Change a Life with the Magic of Chess: Pledge for 9 Queens
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014
Chess fest by 9 Queens: We've just received this great update.
"Thank you to the amazing supporters who have helped us reach our midpoint in our 9 Queens Chess Fest Kickstarter Fun-dRaising campaign! -- Jennifer Shahade, Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, Joe Boyle, Tucson Chess Alliance, Helene & Paul Tatum, Janet Whatmough, Lisa Bunker, Paul Reese, Andy Lee Roth, Ingrid, Tom Michaud, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, michael, Mark Fraser, Class Action Films, Christopher Patko, Tim Brennan, Gina Macaluso, Yurika Isoe, Bobby Moy, Kristen Bennett, Debbie Levitt, Kelly Lensink, Ronald St. Pierre, Dave Hogg, Cassandra, Nicholas Rodriguez and Chess Player!"
Your pledges drive 9 Queens to continue the mission of bringing free chess activities to the community and reaching not only those chess lovers already out there, but also a whole community of people of all ages, beliefs and backgrounds who might not otherwise have a chance for economic, cultural or other reasons to be introduced to a game that teaches them so much!
Did you read the previous Chess Blog post?
9 Queens Board and Friends of 9 Queens are people that believe that hope, happiness and self empowerment are rights for all. Most of us volunteer our time to this cause to see 9 Queens succeed as an organization to continue helping many in our community. As a bonus, many already on the chess scene are able to enjoy our activities as well. If everyone who has attended a 9 Queens event in the past donated, they would meet their goal in a day!
Let's make it happen!
Did you know if they do not meet their goal, they do not receive any of the pledges?
Please pledge today to add yourself to our list of generous people helping a positive, fun and dedicated cause!
Thank you to these folks who have shared the love and want to see 9 Queens continue bringing the benefits of chess to all in a fun, non-threatening and encouraging way!
YOU CAN PLEDGE NOW
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
Labels: 9 queens, chess cause, chess fest
9 Queens Co-Founder Chess Patron Jean Hoffman is USCF Executive Director
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The USCF is pleased to announce Jean Hoffman as the next Executive Director. Most recently Jean has been the Executive Director of 9 Queens in Arizona, an organization started by Jean and Jennifer Shahade. "This is an exciting time for the USCF and chess. I am thrilled and honored to join the USCF during such a pivotal time."
Jean has spent her adulthood serving the game of chess. In addition to 9 Queens, she has served as a Manager of Teams and Tournaments and as an Instructor in the Chess-in-the-Schools programs in New York.
Jean has a B.A. in history with distinction from Yale, and an ED.M. in Urban Education from Harvard. While working and living in Tucson, she was selected as a member of the 40 under 40 by the Arizona Daily Star in November 2012.
Jean has extensive experience with 501(c)(3) organizations, including taking 9 Queens through the IRS approval process. Jean is an experienced fundraiser and brings conviction for chess to the fundraising process. Jean will begin her service to the USCF on November 1, 2013, and her initial agreement with the USCF is for two years.
Please join us in welcoming Jean!
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal chess blog
Don't miss Chess Queen™
Labels: 9 queens, jean hoffman, Jennifer Shahade, uscf
Celebrate National Chess Day with 9 Queens and Bookmans in Tucson, Arizona
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Have fun with chess. Celebrate National Chess Day on October 13, 2012 from 12-2 pm, with a free, all ages chess extravaganza held at the Speedway Bookmans (6230 E Speedway Blvd), Tucson Arizona.
The event is being organised by 9Queens and Bookmans. 9 Queens is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities through chess by making the game fun, exciting, and accessible.
Anyone can take part in the festivities and enjoy:
- Beginner chess lessons
- A twenty-person simultaneous chess match with National Master & Women's Fide Master Amanda Mateer, the second highest rated female chess player in Arizona
- A screening of Searching for Bobby Fischer
- Chess arts and crafts
- Face-painting by Silly Tassie
- A tasty themed treat for participants
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: 9 queens, bookmans, National Chess Day
9 Queens Chess Events in Tucson, Arizona
Hi everybody!
This is an email I got from Jean Hoffmann, who wants to invite lady chess lovers to the 9 Queens events, which take place in Tucson, Arizona:
Dear friends,
As if you needed any more reasons to play chess with 9 Queens, we are now offering a free Rewards Program for participants using the Bookmans Chess Passport. Sign up at any 9 Queens event and receive free prizes every time you attend a 9 Queens event. For a complete list of prizes see below.
1st Visit- 9 Queens sticker 2nd Visit- 9 Queens bookmark 3rd Visit- Chess key chain 4th Visit- $5 dollar Bookmans gift certificate 5th Visit- Chess bracelet 6th Visit- Notation book To start earning prizes, attend one of the upcoming 9 Queens events described below.
