National Scholastic Chess Foundation

Founder of the National Scholastic Chess Foundation, FM Sunil Weeramantry and our Senior Instructor in Florida, Coach Robert McKenzie, were in St. Louis as presenters at the Chess Conference. Mr. McKenzie spoke on chess in the classroom, while Sunil spoke about chess publishing with his usual connections to the broader education space. Keynote presenters included GM Judit Polar and GM Maurice Ashley. Super GM Hikaru Nakamura is in town as well to compete in the Chess960 (Fischer Random) championships which starts today!

What a fabulous day we had for our 2nd ever chess at Renaissance Plaza tournament! This was an unrated tournament produced in partnership with the City of White Plains Parks & Rec Department to give kids a fun introduction to competitive chess. The event ran in 2 time slots: one for elementary and one for middle school and up. A big thanks goes out to the City staff as well as our own NSCF team for creating this opportunity for kids in our community!

Sunil is at Saint Louis Chess Club and the World Chess Hall of Fame for the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and who should he run into but a former student! Josh Abady was part of our Solomon Schechter team (now the Leffell School in Hartsdale). He was a 3-time national champion chess player who went on to study at Johns Hopkins, and to become a tech entrepreneur. And he still loves playing chess! Of course with our new programs in NY, CT and FL we are inspiring the next generation of champion players, and tech entrepreneurs! https://nscfchess.org

https://sh1.sendinblue.com/3ikh7f9i939pfe.html?t=1727709579461

White Plains Classes & A Fun Tournament Have a child who loves chess and you're not on our mailing list. Click to read the details on our upcoming open enrollment classes and fun tournament.

What a busy month! We kicked off with a staff training in White Plains as our traditional start to the new school year. Mostly I was taking pictures of our new staff members to add to the website, but here are a few that capture some team moments. We've grown so much this year that many folks didn't fit into the picture, but you get the idea!! The NSCF is committed to bringing the very finest chess instruction to programs we operate with over 150 schools and community partners in NY, CT and FL.

Registration is now open for our first Hunter Chess Tournament for this school year. It will be held on Sunday, September 22.
https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=2088

At National Scholastic Chess Foundation, we believe chess can be an academic tool for people of all ages and abilities. Around 6 months ago we started a drop-in chess program with Dan Marino Foundation. DMF helps empower people with autism and other unique abilities. NM Nicholas Rosenthal and Coach Quan Tanksley have been teaching chess to their students almost every week. When DMF asked if we would like to do a mixer for their students and families at MAD Arts in Dania Beach, we of course said yes! Surprise, surprise, they decided to make it a chess themed evening. There were around 40 guests plus our crew and a fabulous time was had by all♛

One of our more unique NSCF programs…

Thanks to some of our NSCF Florida team for coming out to the Dan Marino Foundation mixer at MAD Arts in Dania Beach last night. It was so much FUN! DMF helps empower people with autism and other unique abilities. NM Nicholas Rosenthal and Coach Quan Tanksley have been teaching chess to their students almost every week for the last 6 months and many are showing great progress. More pictures and a bit of the story to share when I get back to my office tomorrow.

Do you watch chess streamers? Our own Coach Nicholas Rosenthal has been streaming for a while, and now he has some videos on Youtube. Our favorites are the ones where he analyzes the games of very low rated players. Sometimes we might get a chuckle, but you know we've all made these mistakes somewhere along our chess journey!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nicholas+rosenthal

A big congratulations to IM Maximilian Lu of Connecticut who won The FM Sunil Weeramantry National Blitz Tournament of State Champions at the US Chess Open in Norfolk, VA. We are so proud of Max who played in NSCF tournaments in his younger years!

We just finished mailing out report cards for the first week of summer camp. There are some very impressive results already and the kids all had a great time. We have 3 lead coaches, plus 2 summer interns for this camp, so everyone is getting lots of personalized attention. We still have spaces for Weeks 2, 3 and 4. (Week 5 is getting close to full.) Discounts for full-day registrations if you sign up multiple children or for multiple weeks. Click this link for all the details.
https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=2019

https://sh1.sendinblue.com/3ii0pn9i939pfe.html?t=1721171211083

Have children who love chess and you're not on our list? Parents in Westchester & Fairfield Counties, and nearby areas, click here to read today's NSCF newsletter

Shama Yisrael breaks through 2200 to become the first African-American woman to earn the USCF National Master title!

Wow!! A big congratulations goes out to Shama Yisrael who has become the first African-American woman to earn the USCF National Master title! Quintin and Quan sent me a picture this morning from an event where she and Quintin tied for first but the kids all have masks on... so I am using this picture sent by Diego of South Miami Chess Club from the Pinecrest Independence Open where Shama made her mark! Shout out also to Coach Otis Wilson!

Last week we had a weeklong summer chess camp in White Plains, plus our Miami Beach programs (one day a week at each site for 6 weeks) were in full-swing. Of course, we are keeping minds active all-summer long with our Hartsdale chess camps starting soon: https://nscfchess.org/summer-chess-programs/

Feature article on the benefits of summer academic camps, including chess, for kids in the White Plains Patch.
https://patch.com/new-york/whiteplains/chess-camps-coming-leffell-school-hartsdale-nodx
For more info: https://nscfchess.org/summer-chess-programs/

Chess Camps Coming to Leffell School in Hartsdale One of your neighbors posted in Neighbor News. Click through to read what they have to say. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

There are still some spaces available for our Summer Chess Camp in partnership with the Parks & Rec Dept. City of White Plains, Mayor Thomas M. Roach It's next week: July 8 - 12. Full and half-day options. Click here for the details: https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=1975 Registration is open until Sunday at 4:30 PM.

Save on both full-day and half-day registrations till end of the day June 30. Sibling and multi-week discounts for full-day registrations also available. Click the link for all the details.
https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=2019

https://sh1.sendinblue.com/3ih77pxi939pfe.html?t=1719516297284

NSCF's Year-End Thank You, a Special Report & Summer Chess Chess & Autism programs, plus Summer Camps and more in today's newsletter from the NSCF.