Teaching in Aberdeen

Teaching students, parents and coaches in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Chess in the Schools and Communities International Conference (CISCCON)

Chess in the Schools and Communities International Conference (CISCCON)
30 August – 1 September 2007
King’s College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen
Conference Programme

Thursday 30 August

09.30 – 10.00 Registration and Coffee
10.00 – 10.15 Welcome
Prof. C. Duncan Rice, Principal, University of Aberdeen
Douglas Paterson, Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council
Phil Thomas, Scottish Junior Chess
10.15 – 11.30 Children’s Involvement in Education: Ethical Issues and Empowering Research Policy and Practice
Janet Shucksmith, Teesside University
What does Research into Expertise tell us about Chess Teaching and Coaching?
Ferdnand Gobet, Brunel University
11.30 – 12.00 Tea and Coffee
12.00 – 13.00 Parallel Session A
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 15.30 Chess and Education: the Re-creation of Learning School, Home and Community
Susan Polgar, Grandmaster and Director of SPICE at Texas Tech University
Development and Impact of Chess-in-the-Schools in New York City Public Schools
Fritz Gaspard, Chess in the Schools, New York
15.30 – 16.00 Tea and Coffee
16.00 – 17.00 Parallel Session B
18.30 for 19.00 Civic Reception at Aberdeen Town House - 20.30
Chess in the Schools and Communities International Conference (CISCCON)
30 August – 1 September 2007
King’s College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen

Conference Programme

Friday 31 August

08.45 – 09.45 Registration and Coffee
09.00 – 09.45 Poster Session and Open Space Session
09.45 – 10.30 Children and Social Capital
Virginia Morrow, University of London
10.30 – 11.15 Chess: Just a Game or a Powerful Teaching Strategy for Learning Mathematics
Dr Steve Tobias, Steve Carroll, (James Cook University, Townsville, Australia) and Sam Grumont (Castlemaine Innovations and Excellence School Cluster Coordinator)
11.15 – 11.45 Tea and Coffee
11.45 – 12.45 Parallel Session C
12.45 – 13.45 Lunch
13.45 – 14.30 The Rewards of Self-Control and the Joys of Concentration: What Chess Might Teach us About Learning
Jonathan Rowson, British Chess Champion (2004 – 2006)
14.30 – 15.15 Children’s Health and Well Being: the Process of Mentoring and Coaching in Informal Education
Kate Philip, University of Aberdeen
Using Chess in a Counseling/Mentoring Approach for Students
Fernando Moreno, Montgomery County Public Schools
15.15 – 15.45 Tea and Coffee
15.45 – 16.45 Parallel Session D
16.45 – 17.15 Plenary Iain Davidison, University of Aberdeen
19.00 for 19.30 Conference Dinner in Zeste at Crombie

Chess in the Schools and Communities International Conference (CISCCON)30 August – 1 September 2007
King’s College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen

Junior Programme

Friday 31 August

13.30 – 14.00 Registration and Refreshments
14.00 – 15.30 Junior Coaching - Susan Polgar, Grandmaster and Director of SPICE at Texas Tech University
15.30 – 15.45 Break
15.45 – 17.00 International Chess Tournament Rounds One, Two and Three
Round One: Fisher Bonus 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move
Round Two: Bronstein 5 minutes + 3 seconds per move
Round Three: One-minute Hour Glass
17.00 – 19.30 Free Time
19.30 – Social ActivityJunior Programme

Saturday 1 September

09.30 – 10.00 Refreshments
10.00 – 11.00 Junior Coaching
Susan Polgar, Grandmaster and Director of SPICE at Texas Tech University
11.00 – 12.45 International Chess Tournament, Rounds Four and Five
Round 4: 15 minute Rapid Play
Round 5: 25 minute Allegro
12.45 – 14.00 Lunch, followed by
Rapid Play Team Match: Scotland Select vs Aberdeen and Twin Cities
14.00 – 14.50 International Chess Tournament, Round Six Bronstein 20 minutes + 10 seconds per move
14.50 – 15.10 Refreshments
15.10 – 16.40 International Chess Tournament, Round Seven All moves in 45 minutes
16.40 – 17.15 Lecture and Questions and Answers - Susan Polgar, Grandmaster and Director of SPICE at Texas Tech University
17.15 – 17.30 Prize Giving

Major Chess Workshops and Exhibition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Cory Chandler, cory.chandler@ttu.edu
(806) 742-2136

Chess Champion Sisters Conduct Free Exhibition, Workshop

Teacher workshop and simultaneous exhibition to highlight activities

Ready to match wits against a world-renowned chess champion? What about two?

