A second branch of London Public Library is chess-ed! The game of chess now finds its place at the Central Library. True to its name, Central Library is located in Central London. What better place to promote chess than at the heart of the city?
First session at Central was held yesterday, and it was a success. We had chess sets set up and quite a few kids approached the table. Some didn’t know how to play, and won their first game thirty minutes later. I hope to see many more of these kids in the upcoming weeks.
Despite the smooth running of the program, there was the initial issue of gathering volunteers. Just when I was stressed by the challenging task, our president, Vivek, messaged me that he has a connection “who has offered to help out by volunteering and recruiting some volunteers”.
Upon hearing the news, I was ecstatic, but also puzzled- who would contact Vivek about volunteering in London? Turns out, the guy was Aaron Zhang, former executive member of CITL and currently a student at Western University.
At the program, I met Aaron and was taken by his enthusiasm and altruism. Here was a University student, dedicating his precious time teaching kids half his height how to play chess. I realized that Aaron, like myself and all CITL volunteers, is simply volunteering for enjoyment. I left the Central Library with a different outlook on the program. It doesn’t just connect chess to the kids, it connects Toronto to London, and Aaron to me.
The Annual West Region Swiss was held in the Downsview
Library on Saturday, December 1st. The annual tournament provides a chance
for kids from the west region branches to play against one another, to
experience competition play. This year, the WRS was a great success. Compared to last
year’s event, where around 20 kids participated, there were over 40 young minds
playing on Saturday! So, in a year, the amount of kids playing in this
tournament doubled. The exponential growth
in participants no doubt reflects the promising possibilities of the chess
events like this in the future. I’m confident next year’s WRS will be even bigger
and better. The tournament was split into 3
sections: Grade 3 and under, Grade 6 and under, and Grade 7 and up. Four rounds
of Swiss determined the top three players from each category, who go on to
receive medals. With the newly added
categories (there was only one large section last year), we had a lot more
prizes to hand out. Of course, everyone loves prizes. A photographer from North York Mirror, Peter McCusker,
captured some great shots. Make sure to check out Peter’s (as well as CITL's own) picturesfrom the tournament!
What are you going to do about my next move?
The chess game, in a different perspective.
Here are the winners of the
tournament (in order from first to third):
Grade 3 and under: Jorge Jorda, Easshan Sumbli, Julia Rodriguez Grade 6 and under: Julianne Jorda, Joyce Jorda, Darryl Mohabeer Grade 7 and over: Raymond Quan, Joshua Jorda, Melalee Gordon
Aside from the main tournament,
there was also a room just for chess puzzles! Sound familiar? Yep, we took the
idea from the awesome Chess in the Library festival. Kids not only put their bright
minds into use on the board, they also engage in solving challenging puzzles. Those
who came up with the most correct solutions in the quickest time won book prizes.
The addition of puzzles added a fun dimension to the tournament, making it
more chess-y. Speaking of the chess-i-ness of the event, what if you want to
play chess outside of CITL and tournaments? We got you covered- we had chess
sets for sell. How convenient! Puzzle Contest Book Prize Winners: Grade 3 and under: Easshan Sumbli Grade 6 and under: Aarabhi Krishnakumar Grade 7 and over: Jaanani Sivarasacumar
Despite the abundance of prizes,
admission was free of charge. The generous donations we have received enabled
us, a student-run non-profit organization, to give out prizes and host
the West Region Swiss. If you wish to support chess and tournaments
like this, please click here.
Every little bit helps, as it sure adds up to make events such as this possible. We (the executives) had a lot of
fun at the tournament, and we hope you did too! Stay tuned for future events:
“like” us on Facebook, and follow our updates on our website and blog.
One of the original goals of Chess in the Library is to
promote chess across Canada. Currently, most of our locations reside in Ontario, along with successful programs running in Alberta and British Columbia. Now, Chess
in the Library is heading to the beautiful east coast! We are excited to
announce that the newest place to promote chess is in Campbellton, New
Brunswick!
Stepping into another province is truly a milestone. (Shoutout to our new president Vivek for his work to make this possible!) Not only is the New Brunswick far away from the base of CITL (Ontario), it’ll even operate in French as well since it is Canada’s
(one and only) bilingual province. No worries there though; our volunteers have
created bilingual materials for this location. On top of that, chess is an
international language, remember? We are thrilled to bring chess to a different
branch, a new city, and a wonderful province.
Today was the launch of the program- the program will run on
Saturdays at the Campbellton Centennial Library.
The gorgeous Campbellton Library- the newest home for CITL
Stay tuned for more details on our website as the program
will start in a few weeks!
In sports, in games, and just about in everything we do, we often strive to be the best. At least, the best that we can be. But what if you wake up everyday and realize that you already are the best in this entire world? What about being number one in the world at the age of 21?
