Chess-in-the-Schools presents the 5th Annual Mayor's Cup.

NEW YORK -- On June 2, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba will welcome the 5th Annual Mayor's Cup Youth Chess Championships to Frederick Douglas Academy in Manhattan. The tournament is open to all students in grades kindergarten-12 currently enrolled in public, private and parochial schools located in New York City. Over 500 competitors are expected to vie for the Mayor's Cup, making it one of the largest weekend tournaments during the 2006-07 scholastic chess tournament season. The Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs will have volunteers from their Community TeamWorks program on hand to assist with the tournament. Volunteers will analyze games and give students feedback on their strategies. The first of four rounds of matches will commence at 10:00 am, and Commissioner Podziba will present awards at a ceremony immediately following the final round of matches at approximately 3:30 pm.

"It brings me great pleasure to see the game of chess grow in popularity among our city's youth," said Commissioner Podziba. "Chess is a game of discipline and intellect that provides children with a challenging outlet to exercise their minds as they partake in friendly competition. This year's championships will be our largest ever and it is my sincere hope that we can make this tournament bigger and better every year."

The Mayor's Cup Youth Chess Championships were created through a partnership between Chess-in-the-Schools, the Department of Education, and the New York City Sports Commission. Students will compete for the Mayor's Cup in one of three divisions -- Junior High and High School Division, Elementary Division and Primary Division.

"Chess-in-the-Schools students often find themselves winners at local, regional, and national chess tournaments," said Marley Kaplan, President of Chess-in-the-Schools. "But, Chess-in-the-Schools does not set out to make chess champions. Our unique program improves self-esteem and makes improbable victories seem possible at the chessboard and in school."

Several highly-decorated schools will compete in this year's tournament. Brooklyn's IS 318 claimed the 1st place trophy at the 2007 National Junior High School Championships in Sacramento, California. Brooklyn's PS 307 recently secured the 2nd place trophy at the 2007 National Elementary Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. Finally, the Panda Pawns from PS 124 in Manhattan outlasted a talented field to capture the 5th Grade National Championships held in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, PS 70 (Bronx) will attempt to defend their 2006 Primary Division Mayor's Cup championship.

Frederick Douglas Academy is located at 2581 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (at W. 149th St.) in Manhattan.

For more information about the 2007 Mayor's Cup Youth Chess Championships, please visit www.chessintheschools.org.

Chess-in-the-Schools is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving academic performance among inner-city public school children. Using chess as an educational tool to promote learning, critical thinking, and problem solving, Chess-in-the-Schools has taught, inspired, and empowered more than 387,000 students over the past 20 years. During the 2006-2007 school year, Chess-in-the-Schools is teaching chess to more than 27,000 students in 108 schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Chess-in-the-Schools teaches during the school day and after school to ensure that our programs reach the maximum number of students.

The New York City Sports Commission is the mayoral agency charged with attracting, facilitating and promoting professional, amateur and scholastic sports events in New York City. In recent years, the Sports Commission has played a role in creating or developing many new sporting events, including the NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series[TM] Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, the AVP Brooklyn Open, the NAUTICA NYC Triathlon, the NYC Half-Marathon, the Union Square Street Sessions presented by Jeep[R], the Wild Onion Urban Adventure Race and the Men's Health Urbanathlon.

Community TeamWorks (CTW) is Goldman Sachs' signature volunteer program that allows each employee one day away from work to volunteer on a team-based project with a nonprofit organization. Since 1997, CTW has offered innovative volunteering opportunities worldwide that make a tangible difference in our communities and that foster inter- and intra-divisional camaraderie within the firm. In 2006, over 18,000 Goldman Sachs employees, families and friends partnered with 619 nonprofit organizations in 1,422 volunteer projects, including working with the elderly, building homes, mentoring youth, and preserving and restoring the beauty of our environment. For more information, visit http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our_firm/our_culture/corporate_ citizenship/charitable_services_group/community_teamworks.html (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)