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Katrina Attacks - US Chess Responds!

Lindsborg Hosts Kansas Scholastic Chess Championships

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National News

Katrina Attacks - US Chess Responds!

This press release originally appeared on the USCF website.

1,041 of our members lived in or near the areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The United States Chess Federation (USCF) needs the help of its state chess associations and local chess club members around the country! We are offering a list of our 1,041 members…in the hopes that either they, their family, or friends can let USCF know where they are. It is our goal to connect them with chess club members in that area. We also want to update our address records so they can continue receiving their monthly issue of Chess Life. It is also possible that mail delivery in areas near the devastation will have delays, depending on where the mail distribution center is located for the Postal Service.

Contact: Joan DuBois at the USCF office in Crossville, TN. Email: jdubois@uschess.org Phone: (931) 787-1234 extension #123, Fax#: (931) 787-1200 Attn: Joan, or mail her at US Chess, Attn: Joan, PO Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557. Evenings & weekends: joandoob@aol.com or cell#: 931-200-3412.

You will find the list of 1,041 members on the U.S. Chess Federation website: http://www.uschess.org/katrinaattacks-uschessresponds.php

USCF is asking all state chess associations to be responsible for contacting the chess clubs in their state to see who can offer assistance. A simple notice on their website can help! Any state chess association who does not have evacuees being placed within their state can reach out to help those state associations who do! A state chess association and chess club directory is offered on USCF’s website, http://www.uschess.org – click on Clubs.

We offer some suggestions once you’ve made a Chess Connection. Remember…you know your local area better than anyone!

1. Donate to your fellow member simple day-to-day items one would need.

2. Look in your local area for housing and job opportunities.

3. Provide simple things like daily newspaper, local phone book, etc.

4. Check with local merchants for some support.

5. For more suggestions contact your local Red Cross office – they can help you!

USCF knows it can count on you, our members, to reach out to our chess family in this time of great need.

Lindsborg Hosts Kansas Scholastic Chess Championships

This press release originally appeared on the USCF website.

On Saturday, 85 students from throughout Kansas competed at Smoky Valley High School in Lindsborg. The Kansas Scholastic Grade Championships are held each year to provide students, K-12, with the opportunity to compete for the honor of being the state chess champion of their grade.

One such student was 16 year-old Blythe Buscher, who came from Erie, Kansas to compete for the 11th grade championship. “I learned how the pieces moved from my father,” said Buscher, “but I really became interested when my older sister began playing competitive chess.” Buscher is one of a handful of students who has been invited by Mikhail Korenman, Director of the Chess for Peace initiative, to play in the upcoming match against a Russian student team who will come to Lindsborg. Buscher, the current Girls Chess Champion of Kansas, recently competed, along with approximately 5,000 other students at the famed Super Nationals, held in Nashville, Tennessee. She won 2nd place in her division and 1st in a rapid version of chess known as Blitz.

Three other students, who attended the Grade Championships, have also been named to the U.S. team: Paul and Aaron Masterson, Lindsborg, and Isaiah Jesch, Conway Springs, Kansas. Jesch won 1st place in the Middle School division at the Super Nationals. Kansas fields more scholastic chess players than any other state of its size.

The 85 students, each facing his or her opponent, waited for Tom Claman, the tournament director and President of the Kansas Scholastic Chess Association, to give the signal to start their chess clocks. After a final word of advice, Claman gave the signal to start. Anxious parents sat watching their children, while coaches paced nervously. Kevin Nyburg, who coaches the Garden City team, walked away from the playing area shaking his head. “I lost all of my experienced players last year, but at least the ones I brought are getting good experience,” said Nyburg.

Randy Brull, coach for the Thomas Moore Prep School at Hays, was decidedly more upbeat. One of his 10th grade students, Austin Leiker, was moving undefeated into the final round. “Austin’s training is paying off,” said Brull. “He’s been playing since the second grade.”

In the end, Blythe Buscher tied with Bradley Coover, a fellow teammate from Erie, for the 11th grade championship; however, Coover won the tiebreak. Most of the top competitors have trained at the Karpov School of Chess, either in classes or their summer camps. The Kansas Grade Chess Champions were: Kindergarten, Nick Reinert, Lindsborg; 1st grade, Thomas Timmermeyer, St. Francis of Assisi, Wichita; 2nd grade, Cole Reames, Lawrence Elementary, Lawrence; 3rd grade, Michael Timmermeyer, St. Francis of Assisi, Wichita; 4th grade, Derrick Hammer, Country View Elementary, Winfield; 5th grade, Christopher Anton, Independent, Wichita; 6th, Charles Kinzel, McPherson Middle School, McPherson; 7th grade, Philip Steele, Salina Middle School, Salina; 8th grade, Thomas Reames, Lawrence Jr. High, Lawrence; 9th grade, Duane Tate, HTS, Wichita; 10th grade, Austin Leiker, Thomas Moore Prep School, Hays; 11th, Bradley Coover, Erie High School, Erie; and 12th grade, Tyler Nigus, Blue Valley High School, Kansas City.

The Chess for Peace initiative will officially begin on October 29, when former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, along with former World Chess Champions Susan Polgar and Anatoly Karpov, will come to Lindsborg. Karpov and Polgar will play a series of games on that day, and Gorbachev will give a major address at Bethany’s Presser Hall that evening. Tickets to these events can be purchased directly from the Karpov International Chess School in Lindsborg. Telephone 785-227-4121, Wes Fisk. CHESS FOR PEACE, 106 South Main, Lindsborg, Kansas 67456 – 785-227-2224.