Magnus Carlsen is the highest rated chess player in the world today. His rating, 2837, puts him at the top of the FIDE rating list. What’s even more impressive is that Carlsen, only 21, is the youngest among the elite. But what else makes him different from other top players? Is it that he is a fashion model? Is it that that he gets more upset when he loses Monopoly than chess? Or is it that that he joined the 2800 club by becoming only the 5th player in history to achieve a rating over 2800 at 18? Whatever it is, Carlsen attracts attention and publicity like a magnet. Besides the fact that he is just really, really good at chess, people are interested in him because of his youth.
Magnus Carlsen - chess player and fashion model.
Chess is one of those things, along with math and music, where child prodigies do exist. People of all ages play chess on relatively equal ground, unlike most other sports. As a result, it is not uncommon for us to see kids beating their parents at home or young players finishing better than adults in tournaments. In fact, one’s potential in chess could be fully exploited only when one learns chess at a young age.
Thinking hard - chess is a great mental sport for kids!
Chess and youth mash so well together that indeed it is one of the reasons why we target Chess in the Library for kids. Of course, we don’t expect all kids to develop into Carlsens or even competitive players. What matters is just for the children to learn and enjoy the game and see where chess takes them. And well, who knows where it could take them?
The 3rd Annual CITL Festival celebrates the 3 year’s establishment of Chess in the Library. How do we celebrate the 3 year existence of this awesome program? With more awesomeness of course! In the 3rd annual festival, we hosted the traditional chess tournament for different CITL branches. Furthermore, there were other fun side events that truly offered something for everyone. Outside of our main tournament hall, there were chess jokes, chess puzzles, a simultaneous exhibition, and a giant chess set for the kids to play.
Before all these exciting events got rolling, we began with the opening ceremony. Yuanling and a few speakers (including myself) spoke a few words, when we shared our diverse experiences with CITL.
Opening Ceremony
Maurice Smith, Donor
Bob Armstrong, Donor
Eunice, Humberwood Branch CITL Coordinator
Even though our representative volunteers, librarians and donors all view CITL from different lenses, we can all agree that this is an amazing program regardless of who you are in relation to CITL. There was also a surprise speaker, and that was GM Mark Bluvshtein. When the best chess player in Canada enthusiastically supports the program, you know that the program is something special.
GM Mark Bluvhstein
The video of CITL and the volunteer of the year awards were also presented. They go to show that CITL is the result of the work of all the volunteers, and that we work together to make the successful program that it is today.
Here's the wonderful CITL Festival video presented at the 3rd Annual CITL Festival.
Finally, after the opening ceremony, the highly anticipated tournament got underway. There were three sections: Under Grade 3, Under Grade 6, and Open. The kids had fun and were also competitive for the prizes.
This year, the festival was held on June 30th, the birthday of one of our most supportive donors - Todd Southam. The Southam family had generously donated about two dozen of Todd's trophies at the beginning of CITL's founding months, knowing that Todd, a Canadian chess star who had expectedly passed away many years ago, would have wanted to contribute to the program. For the past two CITL Annual Festivals, all the individual trophies were that of Todd's and thus named the "Todd Southam Award". Although all of Todd's original trophies have already been redistributed to each and every corner of the city (the individual winners of the previous 2 Annual Festivals), we continue to name our individual trophies this year after Todd. It was perhaps a coincidence that the festival was held on Todd's birthday; it was perhaps also fate at its work. Nonetheless, it was a perfect occasion to celebrate not only Todd's achievements in the chess world, but also his endless contributions to the community. Todd's name do not only appear on CITL's trophies - it will forever be engraved in our hearts.
Beautiful awards
Some kids competed for the Annual Festival Trophy, which was awarded to the top team in the Open Section.
Tournament hall with players and arbiters
As I mentioned, there were lots of other fun side events at the time of the tournament. There were places for the players to be after they finished their games.
There were chess jokes posted on the wall. They were hilarious, and I laughed out loud on several of them. Thank you WFM Hazel Smith who dedicated her time to do these artistic and creative CITL jokes!
One of my favorites is the following:
Hahaha.That was funny but so accurate. Playing chess at CITL does make the kids brighter. Solving chess puzzles does too. That’s why there were also puzzles posted up the wall as well. The puzzles were for kids who finish their rounds early.
Thinking hard!
If you wanted to play more chess between the rounds, there was the simultaneous exhibition by National Master Mike Ivanov. Mike played a room of kids and adults simultaneously.
Bring on the challenge.
Of course, there was also a giant chess board where kids can play with life sized pieces.
Lots of kids actively participating
When all the tournament and events drew to a close, we finally got to present the awards for the tournament. The kids who received awards did really well, and won deservingly. For those who didn’t, there’s always next year. At the end of all this, it’s about playing and enjoying the game. It’s all about participating and having fun.
The 2012-2013 executives were later presented. Our CITL executives are as follows:
President: Vivek Chachcha
Vice-President: Kevin Wu
Treasurer: Mike Ivanov
Communications Officer: Stefan Laculeanu
Webmaster: Jesse Feng
Outreach Coordinator: Tina Fang
Media Coordinator: Jessica Cao
I’m sure that we will do a great job next year, even though it is going to be different without Yuanling. After all, she is the founder of CITL and has done an absolutely amazing job for the past three years.
