10.23.09 In a previous story we reported that MECA presidential candidate Akagi Kayashima was the founder of the ChessDreams. This in fact is not the case as the organization was founded by Akagi's wife Anne York. Here is a statement of clarification with detailed information on the history and mission of this organization.

ChessDreams is a private philanthropic chess organization which has financed chess needs in California and New England. It seeks to further the chess 'dreams' of individual chess players through direct financing of players, organizations, and events. We look for a chess need, and if no one else will, or can act, then we act. AnneMarie founded ChessDreams back in 2001, and she is the moral force behind our philanthropic endeavors. My role has largely been to identify chess needs, and then to envision and translate ChessDreams projects into reality. Since our inception, ChessDreams has taken on the roles of chess patron, chess organizer, public service organization, chess club and chess school---but only because those needs presented themselves to us at a certain time and place. As chess patrons, we have directly financed the developing careers of both internationally recognized players as well as not so famous players---both big and small.

ChessDreams created a rather complex chess school structure, which involved amongst other things, both classroom and private instruction by myself and Master Larry Smith, and a unique certification program called the ChessDreams Grandmaster title. It is noteworthy, that 100% of our students who attained this title and participated in regional scholastic events, took home trophy honors. We further created, out of necessity, a child-friendly, USCF chess club called the Boney Mountain Chess Club, which hosted both rated and non-rated, thematic chess events: examples of which were the "Tortuga Pirates Ball", and the western-themed, "Battle Royale". The Boney Mountain Chess Club was an extension of our ChessDreams school which facilitated the transition between our advanced scholastic students and the adult chess club world, while maintaining a high degree of emphasis upon inspiration and visual aesthetics in the playing environment. We have consistently placed a high value on the environmental elements of chess: visually artistic, inspirational, and an atmosphere of mutual respect for all players. Other examples of our inspirational elements, beyond our themed events, would be the Eugene Perelshteyn and Jennifer Shahade simuls.

While Inspiration, itself, was one of our chief goals, ChessDreams did produce some successes as measured by more commonly understood standards. ChessDreams produced two California Grade Champions (Southern California alone is larger in population than the whole of New England), and a U10 Girls National Champion. All three of these students made their respective US Top 100 lists for their age. Our Girls Champion also went on to win three international medals and is now on the U.S. Women's Top 100 list---as a nine-year-old. (I might add, here, that ChessDreams has never held one tournament where we did not offer a Girls, or Women's, trophy. As in the case of our current Zonal State Championship approach, we will be offering a sixth event for a State Women's Championship match, pending the approval of MECA voters.)

As a public service organization, ChessDreams ran, to my knowledge, what was an unprecedented scholastic program for an entire middle school district in which we ran five weekly chess clubs continuously throughout an academic year start-to-finish (that's one club meeting each day). Each quarter, we held local championships on each of the five campuses, and then held the district-wide chess championships: Fall-Individual District Chess Championship, Winter-District Grade Championships, and Spring-District Team Championship. On several of these campuses up to two hundred student-players signed up for our chess clubs. AnneMarie was the driving force behind this free program and persuaded the local school administrators to get this public service established.

As a chess organizer, only a couple of dozen people in Maine have experienced the style of event that ChessDreams produces (L'Heritage Classique in Lewiston this past July.) In that event, we strove once again for an artistic setting and innovative format features in order to introduce these elements to players and other chess organizers as well. We believe that by taking on stylistic risks ourselves, then others may benefit from them. One of the calculated risks for this event, was the site itself: the City of Lewiston. Why not attempt to measure the present-day viability of a city outside of the pre-established chess locations of Bangor, Augusta, Portland, and Waterville? These are the types of endeavors that ChessDreams can take upon itself, in order to help others plan the future of Maine chess.

As many chess players are now witnessing, there is a struggle over the future direction of chess in Maine playing itself out in the current MECA elections. We see it as a struggle between old ideas and new ideas. The key for ChessDreams, is that we go beyond just the idea part. We undertake actions that bring about those ideas into reality. For the next two years, I envision ChessDreams helping to create a new and inspiring future in cooperation with the Maine Chess Association on a state-wide basis. This is clearly a new role for ChessDreams as a philanthropic organization, but one that we are presently willing to undertake. The rest is up to the voters of the Maine Chess Association in December.

Akagi
ChessDreams

Turner, Maine
October 10, 2009