Interview with Tina Fang - Founder of CITL in London

In my last post, I mentioned that I will be interviewing Tina with regards to her CITL program in London. So, are you ready for it? Now before we get started, allow me to introduce you to Tina:

Do you guys think that she looks like me? :)

So I asked Tina five very basic questions and I think that she answered all of them really well! It's always been other people interviewing me on such questions but never me interviewing others! This time, as the Founder of CITL, I get to hear this story from a different perspective, a different context, a different person. :)

1. Why did you decide to start up a Chess in the Library chapter in London?
Chess is fun and there are lots of kids interested in this game. However, the chess community in London was not very vibrant and there wasn't an organized place where kids can play each other for fun. When I heard about the Chess in the Library program, I thought that library is a great place for kids to play and the program would help promote chess in London, which is something that I've always wanted to do. 

2. What was the greatest obstacle that you had to overcome in the process? How did you accomplish it?

Fortunately, I did not come across many obstacles to start the program. The librarians were very supportive and were happy to have this program in their library. 

3. What do you find most rewarding about this experience?

After every session of CITL, I leave the library feeling very happy and proud of this program and the kids. The smiles on the kids' faces just light up mine. :)

4. You created a facebook group for the program in London. Tell me a bit more about its purpose.

My volunteer team are mostly my friends in high school and Facebook is a good way for us to communicate outside of school and the library. Having a Facebook group makes us feel that we are part of this team, and it is a place that allows members can share their ideas about CITL.

5. Do you plan on expanding the CITL program to other branches of the London Public Library?
Absolutely. For some of the kids and volunteers, the Masonville Library may not be their most convenient location. In addition, by expanding this program into other branches, the game of chess can be spread to an even greater area. In fact, a parent of a participant of CITL really liked the idea of CITL and enthusiastically offered to start this program at the Byron branch. It is now officially our second location in London!


Did you hear that? Tina has already influenced a second library in London to host the program! After reading her responses from this interview, I truly think that I should conduct a lot more similar interviews with different volunteers! Details on the new London location will be posted soon!

CITL in London Update

I know that it's been so long since I wrote my last blog post but don't worry - Yuanling is back! :) 

The main reason for my prolonged absence on this blog is...graduation! Although I started CITL in grade 9, I am now in grade 12! Time flies, eh? Well, I needed to apply to many univerities and scholarships too, since tuition and residential costs are awefully expensive these days. Anyways, I'm 95% finished with all of my crazy applications and essay prompts so I'll be blogging on a bi-weekly basis again. Thank you for being so patient with me!

Alright, so the first post is going to be dedicated to our new program in London, organized by Tina Fang and her friends. Tina plays chess on an international level too! She recently represented Canada at the 2011 World Youth Chess Championships held in Brazil! The Chess in the Library family is super proud to have Tina as one of our newest members! 

I spoke to her several days ago asking about the program in London and was told that everything is running smoothly. There is a decent number of participants each week and the numbers are getting quite stable, which is excellent news! What I love the most is their fabulous self-designed poster:

simple and elegant

Tina also sent me a dozen pictures so that I can get the London CITL experience without having to spend 4 hours on the road getting there physically! Take a look：

Aww...this is simply my favourite picture! The 3 boys seem to be super excited about chess!

Time for some serious chess, eh?

Hmm...what to do?

Oh, look this way, boys! :)

Room setup; there are a lot more people in total than the ones you see!

The London program runs every Friday from 3:30-5pm. If you live nearby, feel free to drop by and take a look! You sure won't regret it! Here are the details of this location from our website if you need help getting there http://chessinthelibrary.com/node_map_london Support the London location!

I will be sending Tina several interview questions soon and in my next several posts, you'll get to gain a bit more insight in Tina and her CITL program in London. Stay tuned!

Chess in the Library Goes International!

When I founded this organization two and a half years ago, I hadn't the slightest idea that one day, this very program will be not only expanding to the rest of Canada but also to other countries. I clearly remember that my initial goal was to expand the CITL program to 30 Toronto Public Libraries and then to several other cities in Ontario. Once that seemed to be feasible (as of today, 17 Toronto Public Libraries have hosted this program), I dreamt of spreading the program to other chess popular (relatively speaking, haha)  provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec. When we went nation wide in Oct 2010 with a program in Victoria, B.C. (see blog post Officially a Nation Wide Program Now!), my goal was only to reach out to the other 11 provinces in this country and that is something we are still working on, even after the expansion to Calgary, Alberta.

