Judit Polgar Global Chess Festival: Input Needed!

Hello chess players of Red Deer and hinterland!

So I got a message from chess.com about a week ago about the Judit Polgar Global Chess Festival. Apparently this will be a first-of-its-kind event in which clubs on chess.com can hold internal qualifiers and then nominate players to participate in the big event.

Here is the official news post with details: https://www.chess.com/news/view/judit-polgar-chessconnectsus-championship-registration?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-08-23%20-%20Email%20-%20Judit%20Polgar%20%23ChessConnectsUS%20organizer%20mailer

I love Judit as a player and for what she represents. Women can compete at the highest level. For that reason, I think it would be cool if Red Deer competes.

Things I like

- Raise global awareness of Judit Polgar's incredible career and inspire more women to play chess

- Put Red Deer on the global chess map

- Do something different and cool for the club for a change

Things I don't like:

- Sponsored by American corporate megalof**k Morgan Stanley and requires participation in a #BrandingExercise

- Lack of clarity about the final format

- Must allow invasive monitoring during online play

I am legtimately looking for feedback from other club members here. Should we participate? How should we hold our qualifiers? Should it be for in-person attendees only, or should we have online events? Can we realistically nominate one male and one female adult + one male and one female junior (scholastic)?

Please comment here or send me a PM with your thoughts.