Press release
eBay hosts chance to challenge Garry Kasparov
All-time greatest chess player at charity event
25 auction winners and their guests will join Garry for a 25-board simultaneous
exhibition followed by a sit-down dinner at the famed NY Athletic Club on June
12th for the benefit of Kasparov Chess Foundation.
New York, NY, April 20, 2006 – For those who have dreamed of
competing against a World Champion, twenty-five lucky bidders will have the
opportunity to prove their chess prowess against the highest ranked player
of all time, Garry Kasparov. The two-part auction will take place on eBay Giving
Works, eBay’s dedicated part of the site for nonprofit auctions. Interested
bidders can visit http://www.ebay.com/chess,
with bidding beginning on April 21, at 9 PM (EST) and closing on May 1 at 9
PM (EST) for the first twelve seats, and the remaining 13 spots being auctioned
off on May 2 at 9 PM (EST) and ending on May 12 at 9 PM (EST).
Not just a game, but a memory in the making, the head-to-head competition
takes place on June 12th in Manhattan’s famed New
York Athletic Club. The 25 highest bidders will be able to invite up to
3 guests each to share in the evening of festivities, which also includes a
cocktail hour, full sit down dinner, photos and autographs with Garry, as well
as a certificate commemorating the event. All proceeds will benefit The Kasparov
Chess Foundation’s efforts to promote chess education in the schools.
This event marks the first time the Foundation is leveraging eBay’s
auction platform for a fundraising event and points to the web’s increasing
role in promoting philanthropic causes. To ensure safe bidding and a smooth
auction process, the Kasparov Chess Foundation has hired Auction Cause, a premier
online auction management agency, to oversee the activity on eBay. Bidders
will need to be prequalified in order to place a bid, which will start at $2000
per slot.
“What makes this event truly unique, is that people from all over the
world can bid to challenge Garry, as well as help raise needed funds to introduce
this wonderful game to children who may not otherwise be exposed to it,”
commented Michael Khodarkovsky, President of the Kasparov Chess Foundation.
For more information on bidding please contact Auction Cause at (323) 655-0554,
or via the web at www.auctioncause.com.
About the Kasparov Chess Foundation
Founded by World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, KCF's mission is to bring
the many educational benefits of chess to children 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 in the public and private school sectors. For more information, please
visit http://www.kasparovchessfoundation.org.
Addendum
How many errors can you spot in the one simple eBay chessboard shot? Our
readers noted that the black king and queen are on the wrong squares (black
king on a black square, opposite the white queen), and the knights and bishops
are are also exchanged for both sides. No, we have checked: Kasparov will not
be playing some form of Fischer Random. The photographer got it wrong. In all
fairness we must mention that the board is the right way around – for
once in this kind of artistic context.
