For the past 3 years, Antoly Karpov has travelled to New York to attend an elite chess summer camp as a guest lecturer, but this year he was denied a U.S. visa.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, August 13, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In what is now a four year tradition, New York City’s premier chess school offers a one week summer-camp program with World Chess Champion Antoly Karpov. In addition to elite chess curriculum created by Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy, this is a rare and valuable opportunity to watch and listen to the world’s most illustrious living chessmaster, in his own words. While normally this event is even more noteworthy as the academy is honored with Karpov’s physical presence, this year he is with the school via Skype, as the U.S. State Department did not honor his Visa request to attend the camp. Maxim Dlugly penned a petition to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in an effort to help push through Karpov’s visa, but was unsuccessful. However, it is no less an honor to be in his virtual presence, and to grace the academy and its summer camp attendees with his wisdom. Karpov was International World Champion for 10 years from 1975 through 1985, until beaten by Garry Kasparov. He is currently ranked 3rd in the world.

I asked Maxim Dlugy, the school’s founder and formerly the FIDE’s youngest president at the age of 24, as well as a past world champion himself, why it is so important to offer the opportunity to introduce young chess students to famous chessmasters in the flesh, rather than just reading about them. Dlugy says, “Just like many kids want to meet their sports heroes, or their favorite movie stars, so too does meeting such accomplished individuals like Karpov inspire a child’s ambition and imagination for what is possible, while also reminding them that they, just like themselves, are real people capable of extraordinary things”.

In another question, I asked Maxim what children can do to stay inspired with chess when it is still only just becoming more popular and accessible, or when some children find few others who enjoy the game as they do. Max says, “On the contrary, chess is one of the fastest growing games around and I think has boomed, and continues to boom in popularity. One of the reasons our chess academy, and New York City in general, is so great is that it does provide a rich variety of resources for those interested in the game and sport of chess. Our city has perhaps the best offerings for chess in the United States, as well as being privy to some of the oldest chess clubs, an abundance of opportunities to participate in tournaments, and close proximity to some of the world’s highest rated chessmasters. Really, there’s nothing like living in NYC to find your place in the chess world and meet other chess friends. And, in light of that, we do our best at Chess Max Academy to really take it to the next level.”

The camp runs from July 29th through Friday, August 2, 2019, and will also host international Grandmasters Boris Avrukh and Jacob Aagaard, who will be giving lectures and instruction to summer camp students.

Upcoming events:

Fall Chess Festival (registration required) A special week of intensive chess instruction, guest speakers, and GM and IM norm tournaments concludes with two full days of rapid and blitz tournaments open to all. Dates: November 9-10th, 2019
Registration fee: $50
Location: 1470 1st Avenue (btw 76th & 77th), New York, NY 10075
Time: 7pm-10:30pm

Contact Chess Max Academy or visit their website for more details.

Phone: 917-930-8840
chessmaxinc@gmail.com
www.chessmaxacademy.com

By Andrea Weinreich

Maxim Dlugy
Chess Max Academy
+1 917-930-8840
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