It was approximately two months ago when Kellar Wendell, a librarian from the Washington D.C. Public Library system contacted us inquiring some advice on running the CITL program. After a long telephone conversation with Wendell, I found out that they only had 3 chess sets in the library and was currently doing a casual drop-in based chess club.

My first response was, "How do you run a chess club with ONLY 3 chess sets?". Wendell continued to tell me that like Toronto, the major of Washington D.C. implemented some budget cuts that not only inhibited the purchase of library materials (let alone chess sets...) but also limited the service hours to two nights a week. Evidently, in that situation, it is extremely difficult to run a prosperous chess program without outside support - and that's us!

The purpose of CITL is essentially to help promote chess, anywhere, any time, as long as there is a demand for the game. Any library that joins the CITL network is considered family and we will do everything we can to make sure that their CITL program becomes successful. Thus, I sent Wendell our CITL handbook and told him many of our success stories in Canada, including marketing strategies and such. I also sent his library 7 chess sets so they could have a capacity of 20 participants, which is the minimum for any CITL location in Toronto at least. Here is the info for our new CITL location:


Deanwood Library
1350 49th. St. N.E.
Washington, DC 20019Phone Number: 202-698-1175Info: Open from 7pm-9pm on Fridays.

If you live in Washington D.C. and love playing chess, do come out and support the chess program at the Deanwood Library! :)

In only 2 years and 5 months, CITL made its first step into the international market in our neighbour country, the United States of America. This is truly a milestone for our organization as it really shows us that with our passion and drive for success, the sky is our limit. More importantly, it made me realize that even if I go to the States (or anywhere outside of Canada) for university, I can still continue running the program there. CITL will follow me wherever I go and maybe, just maybe, you see CITL in Europe, Asia and all the other continents of this unifying world.

WIGUP TV Features 3 Articles on Chess in the Library!

To those of you who attended the 2nd Annual Chess Festival, you should remember that we have several TVs and newspapers covering the event. One of them was WIGUP TV, represented by Averie MacDonald, a very sweet young lady who travelled a great distance just to get to the festival venue. Aside from having a little chat with me whenever I was not anxiously running around and making sure that everything is going well, Averie interviewed several CITL participants who represented different libraries. Her articles would have been published on WIGUP TV's site long ago had it not gone under "construction" for many months since the festival.

However, it was last week when I received a pleasant surprise from Averie - the articles have been officially published! I must say that they were all very nicely written and engaging! I want to take this opportunity to thank Averie for helping us promote chess in Canada! :)

I did not copy and past every paragraph that Averie wrote below so if you want to see the ENTIRE 3-article series with pictures, then do check out the following links (will also be posted on the right side bar under CITL in the Media) Otherwise, just keep reading this extra long post!:

1. Chess 101: http://wigup.tv/en/news/news_wire?id=174
2. Chess in the Library Turns Two: http://wigup.tv/en/news/news_wire?id=170
3. Meet the Chess Champs of Tomorrow: http://wigup.tv/en/news/news_wire?id=171

Averie began her 3-article series with an introduction to chess in general, quoting some of my philosophies haha. The article was titled "Chess 101".

What can chess do for me?
According to Canada's top female chess player, Yuanling Yuan, chess can do a lot for a young person. Chess can make you more patient..."The biggest benefit that chess brings to kids is allowing them to develop patience and develop endurance," says Yuanling, "because Chess is a game where you really have to sit there quietly and play for a long time. My longest game was like 6 hours, believe it or not!" 

Chess can help you focus in school...
"Especially as you get to high school, sometimes your classes are pretty long, so for (kids) to be able to sit there and listen to the teacher and concentrate and absorb all the information... that requires patience and other abilities that chess players have," says Yuanling, "I think that's the biggest thing that chess brought me, I'm always able to focus for a very very long time." 

Chess can help improve your memory...
"When you play chess, you have to think a few moves ahead... So in order to do that, you have to develop a very good memory," says Yuanling, "and that helps with language I think. Say you're learning a second language, a good memory really helps because you're able to pick up the words faster." 

