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About Us
Now in its eleventh year, the Queen City Classic Chess Tournament has grown from 300 participants to over 600 participants from all over the Midwest. As one of the largest scholastic chess tournaments in the Midwest, the annual Queen City Classic Chess Tournament is designed to increase chess participation among all children by popularizing the game of chess. From the novice to the expert, students of all ages, backgrounds and playing levels have the opportunity to sharpen their intellectual and reasoning skills, have fun and benefit the Cincinnati community.
Executed and presented by Cris Collinsworth Proscan Fund and sponsored by The Cincinnati Bengals, the Queen City Classic raises the intellectual bar for children in our great city as hundreds of youth from every neighborhood in the city spending two days together competing, learning and having fun. It is not an exaggeration to say that on this weekend, there are no boundaries, providing a level playing field for all!
One of the most unique aspects of the tournament is that it is hosted by world renowned chess Masters and Grandmasters. Previous Grandmasters include International Grandmasters Maurice Ashley, Gregory Kaidanov, Larry Christiansen, Susan Polgar, and Women’s Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade.
Through the generosity of the Cincinnati community, Cris Collinsworth Proscan Fund is able to reach beyond the tournament through providing chess education in schools and after school programs in some of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s most impoverished neighborhoods. Through collaboration with non-profit community centers and schools in underprivileged areas, Cris Collinsworth Proscan Fund is able to financially support chess instruction for children.
History
Even though she couldn’t play the game well, Penny Pomeranz genuinely admired the game of chess. She learned the game from watching as her husband, Stephen, taught their six children how to work the board.
"We could be anywhere in the world, and my then 5-year-old would sit down and set up a board and an 80-year-old man who didn't even speak the language would sit down and they'd start playing," she says.
One day Pomeranz was walking out of Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium after a football game when her two eldest sons and avid chess players, Corbin and Jory commented on how wonderful it would be to have a chess tournament in the stadium. Taking the idea and running with it, the three fire starters set out on a mission to start a chess tournament in Paul Brown Stadium that would be like nothing the city had ever seen. Cognizant that chess is best learned young, Pomeranz wanted to see every kid in Cincinnati -- and the rest of the country - comfortable enough with the game to keep a chess set stashed in their backpack or pocket. Through sponsorship and organization by The Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund, the idea became a reality.
Anticipating a group of 50-100 players at the first tournament in 2002, the three were blown away when 300 students attended the first tournament! Today, that number has grown to over 750 and continues to steadily increase, making The Queen City Classic Chess Tournament one of the largest scholastic chess tournaments in the Midwest!
Benefits of Chess
Striving to improve the intellectual development of the children in our community, the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund created its chess program in 2002. The Fund’s chess program promotes the advancement of children’s intellect, reasoning, feelings of empowerment and ability to achieve. Studies have shows that learning and playing chess helps children develop critical thinking skills and build self-esteem, while teaching and empowering children to succeed.
By identifying and supporting activities that appeal to all age groups, stimulate problem-solving skills, easily cross cultural and economic status and bring smiles to the faces of every child while they are learning, the Fund’s chess program is making a tangible difference in the education, mentoring and lives of children. |
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