May 3, 2024
WELCOME CHESS PLAYERS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
The Space Coast Chess Foundation is delighted to welcome you to the Zelner Memorial 29th Annual Space Coast Chess Festival! Over 200 players, including one International Grandmaster, 3 International Masters, and a dozen National Masters will be playing at the Melbourne Hilton Rialto, our new venue. Our goal is to provide an outstanding chess experience for you and a memorable chess vacation for your family. As always your organizers have worked to provide a top notch Chess Festival packed with memorable events. Both the Open and A sections of the tournament will be FIDE rated. For those of you who “can’t get enough” the customary Blitz Tournament will be held Sunday night after the last round. Free Master lectures by Theo Slade and Nick Moore, open to all, will occur Saturday morning. The chess book/equipment store, operated by the Zelner family, will be open throughout the tournament, and the T-shirt concession will also be in operation. The top 6 boards will be broadcast live worldwide on Twitch with realtime commentary by WGM Sabina Foister (https://www.twitch.tv/sabinafoisor).
This year’s Festival has been named to commemorate Alex Zelner, a larger than life chess legend in Brevard County and Orlando. A talented Senior Master, Alex was a charismatic and witty friend and mentor – we will all miss him. Please go into the link on this website to read more about Alex and his life.
In these difficult times we must recognize the wonderful financial support of our corporate sponsors, listed in the Sponsors link on this website. All proceeds from the Festival, net of expenses, will be used to further scholastic and adult chess in Brevard County through the Space Coast Chess Foundation, 501(c)3 tax exempt charitable foundation.
The Space Coast offers a cornucopia of diverse activities for you and your family. The beaches are a 10 minute drive – go over the Melbourne Causeway and use pay parking at Indialantic Beach – you can be back in less than an hour and still sun and swim. The Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Brevard Zoo, and a plethora of ecotourism activities (guided kayak tours on the Indian river, evening bioluminescence tours) are available.
If we can be of any assistance to your during your visit please seek one of us out. We want to make your participation in the Space Coast Chess Festival an experience that you will recall with pleasure for many years.
Jon Haskel Peter Dyson Peter Koretsky Ori Tal SureshKumar Rajamani
Space Coast Chess Festival Organizing Committee
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