FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
( San Francisco, CA — June 2, 2008 ) Chesspark.com and multi-platinum recording artist and film star, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, are proud to announce the debut of WuChess.com, the world’s first online chess and urban social network. Chess enthusiasts and music lovers from across the globe can chat and battle on the 64 squares while networking with chess players, music lovers and film fans. WuChess.com is a unique hip-hop gaming, subscription-based community featuring tournaments, celebrity exhibitions, personal profiles, ratings, rankings and clans.
“Chess is a very important element of Wu-Tang. It’s an important element of life. It teaches you how to exist in the world. It teaches you how to think multiple moves ahead, to strategize. It teaches you how to attack, how to defend.” RZA wrote in the Wu-Tang Manual. WuChess.com, he says, continues this tradition as, “a place to have fun and to learn as you go.”
“We are proud to be working with RZA. He loves the game and believes in the power of chess to improve critical thinking skills. We are excited about the fusion of our game platform with a vibrant new community of chess players. RZA and other hip-hop stars are great role models that we will empower with our innovative technology in order to reach fans and kids who will benefit from the lessons embodied in chess,” says Patrick Mahoney, President of Chesspark.com.
WuChess.com was inspired by the Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF), a non-profit fusing music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence. The HHCF hosts celebrity chess benefits where underserved youth play chess for educational scholarships and engage cultural icons from various backgrounds. WuChess.com will donate a portion of revenues to HHCF to fund scholarships.
About Chesspark.com
Chesspark.com is a leading Internet Chess community built on an innovative communications platform that combines Jabber Instant Messaging (XMPP) and a flexible, rich web-based Ajax client. Chesspark has hosted over 5 million games and welcomed over 450,000 members to the community since October 2006. Members compete in tournaments, create profiles and join social groups, chat in public and private chat rooms, and have access not only to standard chess but also variants including Chess960, Atomic, Crazy House and King of the Hill. Exhibitions by high-rated players and private lessons from masters enable students and novices to improve their skills.
Contact:
Brian Zisk, (415) 564-0904
zisk@chesspark.com
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