, which begins tonight.
To compete in the five-day event, suburban dads are forsaking their day jobs. Young prodigies are skipping school. Old pros, long retired from the game, are returning.
"People are coming out of the woodwork to play in this," said Dan Voje, president of a chess club in northeast Minneapolis called the Chess Castle. "They can hardly believe something like it is happening here."
Jeff Devich, 15, a student at Metcalf Junior High School in Burnsville who is entering the tournament, has lost count of how many practice games he has played on Internet chess sites in the past few weeks.
Maybe 100. Maybe more.
"I can't slack off," Devich said. "This is huge."
Players arriving from Argentina, India, the Philippines and 15 other countries will do battle in cavernous ballrooms filled with chessboards. The tournament field will include at least four dozen of the world's best chess players, who are called grandmasters. Most of the top 20 players in the United States also have signed up, including the current American champion, Hikaru Nakamura, 17.
The first-time event, called the HB Global Chess Challenge, is open to the public and is sponsored by the HB Foundation, a Twin Cities nonprofit that promotes chess as an educational tool.
"This is like the Super Bowl of the chess world," said Brian Molohon, executive director of the organization.
Tom Burns, a consultant who lives in Minnetonka, can hardly wait for the matches to begin.
He has taken a week off from work to take part in the tournament. He has been poring through books and computer study guides every evening to sharpen his strategies. One recent Saturday, he and a group of friends who also are planning to compete spent five hours rehearsing crucial opening moves.
Burns will be host to two chess grandmasters from Siberia, one of whom he has chatted with and has tried in vain to defeat on an Internet chess site for years, but has never met.
"I have no illusions about winning any of the top prizes, but I'm excited about playing," Burns said. "This kind of event might not happen again."
Shu Lee, president of the Minnesota State Chess Association, which has about 300 members, said some local players have been priced out of participating because the tournament registration fee has ranged from about $250 (with an early signup discount) to $400. But he said some members not only have paid the fee, they have booked hotel rooms downtown for the duration of the tournament.
"They want to be down there to live the whole event," said Lee, a management consultant who lives in Monticello.
He said some local competitions have recently attracted players he has not seen in more than a decade. "They're coming back to try to improve their skills in time for this tournament," Lee said.
The tournament is open to all ages and skill levels, and is bound to feature at least a few duels between adolescents and senior citizens.
"In some cases they can really be equals on the board," Molohon said. "In no other sport could that happen. It's all about your ability, not your age."
Along with a marathon of matches, the tourney will include lectures on the game and exhibitions by top players facing many opponents at once. There will be a scholastic tournament for children, who can enter for $25, and a competition among college chess teams. The reigning U.S. chess champion also is expected to play the world youth champion in a side event. In all, several hundred cash prizes will be awarded. Spectators can watch the matches for free.
Tournament organizers say they hope the event will arouse more national interest in chess, especially in schools with many disadvantaged students.
Educators across the country are using the game more to help struggling students improve their problem-solving skills and their prowess in subjects such as math. Chess, they say, can be a secret weapon in the classroom: Students who play often do not even realize they are developing skills that will make them better learners. But many youth still consider the game too dull and brainy.
"There are big benefits to playing chess for young people," said Maurice Ashley, a tournament organizer who in 1999 became the first black grandmaster in the game. "Hopefully, this tournament will make a statement about where chess is going. We need to start the snowball rolling. We want this to be the moment that everyone looks back to and says, 'That's when it all started.' "
Ashley is at the forefront of a movement to make chess more appealing to the masses. In line with that effort, the Global Chess Challenge rules will force top players to do genuine battle -- and not advance by agreeing to friendly draws.
At Dan Voje's chess club in Minneapolis, recent matches have drawn scores of players sweating over whether their strategies will be smart enough to survive the tournament.
"A lot of people have been doing a lot of studying here," Voje said. "They've never had a chance as big as this one."
Rene Sanchez is at rsanchez@startribune.com (rsanchez@startribune.com).
http://www.startribune.com/stories/362/5409260.html
Last update: May 18, 2005 at 7:11 AM
Chess kings, commoners make a move for $500,000
Rene Sanchez, Star Tribune May 18, 2005 CHESS0518
?OAS_AD('Button20');?They are coming from Siberia and Minnetonka. From Switzerland and St. Paul. All for the same rare reason: to try to get rich quick -- playing chess.
