The School of Engineering will once again host and sponsor the 2010 Connecticut State Chess Championships at the UConn campus in Storrs. The matches, in four different grade divisions, are slated to take place:

March 28, 2010 (K-6)
April 11, 2010 (K-8)
April 25, 2010 (K-12)
June 19 and 20, 2010 (State Open)

Please consult the UConn Chess Club website for details, including times, locations and eligibility. According to John M. Fikiet, a UConn Chess Club spokesperson, the tournaments are scheduled at different times to accommodate well-performing younger scholastic players as they move up in their respective sections.

Top tournament performers who enroll in the UConn School of Engineering are eligible to receive scholarships. The School will award a total of $14,000 in scholarship monies to eligible students. In addition to UConn, several other colleges and universities award scholarships to top chess players as an incentive to attend their institutions, including the University of Maryland — Baltimore County, Texas Tech and the University of Texas at Dallas. These universities also front top chess teams that regularly win the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championships. UConn’s Chess Club plans to compete in the Pan Am Championships during 2010.

Mr. Fikiet said the K-12 Scholastic Tournament will also determine the high school male and female who will represent Connecticut in the National Denker Tournament of High School Champions and the National Junior Girls Tournament.

To learn more, please contact John M. Fikiet at 860-486-4255 or fikiet@eng2.uconn.edu. Details will also appear in Chess Life Online, http://www.uschess.org.