Chess is for Everybody in Singapore

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For Immediate Release

Singapore, 2 August 2010 (Monday)

First ever visit by Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov

The 13th World Chess Champion, Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, will be in Singapore on 15th August 2010 (Sunday) to play in exhibition blitz chess matches against two of Singapore’s top chess players, battle against thirty local chess players of different age groups in simultaneous chess matches, autograph his chess books for fans and deliver a motivational talk on “How Life Imitates Chess”. The one-day event is jointly organized by Conrad Centennial Singapore, Serangoon Gardens Country Club, Thomson Community Club and the “Chess is for Everybody in Singapore” movement.

Singapore chess players, fans and parents will be extremely delighted as this is the first ever visit by a living chess legend, Garry Kasparov, to Singapore. This event follows soon after the successful hosting of the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov’s visit to Singapore on 17 July 2010. Grandmaster Garry Kasparov was the youngest player to have won the title of world chess champion from 1985 to 2000, having wrested the title from his predecessor, Anatoly Karpov, in a titanic battle in 1985 after the first match in 1984 was controversially ended by FIDE, the world chess federation.

Kasparov was born on 13 April 1963 and started playing chess at the age of five. He became the World Junior Chess Champion in 1980 and his meteoric rise made him the #1 rated player in the world in 1984. He is the first player to top the Elo 2800 rating and is also the highest rated chess player in the history of the game with an Elo rating of 2851 achieved in 1999 (Elo rating system is universally used in chess to assess the strength of a player). He is widely considered as the greatest chess player of all time. On 11 March 2005, he announced his retirement from top level competitive chess after winning Linares (the Wimbledon or World Cup of chess) and having held the position of #1 ranked player in the world for 20 consecutive years.

Grandmaster Kasparov is well known for his dynamic style of play, deep preparation and innovative ideas in the openings. Since his retirement, he has written and published highly acclaimed books such “My Great Predecessors” where he writes about the twelve world champions who preceded him, “How Life Imitates Chess” and “Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess Series”. Kasparov is passionate about introducing chess into the education system and promoting chess in the classroom. He also active in the global speaking circuit and gives talks on strategy, tactics and logical thinking to corporations.

Kasparov’s visit coincides with Singapore’s hosting of the Youth Olympics Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August 2010. While chess is not represented in the YOG, nevertheless Kasparov’s visit serves to promote chess and put Singapore on the world chess map. It is estimated that there are at least 100,000 social and active chess players in Singapore. This event is also supported by Hyflux, Quantum Law Corporation and Sea Blue.

The itinerary of events on 15 Aug 2010 is as follows:

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:

Alvin Ong

Email: aongsw@gmail.com

Mobile: 98483222

“Kasparov Visits Singapore 2010” Organizing Committee

Jimmy Ng

Email: jimmyng@jenjoshgroup.com

Mobile: 82332048

“Kasparov Visits Singapore 2010” Organizing Committee

About “Chess is for Everybody in Singapore” (CES)

The “Chess is for Everybody in Singapore” movement was started by a group of passionate chess players, supporters and parents. It believes that chess playing keeps the mind alert and chess is beneficial to the young, adult and veteran players alike. As chess develops logical thinking, creativity and discipline of mind and character, it is of great help to people of all ages. There is also a strong correlation between chess playing ability and scholastic achievements.