World Champion Garry Kasparov At First Harlem Children's Zone Chess Festival

Sept. 24, 2008, Harlem, NY – Garry Kasparov, the highest-ranked chess player in the world, is taking his game uptown to the Harlem Children's Zone Chess Festival on Sunday, September 28th. As part of the celebration, Kasparov will play 20 games simultaneously against student players from Harlem.

Hosted by the Harlem Children's Zone, the festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will give children and adults, novices and advanced players, the opportunity to participate in a wide range of chess activities. The festival will feature free chess lessons, a free drawing for 300 chess sets and T-shirts, problem-solving contests and free refreshments. The festival will be open to HCZ children and invited guests.

The festival will take place at the Harlem Children's Zone Community Center, 35 East 125th Street.

There will also be a free five-round blitz tournament for children in three sections: Class A and B (1600-1999 ranking); Class C and D (1200-1599 ranking) and Class E and F (800-1199 ranking). Children and adults can also take part in an unrated, open section tournament.

According to Michael Khodarkovsky, President of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, "The Harlem Children's Zone Chess Festival recognizes the importance of chess, and through cooperation between KCF and Harlem Children's Zone, is making it easily accessible to the entire community," he explained.

"Boys and girls in our chess program have been placing at the top of city, state and national tournaments," said Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone. "But more importantly, these kids are giving their minds an incredible workout, developing important analytical and organizational skills."

About Harlem Children's Zone
Harlem Children's Zone, Inc., is an internationally renown not-for-profit, offering education, social-service and community-building services to children and families in Central Harlem.

Founded in 1970 as Rheedlen, the agency began the innovative, holistic Harlem Children's Zone Project in 2000, aiming to serve 10,000 children within a 100-block area of Central Harlem by 2011. The HCZ Project was called "one of the most ambitious social-policy experiments of out time," by The New York Times Magazine.

Canada and the organization have received numerous awards and attention in the media. The organizations work has been profiled by The New York Times, 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, the Associated Press and The Charlie Rose Show, among others.

For information on Harlem Children's Zone, please visit www.hcz.org.

About Kasparov Chess Foundation
Founded by World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, KCF's mission is to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children throughout the United States by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs. The Foundation promotes the study of chess as a cognitive learning tool in curricular classes and after-school programs for elementary, middle and high schools, both in the public and private school sectors. The not-for-profit educational organization also organizes tournaments and competitions on a local and national basis. For more information, please visit www.kasparovchessfoundation.org.

CHESS NEWS Kasparov Ends Bid For Presidency

By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: December 13, 2007
MOSCOW — Garry Kasparov, the opposition leader and former chess champion, said Wednesday that he had been forced to withdraw his candidacy for president of Russia because his political movement had been unable to rent a hall in Moscow for a nominating convention, a requirement under Russian law.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Kasparov said the Kremlin had pressed landlords to refuse to rent to his organization, Other Russia, a problem his campaign confronted before when it tried to hold political meetings.
Mr. Kasparov, who retired from professional chess in 2005, accuses the government of President Vladimir V. Putin of undermining the democratic institutions established after the Soviet Union’s collapse.
From early on, his campaign encountered many problems. He was denied access to state news media; one of his political organizers was forcibly committed to an insane asylum; and Mr. Kasparov and dozens of his followers were arrested during street protests during the spring.
Mr. Kasparov spent five days in jail last month after trying to march on a Moscow street.
To formally register for the March 2 presidential vote, he would have been required to notify the Central Election Commission of his intention to hold a gathering with 500 citizens to endorse his candidacy. The deadline was Wednesday, but Other Russia was unable to rent a hall in Moscow to accommodate the gathering, according to Mr. Kasparov’s spokeswoman, Lyudmila V. Mamina.
Other Russia, a loose coalition of opposition figures, is not registered as a political party. Under Russian law, a candidate who is not nominated by a party with seats in Parliament must get the support of at least 500 people at an “initiative group” meeting.
Private landlords refused to rent space, Ms. Mamina said in a telephone interview. “It was clear that there had been an order from above to prohibit us from gathering anywhere.”
“Everybody refuses when they hear the name Kasparov,” she said.
At a gathering of Russian reformist parties and nongovernmental organizations, Mr. Kasparov said: “We pay and the people agree. There are no problems,” Agence France-Presse reported. “And then they call us to say they are refusing, can’t give us the hall any more.”
Ms. Mamina said the election commission had also turned down a suggestion by Other Russia to hold several smaller gatherings simultaneously, perhaps in private apartments.
On Monday, Mr. Putin endorsed the presidential candidacy of Dmitri A. Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister, virtually assuring Mr. Medvedev’s ascension to the top office.

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