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Chess Life Kids 2008 October I’ll Meet You In St. Louis
Chess Life Kids 2008 October I’ll Meet You In St. Louis | I’ll Meet You In St. Louis |
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| September 27, 2008 | |
 Interior of the St. Louis Chess Center. Photo courtesy of subject. Founded by retired investment fund manager Rex Sinquefield, the club is located at 4657 Maryland Avenue in the historic Central West End of St. Louis. So if you are visiting St. Louis, stop by for a real treat! But if you can’t get to St. Louis, you can take a virtual tour of the new facility by going to http://www.saintlouischess club.org/photos. You will be absolutely dazzled by the interior of the three story building. The stated goal of the chess club is to create a world class destination for chess players, both beginning and advanced, and to elevate the game of chess throughout the St. Louis area. And under Executive Director Tony Rich, they’ve already made great strides to achieve those goals. Advanced and BeginningThe Chess Club and Scholastic Center will sponsor and host the U.S. Chess Championship in May of 2009. First place will be $30,000 and the total prize fund will be $100,000! All the top players—and probably some of your coaches!— will be in St. Louis in May. The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is currently working to establish a comprehensive scholastic chess program that will bring chess into Saint Louis schools, both in the daytime classroom setting and after school programs. Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis aims to bring these benefits to as many students as possible through their scholastic programs. They provide financial support for existing programs and establish, at no cost, new programs at local schools currently without chess programs. And support for beginning players is also part of their goal. Later this month (October) a full contingent of U.S. students will be participating in the World Youth Championships in Vietnam. Local player Margaret Hua, age 10, will be one of the players going to Vietnam, and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will be paying her expenses! So it is a great time to be living in St. Louis! “Meet me in St. Louis, Louis”* takes on a whole new meaning. *Meet me in St. Louis, 1904, F.A. Mills. Lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling, music by Kerry Mills. In the song, Louis is pronounced “Loo-ee.” It was written for the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. The song was again made popular by Judy Garland in 1944, in a movie of the same name. |
