Webster Welcomes Susan Polgar, SPICE, Chess Team
May 23, 2012
Webster University President Beth Stroble, Provost Julian Schuster, and the entire community formally welcomed Susan Polgar and the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) to Webster on Tuesday, May 22 in the Edward Jones Commons of the East Academic Building.
Several members of the Webster University Chess Team were introduced — and played chess, of course — and Polgar, Stroble and Schuster held a panel Q&A on the move and the value of chess in an academic setting. Two exhibition games were held, with Polgar playing a brave local high school chess coach who volunteered to take on the Grandmaster.
The event was streamed live online at www.webster.edu/live and on Webster’s Facebook page.
Look for an archive video of the event and a fuller event wrapup to be posted via Webster Today soon.
Webster, St. Louis Becoming a Hub for Chess
With approximately 1 billion chess players worldwide, it was only fitting that the event be streamed to chess fans and people at Webster University campus locations around the world. The original announcement that SPICE was coming to Webster generated media inquiries and interest from news sources around the globe.
St. Louis is becoming known as the worldwide hub for chess excellence, so Webster is proud to welcome Susan Polgar and SPICE as the University takes a pivotal role in the international game of chess.
Polgar herself is one of the strongest female chess players in history, the winner of four world championships and the only world champion in history – male or female – to win the Triple-Crown (Rapid, Blitz and Classical Chess world championships). She is the first woman to break the gender barrier to qualify for the Men’s World Championship Cycle, earn the Men’s Grandmaster title, and to receive the Grandmaster of the Year Award. In 2011, Polgar became the first female head coach to lead a men’s Division 1 team (Texas Tech University) to the national title.
Source: http://blogs.webster.edu
What a coup! Webster University sure knows how to play a good chess game.