A Tech-proposed UIL chess puzzle-solving competition to be statewide pilot program

A Tech-proposed UIL chess puzzle-solving competition to be statewide pilot program
Posted: November 13, 2010 - 12:11am
By Joe Gulick
Avalanche-Journal

Chess, one of the most competitive games in the world, will be the subject of a University Interscholastic League competition next year for elementary and middle school students in a pilot program proposed by Texas Tech and designed by Susan Polgar, Tech’s chess grandmaster.

The competition will not involve actual games of chess but solving chess puzzles designed by Polgar, who is the founder of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) at Tech.

Students in grades 2 through 8 will have 20 puzzles to solve in a 30-minute period, Polgar said.

“Every single move in chess is problem-solving,” she said. “Each move is a new problem to solve.”

Polgar and Lynn Elms, the UIL regional director, noted the pilot program is a historic moment for Texas Tech, which has been associated with UIL for at least 75 years.

“This is the first competition that Texas Tech has ever proposed. We are pleased Susan and something as exciting as chess is involved,” Elms said.

The Chess Puzzle Solving competition will be presented in diagrams similar to the ones that appear in Polgar’s weekly Avalanche-Journal column, but the puzzles will be ones designed for younger players, Polgar said.

The elementary students will choose from multiple choice answers in which white can checkmate black in one move. Older students will have some puzzles that are checkmates in one move and others that are checkmates in two moves.

“I believe chess can help children improve their thinking skills in general. It can help their discipline and improve their self-confidence. Chess is a wonderful tool in building relationships,” Polgar said.

Last January, Polgar presented the proposal to the UIL State Legislative Council in Austin. That resulted in a mini-pilot program this year in Lubbock, Laredo and Corpus Christi.

The UIL Legislative Council in October determined Chess Puzzle Solving would next be a statewide pilot program, which means all schools will have the opportunity to compete, said Elms. All of the Houston schools have committed to the competition, and they are expecting good participation from other schools in the state, she said.

If it is successful, the pilot program could become an annual UIL event by September 2012, Elms said, and they are also hopeful Chess Puzzle Solving competitions for high school students would be added later.

College scholarships for skilled chess players are available, Elms said.

“It can be a way for kids to get more dollars to come to school — to compete in college. But that’s way down the road. We have to take care of second through eighth grades first,” Elms said.

Chess is a natural subject for competition among students because it is a great educational tool and an equalizer, Polgar said.

“In chess, children are forced to think before they act,” she said.

The game is also an inexpensive activity, Polgar said. Rather than activities that require expensive equipment or musical instruments, chess can be played on a very modestly priced set.

Source: Avalanche Journal

2 state titles for TTU Knight Raiders Chess Team

The Texas Tech University Knight Raiders A team just captured two Texas State Collegiate Championships. International Masters Gergely Antal and Davorin Kuljasevic captured 1st and 2nd in the individual competition.

Together with International Master Gabor Papp and Chase Watters, the Knight Raiders A team captured the state team title on tiebreaks over the powerful UT Brownsville team, led by the top seed GM Mauricio Flores. UT Dallas finished in a distant third and the Knight Raiders B team finished 4th.

This is the first time Texas Tech sends an A team to the state championship and this is also the first state title for the Knight Raiders. Congratulations to all the team members!

Top 10 individual standings:

#	Name	Rtng	Team	Total	TBrk[M]	TBrk[B]	TBrk[S]
1	IM Gergely Antal	2543	TTECHA	4.5	14	10	14.5
2	IM Davorin Kuljasevic	2581	TTECHA	4.0	14.5	10	16.5
3	GM Mauricio Flores	2663	BUTB	4.0	13	8.5	15
4	FM Max Cornejo	2405	BUTB	4.0	12.5	8.5	13.5
5	Arturo Gracia Jr	2094	BUTB	4.0	9.5	6	10.5
6	IM Gabor Papp	2597	TTECHA	3.5	14	10	16
7	NM Nelson Lopez II	2197	UTD	3.0	13	8.5	14.5
8	NM Yashodhan Gogte	2186	UTD	3.0	13	8.5	14
9	NM Bradley J Sawyer	2224	BUTB	3.0	10.5	6.5	11.5
10	Chase Miles Watters	2018	TTECHA	3.0	10	6	11.5
11	John K Hendrick	2185	HUSTTH	3.0	8.5	5.5	10

