Press releaseWorld 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.