Some of the world's best players, and about 1,500 other devoted amateurs, are converging on the Minneapolis Convention Center today to compete in one of the largest and most lucrative tournaments in the game's long history.
A half-million dollars in prize money is up for grabs, and first-place winners in some competitive classes will get $50,000 or $20,000. The huge pot, which is twice as big as what other prestigious chess tourneys boast, has the game's cerebral players in an unusual mood: They sound giddy.
Well, almost.
For weeks, even months, many of them have been immersed in mental workouts, meticulously plotting or memorizing winning moves in preparation for the tournament, which begins tonight.
To compete in the five-day event, suburban dads are forsaking their day jobs. Young prodigies are skipping school. Old pros, long retired from the game, are returning.
"People are coming out of the woodwork to play in this," said Dan Voje, president of a chess club in northeast Minneapolis called the Chess Castle. "They can hardly believe something like it is happening here."
Jeff Devich, 15, a student at Metcalf Junior High School in Burnsville who is entering the tournament, has lost count of how many practice games he has played on Internet chess sites in the past few weeks.
Maybe 100. Maybe more.
"I can't slack off," Devich said. "This is huge."
Players arriving from Argentina, India, the Philippines and 15 other countries will do battle in cavernous ballrooms filled with chessboards. The tournament field will include at least four dozen of the world's best chess players, who are called grandmasters. Most of the top 20 players in the United States also have signed up, including the current American champion, Hikaru Nakamura, 17.
The first-time event, called the HB Global Chess Challenge, is open to the public and is sponsored by the HB Foundation, a Twin Cities nonprofit that promotes chess as an educational tool.
"This is like the Super Bowl of the chess world," said Brian Molohon, executive director of the organization.
Tom Burns, a consultant who lives in Minnetonka, can hardly wait for the matches to begin.
He has taken a week off from work to take part in the tournament. He has been poring through books and computer study guides every evening to sharpen his strategies. One recent Saturday, he and a group of friends who also are planning to compete spent five hours rehearsing crucial opening moves.
Burns will be host to two chess grandmasters from Siberia, one of whom he has chatted with and has tried in vain to defeat on an Internet chess site for years, but has never met.
"I have no illusions about winning any of the top prizes, but I'm excited about playing," Burns said. "This kind of event might not happen again."
Shu Lee, president of the Minnesota State Chess Association, which has about 300 members, said some local players have been priced out of participating because the tournament registration fee has ranged from about $250 (with an early signup discount) to $400. But he said some members not only have paid the fee, they have booked hotel rooms downtown for the duration of the tournament.
"They want to be down there to live the whole event," said Lee, a management consultant who lives in Monticello.
He said some local competitions have recently attracted players he has not seen in more than a decade. "They're coming back to try to improve their skills in time for this tournament," Lee said.
The tournament is open to all ages and skill levels, and is bound to feature at least a few duels between adolescents and senior citizens.
"In some cases they can really be equals on the board," Molohon said. "In no other sport could that happen. It's all about your ability, not your age."
Along with a marathon of matches, the tourney will include lectures on the game and exhibitions by top players facing many opponents at once. There will be a scholastic tournament for children, who can enter for $25, and a competition among college chess teams. The reigning U.S. chess champion also is expected to play the world youth champion in a side event. In all, several hundred cash prizes will be awarded. Spectators can watch the matches for free.
Tournament organizers say they hope the event will arouse more national interest in chess, especially in schools with many disadvantaged students.
Educators across the country are using the game more to help struggling students improve their problem-solving skills and their prowess in subjects such as math. Chess, they say, can be a secret weapon in the classroom: Students who play often do not even realize they are developing skills that will make them better learners. But many youth still consider the game too dull and brainy.
"There are big benefits to playing chess for young people," said Maurice Ashley, a tournament organizer who in 1999 became the first black grandmaster in the game. "Hopefully, this tournament will make a statement about where chess is going. We need to start the snowball rolling. We want this to be the moment that everyone looks back to and says, 'That's when it all started.' "
Ashley is at the forefront of a movement to make chess more appealing to the masses. In line with that effort, the Global Chess Challenge rules will force top players to do genuine battle -- and not advance by agreeing to friendly draws.
At Dan Voje's chess club in Minneapolis, recent matches have drawn scores of players sweating over whether their strategies will be smart enough to survive the tournament.
"A lot of people have been doing a lot of studying here," Voje said. "They've never had a chance as big as this one."
Rene Sanchez is at rsanchez@startribune.com (rsanchez@startribune.com).