Texas Tech University’s new Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) on Sept. 3 will host two free events in the basement of the College of Education building. The event is co-hosted by the Knight Raiders Chess Club and sponsored by Mr. Jeff Smith and the Susan Polgar Foundation.

Events include:

Workshop for teachers to teach chess in the schools (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

Presenters:

Grandmaster Susan Polgar – A Chess Curriculum for Schools
International Master Sofia Polgar – Teaching Children Chess
FIDE Master Paul Truong – Tournaments
Dr. Haraldur Karlsson (tentative) – Role of Computers

Polgar-Polgar Simultaneous Exhibition
5 p.m.-10 p.m.

As many as 100 players will compete against Sofia and Susan Polgar, two of the biggest names in chess. Pre-registration is requested; preference will be given to children and young adults.

Contact:

Hal Karlsson, advisor, Knight Raiders Chess Club, (806) 742-3130, or hal.karlsson@ttu.edu
Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 392-0758 or paultruong@aol.com

Girls winning big with Texas Tech

Julia and Eunice Win 2007 Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls Chess Championship!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paul Truong
August 10, 2007
Press Release #27 of 2007
PaulTruong@aol.com

(Crossville, TN) The Annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls began July 29 and concluded on August 3 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A record 49 young women from all across the U.S. participated in this event.

Julia Kerr, student of Susan Polgar, and member of the Polgar Chess Center in Queens, New York and Eunice Rodriguez of Miami, Florida tied for first with final scores of 5.0 points. They were declared co-champions. Kerr won the tie-breaks and earned a full 4-year scholarship to Texas Tech University. Rodriquez, along with third place finisher Louiza Livschitz, earned partial scholarships to Texas Tech University, valued at $36,000 each for out of state students.

Defending champion Abby Marshall of Virginia scored 6-0 to win the Susan Polgar Invitational Blitz Championship, followed by Courtney Jamison of Texas and Jordana Williams of Louisiana.

The Susan Polgar Invitational Puzzle Solving Championship had a 9-way tie for first with perfect 10 scores. The order of the winners by time tie-break was: Courtney Jamison, Julia Kerr, Ashley Carter, Jordana Williams, Anna Matlin, Megan Lee, Ananya Roy, Jenelle Wallace and Kaila Smith.

The Susan Polgar Invitational Bughouse Championship was won by the team “Don’t Mess with Texas” which included Courtney Jamison and Sylvia Yang. The runner up team included Abby Marshall of Virginia and Darrian Robinson of New York.

The Miss Congeniality Award went to Louiza Livschitz of California and Ettie Nikolova of Virginia.

Megan Lee of Seattle, Washington won the Ursula Foster Memorial Award ($500.00) for the top girl under 14 years old. The gift has been donated by the sons of Ursula Foster who dedicated her life to helping young chess enthusiasts achieve their goals.

Through the sponsorships from Mr. Jeff Smith, the Susan Polgar Foundation and House of Staunton, the top 25 finishers each received a beautiful wooden chess set, valued at approximately $200. The winner received a collector’s limited edition Susan Polgar wooden chess set, valued at $400.

ICC agreed to provide a free 6-month membership to http://www.chessclub.com/. The US Chess Trust also contributes $1,000 cash scholarships to the top 4 finishers.

Beside the full scholarship to the winner, through the generosity of our sponsors, the Susan Polgar Foundation awarded more than $85,000 in additional scholarships and chess prizes to the participants this year.

This event began four years ago by GM Susan Polgar in an effort to get more girls interested in chess. Susan's efforts have proved to be fruitful as we see the rising number of girls participating in chess events.

