Chess battles at Virginia Beach

Source: dailypress.com
Virginia Beach to host large chess tournament
By NICOLE PAITSEL
3:41 PM EST, February 6, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH

Chess enthusiasts can watch two Grandmasters at work as they compete against each other from different rooms at the Millennium Chess Festival in Virginia Beach beginning Feb. 29.

The three-day tournament will also feature games between more than 200 players, with $12,000 in prizes at stake.

Grandmasters — the highest title in chess competition — Joel Benjaminn and John Fedorowicz, will play each other from separate rooms as they explain their strategies to spectators during the game. They’ll also field questions while they play, and audience members will be free to move from one Grandmasters room to the other.

The tournament will be held at the Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront hotel, 5700 Atlantic Ave. Players can still register for the tournament. Fees to play are $99 before Feb. 26 and $110 after that date.

The Grandmaster match begins at 7 p.m. March 1 and tickets are $20 per person before Feb. 26 and $25 per person after that date.

Other tournament games begin at 8 p.m. Feb. 29, 9:30 a.m. March 1 and 9:30 a.m. March 2 and are free and open to the public.

For more information visit www.vachess.org/MCF.