Aquaprofit-Polgar International Chess Festival 2013

Chess Palace at the Palace of Arts

Under the patronage of Mrs. Androulla Vassiliou, Member of the European Commission
Aquaprofit-Polgar International Chess Festival 2013

Place: Palace of the Arts, Budapest
Date/Time: Sunday, September 29, 2013, from 10 am – 7 pm

GUEST OF HONOR: GARRY KASPAROV

Over the years, the Aquaprofit-Polgar Chess Festival has evolved into a hugely popular civic and social event. Each year, well-known public figures in sports, the arts, science, business, and politics, chess enthusiasts of every stripe, and – most of all – children look forward to taking part in this all-day event that provides something for everyone.

The Budapest-based festival has always attracted international guests. Garry Kasparov – perhaps the biggest name in the history of chess – is this year’s international guest star.
Fun and games, sports, art, education, and all the chess you can handle: this is what awaits at the Aquaprofit-Polgar Chess Festival!

The Festival is proud to be under the patronage of European Commission Member Mrs. Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth.

This year’s festival will also emphasize the new Chess Palace program for chess education, developed by the Judit Polgar Chess Foundation as part of Hungary’s new national curriculum.

Program Highlights

The Great Simultaneous Match: in which Judit, Susan and Sofia Polgar play simultaneous chess matches against public figures, famous sports stars and artists. The Polgar sisters take on chess fans, children, sports heroes, artists, media stars, businessmen and politicians. The number of would-be challengers far exceeds the number of spots for this popular event; pre-registration is required.

Anniversary of the Olympic Triumph of 1988: Exactly 25 years ago, the Hungarian Women’s Chess Team made history when they won the gold medal at the Thessaloniki Chess Olympiad, putting an end to the Soviet Union’s domination of this event. The team, composed of Susan Polgar, Judit Polgar, Sofia Polgar and Ildiko Madl, displaying nerves of steel, hung on to beat the Soviet team by a half point in the final match. At the time, this was the greatest triumph yet in the history of Hungarian women’s chess. 

Premiere of the “Zigzag Chess Song”: Judit Polgar’s chess poem, written for her Chess Palace children’s workbook, has been set to music by the famous Hungarian rock band Omega. In the ‘Zigzag Chess’ song, the world’s number one female chess player tells a rhyming fairy tale featuring chess figurines, and along the way introduces the fundamentals and the beauty of the game.

Chess Palace International Educational Conference – Skills Development through Chess in the Curriculum: The conference features presentations on the Chess Palace program, the experience of the highly successful Swedish school chess program, and the educational potential in our digital age of the world’s most complex strategic board game. 

Hungary – USA Online Team Competition: For the first time in Chess Festival history, teams in two different countries will compete against each other – over the internet. Each team, representing Hungary and the United States, will feature four promising young players. The platform for the games will be provided by Chess.com. Through this website, the young players will play 10-minute chess games with both colors. 

Generation Chess Clash: Families take on families in this multi-generational chess competition, sponsored by the European Commission. Each team is composed of a child, a parent and a grandparent.

3D Chess Palace: One of the main attractions of the festival will be the 3D Chess Palace, where the fairy-tale world of the friendly chess figures comes to life. Children can go from station to station to complete the puzzles and try the crafts. At each station, children who complete the activity will collect a colorful Chess Coin, which can then be exchanged for items from the Chess Festival gift shop.

AQUAPROFIT-POLGAR CHESS FESTIVAL GUEST OF HONOR: 

Garry Kasparov

For the first time ever, the legendary world chess champion is visiting Budapest. Kasparov has been following the events of Aquaprofit-Polgar Chess Festival from its beginnings, but this year he’s coming to see it in person – and will also hold a presentation. Apart from his passion for competitive chess, the Russian Grandmaster – like Judit Polgar – is a strong proponent of chess as an educational tool. In 2011, together with the European Chess Federation and Judit Polgar, he took part in a lobby effort at the European Parliament in support of including chess in the public school curriculum. Finally, in March 2012, more than half of the European Parliament representatives signed the declaration which called upon the Member States to find ways to bring chess into the schools.

Organizer of the Aquaprofit-Polgar Chess Festival:

Judit Polgar Chess Foundation

A non-profit foundation established by the greatest woman player in history, Grandmaster Judit Polgar, and supported by charitable donations. Its mission is to popularize chess around the world as a learning tool and as one of the most effective methods for promoting cognitive skills and personal development.

International Advisory Board of the Judit Polgar Chess Foundation:

President: Polgár Judit
Co-President: Bessel Kok
Vice President: Irakli Gilauri

Members of the Board: Bakonyi Árpád, Bojár Gábor, Esterházy Márton, Fischer Iván, Paul Hoffman, Dr. Steven G. Kaali, Matos Zoltán, Nádasi Tamás, Rubik Ernő, Szabó Antal, Szabó Ferenc, Michael Szalontay, Dr. Vizi E. Szilveszter, Daniel Yarur E., Maria Jose Yarur

For more information and press registration: www.sakkfesztival.com
JP PRESS: press@juditpolgar.com T:+36 30 9487929