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HEY LADIES 
Quick reminder about our next 9 Queens Academy on Sunday, August 29 from 2-4 pm in the Bookmans Low Lounge at the Sahuaro Girl Scout Resource Center. We will offer free chess lessons for women and girls of all ages and abilities. Prizes available for all female players including beginners. Many thanks to Bookmans- the official sponsor of the Tucson Queens Academy series and to the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council for hosting the fun! |
TOURNAMENT TIME  9 Queens and the Pima County Public Library are excited to announce the 3rd Annual Kings and Queens Chess Tournament at the Main Library. The tournament will take place on Saturday, September 4 from 10 am to 4 pm. This tournament is free and open to chess players of all ages and abilities. Emailjhoffman@9queens.org for more information. |
SAVE THE DATE
 9 Queens, Bookmans, Sahuaro Girl Scout Counciland City Council Member Regina Romero are excited to announce the 2nd Annual All Queens Chess Day. On October 9, 2010 we will host a free chess tournament for women and girls of all ages and offer community chess lessons for anyone interested in learning how to play the game. More details to come!
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All photos are courtesy of Jeff Smith. Check out his website to see more of his amazing work.
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Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk Women's World Chess Champion
Labels: 9 queens
Kosteniuk Goodwill Tucson Christmas Trip
 Simul in the MAST Boutique in Tucson, AZ. Photo by Jeff Smith Hello everybody!
I'm now ready to tell you more about my Goodwill Christmas trip to Tucson, AZ. I had decided to make the gift of Chess to one city in the world, and I am so happy that it's the very deserving 9 Queens organization that answered me with the best organizational ideas.
As I already told you in my recent post on December 20, 2009 I flew from Miami to Tucson. I was flying with Delta and had to make one stop in Atlanta. As you can see from the map, it was quite a long flight, my total travel time including airport time was longer than the time spent in Tucson. Luckily most Delta flights are now equipped with wi-fi internet that works during the flight, it's so cool to work online and to chat with people while you are 10,000 feet above earth.
At 1-20 PM on December 20, 2009 I arrived safely to Tucson (which reads as Tyu-son), after a short stop in the very beautiful Arizona Inn Hotel we went directly to the Tucson Mast Boutique where after a Q&A and signing sessions for my new book I played a 32-board simul. The simul lasted for 2,5 hours and my final score was +28 =4 -0, I'm very happy with this result since in some of the games I was very close to losing, and I came back to avoid any loss. Have a look, for example, at my game against the 12-year-old Bryan Hu, rated USCF 2075 (Bryan just took the second place in the K-7 in Nationals in Dallas) which was the last game to finish:
In this game immediately after the opening I made a few mistakes and ended up in a worse position 2 pawns down. At one point I continued to play on only because I didn't want to resign, but by some miracle at the end I was able to activate my pieces and created some counter-threats. Since it was already the last game in the position on the diagram I offered Bryan a draw.
 But Bryan decided to play on and continued with 1. ... Rb7+ and I replied 2. Ka4. From now on, at any moment till the fatal blunder, my opponent could have agreed on a draw by perpetual check Ra7-Rb7 but, since most of the game he was winning, he hoped for more and continued the game with 2...Nxe6? ( Black could have won by playing 2...Re2! with the idea after 3. Rxf8 to push the a-pawn forward a2 4. e7 Rbxe7 winning) 3. Bxe6 b2 4. Bf5 Ra1?? (Now it would have been a good idea to secure a draw by playing 4...Ra7+ 5.Kb4 Rb7+ 6.Ka5 Ra7+ 7.Kb4 Rb7+ (White cannot play 8.Kc3?? in view of Rb3 9.Kd2 b1=Q+, with checkmate ) and I managed to give checkmate after 5.R1g6+ Kc7 6.Rc8#
The organization of the simul and the event was excellent. Two TV stations filmed the simul, many local journalists and photographers were following the simul. You can read the article about the event in the Arizona Daily Star Newspaper here. Jean Hoffman's post about the visit can be found on the official 9 Queens web-site. Jeff Smith, the official photographer, gave us the link to his wonderful photo-album of this event with simply amazing photos.
I want to thank the wonderful and energetic Jean Hoffman,
all her whole team at 9 Queens. With such a short notice they did a wonderful job and most of what is going on in Arizona women and scholastic chess with the help of 9 Queens is just amazing! It was a very short visit but there were so many great moments! Tucson, AZ for me now is a great place with many people who simply love chess and share my passion to this wonderful game, I am so happy to have new chess friends there!
I'm sure that this visit will start a very good tradition of Christmas Goodwill Simuls that I could perform on a regular basis. I already have requests from other organizations for next year :-)
Merry Christmas to all! I wish all of you Love, Happiness and of course, some Chess! :-)
May all your wishes come true!
Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk Women's World Chess Champion Labels: 9 queens, Christmas Good-Will, Tucson
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