A complete list of all participants in this year’s event can be found at:
http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2007/08/final-polgar-standings-by-order-of-tie.html

Many pictures of the event can be found at http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/.

You can also review USCF Webmaster Jennifer Shahade's article in Chess Life Online at:
http://beta.uschess.org/frontend/news_7_490.php.

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The United States Chess Federation (USCF), founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is now headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee. USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with over 80,000 members. For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.

My Brilliant Brain on National Geographic TV

My Brilliant Brain Preview

Click here to view an 8 minute preview on youtube.com - Episode 2 (Part 1)
Click here to view an 8 minute preview - Episode 2 (Part 2)
Click here to view an 8 minute preview - Episode 2 (Part 3)
Click here to view a 10 minute preview - Episode 2 (Part 4)

This was shown with big success in the UK last month. It will be aired worldwide as well as the US soon.

Two Texas Tech Chess Heads Elected Officers of USCF

News Release

DATE: August 8, 2007
CONTACT: Cory Chandler, cory.chandler@ttu.edu
(806) 742-2136

Two Texas Tech Chess Heads Elected Officers of U.S. Chess Federation
Susan Polgar, Paul Truong elected by unanimous votes.

Add this to the list of textbook opening moves: The two directors of Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) were elected this week as 2007-2009 officers of the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF), giving a shot of added prominence and visibility to the newly established institute.

Susan Polgar, executive director of SPICE, was elected as the first chairman of the USCF. Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations for SPICE, was elected vice president of marketing and communications.

“These high honors are a tribute to the skills and reputation Susan and Paul have among the millions of chess players around the world,” said Jim Brink, senior vice provost for academic affairs “We at Texas Tech are proud they are a part of our vision for our university.”

As the first chairman, Polgar will serve as the “face and voice” of the USCF, said Truong, who helped author the federation’s press release; she will represent the federation and act as a liaison with external components such as members, affiliates, sponsors and other chess organizations worldwide, including Global Chess BV, association of chess professionals and members of the World Chess Federation.

“I am honored that the chess community trusts me to represent them both nationally and internationally,” she said.

Polgar and Truong’s two-year terms as officers of U.S. chess’ governing body should benefit both organizations, Truong said, pointing out that the two entities share mutual goals in areas such as chess outreach and education. SPICE, established by Texas Tech in May, promotes chess academics and outreach and will provide an unprecedented forum for academic research on the game. The USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess and promotes study and knowledge of the game.

“I believe that this will work very nicely with what we are doing with SPICE at Texas Tech,” Truong said. “Both programs serve basically the same mission as far as promoting chess and chess education.”

Polgar, four-time Women’s World Champion, was the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title with the same qualifications as her male counterpart and the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship cycle. Susan became the top woman player in the world at the age of 15 and has remained in the top three for 23 straight years.

Truong is a National Master and World Chess Federation Master with numerous national championship titles. He has co-authored best-selling chess books, coached national scholastic and Olympiad champions and organized high profile chess events. He was the captain and business manager of the 2004 Silver Medalist U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team.

For more information on SPICE and Texas Tech, visit Susan Polgar’s blog: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2007/05/spice-and-texas-tech.html.

For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.

CONTACT:

Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 392-0758 or paultruong@aol.com

Jim Brink, senior vice provost for academic affairs, Office of the Provost, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2184 or jim.brink@ttu.edu

Susan Polgar elected as first ever chairman

U.S. Chess Federation Elects New Officers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joan DuBois
August 6, 2007
931-787-1234 #123
Press Release #21 of 2007
jdubois@uschess.org

(Crossville, TN) The USCF has new officers for the next two years. Former Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar has just been elected as the first ever Chairman of the USCF. Grandmaster Susan Polgar is the winner of four Women’s World Championships and ten Olympiad medals (5 Gold, 4 Silver and 1 Bronze). She was the first woman to break the gender barrier to earn the Grandmaster title with the same qualifications as her male counterpart. She was also the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship cycle. Susan became the #1 woman player in the world at the age of 15 and has remained in the top 3 for 23 straight years. She is currently the Executive Director of the Texas Tech SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) program. She is also the Head Coach of the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team.

