NY Times article regarding chess in Tucson

Enjoy this article found in the NY Times about woman playing chess in Tucson:


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/us/25ladychess.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Women's World Champion coming to Tucson

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk is coming to Tucson this Sunday (Dec. 20) as part of her Christmas Goodwill offer. She will be attending the 9 Queens Chess Academy. Because of the addition of GM Kosteniuk, some details of the Chess Academy have been changed.

• The 9 Queens Academy will be now be held at the Parasol Project Arts Space (located at 299 Park Avenue) from 2-4 pm on Sunday Dec 20, 2009.
• Immediately following the Queens Academy, from 4-7 pm at MAST (a new boutique located directly next door to Parasol Projects), 9 Queens will host a reception and simultaneous chess exhibit featuring Ms. Kosteniuk.

All activities will be open to all chess enthusiasts (men and women) of all ages and abilities. For more information, visit the 9 Queens website or contact Jean Hoffman.

National Chess Day

Many of you may not know it, but today is "National Chess Day".

On October 9, 1976 President Gerald Ford declared a National Chess Day. As we approach that anniversary date, we encourage state and local clubs to commemorate the day in some way, perhaps with a tournament or an educational program about chess in their communities.

National Chess Day began in South Carolina. It was created by the late Bill Dodgen, who was president of the South Carolina Chess Association for a number of years. It was originally a state chess day in South Carolina, but Bill quickly expanded it to a nationwide effort and was appointed National Chess Day chairman.

I would like to thank all on our chess community for your participation in the game that we love. And I encourage (challenge) you to go out this weekend and play some chess! Teach someone how to play or play with someone who hasn't played in a long time. But remember, you don't have to just play chess on National Chess Day!

If you haven't been following along, the US Women's Championship is currently taking place in St. Louis, MO. Ten of the best females in the country are competing for a $64,000 ($15,000 for first) prize fund. Currently, current US Woman's Champion, Anna Zatonskih, leads with 4.5 points out of 5.

Chess in our community:

• October 10 - Arizona Chess in Schools is hosting the Green Fields Open
• October 14 - Arizona Scorpions vs. San Francisco Mechanics in the US Chess League
• October 14 - Eastside Chess Club meets every Wednesday at the Jewish Community Center
  
• October 17 - League Match #1 at St. Cyril School
• October 18 - 9 Queens will host the All Queens Chess Day

Chess Fest is Saturday May 2

The 2nd Annual 9 Queens Chess Fest is this Saturday, downtown at the Hotel Congress. The Chess Fest is a nontraditional chess tournament that offers everyone, regardless of age or experience level, an opportunity to experience the benefits of chess. Activities will start at noon and will last until about 8:30 pm.

Activities include:

• Blitz (G/5) tournament
  
• Human Chess Match played out on a life-size board,
• Blindfold chess exhibition provided by members of the Arizona Chess Team,
• Free chess workshops and lessons taught by two-time national chess champions from Catalina Foothills High School,
• Blitz chess tournament free for all children under age of 18
• Chess and Hola Hooping Expo
• "Honor the Queen" chess art exhibit featuring pieces renditions of the chess queen donated by local artists, chess players, and 9 Queens students

Registration for the blitz tournament is free to all if done by 8:00 pm on Friday. After that, kids are still free but adults will be charged a fee.

All proceeds from the Chess Fest will benefit 9 Queens, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering under-served and under-represented populations through chess.

Arizona Daily Star article on Chess Fest
Tucson Citizen article on Chess Fest

9 Queens announces upcoming chess academy dates

Jean Hoffman has announced dates for 9 Queens free Chess Academy. The Chess Academy is a free chess workshop for women and girls. All ages and abilities are welcome.

Dates:
Sunday April 19
Sunday May 10
Sunday June 14
Time: 2-4 pm
Location: Bookmans on Speedway (6230 E Speedway on
corner of Wilmot)

9 Queens is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and at-risk youths through chess. For more information, contact Jean.

Jean Hoffman featured in newspaper article.

Jean Hoffman, co-founder of the 9 Queens organization was featured in an article in today's paper for "Gifts of Tucson". The article focuses on her returning to Tucson after earning degrees at BOTH Yale and Harvard (Ed. note: I know... I haven't heard of those schools either.) to teach chess to those that could normally not afford to be involved.

Each day in December, we (Arizona Daily Star) are writing about a Gift of Tucson. These are people who quietly make our town what it is — volunteers, parents, neighbors, people who commit random acts of kindness. Go to go.azstarnet.com/giftsoftucson to read about other gifts of Tucson.

In continues...

But after graduating from Yale, she took some time off from school and went to New York City to teach chess in low-income schools.

"I thought it would be part-time," said Hoffman. "But it was there that I became a believer in the power of chess as a teaching tool."

So she went on to get her master's in education from Harvard, and headed back to her Tucson home, where she launched the nonprofit 9 Queens.

Jean is hosting an informal chess gathering Dec. 8 at the Hotel Congress at 5:00 pm for anyone that is interested.