Top 3 teams:

	Code	Name	Score	TBrk[B]	TBrk[S]	TBrk[R]	TBrk[C]
1	TTECHA	Texas Tech University 'A' Team - Cnt: 4	12.0	30	47	35.25	39
		IM Gergely Antal 4.5
		IM Davorin Kuljasevic 4.0
		IM Gabor Papp 3.5
		Chase Miles Watters 3.0
2	BUTB	University of Texas at Brownsville - Cnt: 4	12.0	23	39	27.75	35
		GM Mauricio Flores 4.0
		FM Max Cornejo 4.0
		Arturo Gracia Jr 4.0
		NM Bradley J Sawyer 3.0
3	UTD	U of Texas at Dallas - Cnt: 5	8.0	27	44.5	18.5	28
		NM Nelson Lopez II 3.0
		NM Yashodhan Gogte 3.0
		NM Chaitanya Vaidya 2.0
		NM Francisco Guadalupe II 2.0
		Medina Parrilla 2.0

Texas Governor Perry welcomes SPICE Cup players

Wolfforth library moves forward with chess

Polgar: Wolfforth library moves forward with offering chess to community
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Story last updated at 8/23/2009 - 1:36 am

In this week's column, Rich Rice, Ph.D., associate professor in English at Texas Tech, interviews Andi Powers and Marie Evans. Powers is director and Marie Evans is coordinator of Friends of the Wolfforth Library.

...RR: Can you talk about Sept. 15?

Marie Evans: We were excited to hear Susan Polgar speak this summer and it reminded me again of the benefits of playing of chess to the educational learning of children in thinking skills, etc. Some kids just don't like or feel the need to read a book but love to play games on the computer. So why not introduce chess in the library and tie it into a wealth of other areas? The Frenship school district has now introduced chess in their system and it can be carried over to our library.

On Sept. 15, The Friends of Wolfforth Library is planning a dedication of the new shelving in the children's room along with two beautiful new chess tables that have been donated to the library. We plan on having a chess demonstration by local players and hopefully by that time, other great events planned for the school year.

Also Oct. 22-24 will be our next book sale and money earned will go into our upcoming projects.

One of biggest literacy projects that the library undertakes is the summer reading program. We have a great children's library area and at the close of the program the new section of shelving was installed in that area by the Friends. Last summer, the Friends dedicated a new section of shelving in the main library for the young adults.

With the growing population in the southwest corner of Lubbock and also the growing of the Frenship school district, we are faced with growing demands on our system. Therefore, we hope that individuals will feel the need to join and support the Wolfforth Friends of the Library when they obtain their library card and enjoy our library. All of the money that is raised by memberships and sponsorships to the Friends goes back into making the library better.

RR: Why is it important that people in Lubbock as well as people in Wolfforth know about the library?

AP: Especially since Godeke is temporarily closed, we want to remind all the users in southwest Lubbock County that we provide many of the same services they were receiving from Godeke, with a much smaller and friendlier environment. In addition to books, we have a reasonable selection of audio and video titles. We also provide free high-speed Internet access, faxing, copying, and are a Wi-Fi hot spot.

RR: Why is chess important to have available for people to play in a library?

AP: Our library strives to foster an atmosphere of learning. We hope to reach the users who may be reluctant to read. Providing our users with a new outlet for learning is very valuable opportunity.

Here is the full article.

SPICE Hosts 2nd Annual Lubbock Open

SPICE Hosts 2nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship

Texas Tech University's Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) announces the 2nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship.

Written by Jessica Benham

WHAT: 2^nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship

WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday (April 18)

WHERE: Monterey High School

EVENT: Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) announces the 2^nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship.

