Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

[Hazel Smith]

GM Mark Bluvshtein visited Wilfrid Laurier University today to play against eager students as part of his journey as a professional chess player. With just over 30 boards, the event drew a lot of excitement. Crowds of people gathered to watch the games - many stayed the full two and a half hours. I talked briefly with a few spectators. Though they hadn't played much chess before, some mentioned how 'cool' the simul was, and how they would like to be a grandmaster like Mark someday! Students from various areas of study, as well as faculty members and visitors, took part, and although Mark swept on all the boards, everyone had a great time. Clearly there should be more events like this in the future! Thanks to Mark for taking time out of his busy schedule to come to Waterloo. Furthermore, his sponsors have donated a significant amount of chess equipment, which will be used to help Laurier build its chess club in the coming years.

[Alex Ferreira]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Hi Hazel,

This means Laurier will field a team at the Canadian Post-Secondary Chess Championships next year? ;)

Alex F.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Mark Bluvshtein visited Wilfrid Laurier University today to play against eager students as part of his journey as a professional chess player. With just over 30 boards, the event drew a lot of excitement. Crowds of people gathered to watch the games - many stayed the full two and a half hours. I talked briefly with a few spectators. Though they hadn't played much chess before, some mentioned how 'cool' the simul was, and how they would like to be a grandmaster like Mark someday! Students from various areas of study, as well as faculty members and visitors, took part, and although Mark swept on all the boards, everyone had a great time. Clearly there should be more events like this in the future! Thanks to Mark for taking time out of his busy schedule to come to Waterloo. Furthermore, his sponsors have donated a significant amount of chess equipment, which will be used to help Laurier build its chess club in the coming years.

Sounds like a fabulous event. Did you play Hazel? I think you could have given him more than a hard time... Congratulations to the organizers! (you?)

[Tyler Longo]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Hi Hazel,

This means Laurier will field a team at the Canadian Post-Secondary Chess Championships next year? ;)

Alex F.

I approve of this question. =]

[Hazel Smith]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Hi Hazel,

This means Laurier will field a team at the Canadian Post-Secondary Chess Championships next year? ;)

Alex F.

Hi Alex,

That's what we're planning! We have a faculty member assisting us now. He was so excited to hear about the post-secondary championships, and is already starting to look for players.

[Hazel Smith]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Sounds like a fabulous event. Did you play Hazel? I think you could have given him more than a hard time... Congratulations to the organizers! (you?)

It was! No, I didn't play. I was just there to help out and answer questions. Given that I haven't played much chess lately, and Mark is a naturally quick thinker, I wouldn't have had much chance :) I heard there were at least a few tournament-level players in the mix, yet Mark seemed to win all his games quite convincingly. I didn't watch closely, but from what I saw, the best match may have been one that went into a 2B + 4P (Mark) vs. N + B + 4P (Laurier participant) endgame.

The event itself was organized by the physics department within the faculty of science. One of the benefits we had with this was the use of the beautiful science building! Overall, faculty members were super-organized, and the event ran very well.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Congratulations to you too Hazel for making by far the best introductory speech.
You are quite the public speaker! It was nice to see the excitement in the crowd.

[Hazel Smith]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Congratulations to you too Hazel for making by far the best introductory speech.
You are quite the public speaker! It was nice to see the excitement in the crowd.

Thanks Hans! I was actually really nervous up there, but I think everyone gets better at public speaking when they have an enthusiastic audience. The science faculty also gave me a clear focus on linking chess and education. It's always nice to know what you're supposed to be talking about :) Furthermore, I'd like to thank you for dropping by. The more support chess players have for one another, and for events in general, the better.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Mark Bluvshtein sweeps simul

Report with pictures on Mark's blog:

http://markbluvshtein.wordpress.com/...er-university/