Midway Chess Club and Mikhail Korenman

Hello All,

For those of you who come to the Midway Chess Club meetings you already have met Mikhail. For those of you online perhaps you will meet him. But, I wanted to take a moment to let you all know why I asked him to work with us and we are excited to have him.

I met Mikhail because he was looking for a place to host a tournament and I happened to be the President of the Chess Club at Saint Xavier University. Well we helped him out hosting this tournament. I kept in touch and when looking for a coach I contacted him. We met and he has helped the Club greatly. He and I started talking about different ventures; my app, his teachings among others.

Well I had seen a few places that we might be able to have a club in. He and I went around looking. Our budget is small but it gave us enough. I mentioned that I had used chess to aid in my recovery from my Service. We talked about it. I made an appointment with a VA friend and we wrote a grant proposal. It was mailed out yesterday. The program will be to help Veterans recover from PTSD, travel abroad to help others, and to seek gainful employment in the field of Chess if they would like. The program is called "Veterans Chess for Peace Program."

Then we were offered space for our club! The price is reasonable and the location is right across the street from "A Place for Us" where we currently meet.

That said I would like to show you why I wanted to work with Mikhail.

-------------This is his endorsements for his USCF Executive Board run---

Support for the election was also received by U.S. Champions Onischuk, Shulman, Zatonskih, Goletiani; Grandmasters Akobian, Kaidanov, Ehlvest, Ibragimov, Stripunsky, Khachiyan, Perelshteyn, Goldin, International Masters Donaldson, Schneider.

National media on Dr. Korenman's chess achievements:

• "I am grateful for your hard work to promote peace." - Letter from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
• "In recent years Lindsborg has witnessed a minor revolution in self-identity, and one man is largely responsible for the shift: Mikhail Korenman has made this town crazy for the game of chess." - National Geographic magazine
• "Mr. Korenman's enthusiasm, imagination and web of contacts have been crucial to the burgeoning appeal of chess here." - The New York Times
• "In the United States, Korenman has built an impressive resume as competitor, teacher and tournament organizer." - The Star

Dr. Korenman's Statement for the USCF
I am currently living in Chicago and coaching chess in local area elementary and secondary schools. Some of my strong chess credentials include:

• Extensive experience working in non-profit organizations.
• Excellent success in grant writing.
• Organized many successful major chess events, including the U.S. Junior Open and Invitational, the Pan-American, the Final Four, and numerous world class FIDE tournaments and matches.
• Initiated the internationally acclaimed "Chess for Peace" program with Gorbachev, Karpov, Onischuk, Shulman, Polgar, Krush, Zatonskih, etc., that was featured in National Geographic, The NY Times, NPR, NBC, PBS, and countless print and TV media across the U.S. and around the world.
• Served on the USCF Scholastic Council.
• Current member of the Scholastic Committee.
• FIDE International Organizer.

Additional Chess Awards:

• 2006 USCF Special Service Award
• 2005 Rotary International Service Award
• 2005 Community Service Award (Lindsborg)
• 2005 FIDE International Organizer
• 2004 USCF Chess Organizer of the Year

With my experience in multiple facets of scholastic, college, adult, professional, and women'x chess, I can help make the USCF a much stronger organization.

• Vice-President, Illinois Chess Association
• President, International School of Chess

----------The Chess For Peace Program----------

CHESS FOR PEACE PROGRAM

By Dr. Mikhail Korenman

FIDE International Organizer

              The vision of the program is to establish a long-term relationship among the young people around the globe as the vehicle by which to promote mutual understanding of shared problems. In addition, we expect this relationship to make substantial contributions to general educational efforts as well as helping program participants to foster understanding of the world.

            12^th World Chess Champion and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Anatoly Karpov want to continue to promote peace and education through the Chess for Peace initiative.  The International Educational and Cultural Services, Inc, a non-profit organization, initiated the program on April 12^th, 2005 at the World Champion Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess in Lindsborg , Kansas.  Mr. Karpov has a long history of working for humanitarian causes, including his work with the International Association for Peace Foundations and as UNICEF Ambassador in Europe.

            The Chess for Peace initiative is designed to promote peace throughout the world by bringing secondary school students from different countries together to learn how to play chess and to establish lasting friendships.

            On October 29, 2005, former President and Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev launched the Chess for Peace program in the U.S. We hope to have numerous political figures from different countries to assist with promotion of the Chess for Peace initiative and to spend some time with young people, playing chess and introducing them to the global world.

JIMMY CARTER

September 6, 2005

To Dr. Mikhail Korenman                                               

Thank you for your invitation to participate in the Chess for Peace event at the Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess in Lindsborg , Kansas . I appreciate the opportunity to share in this important project with President Gorbachev.

Unfortunately, previous commitments with The Carter Center make it impossible for me to be with you on October 29, 2005. I am grateful for your hard work to promote peace. Please accept my best wishes for a successful event.

Sincerely,

            The International Educational and Cultural Services, Inc, organized the first chess-based scholastic exchange program. A group of 54 American scholastic chess players, their parents, and coaches, led by the U.S. Chess Federation Chairwoman and former World Woman Chess Champion Susan Polgar, visited Moscow in March 2006. 

            A group of scholastic chess players from Chicago, led by the U.S. Chess Champion Alexandr Onischuk and GM Yury Shulman, visited Mexico with the humanitarian help group in Summer 2006. We would like to continue the exchange program with other chess schools/clubs around the world, and to encourage other chess schools and clubs to join the program.

            During the Fall 2007/08 academic year, groups of students from different countries are competing with students from other countries via the Internet.  This will differ from the usual chess competition in that students will not necessarily be chosen for their chess playing ability.  Personal information will be shared between the participants to foster friendships as well as gamesmanship.

            We are currently in a second year of developing a chess program for young people in the  Chicago-Westside area for students-at-risk.  Dr. Mikhail Korenman is teaching chess to a group of more than 30 students at CCA Academy, one of the Chicago-based alternative high schools for students who were dropped from the regular high schools. 

            We are working together with the Bogotá (Columbia) city chess league to establish a Chess Against the Drugs program (see attached correspondence with the Bogotá chess league officials).

            On March 2008 we hosted the First International Scholastic Chess Convention in Chicago, where kids plaid chess, made friendships, and exchanged information about their respective cultures. Ambassador Karpov attended the Convention and launched the Chess for Peace program in Chicago.

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