The championship is a four-round Swiss System Tournament and will be rated by the United States Chess Federation (USCF).

Games are played in four sections including primary (K-2), elementary (K-5), middle school (K-8) and high school (K-12).

On-site registration and check in will take place from 9 - 10:30 a.m. Registration is $10 before April 1, and $20 after. A valid USCF membership is required and can be obtained at www.uschess.org or on the day the day of the event before 10 a.m.

CONTACT: Susan Polgar, director, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-7742 or susan.polgar@ttu.edu.

Source: http://today.ttu.edu

Aiming for the GM title

SPICE Hosts Spring Invitational

Top chess players to compete at Texas Tech's International Grandmaster Chess Tournament.

Written by Jessica Benham

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) will host the International Grandmaster Chess Tournament March 16-22.

Opening ceremonies for the event will take place at March 16 at the Southwest Collection/ Special Collections Library.

Norwegian Chess Official Morten Sand will be on hand for the opening ceremony and the first round of the tournament. Sand is General Council to the World Chess Federation, and is the first representative from the World Chess Federation to visit Lubbock.

“It’s a great honor for SPICE and Texas Tech that the International Chess Federation is watching us and sending a representative to report on the tournament,” said Polgar, who described the tournament as one of the most prestigious of its kind to be held in the U.S. this year.

Sand comes to Lubbock to meet with Polgar and other members of SPICE as part of a research and fact finding mission to strengthen Norway’s bid to host the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromse, Norway.

International Master (IM) Gergely Antal, member of Texas Tech’s Knight Raiders, and 14-year-old Ray Robson, one of the youngest IM’s in the U.S., are among the participants in the tournament, both of whom will be competing to earn their Grandmaster (GM) status.

Other participants include IM Robert Hess from the U.S., GM Giorgi Kacheishvili from Georgia, GM Dashzegve Sharavdorj from Mongolia and GM Timur Gareev from Uzbekistan.

“It’s wonderful that Texas Tech and SPICE are able to attract players from all over the world to come play here,” said Paul Truong, communications director for SPICE. “Back in 2007 no one had heard of Lubbock in terms of chess, and now we have lots of super stars of chess saying ‘please invite us to come.’ It really says something about how far SPICE has come along in the past year and a half.”

The public is invited to attend the free event.

Source: http://today.ttu.edu/2009/03/spice-hosts-spring-invitational/

SPICE hosts another major chess event

SPICE Hosts Spring Invitational
By ssthormess

The 2009 SPICE Spring Invitational will feature six of the top chess players from around the world including one from Texas Tech.

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) will host the International Grandmaster Chess Tournament March 16-22.

Opening ceremonies for the event will take place at March 16 at the Southwest Collection/ Special Collections Library.

Norwegian Chess Official Morten Sand will be on hand for the opening ceremony and the first round of the tournament. Sand is General Council to the World Chess Federation, and is the first representative from the World Chess Federation to visit Lubbock.

“It’s a great honor for SPICE and Texas Tech that the International Chess Federation is watching us and sending a representative to report on the tournament,” said Polgar, who described the tournament as one of the most prestigious of its kind to be held in the U.S. this year.

Sand comes to Lubbock to meet with Polgar and other members of SPICE as part of a research and fact finding mission to strengthen Norway’s bid to host the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromse, Norway.

International Master (IM) Gergely Antal, member of Texas Tech’s Knight Raiders, and 14-year-old Ray Robson, one of the youngest IM’s in the U.S., are among the participants in the tournament, both of whom will be competing to earn their Grandmaster (GM) status.

Other participants include IM Robert Hess from the U.S., GM Giorgi Kacheishvili from Georgia, GM Dashzegve Sharavdorj from Mongolia and GM Timur Gareev from Uzbekistan.

“It’s wonderful that Texas Tech and SPICE are able to attract players from all over the world to come play here,” said Paul Truong, communications director for SPICE. “Back in 2007 no one had heard of Lubbock in terms of chess, and now we have lots of super stars of chess saying ‘please invite us to come.’ It really says something about how far SPICE has come along in the past year and a half.”

