St. John’s University Hosts International and 2004 U.S. Women’s Chess Championships

June 15, 2004

Queens, NY - St. John's University will host the 2004 New York International Chess Tournament from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27, 2004, at the Manhattan campus, 101 Murray Street in New York.

At this unique chess event, Grandmasters and International Grandmasters from around the world will compete. One Grandmaster, Leonid Yudasin, a world contender, fled from Soviet Union to Israel, and is now temporarily living in the United States.

Additionally, the 2004 Women's Chess Championship will also take place, the winner of which will earn a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Chess Team.

"This is an amazing event - and a wonderful opportunity for one lucky young woman," said Dr. Frank Brady, International Arbiter of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and biographer of Bobby Fischer. Dr. Brady will also direct the tournaments. "Grandmasters and International Masters from Albania, Indonesia, Israel, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as the United States, will all compete in the men's division; and the women will be playing for the incredible honor of that spot on the Olympic team and will represent the United States in the forthcoming chess Olympics in Spain."

In addition to being the Chairman of the Mass Communications, Journalism, Television and Film department of St. John's University, Dr. Brady is an International Arbiter of the World Chess Federation, and coach of the St. John's University chess team.  A lifelong chess player and organizer, Dr. Brady has directed chess tournaments for many years, including those that World Champion Bobby Fischer competed in during his rise to the summit of chess.  Dr. Brady wrote "Profile of a Prodigy," a bestselling that has been in print for over 35 years.  Founding Editor of Chess Life magazine (circulation: 97,000), Dr. Brady has also been an editor and writer for Chessworld magazine, and the American Chess Quarterly.  He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the U. S. Chess Federation.  When Bobby Fischer played Boris Spassky for the World's Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, Dr. Brady served as on-air correspondent for both PBS and ABC television networks. 

The schedule for the tournament is as follows:
 
Round 1, Thursday, June 17 - 4 p.m.
Round 2, Friday, June 18 - 12 p.m.
Round 3, Saturday, June 9 - 12 p.m.
Round 4, Sunday, June 20 - 12 p.m.
Round 5, Tuesday, June 22 - 4 p.m.
Round 6, Wednesday June 23 - 4 p.m.
Round 7*, Friday, June 25 - 12 p.m.
Round 8, Saturday, June 26 - 12 p.m.
Round 9, Sunday, June 27 - 12 p.m.
*Round seven is the Final Round of the U. S. Women's Championship

General admission is $5 per round. For more information on attending the tournament, please call (718) 990-7339.

Media coverage is invited. Profile interviews are available. Media inquiries can be directed to Jody Fisher, Director of Media Relations, St. John's University, at (718) 990-6185 or at fisherjo@stjohns.edu.