L to R: Dr. Mikhail Korenman, me, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Anatoly Karpov
Chess For Peace Program
Wednesday, 09 April 2008
www.chessforpeace.blogspot.com
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.
12th World Chess Champion and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Anatoly Karpov wants to continue promoting 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 12th, 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 friendship. 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.
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 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 friendship 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 Bogota (Columbia) city chess league to establish a Chess Against the Drugs program (see correspondence with the Bogota chess league officials).
On March 2008 we hosted the First International Scholastic Chess Convention in Chicago, where kids played chess, made friendship, and exchanged information about their respective cultures. Ambassador Karpov attended the Convention and launched the Chess for Peace program in Chicago.
Source: FIDE.com
The USCF made a big mistake electing Bauer instead of Korenman. Bauer has no record of doing positive things for the USCF while Korenman has repeatedly organized huge international events which brought positive publicity for chess and the USCF.
Congratulations to Dr. Korenman.
I’m very happy to see GM Karpov doing a lot to help chess in America…and the world. He is proving to be one of our sports “elder statesmen,” and he visits the U.S. quite often.
We need people of his stature to contribute to the future of our sport. To see Two World Champions (GM Polgar and GM Karpov) side by side, working toward the same goals for a bright future for our sport is encouraging.
If more well known GM’s would step up and contribute…we could have a new chess organization to replace the corrupted USCF.
Can you give examples of the ‘huge international events’ that Korenman has repeatedly organized?
While Koreman has been “developing” a chess program program for students-at-risk, many other organizations have been running chess programs working with at-risk children.
Also, can you give us some details of what occurred during this “International Scholastic Chess Convention” as what was announced as the activities were not what occurred.