The public is invited to attend the free event.

Source: http://totusmund.us/spice-hosts-spring-invitational

March 16-22, 2009
Texas Tech University Southwest Collection Building
Lubbock, Texas

FIDE Category: 11
Average rating: FIDE 2505 / USCF 2560
Number of players: 6

Here is the order from the drawing of lots:

Title - Name - FIDE - USCF - Country

1. IM Ray Robson 2455 2546 USA
2. IM Gergely Antal 2493 2502 Hungary
3. GM Timur Gareev 2581 2630 Uzbekistan
4. GM Dashzegve Sharavdorj 2429 2470 Mongolia
5. IM Robert Hess 2483 2527 USA
6. GM Giorgi Kacheishvili 2590 2685 Georgia

Building strong chess programs in Texas

Brownsville ISD Schools Are Building The Strongest Chess Program In Texas
(Posted Today 04:51 pm)

Chess coaches Eddie Payne and Daryl Inman interviewed numerous coaches and parents of Hanna High School and other South Texas attendees during this fall’s Texas Grade Championship in Houston on November 22-23. The goal was to discover the secret to South Texas’ domination in scholastic chess.

Among those interviewed was Dan DeLeon, a long time chess advocate, father of chess competitors in state events, the owner of The Chess Store that opens a sales room at state events, and a man who is very knowledgeable as to how southern Texas teams are building their chess programs.

Payne and Inman learned from DeLeon and confirmed with other sources how this most southern county in Texas has achieved dominance in scholastic chess from elementary through high school levels. As one would expect, the basic reason for success is money, but most of the money is from government grants.

First, money is provided from the ISD’s budget: Brownsville ISD has committed itself to greatness in chess in many ways. They provide a $400,000 budget, which is spread over 65 schools in their district. The money pays for equipment, books, DVDs, and registration fees for tournaments. This budget came into play after a group of candidates for the ISD Board successfully ran on a “pro-chess slate.”

Second, professional chess players have become involved: San Benito High School (of the Brownsville ISD) has contracted with Alphonso Almeida, an International Master with a USCF rating of over 2,400 points to coach and train their students.

In recent years, Susan Polgar, women’s world chess champion, visited the Brownsville area and was very engaged in chess programs in the local schools and with clinics that she provided. Her influence impacted female chess players heavily, while stimulating desire to play chess among all students. Currently, Polgar is working to build a strong West Texas chess program through work with Texas Tech.

Third, financial support is given to chess instructors: Brownsville ISD provides a $2,000 stipend for their chess coaches for each 25 active chess players. When the 26th and 51st players are added, a second and a third coach are hired, respectively, with this stipend. These stipends are in support of time spent in training programs during school and for overnight trips to tournament events.

Fourth, financial support is given for state and national tournaments to winning schools: When the Brownsville schools compete in regional tournaments, their top two schools receive full funding to send the two winning teams to the Texas championship tournaments. The funding pays for all players, coaches, and one parent per student for transportation, rooms and meals to the event.

When Brownsville schools finish in the top two positions in Texas state championship events, they receive full funding to national chess championships for players, coaches, and one parent per student. Hanna Elementary School’s six grade team is the reigning national champion.

Fifth, funding is sought outside of the local tax payers: By combining Title One and Migrant Worker funding into an “enrichment program,” Brownsville pays for after school training in a variety of activities including band, flag football, intramural basketball, art, chess, field hockey, and other enrichment events.

The Brownsville district is seeking funds from the 21st Century Project, a federal government grant that is under state control as an “enrichment program.” These monies permit after school training and a summer camp of one month duration for the chess program as a part of the various other sports and arts. The fund pays for equipment, books, DVDs, and other supplies for chess. Additionally, college students used for instruction are paid $18 per hour and licensed teachers are paid $21 per hour for their work in the after-school and in the summer camp programs.

