Through the Looking Glass – A Chess Event was an absolute hit.  It was an honor to be invited to host this during the annual ‘Taste of Park Royal’. One for the chess history books at Park Royal for sure.

HUGE THANKS TO: Park Royal Management for putting on this spectacular ‘chess event’ July 8 2017.  We simply put the boards out and over they came to play. Parents with children, men women teens, girls and boys. It was clear to Dan and I that we couldn’t interrupt the games in order to play a large simul, and that people just wanted to play chess. So we all played. The afternoon of chess continued until near closing 7:00 pm. Not an empty seat at the tables.

HUGE THANKS TO: Master chess champ DAN SCOONES for his mad hatter chess moves and excellent hosting skills. It wouldn’t have been the same without him. Stellar performance, charm and high energy stole the show throughout the day.

HUGE THANKS TO: Pedram Amani and his mother Zahra. Both for excellent chess skills and amazing hosting. Pedram is my class mate. He runs the chess club with me and is organizer of scholastic chess in West Vancouver.  He is also a physics genius, and came 1st in Canada. Pedram is off to a world competition this weekend in Indonesia. Good luck Pedram! He is a 1st year university student and plans a career in experimental physics. You guessed it Pedram wants to play more chess. Makes total sense, and he is good.

HUGE THANKS TO: West Vancouver Secondary School Chess Club and Sentinel Chess Club for letting us use their chess boards.

Pedram Amani and the Mad Hatter from The Vancouver Circus School

MANY THANKS TO The Vancouver Circus School for being there. Amazing THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS talent. The characters had a photo booth offering the public free photos taken with them. Some skillful moves demonstrated on the boards.

A Mini Simul with a Russian Chess Master

However mad hatter Dan pulled off a few ‘out of this world moves’. Naturally!

Check out the laughing girl on the right of the picture above and below, ha ha. More chess madness!

That’s my brother Jacob Tapp with the craziest Mad Hatter Hat, oh and chess moves!

What a great host you are too Jacob!

Can’t thank Park Royal’s Golden Event Organizer Melina enough, for asking me to host and for her organizing this event. Unbelievable talent.  Huge love and hugs!

The Photo Booth

Lot’s of children played the whole afternoon

Chess madness

My Dad a chess player

Check out the name on the Alice book ….”Park Royal Wonderland”

……………………….   more photos to share soon

Park Royal Mall South (Photos: by Mavaddat Javid)

After the first year of IB studies and life in West Vancouver, its clearly been the most challenging regarding school, but living here in West Vancouver has been pure bliss.

Beautiful Park Royal Shopping Centre/Ambleside is a short walk for me. Having a part time job there is great and dropping by for a game of chess. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the chance to share this news of the magnificent chess space that Park Royal Management has so generously provided for us.

We are all clearly grateful to have this space. Park Royal had the first permanent chess area in a shopping centre in Canada. We had chess from 1984-2006 with inlaid chess tables… and now this beautiful space 2017.

CHECK IT OUT:

Seriously, how cool is this! I feel so honored, and a pic of one of my best chess moments visiting Webster University for the All Girls Tournament, St Louis.

But bigger than this is a girl and women (the women first greatest) recognized here for playing the game of chess. This makes me proud.

A close up:

More pics of the players in action in the new area will be added shortly.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS – CHESS EVENT 

A new event added to the Annual

TASTE OF PARK ROYAL

July 8 1-3:00 pm

Come out and challenge me in a simultaneous exhibition at the Park Royal Shopping Centre on July 8. Special guest will be former BC Chess Champion Dan Scoones, a master player who will also play a simul with you.

Be there before 1:00 pm to get a seat, and games begin around 1:15 pm. You can always play if there is an empty seat anytime, so just show up and give it a try. The chess area will remain active through the evening. Beginners welcome, its all for fun.

EVENT:

We will have a teaching corner for new players taught by Pedram Armani, our school chess club leader.

Giant chess pieces.

Get a picture taken with the characters from Through The Looking Glass in the photo booth!

Receive an official chess certificate signed by Park Royal Management for participating. Any level.

We will be in the main center court area on the South Side of Park Royal Shopping Centre.

       CLICK THE PIC. TO SEE THE LINE UP OF ACTIVITIES:

FRAMED POSTERS AT THE NEW CHESS AREA

Today we are happy to announce that the chess players get to stay in the mall at Park Royal.

Park Royal organzied several meetings with the chess players in order to sit and talk and understand more about our needs and what the community wants. This is an act of good will and makes this a perfect game of win/win for all. It was not their intention to cause any discomfort to the group. The players have been offered a spot designated especially for chess and fairly close to the food court on the same floor. A chess area has been promised and will have built in high tables much like the ones in the food court for playing chess. Together some recycling bins will be put in the area and food allowed to be eaten there at the tables whilst playing games. The public have equal rights to use this area also. We are all very grateful for this opportunity. The players all agree to take care of this area and make a commitment to welcoming anyone interested in stopping by to watch and learn.

I thank Park Royal for including me in an important board meeting where I was told that I represent the youth and that my voice was important and will be heard.

The community will be happy with this outcome. It’s obvious they played a great game of chess and assisted in leading the players toward victory. We all look forward to moving on and enjoying the future and plans in store for summer days at Park Royal.

Look out for this years joint community chess event at Park Royal Mall!

Park Royal’s Joint Press Release:

CHECK IT OUT HERE BELOW

For Ashley Joint Statement Apr 24

First decision made is that for now the chess players can remain and play chess in the food court mall until a final decision ‘to accommodate’ is made in the next 48 hrs – FEELING POSITIVE!

THE SUN IS SHINING AND BEING AT PARK ROYAL MALL AND MEETING FRIENDS IS A FUN WEEKEND FOR ME.

