The Susan Polgar Foundation is proud to sponsor the following new categories in both Intercollegiate and Scholastic Pan-Am Championships:

– Top All-Female Team (all team members must be female)
– Top Mixed-Doubles (team must comprise of at least 2 male and 2 female)

(I would like to thank Dr. Redman, Dr. Sherman and Jim Stallings for supporting these new categories. When I made this proposal back in August at the US Open, I could not have imagined that it would be adopted immediately. It could not have happened without those 3 gentlemen and others. Thank you!)

Pan-Am Events – December 27–30, 2006

Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship
6-Team-Swiss, each team comprises four players and up to two alternates

Pan-American Scholastic Team Chess Championship
6-Individual-SS,each team defined as top four finishers from same school

Pan-American Open
6-SS, anyone connected with any teamdelegation,including alternates, faculty, students,alumni, fans, and coaches, may play

Side events

Pan-Am Blitz (thurs evening after Round 3). exhibition match: Side Events In addition to the Intercollegiate, Pan-Am Open, and Scholastic, we willhold two side events: Pan-Am Blitz, and Exhibition Match.

The Exhibition Match will take place 1-3pm, Dec. 27, featuring four invitedplayers. This new event is intended to be a fun spectator spectacle, immediately before the reception. The format will be single-elimination, G/10 mins with 5-second delay. Each match will comprise two games, with a 6-5 mins “shootout” breaking any tie. Three of the four players will be the top FIDE-rated participants in the Intercollegiate who wish to play (but atmost one person from any one school). The fourth player will be the highest FIDE rated player who wishes to play.

Pan-Am Blitz (SS, SD/5mins) is a traditional fun event that takes placeafter Round 3 (around midnight Dec. 28). After TD fees, 90% of the entryfees (e.g., $20/person) will be returned in prizes. The exact prize structure will be determined later. Spectators are free and welcome.

Games will be projected on large TV screens from DGT autoboards. The exact details are subject to change.

The 2006 Pan-American Chess Championships (Pan-Am) are coming to Washington, DC, December 27–30, hosted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Join the excitement. Start planning now to send one or more teams for several days of fun playing chess, meeting chess players, and seeing the nation’s capital.

The Pan-Am comprises three separate events: Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championship (6-round team Swiss), Pan-American Scholastic Team Championship (6-round Swiss), and Pan-American Closed (6-round Swiss). The Intercollegiate and Scholastic Team events are open to any university/college or scholastic team from North, South, or Central America. Each college team comprises four players and up to two alternates from the same campus of the same school. In the Scholastic, each team is defined as the top four finishers from the same school (grades 1–12); any number of players may enter. Alternates, coaches, faculty, alumni, and other members of any college or scholastic delegation are invited to play in the Pan-Am Closed.

The Pan-Am will take place in the pleasant Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, near excellent restaurants, museums, Union Station (Amtrak), and the National Mall. Travel on December 26 and 31, to leave time to see Washington during the morning of December 27. The nearby Spy Museum and Air and Space Museum are wonderful attractions. The event kicks off at 1pm with a four-person single-elimination G/10 mins. exhibition match for the top four players (one per school), followed by a reception.

Known as the “World Series of College Chess,” the Pan-Am Intercollegiate is the foremost college chess championship in the Americas. There will be many class prizes for teams of all levels. Nothing beats the excitement of over-the-board team Swiss competition, when rival schools face off across four chess boards. Spectators are free and welcome. There will be spectator areas in the playing halls, as well as live commentary in a separate commentary room. Dr. Sherman is trying to arrange a visit to the White House for the winning teams on December 31.
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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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