Chess can help keep your mind sharp for your whole life!
"Chess increases kids' academic performance and it decreases seniors' chances of getting Alzheimer's disease," says Yuanling. "There are a lot of benefits to chess that people don't really realize!"

Her next article was called "Chess in the Library Turns Two!", which is exactly the purpose of the annual festival.

On Saturday, June 25th at the North York Central Library in Toronto, Yuanling and her volunteers celebrated their two-year anniversary with a huge chess festival for kids of all ages!

"This is one of the few times in the year when all of the volunteers and participants get to come together in one place and enjoy a day of chess," said Yuanling.

The festival started off with a speech from Canada's top overall chess player, Grandmaster Mark Bluvshtein, and some funny videos showcasing memories from the past two years.After that, it was time for the main event, a free chess tournament for the best players from the Ontario library teams. Players squared off in three categories: Grade 3 & Under, Grade 6 & Under, and the "open" category, for Grade 12 and under and kids who wanted to take on players above their grade level.

Once they were finished each round, participants could do chess quizzes to win a prize, attempt some tricky chess puzzles, or play on a life-sized chess set (with pieces as big as some players!) 

"For me, looking at these young kids reminds me of when I was little," said Yuanling once the festival had begun. Yuanling started playing chess at 7 years old and is now the top female player in Canada.
"It's really something that makes me feel that all my effort that I put into this program was worth it." 

After four intense rounds of competition, it was finally time for the 76 competitors to head home, but not before the trophies were handed out! The top prize, a gigantic golden trophy, was given to the host team-- North York Central Library-- for winning first in the open category. But winner or not, each participating team walked away grateful for the chance to play.Happy Birthday Chess in the Library!

 I just love how Averie adds in her own comments of "with pieces as big as some players!" and "a gigantic golden trophy", haha! Anyways, I am saving the best for the last because my favourite article of the 3 was the one with the interviews of the participants. Their responses are just so cute - exactly what kids should be like. This one was titled "Meet the Chess Champs of Tomorrow".

While on site at Chess in the Library's second annual festival, WIGUP.tv sat down with some competitors to get the inside scoop on what's so great about chess, they even shared some of their top-secret tips! 

Name: Jaanani Age: 10Plays chess at: Humberwood Library (Toronto)Has been playing chess for: about one year

What do you like best about chess? "Every time you're playing it, you somehow find a new strategy that you never really knew could be so useful." 

Why should other kids learn to play chess?"There's some people that really hate school and don't want to study, but still want to be smart... (I would tell them to) play chess because it's the fastest way to learn." 

What's your number one chess tip?"The most important thing is always staying confident that you're going to win. And don't scared just because (your opponent) is older because I have versed someone in grade 11 and beat them, and I'm only in grade 5." 

Name: Jayden Age: 12Plays chess at: Brookbanks Library (Toronto)Has been playing chess for: about 4 years. 

What's the best part of a chess game?"Probably the gameplay or taking other people's pieces, because it makes you feel like you're going to win." 

Why do you play chess?"For the fun of it! It's good to pass time and it's also really interesting." 

Melalee GordonAge: 11Plays chess at: Downsview Library (Toronto)Has been playing chess for: two years 

What's the best part about playing chess? "You get to have fun with your opponent, and you get to try your hardest. It's not like checkers or cards... because when it comes to chess you're moving (your piece) all around the board that has 64 squares, so there's many possibilities of moves. It's more long-lasting." 

How do you feel when you're playing chess?"I feel confident in myself because I think I may have a chance to win, I may not, but it's just about having fun and doing your best." 

Do you have any tips for new chess players?"If you're new to chess, you should go to a chess club. There, you can get people to help you and experience the wonders of chess!"Melalee says to remember these tips when you're playing chess: 1. protect your king.2. keep your focus on the centre of the board.3. use all your pieces.4. don't give away any of your pieces.

Journalist Creates German Wikipedia for Me & CITL

It was several weeks ago when journalist Gereon Kalkuhl infomed me, completely unexpectedly, that he has written a German Wikipedia page on me and Chess in the Library! Boy, that sure came as a huge surprise!

