Jobs •  Cars •  Real Estate •  Apartments •  Shopping •  Classifieds •  Obituaries •  Dating

'Food Fight
Video
advert
advert
Caliente
rule
Caliente Contest
Last week, Michael Jackson, "The
King of Pop," died after suffering
cardiac arrest. He was 50, and
preparing start a series of
comeback concerts.

Jackson's musical
accomplishments were many,
including the hits "Bad," "Billie
Jean," "Thriller" and "Shake Your
Body (Down to the Ground)." His
1982 album "Thriller" is the
best-selling album of all time.

He collaborated with Paul
McCartney, Quincey Jones, and
his sister, Janet Jackson.

He invented the moonwalk.

And while his behavior later in life
was bizarre, we prefer to focus
on the positives, like Jackson's
music, and his charity work.

In one instance, the two
overlapped. Jackson co-wrote the
charity single "We Are the
World," which was released
worldwide to aid the poor in
Africa and the United States.

Tell us who co-wrote the song for
a chance to win an audio book.

Click here to submit your
answer.

rule
Caliente Cover
Click image below to download a PDF of this week's Caliente cover.

Caliente cover
rule
Aznightbuzz Calendar
rule
rule
rule
rule
rule
rule
.l...
Jean Hoffman teaches chess at Roskruge Bilingual Elementary and Middle School's after-school chess club, which boasts 30 members.
courtesy of Demion Clinco
More Photos (1):
If you go
• What: Chess Fest 2008.
• When: 2-6 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
• Cost: Free. T-shirts and chessboards will be for sale. To enter the speed chess tournament, it's $25 for adults; free for ages 17 and younger.
• Information: www.9queens.org or 344-7495.
advert
advert
Learn and play at free fest

Celebrating chess

By Valerie Vinyard
vvinyard@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.08.2008
Jean Hoffman hopes to show that chess is more.
The 27-year-old Tucsonan has put together a free event Saturday to do just that.
Chess Fest 2008 will celebrate the launch of 9 Queens, a nonprofit organization formed last year by Hoffman and Jennifer Shahade, 27, a Women's Grandmaster.
If you stop by Hotel Congress at 2 p.m. Saturday, you'll notice a chess master playing blindfolded. Anyone is welcome to challenge the master.
At 3 p.m., Mayor Bob Walkup will officiate the speed-chess tournament, which will take place until about 5 p.m. The tournament will be outside, workshops inside.
Some of the tourney games will be mirrored on demo board screens, which Hoffman described as poster chess boards that allow more people to see.
Two-time American Women's Chess Champion Shahade and back-to-back national chess champions from Catalina Foothills High School will provide workshops and mentoring. The workshops, for all skill levels, will include rules and puzzle contests.
Robby Adamson has been the chess coach at Catalina Foothills for five years. Adamson, a local attorney, has been playing chess since he was about 8. He said a half-dozen members of previous Catalina chess teams would be at the Chess Fest.
"I like the impact chess has on kids — I know the impact it had on me," said Adamson, 37.
"It teaches you how to lose; it teaches you humility; it teaches you that if you want to be good at something you have to work at it. It's the kind of thing that should be taught at the lower grades."
At about 5 p.m., 32 people will create a human chessboard in the parking lot for the event's finale. Shahade and the tournament winner that day will play a game using the human "pieces."
Hoffman, who has taught chess in New York City public schools through the nonprofit Chess in the Schools, said that chess improves concentration, self-esteem and thinking skills.
Hoffman moved back to Tucson in June 2007 after earning a master's of education at Harvard. Shahade lives in Philadelphia, where she is the online editor for U.S. Chess Life.
To register for the tournament, go to 9queens.org. Prizes will be awarded to the top eight players in the tournament.
In the fall, 9 Queens will offer its first 16-week chess program at Roskruge Bilingual Elementary and Middle School. Hoffman will teach an hour-long lesson each week in five classrooms during the school day.
"It will be an enrichment class for them," said Norma Otero, the school's chess coordinator. "The biggest thing is just introducing children to the world of chess, so they can get those higher-order thinking skills."

aznightbuzz partners


advert
advert