The FRANK P. SAMFORD, JR. CHESS FELLOWSHIP is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the 2007 Fellowship, its twenty-first annual award. Frank P. Samford, Jr. of Birmingham, Alabama, an avid chess fan, realized that promising American chessmasters do not have the government or corporate support available to their peers in many other countries. He created the Samford Fellowship to identify and assist the best young American chessmasters in reaching their full potential.

The 2007 Samford Chess Fellow will receive the following support: a monthly stipend for living expenses, training by leading chess coaches, chess books and other study materials as well as opportunities to travel and compete in tournaments and/or matches at the highest levels. The value of each Fellowship (stipend, training, materials and tournament travel) is approximately $32,000 per year. The Fellowship is given for one year and can be extended for a second year by mutual consent.

The new Fellow will be selected by the Samford Chess Fellowship Committee ("Committee"), consisting of Frank P. Samford III, Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier and International Master John Donaldson. Each applicant must have been a permanent resident of the U.S. for at least one year prior to July 1, 2007 and must not have reached his or her 25th birthday by that date.

The applicants, who can be male or female, must be able to demonstrate talent, achievement and commitment to chess. The winner must spend full time studying and playing chess beginning July 1, 2007. He or she must be willing to make the effort required to become a leading grandmaster and possible challenger for the World Championship. The program is administered by Barbara De Maro for the U.S. Chess Trust, under the guidance of Mr. Samford's son, Frank P. Samford III of Atlanta, Georgia.

Applicants must have a chess rating (either USCF, FIDE or both). For further details and an application form write to:

Allen Kaufman, Secretary, Samford Chess Fellowship
108-37 71st Avenue, #8G, Forest Hills, NY 11375-4512

Completed applications for the 2007 Fellowship must be received no later than January 15, 2007. We expect to announce the winner during April, 2007. All decisions by the Committee will be final.

The Samford Fellowship has been a key factor in the chess careers of many young American masters and has produced a number of grandmasters and U.S. Chess Champions. Previous winners of the Fellowship are Joel Benjamin, Maxim Dlugy, Patrick Wolff, Alex Fishbein, Ilya Gurevich, Alex Sherzer, Ben Finegold, Gata Kamsky, Josh Waitzkin, Tal Shaked, Boris Kreiman, Dean Ippolito, Gregory Shahade, Michael Mulyar, Eugene Perelshteyn, Varuzhan Akobian, Dmitry Schneider, Rusudan Goletiani, Hikaru Nakamura and David Preuss.

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The late Mr. Frank P. Samford, Jr. created this program as a way of making a significant contribution in America to the game he loved. If qualified applicants can be found a new Fellow will be selected every year. It is expected that the Samford Fellowship will continue to produce very strong players, some of whom will join the elite group of world supergrandmasters.

This program is made possible by the generosity of Mrs. Virginia Donovan, widow of the late Frank P. Samford, Jr., and by Torchmark Corporation.

Contact: Allen Kaufman

Phone: (718) 544-5036

Email: [email protected]

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