Hour of Chess Week, FIDE Recap, and More!

Hey ChessKids, 

It's almost the end of the week! We hope you enjoyed the ChessKid FIDE Challenge last weekend. Whether you participated or watched the tournament online, it was a fun time had by all.

You can watch the full version of both segments on our YouTube channel. For the Eastern Edition, we were joined by WIM Jesse February and WCM Rebecca Selkirk of "HashtagChess" fame. For the Western Edition, our guest was WGM Dana Reizniece-Ozola, FIDE managing director. 

During the ChessKid FIDE Challenge, we were joined by @DanaReiznieceOz, managing director at @FIDE_chess. She and FunMasterMike discussed what it means for a move to be "Karpovian." 

Watch the full Western Edition here: https://t.co/EE4m8AiZ0J pic.twitter.com/RqRecCFnuY

— ChessKid.com (@ChessKidcom) January 28, 2021

The Winners & Raffle Winners

Congratulations to the following ChessKids who had a score of at least 6.5/7 in the tournament:

8 & Under, Western Section: AaronMenW8U, OwenXuW8U, IshaanRajW8U, JesusDiaW8U

8 & Under, Eastern Section: SafinSafE8U, HarveyZhuE8U, YuvaneshAE8U, ParambrattaSarE8U

Ages 9-12, Western Section: TeimurTokW912, ShreyaRoyW912, LuciusMelW912, PrajitKumW912

Ages 9-12, Eastern Section: IsaakHuhE912, ZeruiXinE912

In the spirit of participation, every child had the chance to win prizes! For every half point earned, the ChessKid received one raffle ticket into the drawing. For every win, the ChessKid received two raffle tickets. In addition, any player finishing the tournament received a bonus raffle ticket.

With so many amazing ChessKids participating, there was a total of 84 prizes! The raffle took place on January 28, 2021. Raffle Winners listed here will be contacted individually by ChessKid staff (by your registration email) before February 4, 2021.

Thank you to all of the INCREDIBLE ChessKids from all over the world. Both ChessKid and FIDE wish you continued success in your chess endeavors. Remember all players get two months of free gold membership on their Tournament ID, so you can now watch all the videos, do unlimited puzzles and more!

Next Up: Hour of Chess Week! 

Looking for a great way to kick off your school's chess club this spring? The Eighth "Hour of Chess Week" is back! Whether your school is meeting in person or virtually (or a combination), "Hour of Chess Week" is a fun way to connect your students with each other and to enjoy the benefits of chess!

Once again, we will dedicate one full week to encouraging chess in schools (in every school) for at least one hour. This edition will be February 22-26, 2021. Participation is FREE!

What is Hour of Chess Week?

The Hour of Chess Week is a week dedicated to playing chess with everyone, anywhere in the world, for at least one hour! But specifically, ChessKid will be working with its major programs, largest and most active school districts, as well as promoting the efforts to as many worldwide schools to "try chess club at your school for one hour this week" and see if your kids love to play chess. We think they will!

Why is ChessKid Doing This?

We want to help grow chess in your area! In fact, we're giving away prizes to prove it! All schools that sign up with their planned time of participation during the week of February 22-26, 2021, will be registered in a drawing to win one year free of ChessKid Gold Membership access for every kid in their school. (Up to 500 Gold Memberships -- a $5000 value). Only one school will win.

In addition, ChessKid will give away three more prize packages of 20 gold memberships (a $700 USD value) chosen from among all programs (school or homeschool) who share a photo of their chess class (in person or virtual) and tag ChessKid on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Make sure to use the hashtag #HourOfChessWeek. We will share and promote the best photos and announce the three winners (subjectively chosen as our three favorite photos) to receive a prize package of 20 gold memberships!

Don't miss Hour of Chess Week! Sign up here.

New at ChessKid: Original YouTube Videos!

ChessKid's YouTube page is the perfect place to watch videos that are fun, educational, and safe for kids. We've been busy streaming ChessKidTV episodes and FunMasterMike lessons to the channel! Now, we have original content coming that will only be available on ChessKid: exclusive videos from FunMasterMike and IM David Pruess. The first one went live today.

Check back weekly for new videos.

New Feature: Timer and Countdown

Many chess tournaments are being organized or are moving online this Spring, and ChessKid is proud to be partnering with coaching programs, school districts, and statte and national federations all over the world. Our programming and events teams continue to meet the requirements of tournament organizers.

ChessKid parents and coaches will now be able to set break times between the rounds of their tournaments. A five-second countdown timer, with an audible alert, has also been added to ensure kids do not miss when their next round is starting!

That's it for this week ChessKids! Let us know what you want to see more of in the comments.