“In the past three years, another southern ISD, Corpus Christi, has received four government grants for ‘enrichment programs.’ Each grant was for $3 to $5 million dollars,” said DeLeon, a resident of that city. Enrichment programs are available to all students who may participate in flag football, intramural basketball, art, chess, field hockey, or other events to broaden the experience and development of all students who wish to attend. No one is denied access to the enrichment programs. “This is not a ‘latch-key program’; it is a legitimate attempt to improve the culture and experience of the students,” said DeLeon.

Brownsville ISD is actively in a quest for government funds for enrichment programs. They have used some of their grant money, some tax dollars, and all donations to chess to build a chess program that provides champions and highly rated players in the United States Chess Federation ratings. They are a force to deal in competitions and are growing at a faster rate than most schools in the state in their cultural programs, one of them being chess.

Brownsville ISD has found the money to make it happen.

“By comparison,” says Coach Payne, “we are not hurting. We have raised sufficient money to buy books, DVDs, and chess equipment. The ISD, thankfully, has awarded the chess program a modest budget that covers our pressing expenses for state tournaments and the ISD has paid for Think Like a King, a software tool that trains students and manages in-school club activities. We are very grateful for this support, without which we would be contained to an in-school program only.

“However, to pay for trips to a national championship event, to create a summer camp and employ University of Dallas chess champions to visit and teach, and to have other quality programs of instruction, the chess program is lacking in funds. We can’t expect a small ISD to make this happen. If we get funding of this level, we must source out grants and federal funding. Money is out there for this type of quality enrichment event; we just have to source it.”

Mexia can be proud of the accomplishments of the high school chess team. In the calendar year 2008, the chess team placed fourth in the Texas Scholastic Chess Championship—Junior Varsity, first in the SFA Spring Invitational Tournament, third for the seniors in the Texas Grade Championship, and third for the juniors in the Texas Grade Championship.

In 2009, the team has won first place in the Region III Chess Championship which includes all teams from Mexia to Oklahoma to the Louisiana border. Also, the Blackcats have a 5-1 record in match play since August, losing only a very tight match to Klein of Houston, a previous state champion with a 21 year program under the same coach.

A total of 13 trophies were won in the past twelve months and were on display at the February school board meeting. Yes, the chess team has made Mexia proud!

Source: http://www.mexiadailynews.com/

Letter by TX Governor Rick Perry

Governor's Letter

SPICE recognition

Special recognition for SPICE by the city of Lubbock in Texas. This was presented by Mayor David Miller this morning at the City Council meeting in City Hall.

Lubbock Open

Information can be found on www.spice.ttu.edu and http://www.depts.ttu.edu/spice/events/events.php

SPICE activity update

Through the special invitation by Assistant Superintendent Jack Booe, I attended the Administrative Staff Meeting earlier this morning. I was asked to address all the principles, assistant principles and key educators about the importance of chess and education, chess in the schools, and how chess can help children acquire many critical skills which can help them in school and in life.

There are approximately 55 schools (up to 12th grade) in Lubbock with approximately 28,000 students. This is one of the goals of SPICE. We hope to be able to introduce chess to every child in Lubbock.

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

Determined to make positive changes

This is a painting from the OS Museum - The reason why I chose this picture is to illustrate the misconception many people have about Texas, especially West Texas

This was an article that the Avalanche Journal published last month. After you read this article, I will share with you why I made my decision to come to Texas Tech and Lubbock.

Polgar could help put city on the map

DURING THE May 12 Texas Tech commencement ceremony, speaker Susan Polgar surprised many in attendance with an announcement - she will be working with Texas Tech in developing a chess program, the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE).

Ms. Polgar, of course, is more than qualified to run this program. She is the top women's chess player throughout the US and ranked second in the world in 2005.

When people think of Lubbock, they do not immediately equate it with a "chess town." Unfortunately, Lubbock isn't seen as a very sophisticated town in the eyes of many. There are no city chess teams, clubs, or tournaments in Lubbock.

Ms. Polgar hopes to change this perception with her program and the Tech team. Other plans are to research the correspondence between chess and academics, as well as develop new software and hopefully form a winning chess team for Tech.