Yuanling and the executives of 2012-2013
Ultimately, CITL is possible because of so many people. Yes, Yuanling has done tons of work. But so did the executive board. And the volunteers, players, parents and sponsors. The CITL family is ever growing and it is possible because of all of us.
Thank you volunteers!
This video is dedicated to all the amazing volunteers at CITL.
We have celebrated CITL with the most successful CITL festival yet. Thank you all for your continuing support of the program and the festival.
The President acts as the leader and primary spokesperson of the CITL Executive Board. He or she sets a typed agenda in consultation with other executive members for all formal CITL Executive Board meetings. One of the President’s main responsibilities is to contact potential locations and expand the program nationwide. In addition, the President evaluates annually the performance of the organization in achieving its. Finally, he or she should maintain a blog with updates on a bi-weekly basis.
Candidacy Platform At any point in time, our life, and consequently our actions, can be divided into three parts: the past, the present, and the future. Over the past year as Director of Communications for CITL, I have strived to go above and beyond my expectations in order to further improve and expand this organization. In the short course of this year, I have: created a brand-new website, overseen a deal with a government agency earning CITL $100, scouted two new locations (one in Vaughan and one in Newmarket), and have recruited approximately ten new volunteers on top of the already existing volunteers. These only go to show what I have done in the past, but what am I doing right now? Currently, I am in the process of overseeing the integration of two more libraries: Cedarbrae Library, a part of TPL, and Cloverdale Library in Surrey, a city near Vancouver. Most importantly, what do I plan to do in the future? Well, if elected, I plan to expand this organization in every aspect of the word. I plan to expand to even newer locations: I already have several libraries I plan to approach in order to create an even stronger CITL presence in the western region of the GTA. I plan to expand the organization structurally in order to ensure that it continues far beyond my term: I have already talked to Youth Action Network (YAN), the national non-profit organization that created Youth Week, which is now an internationally recognized youth movement. I further plan to use this partnership with YAN in order to expand this organization financially: we already have 31 locations and 3 tournaments annually, but with greater financial backing, CITL could expand to over 50 locations and 5 tournaments annually!
Vice-President Roles and Responsibilities
The Vice-President acts as the secondary spokesperson of the CITL Executive Board and fills in for the President when the President is not available. When not filling in for the President, the Vice President shall act as the Chief of Internal Affairs. He or she sets dates for all formal CITL Executive Board meetings on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, including those concerned with the annual festival. During the meetings, the Vice President is responsible for taking detailed minutes. Between meetings, the Vice President oversees the completion of the action-tasks as described in the minutes; for this purpose, he or she shall maintain an open line of communication with the other executives as necessary. In addition, the Vice-President is responsible for crafting press-releases and for constructing any written documents, excluding the constitution and volunteer-hours letter.
Candidacy Platform
I’m Kevin Wu, a candidate for 2012-2013 CITL Vice President. In the summer of 2009, I joined CITL at its very first branch, Brookbanks, and went on to volunteer there for several months, later moving to initiate a program at Pleasantview branch.
Currently I volunteer at Malvern branch and am the leader of the program there, as well as being director of the Scarborough area (that is, Fairview, Brookbanks, Malvern, and Bridlewood). Previously, I served as Executive Director on the first council.
Regardless, this position is not voted in for individual achievements. Even Yuanling, our founder, got the program started with the collective help of our first few volunteers. That is why I aim to improve our program for all who wish to play or volunteer in the future, with the aid of fellow board members.
As a candidate for next year’s CITL Vice President, there are a number of topics within CITL that I would like to address.
1. The departure of volunteers from the class of 2012 (and next year, the class of 2013) · Understandably, a fairly large proportion of our volunteers are in the same graduating class as our president, leaving for university this year · Each year, the same thing will happen to each graduating class. · I wish to initiate a system that will ensure a ready inflow of junior volunteers to compensate for this outflow. From active recruitment to a cross-school network of advocates, there are many possible solutions, but this issue cannot be ignored
2. The continuity of established programs · From having visited branches in the Scarborough area and occasionally those in other areas, I have noticed that some libraries will reach low numbers of participants for short durations · Our prototypical approach to this problem has been to hold promotional sessions at the affected library to increase interest · I will suggest that much more attention be diverted to sustaining libraries on top of our initiatives to start new ones. New vectors to increased participation such as neighborhood promotion or semi-regular library visits and flyers can be considered.
3. Communication within the council · The Vice President is responsible for setting meeting dates for the council and internal communication within the council. · From having been invited to several meetings of the 5-member official council this year, I have observed that communication within the council has been largely smooth · However, there is the occasional lapse caused by one or two people who do not check their email on a regular basis, or who choose to turn off their phones, or some other obligation. · I wish to create a set of rules that must be followed for effective communication within the council – that is, say, a must-reply window or a collective online group
Aside from addressing these points of discussion I am very confident that I will be a fit for the listed duties of CITL VP, having done similar jobs throughout my Executive Director term and as tournament director and organizer of our first Scarborough Tournament.
