SPICE and Chess get big boost

Polgar: SPICE and chess in general in Lubbock get big boost from benefactor
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Story last updated at 5/11/2008 - 4:01 am

Last week, I mentioned the record-breaking participation at the first Lubbock Open Chess Championship. The Lubbock Open took place on April 26 at Monterey High School. The local support for the event was overwhelming, and we are very excited about organizing the event every year.

Now there is more good news for Texas Tech's Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and chess in Lubbock. A number of schools in Lubbock ISD already offer chess as an after-school program. The Lubbock Area Foundation recently awarded SPICE a substantial grant to introduce chess in schools that do not have such programs.

The LAF is a tremendous resource for Lubbock and West Texas citizens. My hope is to be able to raise enough financial support to begin or support chess programs in every school in Lubbock and surrounding cities. Chess is such an effective and inexpensive tool to enhance young people's educational and life experiences.

Also, a few days ago, SPICE announced an extremely generous pledge from a private donor. The gift will provide $320,000 for TTU scholarships beginning this fall and spread out over the next five years. This support follows $25,000 in support already given to Texas Tech's chess program by the same benefactor in 2007. Get your guns up, chess fans!

There's more. Additional funds will support the installation of three double-sized concrete chess tables between Texas Tech's Student Union building and library to support the increased enthusiasm for chess on campus.

Texas Tech has enjoyed a large number of inquiries from student chess players in the past year. In the fall, some of the top chess players in the United States, and indeed the world, will enroll at Tech. Rising water raises all boats, and it sure has been raining a lot this past week! Soon, Lubbock will be known as the center of chess in the United States.

Click here to see the full column.

TTU announces substantial donation to SPICE

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 5, 2008
Contact: Cory Chandler
http://news.ttu.edu/browse/newsRelease/1599

Texas Tech Chess Institute Announces Donation
Pledge will fund scholarships, build public chess tables.

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence announced a more than $320,000 pledge that will fund scholarships for recruiting chess talent and pay to install three public (double) chess tables on campus.

The gift, given by an anonymous donor, will provide $320,000 for scholarships in which Knight Raiders team coaches Susan Polgar and Paul Truong can use discretionally to attract chess players to Lubbock. It builds upon $25,000 already given to Texas Tech’s chess program by the benefactor in 2007 and will provide revenue over five years beginning in the fall.

Additional funds will support the installation three concrete chess tables between Texas Tech’s Student Union Building and Library in hopes that the public setting will create more exposure and enthusiasm on campus for the game and attract more student players.

SPICE leaders hope the money will spur further support for the fledgling program. Texas Tech has enjoyed a growing number of inquiries from student chess players as it built its program over the past three years; Polgar’s hiring in 2007 broadened the university’s recruitment reach as she garnered interest from an international pool of potential checkmaters.

“Our benefactor feels that chess is an outstanding surplus preparation for the real world, such as the marketplace,” said Haraldur R. Karlsson, associate professor in geosciences and faculty advisor to the Knight Raiders. “Chess helps nurture and develop critical thinking skills. He hopes that other donors will follow his lead and help build SPICE into a world renowned institution.”

“The amazing attention SPICE has received from potential students from around the world is testimony to Grandmaster Polgar’s reputation,” said James E. Brink, associate vice provost of the Heritage Consortium for the Natural and Historic Southwest, who coordinates SPICE efforts. “Outstanding chess players are most often outstanding students, and this scholarship support will greatly assist us in recruiting a world-class chess team.”

SPICE promotes chess as academic and outreach tool and provides an almost unprecedented forum for academic research on the game.

CONTACT: Hal Karlsson, advisor, Knight Raiders Chess Club, hal.karlsson@ttu.edu; Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations, paul.truong@ttu.edu, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 392-0758 or chess@ttu.edu.