Special Showing of "Chess Kids - Special Edition" by Producer Lynn Hamrick

Prior posts about our friend, Lynn Hamrick:

A Very Special Event to Benefit the National Scholastic Chess Foundation
October 25, 2011

Back Home Again! Wrap-Up on Trip To St Louis
September 13, 2011
(scroll down to entry on Lynn Hamrick under Chess Collectors International summary)

Meeting "Chess Kids" Producer Lynn Hamrick
September 9, 2011

From the Bronxville Patch.com

'Chess Kids' Provides A Unique Glimpse Into The Lives Of Prodigies

The National Scholastic Chess Foundation (NSCF) showcasing a special screening of Chess Kids, a documentary about the 1990 World Youth Chess Championship in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

By Monica Orbe

Chess Kids, directed by Lynn Hamrick, follows several preteens and teens as they compete at the highest levels of chess during the first and last World Youth Chess Championship held in the US.

Presented by the National Scholastic Chess Foundation (NSCF), Chess Kids will be screened at The Picture House in Pelham, located at 175 Wolfs Lane, on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m.

Sunil Weeramantry, NSCF Executive Director and chess master, thinks this film will be a source of inspiration for young kids.

Weeramantry, who himself was a young chess prodigy, says, "Chess brought a sense of order to my life early on… because you had to function within certain constraints…and strategize on a broader level."

Themes like how competing at this level effects children will be discussed in the film and as a special addition, there will be new footage of these young competitors as they are now, twenty years later, which will allow them to expound on that time in their life.

"[Kids] will see what’s going on with other kids as they went through a chess tournament," says NSCF board member and Bronxville resident, Betsy Harding, believing that this film will provide validation for kids who enjoy chess.

NSCF is a non-profit organization set up to provide and support an infrastructure for programs teaching chess in school. The film will conclude with a Q&A as well as a fundraising reception to benefit NSCF.

"Having Lynn here to talk about the film is a great opportunity because we will be able to ask her questions about how she made the film," which as Harding says, "…makes it a much more interesting event."
Lynn Muscari, who has two boys at Immaculate Conception School in Tuckahoe and says that she hopes this film gets her boys excited about playing chess.

"They have always loved playing but are looking for more of a way to become involved with it throughout the state and even nationally," said Muscari.

Admission to the film is $20 and will include a small drink and popcorn. A minimum contribution of $75 is required to attend the reception and Q&A.