Current USCF President Bill Goichberg has just been reaffirmed of his position. He was elected to the USCF Executive Board in August 2005. He received his Bachelor of Arts from NY University in 1963. He played in his first chess tournament in 1961 and he holds the title of National Master and FIDE Master. Between 1964 and 1967, Bill worked in the USCF office located then in Manhattan, as Ratings Statistician. He worked again in the USCF in 2004 as a volunteer in the position of Executive Director. Bill has and continues to dedicate his life to promoting chess. He is also a premier tournament organizer in the United States.

Mr. Jim Berry has been elected as Vice President of the USCF. He is a retired stockbroker and presently serves on the Board of Directors of the two billion dollar Stillwater National Bank. He played his first USCF game in 1962. Since 1991, he has played in over 230 tournaments including last four U.S. Open Championships. He has also directed over 75 chess tournaments. He twice rescued OK state chapter affiliate from bankruptcy. Since 2002, he found sponsors for over $125,000 prize funds for chess, including the recent US and US Women’s Championships.

Mr. Randy Bauer has been elected as Vice President of Finance. He has over 20 years of professional experience in budget and finance, including nearly 7 years as budget director for the State of Iowa. During that time, the State received multiple national awards for innovation and excellence in its budget processes and financial reporting. He has been actively involved as a chess player, coach, director, writer, editor, and elected state and national representative for over 30 years. He is a life member of the USCF, a national master, former Iowa state champion and Minnesota junior, junior high and senior high champion. As a competitor, he has won over 30 Grand Prix tournaments.

Mr. Paul Truong has been elected as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. He has twenty years of experience in senior management, marketing and PR, specializing in branding, customer retention, advertising and innovative promotion. He is a National Master and FIDE Master with numerous national championship titles. His chess experiences include co-authoring best-selling chess books, coaching national scholastic and Olympiad champions, organizing many high profile chess events, being an award-winning chess journalist and photographer. Paul was the captain and business manager of the historic 2004 Silver Medalist U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team. Paul currently is the Director of Marketing and PR for Texas Tech SPICE program. He is also the Assistant Coach for the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team.

Mr. Joel Channing has been elected as Vice President of Business Development. He has an impressive resume which includes, Channing and Channing, Architects and Engineers between 1963-1971; Channing Corporation, President 1971-1991, Chairman of the Board 1991 to present. Also on the Board of Director for US Chess Trust, Mensa, Miami Beach Planning Commission (1970-1973), State of Florida Condominium Advisory Board (1979-1983), Community Associations Institute, National Speakers Bureau (1980-1984), Florida Home Builders Association Legislative Committee (1979-1982), North Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce 1988-1990. Up until 2000 Channing also served on the City of Palm Beach Gardens Planning and Zoning Committee as well as in 1999 was on the Florida Advisory Council to the Commission on Human Relations.

Randy Hough has been elected Vice President and Secretary of the USCF. Elected in 2006, Randy is an active player and former master. He's been a National Tournament Director since 1985, having directed several national championships (including the US Open, US Championship, and National High School), and an International Arbiter since 1989. He served as technical director in the USCF office, 1983-86, on the Executive Board previously (1990-93), and has chaired several USCF committees. He is also an organizer, Southern California Federation board member, president of his local club, has taught chess in the public schools, has published dozens of articles in Chess Life, and serves as secretary/treasurer of the Chess Journalists of America. Randy is a Vietnam veteran. With a BA from UC Berkeley and an MA from UC Riverside, he was a government affairs representative for the City of Los Angeles before retiring in 2005.

This is one of the most qualified and diversified USCF Executive Board. Some of the immediate goals of this board are to increase revenues, expand memberships, build a strong, sensible and cost sensitive marketing plan to promote chess and the USCF, aggressively seek sponsors, create strong support systems for scholastic, college, adult, tournament, correspondence, Internet and professional players as well as erect an open and transparent channel of timely communications with its members. This board is also resolutely open to collaboration and cooperation with states affiliates, USCF committees, volunteers and supporters.

The United States Chess Federation (USCF), founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is now headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee. USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with over 80,000 members. For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.