CITL 2nd Annual Festival

Doesn't time fly? It's been already 2 years since the establishment of the Chess in the Library program in June 2009!

To celebrate Chess in the Library's 2 years of existence, the 2010-2011 CITL Executive Board and staff members have been working hard the past month to bring you our 2nd Annual Festival. The main event will be an exclusive CITL tournament, where representatives of different CITL locations gather together to complete for the best team prizes. Other side activities include puzzle competitions, chess jokes, a fun chess facts quiz, a "You think you know Chess in the Library" quiz and finally, the most exciting of all, activities with a GIANT CHESS SET! :)

Aside from all the activities available to all the students, much emphasize will be placed on the opening ceremony of the event. I'm pleased to announce that so far, with the help of Bob Armstrong, Fairchild TV and WIGUP TV will be covering the event. Also, we will be playing a short video clip composed of various flashbacks of CITL in the 2010-2011 year. The winners of the Chess in the Library Volunteer of the Year award will be announced and presented by GM Mark Bluvshtein! Thank you for supporting us, Mark! :)

Last but not least, Maurice Smith, one of the program's main donor, will be our special guest speaker at the opening ceremony. We hope that Denise, the librarian that made CITL possible 2 years ago will also be present to say a few words to the crowd; however, this has not yet been confirmed. I want to take a moment here to thank Maurice as well as all the CITL's sponsors and donors for everything they've done for us in the past year. Without them, Chess in the Library wouldn't have been as successful as it is today.

Everyone is welcome to come to the festival but the tournament is only open to CITL participants. Check out the details below:

When: Saturday, June 25^th, 2011 from 11:45am – 4:30 pm

Where: North York Central Library, Auditorium (5120 Yonge St, Toronto, ON)

Style: Individual & team competition: you will be representing team <>. To form a team in a given section, there must be a minimum of 3 players representing the same library.

Rating: Unrated players are all welcome. All games will be CMA rated.

Sections: Grade 3 & Under, Grade 6 & Under, Open (for everyone & students Grade 12 and Under)

Event Schedule:

11:45am – 12:15 pm Check-in

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm Opening Ceremony

1:00 pm– 4:00 pm Tournament Games

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Closing Ceremony & Awards

Entry Fee: Based on donations (see * below)

Registration: Submit completed entry forms (attached) to your local librarian by June 11^th (deadline)

Info: Contact your local librarian first, and then email info@chessinthelibrary.com if necessary. Also check out our website www.chessinthelibrary.com for information on side events

Prizes: There will be trophies, medallions and chess books given out to top three individuals and top three teams in each section. A large annual trophy will be awarded to the top team in the Open section.

*PLEASE NOTE – Chess in the Library is a non-profit organization that operates based on donations and volunteers. Without them, this program wouldn’t have been possible, let alone this wonderful festival that we are now hosting. All prizes and rating fees come from generous donations from people who care. Although it is not mandatory, we ask you to please make a donation on site if you like what our organization is doing. Even a small donation such as $5 will make a big difference! Thank you!!

Hope to see you all there~ :)