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St. Olaf to host top-notch chess camp

By David Gonnerman '90
April 16, 2005

St. Olaf has announced that it will host OleChess, a new weeklong camp in June featuring chess instruction by some of the premier players and teachers in the world, including grandmasters Gregory Kaidanov (ranked second in the United States), Igor Novikov (ranked sixth in the United States) and Sergei Kudrin (ranked 16th in the United States). The camp, designed for chess players of all strengths and levels of experience ages 10 to adult, includes an optional intensive study option for higher-rated players.

Camp organizer Kevin Bachler, himself a FIDE master and camp instructor, decided to move the camp from Wisconsin to St. Olaf after moving his son, Robert Riddle '08, to campus last fall. "We saw the beautiful campus and wonderful facilities at St. Olaf and felt that -- with the significant chess playing population in Minnesota -- we would try offering a camp there," he says. According to Bachler, his former camp, WisChess, was the largest chess camp in the country, often drawing more than 200 players who were instructed by six grandmasters and 10 internationally titled instructors.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.