Skylar Chess Fest Announces Scholarships To 4 Local ChessKids

Note -- This event has been postponed until further notice.

The first Skylar Chess Fest will take place in Houston, Texas from April 30-May 2, 2020 and four very lucky ChessKids will be selected to compete in a juniors event.

All four ChessKids competing will win scholarships that promote academic excellence through chess. The scholarships have a combined value of $10,000. 

All of the funding is being provided by hedge fund manager, poker star, and philanthropist Bill Perkins. In total, he will be spending $400,000 in prizes and donations. Among those attending will be some of the top grandmasters in the world, who will be playing for various chess charities.

The entire event will be at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston and will be broadcast on Chess.com/TV. Other stars outside of the chess world will attend, including local professional athletes, Houston musical artists, and FunMasterMike himself!

There is also a plan to have some of the renown grandmasters visit an area school for a chess exhibition.

The four-player juniors event will feature an opening round and a finals. All four ChessKids will receive a $2500 scholarship with trophies also given out.

Want to be one of the four lucky ChessKids? Here's the qualifications and how to apply:

• You must currently be in grades 3-8 in a public school of Houston Independent School District (Houston ISD)
• You must be able to at minimum play a legal game of chess (ChessKid reserves the right to ask you to complete ChessKid levels to ensure this)
• You must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, or if letter grades are not used, an equivalent measure of good academic performance
• You must be available Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, for the junior competition (ChessKid will assist with transportation to the Westin Galleria if needed)
• You must fill out the application below no later than March 31, 2020
• You must also include in the application a letter of reference from either your homeroom teacher, principal, chess coach, or other teacher at your school who knows you well
• You must write a short essay (up to 500 words) explaining why chess is important to you

If you fit the criteria above, please apply below!