Kasparov in the Harlem Children's Zone

World Champion Garry Kasparov makes his move
at First Harlem Children's Zone Chess Festival

Kasparov to play in 20-board simultaneous exhibition  with Harlem's best student players on Sept. 28th

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.

Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition

The highlight of the day will be Kasparov playing in a twenty-board simultaneous exhibition against Harlem Children's Zone student players. Mr. Kasparov is Chairman of the Board of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, a non-profit educational organization that works with schools and communities across the United States to promote chess as a cognitive learning tool. For the past six years, the Foundation has been working with the Harlem Children's Zone, which has included its chess-teaching methods in several of its afterschool programs, including those of its HCZ Promise Academy charter schools.

With members of the Kasparov Chess Foundation

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.