Grandmasters on board

Grandmasters on board for tournament

By Adam D. Young

AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Monday, March 16, 2009

Story last updated at 3/16/2009 – 1:18 am

Kings, queens, pawns and rooks will be on the move this week at Texas Tech.

Tech’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence will host an international grandmaster tournament today through Sunday at the Southwest Collection Special Collections Library at Tech, said Polgar, executive director of the institute.

Six grandmasters and international masters from the United States, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Hungary will compete in the tournament, which will begin with an opening ceremony at 3:30 p.m. today in the library.

Among competitors at the tournament is Ray Robson, a 14-year-old international master from the United States who Polgar said could be the next Bobby Fischer.

Area children and adults also will have an opportunity to compete Saturday during the SPICE Spring Open Chess Championship in the Tech English building.

Registration for the championship is $15 and requires a United States Chess Federation Membership. The first round of the championship will start at 10:15 a.m. Saturday and will be split into three levels of competition; elementary, middle/high school and adults. Competitors can register through on-site registration from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at the English building or call 742-7742 for pre-registration instructions.

Polgar said the public is welcome to attend and watch both events for free.

The grandmaster tournament also will be broadcast live on the Internet through www.monroi.com and the Internet Chess Club Web site, www.chessclub.com.

More information about the championship and tournament is available at the SPICE Web site, www.spice.ttu.edu.

Source: LubbockOnline.com