She saw past the unfair stereotype Lubbock has received and decided this was a city worth taking a chance on.

"Chess is the purest form of strategy out there, period. It does wonders for developing analytical skills and cognitive abilities." said Mad Hatter, owner of Mad Hatter's House of Games. And, yes, for those of you who may not know, that's his name.

"As a former United States Chess Federation (USCF) player I welcome any attempt to promote chess here locally in Lubbock. But, Lubbock in general should be enthusiastic about this endeavor because it will help develop the mental skills required for a successful life amongst Lubbock's youth."

Both Tech and Ms. Polgar have expressed interest in drawing different kinds of students with a chess program, even by offering chess scholarships. Tech recognizes that the kinds of students that will be coming to play chess are exactly the kind of students they want at their school.

Tech is well known for its traditional sports teams, but now we expect they will be among the colleges with a strong chess team as well. This will attract the additional media attention Tech has been vying for as well as draw younger kids to the game of chess.

Ms. Polgar is also known for her work with girls' chess education, and is sure to continue her work with younger generations as well as with Tech students. This program will have more ramifications than Ms. Polgar or Tech has imagined, and will influence the city for the better. The city should thank her for all the opportunities that will be brought our way.

On the Internet: For more information on Polgar, visit her personal blog at http://www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com/, for more information about the Tech program, visit the Tech chess blog at www.texastechchess.blogspot.com.

Is the glass half emptied or half full? That was one of the key factors in my decision.

About 2 years ago, I first visited Lubbock and Texas Tech University on an invitation by Dr. Hal Karlsson, an associate professor at Tech, the chess guy on campus.

I have to admit that I knew little about this city. But one thing I learned when I was a young girl is never to judge a book by its cover.I immediately did some research about the city. I was intrigued by what I read and I was especially interested in knowing more about the University.

So I decided to accept Dr. Karlsson’s invitation and called him personally instead of having my business manager handle the details. I think I shocked him with this call.

But anyway, the time came for me to visit Lubbock. I was so impressed by the enthusiasm and energy of the local residents, media and staff at Tech that I decided to come back the second time around a year later, this time with both of my young sons.

In between the two visits, I received an invitation by the President of Texas Tech to be the commencement speaker on May 12th of this year. Each time I came back to Lubbock, I became more and more attached to the city. In addition, when Dr. Karlsson told me about the idea of SPICE, I fell in love with it right away.

The final thing that made me want to relocate to Lubbock is when I asked my boys Tommy and Leeam about what they thought of Lubbock, Texas, they shouted simultaneously “I love it!”

When I asked them what they think about living in Lubbock, they both jumped and down and said “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Then they asked if we could move right away.

I wanted to know what they like about this city. They told me “Everything!” from the weather, the schools (they visited one of the local schools during the trip), the university (they both said that Tech is so cool) to the people (they said everyone was so nice) and they kept on raving about Lubbock.

This was the moment when I was convinced that this is the right move. When I posted about the idea of SPICE, Texas Tech and the city of Lubbock on my blogs and website, a number of negative comments were made ranging from, “What’s Lubbock?”, “Where’s Lubbock?”, “Why Lubbock?”, “Are you crazy?” to “There’s nothing in Lubbock!”

I was quite upset when I read these remarks. Most if not all of these people probably know very little or anything about Texas Tech or Lubbock. It is very wrong to be prejudice about anything or anyone. This is a similar pattern that I experienced in chess throughout my entire life and I took them head on every time.

My husband and I enjoy every city and every town we visit. Each has something unique to offer. Each has its own charm. This is why we are always puzzled as to why people seem to find negative things to say instead of focusing on the positive stuff.

I know that my husband and I are “the new kids in town” but we are determined to change this. We are very proud and happy to be a part of the community and the Texas Tech family and we want to tell the world how much we love this city and university.

We look at this a glass half full. We see this as a place with so much to offer and we would love to be a part of the cavalry and work with everyone to change and improve the image of Lubbock and Tech, especially for the benefits of chess and education. Remember, you can never judge the book by its cover and we love this book.