International Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov to challenge chess players at Centre

RELEASED: March 20, 2008


DANVILLE, KY—Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, former U.S. Chess Champion (1992) and one of the top-100 chess players in the world, will be giving a presentation at Centre College in Weisiger Theatre on March 27 at 7 p.m.

Born in the Ukraine, Kaidanov was raised in Russia and moved to Lexington in 1991 with his wife and children. He earned the title of grandmaster in 1988, the highest title a chess player can achieve. Kaidanov still lives in Lexington.

Kaidinov will give a 30-minute presentation on elite chess. Covered in his presentation will be the art of learning to play chess, growing up in the Soviet Union, the development of his career and how he came to settle in Kentucky. 

He will demonstrate chess games, as well as play blindfolded against a Centre College Chess Club (CCCC) tournament winner. Immediately following, Kaidanov will simultaneously play against up to 20 players. 

This event is sponsored by the CCCC. Says member Ryan Smith '09, “This is our first year in existence, so it's been a learning experience. We've gone to some tournaments, and a few of our members have won their divisions. We want to host a tournament at Centre sometime this year or next.”

According to the club's Web page, the CCCC has four primary purposes: (1) to provide the members of the Centre College community with a friendly place to play chess; (2) to provide basic instruction for beginning and novice players, as well as an opportunity for more advanced players to develop their skills through shared study; (3) to provide for players interested in competitive chess opportunities such as a club ladder, monthly club tournaments and group travel to local and regional U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) tournaments, and (4) the organization of USCF-rated tournaments at the College.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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