Interested in learning more about his motive, I asked Gereon what made him decide to write a Wikipedia page about me and CITL, especially in German. This is his response, word for word:

"The reason why I wrote the article in German is simply that German is my first language.Journalistic work is fun for me. Newspapers and magazines often have inacurate information about chess players. By writing these articles I provide some facts about chess personalities. The article about you I wrote because I like the idea of Chess in the Library and I thought we didn't have enough biographies about Canadian chess players. The only other female chess player from Canada that has an article on de.wikipedia was Nava Starr. I could have written about Natalia Khoudgarian, Dinara Khaziyeva, Johanne Charest, Dina Kagramanov, Diane Mongeau, Smilja Vujosevic or Vesma Baltgailis, but since you lead the Canadian FIDE list..." - Gereon

You can see the article here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuanling_Yuan. I will also post the link on the right sidebar, under CITL in the Media.

Although I don't understand a single word of the article, the fact that it is there, English or not, is heart-warming. I am touched not because of the sight of my own bibliography, but rather the short paragraph on Chess in the Library. The fact that this organization has become nation-wide, and now aware to Germans across the world, is simply unbelievable. I did not write this blog post earlier because it took quite some time for me to actually believe that I'm not dreaming!

You can see a list of Gereon's other articles here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Gereon_K.

I want to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU to Gereon for helping us spread the word on CITL to the millions of Germans out there!

Victoria Library Juan de Fuca Starts New CITL Session

It was only several days only when I heard from Brian Raymer and Shannon Kenning with regards to the great news of revitalizing the Chess in the Library program at the Juan de Fuca Library after a year of inactivity.

The new session began on Wednesday September 28, 2011 and will continue every Wednesday until November 30, 2011. The first session attracted 16 participants which leaves only 2 more spots in the program open. Below are the details for this location:

Juan de Fuca Library  

1759 Island Highway
Victoria, BC V9B 1J1
250-391-0653

Open wednesdays from 6:30 PM to 7:45 PM till November 30.

I'm so excited to see the program restarted in the west end! Although I had a chance to visit Vancouver this summer for Shad Valley, I have never been to Victoria. However, it is definitely one city already marked down on my "future travel list"! When the day comes for me to fly over to Victoria, I hope to meet the legendary Brian Raymer in person as well as the amazing librarian, Shannon, who made all this possible!

North York Central Library Create Special Chess Display Case

This news is a little outdated but I'm super excited to tell you all that in August this year, NYCL dedicated one of its stand-alone display cases just to chess and Chess in the Library! The display case was placed near the elevator on the third floor and it was there for an entire month, according to Gal.

It actually came as a complete surprise to me when I first saw it. Gal and I was at a meeting with Cameron, the new NYCL "chess manager" to book rooms for next year's festival. Speaking of that, we will have the NYCL auditorium for the ENTIRE day next year! Isn't that lovely news? This was something we've been trying so hard to accomplish for the past 2 days and because of Cameron, our dreams came true!

Anyways, after the meeting we went to the third floor (unintentionally) to put away the chess sets that were just being used for the Saturday program. I actually didn't even notice the display case when I walked by but then Gal suddenly exclaim:"Oh yeah, Yuanling, I forgot to tell you...look at this!" After that I practically was in shock for the rest of the day and it took me a good 10 minutes to examine each and every single detail on it. Take a look for yourself:

Front view - see the trophy??? :O

Side view

Back view - you can catch a glimpse of the 3rd floor front desk. If my eyes don't lie, then is that Tom I see sitting in front of the computer? Haha~

In the middle you can see the CITL Annual Trophy that was won by NYCL this year, so yes, they do have the bragging rights for it. The precious trophy is surrounded by many chess books and tiny chess pieces if you take a closer look at it. However, I am most impressed by the self-made paper chess pieces that are taped around the top of the display chess. It must've taken A LOT of time to draw and cut these out! Here's a close-up:

Don't you think that chess pieces are easy to cut! I've tried it many times before and boy, there are surely many contours! 

Nonetheless, the reason why I was in a shock for so long is because this is the first time that someone voluntarily did something great for chess under the influence of CITL. I didn't even know about this entire project until Gal and I accidentally walked passed it. This was the day I that had been waiting for ever since I founded this program. It shows how enthusiastic NYCL, the second largest library in Toronto, is about chess now, to the point where they take the time and effort to put this together. This display case must also be in high demand and to consider it a possibility of dedicating it to chess makes me thrilled, let alone a reality. However, the significance of this display case far exceeds what can been seen on the surface. It is a representation of a true beginning towards the growing popularity of chess in Canada!