Kid Chess News
November 26, 2024
A weekly roundup of happenings in the Kid Chess community
This weekly web publication is designed for the adults in our community who have children enrolled in our classes, camps, and tournaments. It is designed to keep you informed about what your kids are doing in our programs and to teach you a little bit about the chess world. Let us know what content is important to you by writing to dan.lucas@kidchess.com.
In this edition:
The World Chess Championship Has Started!
Meet our Coaches: Alonso Zapata
Upcoming Kid Chess Events
Located at Chess.Zone | 2500 Old Alabama Road, Suite 11 | Roswell, GA 30076
Register online here or call to register: 770-575-5802.
No on-site registration. Please register in advance.
- Friday, November 29th – Kid Chess Black Friday Black Light Bonanza
- AM Blacklight Regular Chess Tournament – Kindergarten – 5th Grade Open
- PM Blacklight Bughouse Chess Tournament – Kindergarten – 5th Grade Open (the photo shows an example from one of our recent Blacklight events!)
- Sunday, December 8th – Kid Chess Blitz Tournament
- AM Blitz Tournament – Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Open
- PM Blitz Tournament – 3rd – 5th Grade Open
- Saturday, December 14th – Kid Chess 1st Time Tournament
- AM Regular Chess Tournament – 3rd – 5th Grade Open
- PM Regular Chess Tournament – Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Open
- Friday, December 27th – Kid Chess Holiday Tournament
- AM Regular Chess Tournament – Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Open
- PM Regular Chess Tournament – 3rd – 5th Grade Open
- Monday, December 30th – Kid Chess Holiday Black Light Tournament
- AM Blacklight Bughouse Tournament – 3rd – 5th Grade Open
- PM Blacklight Bughouse Tournament – Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Open
- Sunday, December 8th – Kid Chess Blitz Tournament
Please click here for even more Kid Chess events.
The World Chess Championship Has Started!
The FIDE World Championship started yesterday, November 25 in Singapore! It got off to a bang with current World Champion Ding Liren of China winning the first game. Today’s game was a draw.
This is the first world championship in the 138-year history of the event to feature two contestants from Asia. The challenger is Dommaraju Gukesh from India. They will be competing for a prize fund of $2.5 million dollars but of course, the coveted title of “World Champion” is what mostly motivates them.
The schedule takes place over 3 weeks, with 14 match days and 4 rest days planned. All games start at 17:00 local time (Singapore is 13 hours ahead of East Coast Time, so this would be 4 a.m. here), and there are rest days after Games 3, 6, 9 and 12. The first player to reach 7.5 points will be the winner; in the case of a tie after 14 games, tiebreaks will be played the next day to decide the winner.
Helpful links:
(Many platforms besides chess.com will be streaming live with commentary; check your favorite platform!)
Meet our Coaches: Grandmaster Alonso Zapata
Grandmaster Alonso Zapata
This week we’re featuring Alonso Zapata, the only grandmaster working at Kid Chess, because he is currently playing in the World Senior Championship, over 65 division, in Portugal, where as of today he is in a. tie for second place after eight rounds. Zapata is a member of the Georgia Chess Hall of Fame and a five-time Georgia state champion.
Alonso is a FIDE Senior Trainer (currently one of only 52 people with that designation). He is a published chess author with extensive expertise as a presenter at conferences, lectures, and FIDE seminars. Alonso has trained many top players and was both the trainer and captain of several teams at Chess Olympiads. He obtained second place in the World Junior Chess Championship in Innsbruck, Austria in 1977 and has been ranked as one of the 50 best players worldwide numerous times since. He competed in several cycles for the World Chess Championship and competed 12 times at the World Chess Olympiad. He has been the Colombian National Champion 8 times.
Do you want to join our team of coaches? See how by clicking here.