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The Shira Chess Challenge
By JanXena (a/k/a Jan Newton)
I "met" Shira Evans in 2001 when I had a website called Chess Goddesses. Originally it was focused on Judit Polgar but the more I learned about chess and women chessplayers, the larger Chess Goddesses' focus grew, and grew... (Image: Jan as Xena, 2001, by Don McLean) My recollection of how Shira and I met is fuzzy now, but I'm pretty sure I emailed her after I read about a game she played at a tournament I covered in the news for Chess Goddesses.
Not all good things come to an end, but some do. Sometime in 2004, I took Chess Goddesses off line and took a deep breath! At the time I was also writing and producing The International Chessoid, and I was exhausted. TIC came offline, too. I rested and concentrated on my research into the origins of chess and other ancient board games, and worked on articles for Goddesschess. But within a few years I was back at it, reporting the chess femme news again. Chess news websites were growing by leaps and bounds daily but none of them was devoted exclusively to the chess femmes, so about mid-2006 I started up again, Chess Femme News, which is part of Goddesschess. I've managed to keep the focus of CFN narrow - just the news - and between the blog and CFN, I try to keep up with news about female chessplayers and females in chess. Over time, Shira and I had lost touch with each other. Fast forward to the Goddesschess blog, another acorn that has sprouted from our Goddesschess activities and is growing beyond our wildest dreams. On June 3rd, I blogged about Elizabeth Scott, who happens to live in Wyoming and who happens to play chess there and who happened to be called, in the article, the only female chessplayer in the state of Wyoming! What? I couldn't believe that! So I did some research, in the course of which I came across Shira's name once again! I remembered - Shira had lived in Wyoming. Shira Evans - whatever happened to her? Could I find her again? I started digging around to see if I could find any current news on Shira, in the hope of getting in touch! Okay, I know you can't stand the suspense so I'll tell you - I DID!
Shira has left the Wilds of WY for the Wilds of LA, and I don't mean Louisiana! Shira has started her own charitable Foundation! She obtains laptops via donations (in kind and in cash) and she donates those laptops to kids in need. Not only does she do that, she also personally delivers the laptops and teaches the kids HOW to use them, because Shira is an IT expert. (I didn't know that. With all the details and minutiae of each other's lives that we've shared over the years, I don't recall that we ever got around to careers!) (Photo: Jan, July 2008) Shira's Foundation is Computer Labs 4 Kids, officially started in January, 2009 but the "acorn" of which had been planted earlier. (You can read about how the Foundation got started under the "About Us" tab). In the short time since the Foundation's "official" beginning in January, Shira has already donated computers and trained kids at a girls' school in Agra, India, kids in Ashkelon, Israel, and her next stop is an orphanage in Portugal later this summer! At present Shira has 78 very short videos about her work with the kids posted at You Tube. You can find photo albums of the kids Shira has helped under the "Blog" tab.
But then I got to thinking about it. Shira needs to raise $1,200.00 for the Portgugal equipment and trip. I had a brainstorm! Shira and I would play a chess match for the Foundation to raise money for the kids! So, here I am, back down to normal after that brainstorm, except I find I challenged Shira to a 3-game chess match! And somehow Kelly Atkins is my chess coach!?!?!?!, and he's put together a spectacular training program to bring me up to speed that he has assured me will make me very competitive against Shira. All I have to do is study 10 hours a week for the next six weeks. Except I don't have six weeks, and I don't have these magical materials to study yet... GULP! We've set the dates: July 31, August 1 and 2, 2009. We've set the time control: 1 hour each. Shira wanted to play 30 minutes or less, but my brain doesn't even begin sparking these days until at least 27.5 minutes have passed, and that's just for typing. Not sure of the times for the games or which online place we'll be playing, except it has to be a place where kibitzing is allowed - those details will be firmed up as we get closer to the match. Shira is scheduled to be in Portugal on her next Computer Labs 4 Kids assignment during our match. I think there is a 6 or 7 hour difference in our time zones; so I'll be playing sometime in the morning here, and she'll be playing sometime in the evening there. What was I thinking? Oy! On the plus side, we hope to (1) generate interest in Shira's Foundation; and (2) raise funds for Computer Labs for Kids, Inc. I'll be blogging about my training progress (ahem) at the Goddesschess blog as the days count down to MATCH 1. July 31st is coming fast! The things I do - how do I get myself into these -- oh -- I should mention that Shira's last registered rating at the USCF website was 1727 regular/1650 quick (end of 2005). Me - bwwwwaaaahhhhh! I don't have a rating! Never have, and never will, but if I did, it would be negative. But I promised Kelly I would work very hard to bring myself up to snuff (he didn't know I had my fingers crossed behind my back). So now Shira is getting all worried because I'm so serious about this, so she's got herself a sort of trainer, too. Uh oh... Please visit Computer Labs 4 Kids and check out the videos, etc. and if the chessly spirit moves you, please make a donation to help the kids that Shira is helping. You can do that at PayPal (through Shira's website) and - now I would never suggest this in a million years so pretend you're not reading this - you can hint that you're donating against odds on JanXena...
As always, you can find more news about women
chess players
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From
a little acorn, a mighty oak can grow. Thus goes the old saying. Nah, this
isn't about acorns! It's about kids, and a friend from many moons ago, and
computers, and a chess challenge!
Soon,
Shira and I were corresponding regularly, and I was featuring her quest to
improve her game in regular features. Shira would write about an event she
had played in and would analyze one of her games. We became friends without
ever meeting face to face! (Photo: Shira at a tournament, 2002)
Well,
darlings! So much has happened since September, 2006 (the last time I heard
from Shira). She ain't in Wyoming anymore!
