Posted June 20, 2015 in Dayton Chess Club, Ohio

Support the Dayton Chess Festival!

The following is a communication from the Dayton Chess Club‘s Board of Directors and the President of the Ohio Chess Association. The Dayton Chess Club is organizing the first ever Dayton Chess Festival and is in need of financial support to make the event a reality. Dayton, Ohio is my hometown and I join them in imploring the chess community to reach out and help a city bring the wonder of chess to its citizens through this amazing tournament and festival in honor of our game! If after reading this letter you would like to make a donation to support the chess festival, please give online at www.daytonchessfestival.com or mail a check to the Dayton Chess Club (18 West 5th St, Dayton OH 45402).


As the Dayton Chess Festival draws near (a little over a month away) we have fully turned our energies to our fund raising drive…we are currently short and we are asking for your support.

I’m a member of the Dayton Chess Club’s Board of Directors; we are a good group…we are a strong team of professionals.

We are the committee that’s organizing the upcoming International Chess Event in Dayton.

  1. Dayton Chess Festival 7-Day (July 27 – August 2)
  2. Dayton Masters IM/GM Norm Tournament (July 27 – July 31)
  3. FIDE Futurity tournament(s) to run parallel (July 27 – July 31)
  4. Aviator Open Weekend Tournament FIDE/USCF (July 31 – Aug. 2)

The Dayton Chess Festival & Tournaments will be held every year. July 2015 is the 1st One…The Historic Kickoff:

  • Games broadcast live on Chess.com
  • Games broadcast live to spectators & website….thanks to Kelly Bloomfield.
  • The world is paying attention to our newest 14-year old GM-elect Jeff Xiong. Clear 1st Place 2015 Chicago Open (7 out of 9 games) Jeff Xiong is playing in the Dayton Masters.
TUNE IN
  • We begin the Dayton Masters with an Opening Ceremony Monday, July 27 at 11:00am
  • And we close the tournament with a Closing Ceremony Friday, July 31 at 5:00pm
  • We want dignitaries present (which means media will be present) we are going after:

Our total expenses is $12,000, so far we raised $5,200.

Some Brief Q & A

Our tremendous event has expenses: Grandmaster’s appearance fees, FIDE Arbitrator, Street Permits, Hotel Expenses, Marketing, Prize Fund, etc…

Who is managing the money, the budget: The DCC Board, we are a strong team of professionals. DCC Board members are listed on the website.

Why give a donation? Why support our efforts? A Dayton Chess Club Membership for starters….but wait, there’s more!! (see comments below)

Next year’s budget and fund raising follows a different plan. We need help on this “first one.” We need a successful launch. This is truly a significant moment. History is watching us and taking notes. We are asking the chess community to stand with us, make a donation and help make our 1st Dayton Chess Festival a true success.

Please Give online at www.daytonchessfestival.com or mail a check to the Dayton Chess Club (18 West 5th St, Dayton OH 45402).

Your name will be posted on the website under “Current Sponsors”…..or you can give Anonymously (as a few have done)

To be clear…this is a fund raising drive. We are driving toward $12,000. I will send out a follow up email reporting on our progress. Both donors and donation amounts are listed on the websitewww.daytonchessfestival.com. By adding up all the total donations, you can see where we stand. Please visit the website often to see who gave and to do the math. Tell a friend….help create a buzz. We are $7,000 short. Will the chess community come together and play a strong move? Believe and Give. Our “fund raising committee” will be contacting many of you, to help you “believe and give”….please be kind to us.

Dayton Masters IM/GM FIDE Norm Tournament Players

  • 2550 – GM Vladimir Georgiev – Macedonia
  • 2539 – GM Georgi Margvelashvili – Georgia
  • 2496 – GM Dejan Bojkov – Bulgaria
  • 2497 – GM-elect Jeff Xiong – United States.
  • 2480 – GM Nikola Mitkov – Macedonia
  • 2426 – FM Ruifeng Li – United States
  • 2449 – IM John Bartholomew – United States
  • 2370 – IM Calvin Blocker – United States (Ohio)
  • 2365 – IM Farai Mandizha – Zimbabwe
  • 2318 – FM Carl Boor – United States (Ohio)

Here is the story. FIDE IM/GM Norm Tournaments are usually held outside the US. These tournaments are in high demand, so players travel abroad for the opportunity to play and participate. These hungry and highly talented chess players are seeking “coveted” FIDE ratings and “life changing” IM/GM Norms. We have two home-grown Ohio masters looking to grab IM/GM Norms at the Dayton Masters Tournament. International Master Calvin Blocker is looking for his first GM Norm. FIDE Master Carl Boor is looking to gain either an IM or GM Norm. Did you hear? We have the winner of the 2015 Chicago Open in the line up…..14 year old GM-elect Jeff Xiong (currently TX….but Ohio alumni). This tournament will put Dayton and Ohio Chess on the International Chess Map. Ohio is already becoming a hot bed for chess. We are organizing an International FIDE Chess Event that will cultivate and grow talented chess players for years to come. All of this….in Dayton and in Ohio and in the USA. It’s all major.

What is a Norm…..IM Norm or GM Norm? A norm is a performance benchmark earned from playing in a FIDE tournament against other FIDE titled players. An IM/GM Norm is given by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) depending on how well a player performs in the tournament.

World Chess Federation (FIDE) – Examples of 3 FIDE Titles (awarded for Life) To be awarded the title of (FM) FIDE Master….your FIDE rating must be above 2300 To be awarded the title of (IM) International Master…a (FM) Fide Master needs 3 IM Norms (performances). To be awarded the title of (GM) Grandmaster…an (IM) International Master needs 3 GM Norms (performances) and a FIDE rating over 2500

Why give a donation? Why support our efforts? Donate $100 and receive “one year” DCC membership or donate $50 for 1/2 year DCC Membership. Ask for membership along with your donation. Chess players are making us proud and emotional, they are freely giving. And we will honor their belief in us.

The FIDE Futurity Tournaments gives chess players the opportunity to become FIDE rated or to gain “coveted” FIDE ratings. Ohio is making a move to have the most FIDE rated players….shh.

The Aviator Open is the concluding weekend tournament….a true open section, like the US Open, that means open to all. So you might face a beast, like a GM, in the first round….yes, this is a benefit of giving!!

Much like the WORLD OPEN, chess players have a new summer traveling destination. The Dayton Chess Festival, a yearly tradition “where chess players bang…and enjoying chess.” The Chess Community comes to play, scrap and participate…..witness history first hand, watch GM games live and in person. This whole show is a fiasco for the chess players. Who else can truly appreciate an International Master? Or a Chess Festival? When was the last time you’ve been to a chess festival?

Appreciate the beauty of the IM/GM games from the comforts of work (or home) on our website and at Chess.com. Brush up on your English, it needs a little help.

With your donation, all the chess players will “see and recognize” that you are helping to birth a prestigious International Chess Event, along with cultivating Ohio Chess and supporting a fun and beautiful experience for the chess players. Smiles.

2016 Budget and Fund Raising

Dayton Chess Festival will be 501-C3 non-profit status, next year. (we have a strong lawyer on the DCC Board) 501-C3 non-profit status, allows for donations to be tax write-offs.

We are specifically going after Corporate Sponsors (think NASCAR)

Crowd funding, Kick Starter. It’s hip, it’s new….it works!!

We have a full year of planning, compared to 1/2 year of planning in 2015. More time.

Next year, we have a powerful story, the Chess Community rallied, came together and made sure the 1st Dayton Chess Festival was well funded and a big time success.