International Chess Day: ChessKid Summer Update
Happy International Chess Day!
Fide has encouraged us to teach someone close to us to play chess today. Preferably, a kid! Over at ChessKid we have ample learning resources: lessons, a classroom planner, and much more. While you're there, don't forget to participate in our own #InternationalChessDay event and Break Our Server.
Every year, FunMasterMike celebrates this day by playing at least one game for every year he's been alive. We reached out to ask exactly how many years that was . . . but he couldn't be reached for comment. Nevertheless, you should do the same! If your ChessKid is nine years old, have them play at least nine chess games. If everyone does this, our server will break.
That's right--we're asking you to give us technical difficulties! Today is the day to log online. At 2PM Pacific, we will be holding a special Beat FMM episode.
Speaking about things happening on the ChessKid server, we also want to remind you that we're hosting an online tournament with US Chess. This will be their first country-wide tournament for all elementary-aged kids, and we're thrilled to be partnering with them to make this event a reality.
The inaugural US Chess/ChessKid Online Elementary Championship will take place August 8-9, 2020 on the ChessKid.com live server (assuming it survives today). US Chess Assistant Director of Events Pete Karagianis said the following:
US Chess is thrilled to be able to bring the competitive spirit and exciting aura of one of our large-scale scholastic events directly to the doorstep of our scholastic members. Especially now, the ability to connect is more important than ever. We are overjoyed to create that opportunity for connection through the game of chess."
BIG NEWS! We're partnering with @USChess to bring you their first country-wide event for ALL elementary-aged kids!
— ChessKid.com (@ChessKidcom) July 17, 2020
We are excited to bring you a tournament that will stretch coast to coast, and connect young chess players nationwide.
Read more here: https://t.co/e5ILVWg37x pic.twitter.com/fvpd1ajth5
ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship Update
The 2020 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship has featured some of the world's best 10-and-under players throughout the month of July. So far, we've seen the opening and semifinal rounds transpire. After some very intense gameplay, our semifinalists were NM Ryo Chen, FM Marco Materia, NM Brewington Hardaway, and NM Alice Lee!
This past Saturday, FM Marco Materia and NM Ryo Chen reigned victorious. They will advance as our finalists this Saturday at 9AM Pacific for the final round of the tournament.
Last but not least, Puzzle Duel!
Due to the popularity of Puzzle MAYven, we decided to do another free feature event this month: Puzzle Duel! For two weeks, access to this feature of the site was completely unlocked for users without gold accounts. 379,981 games of puzzle duel were played. Wow! To take a look back at this fun event, check out FunMasterMike's special Puzzle Duel episode of Beat FMM here.
Look out soon for coverage around the final chapter of our Youth Speed Chess tournament, as well as another free feature event! Good luck breaking our servers today, ChessKids.
ChessKid.com is the scholastic extension of Chess.com, and is #1 chess website for kids! Safe, fun and educational - ChessKid has a curriculum (both written and interactive on the site) to help take kids from beginner to "serious tournament player" level. This account is used to publish updates and articles about ChessKid.com and the special events held on this site.