Stay positive everyone!

Great support from the West Vancouver Community and people everywhere huge thanks!

Now lets stay cool and wait for a decision promise to update immediately.

MY FUN DAY AT PARK ROYAL MALL YESTERDAY:

A win for our 94 year old player

A curious little girl watching me play whilst she ate ice-cream

Friend meet up, dinner and walk through the village at Park Royal

Looking forward to a great outcome for chess players at

Park Royal as summer days are here!

                      Ashley

NEWS COVERAGE BELOW

SAD NEWS to share with my community and the world. As of April 1st and this is not an April Fool’s joke, Park Royal mall in West Vancouver has banned the playing of the game anywhere in the mall. For more than 50 years chess has been played at the mall.

I first met the players when I was 8 years old during a shopping trip when I spotted the large over size pieces in the hallway. Parents and children were watching as they walked by. It didn’t take much when I was spotted watching a game, with more than just a curiosity but I was trying to figure out the moves on the board. Suddenly I was drawn into a game by a friendly (old) face and began playing and didn’t want to leave.

I have been attending chess at Park Royal ever since and consider this group my chess family. They have welcomed me, encouraged me to play and helped build my confidence to play chess and continue to play and go on to compete in two World Youth Chess Championships representing Canada. I truly believe that they were the people that kept me playing in my city and I am grateful for these friendships.

What will they do now and where will I go to play? I’m sad for them. Some players between 80-94 yrs old built friendships over the board as I have with them. This loss is greater than the management at Park Royal realize.

Thank you Vancouver Sun for making this FRONT PAGE NEWS IN PRINT, CBC News and others for sharing this community news! READ THE DETAILS HERE:

VANCOUVER SUN    CBC NEWS    RCI RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL    YAHOO NEWS   CKNE-NEWS-TALK-AM980

Our last Day at Park Royal Mall March 31:

Last Day at Park Royal (with Chess player friend Kim)

Here I am (right) playing on the chess inlaid tables which has been removed after the renovations and upgrades.

                     DAY OF THE GIRL

94 year old chess player

Here we are playing on the last day.

I hope that Park Royal Management can find a solution to accommodate us somewhere else in the mall in the future. (We offered to cover the cost for this) We are not a chess club, but people who drop by unplanned during a shopping trip, etc. for a friendly game of chess.

Wish us luck!

Ashley

George Ingham, 79, has played chess at Park Royal for 50 years and hopes to continue doing so. He met his wife, Kathy, there during a game 22 years ago. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

Chess at Park Royal in 1987

This holiday season feels particularly special –  and I can’t quite put my finger on why! I just know that from watching all the social media posts from around the world., the feeling is the same.

We are all celebrating our lives by sharing pics of family, friends, nature, ways to be kind to animals, and how to take care of ourselves better physically, and by being positive!

For this reason my message is simple like those messages I’ve seen –

‘to wish we all have a peaceful life and hope that we can be kind to all living things’.

This picture is just a symbol in all children’s eyes of something magical that happens on Dec 25.

So one last time – Merry Christmas!

Santa wins!

Surprise My 2nd article for Chesskid.com  

 Click Here ‘ NO ONE LIKE BOBBY’

Jazz Christmas music (click here)

I have been waiting to share this news with you for a few weeks! I’m so happy to have been asked to write for chesskid.com. Firstly because I feel this is my opportunity to share with people around the world just how serious a chess player I am, (naturally how much time I have for chess will always dictate how far I go) but regardless of this, I’m training, getting stronger and enjoying the complexities of this game even more than ever! Also having a platform to continue to encourage girls to play chess remains a goal of mine.

Here is the first article an intro that will be live on chesskid.com Dec 7. But you can still see it here now! Check out my games in the article. (Continue clicking on the moves to see the whole game)

I’ll be writing more soon and hope there is plenty for young children to follow too.

READ THE ARTICLE CLICK BELOW:

2nd article: NO ONE LIKE BOBBY 

Nice-to-meet-you-my-first-us-tournament

CHESSKID.COM

Webster University St Louis MI, USA

I was recently sent this video below by my mom and she asked me to think about something. She asked me to think about the value of making ‘long term goals’, over having ‘short term goals’. Generally speaking having short term goals provide an instant gratification and maybe takes less effort, and long term goals although a slower journey, is the way to a greater success!

I was recently sent this video below by my mom and she asked me to think about something. She asked me to think about the value of making ‘long term goals’, over having ‘short term goals’. Generally speaking having short term goals provide an instant gratification and maybe takes less effort, and long term goals although a slower journey, is the way to a greater success!

Well I don’t know much about Mr Jack Ma except for his major on line success with ‘Alibaba’ an on line shopping website. But after watching this brief video I like his way of thinking here.

I was also asked to think about the friends I know and whether it was possible to guess who may be ‘long term goal thinkers’ and which are ‘short term’ – it’s really funny but this was not so hard to do. It was surprising to see the differences between the personalities and habits of the two groups of people ( if I am correct).  Without deciding if one way of planning is better over the other, it makes sense to me to look at the future this way, and to try to make long term goals regarding school and a career.

APPLYING MY EXPERIENCES FROM CHESS: I can see how a chess player can be great at making long term goals. After all the thinking it requires to play a 4-5 hr chess game; the ups and downs,  winning and losing (pieces) and having to keep on track and focused and never loosing site of the task and end! It also takes many months and sometimes years to get to a high level of playing. This sounds like long term goal thinking to me. I’ve decided this is something I can do. Time to get planning.

I hope you enjoy the video.

I am aware that many people are not fortunate enough to be able to have long term goals and make big plans for the future, and sometimes just finding food and somewhere to live each day can be the only goal they are able to have. This makes me feel very grateful.

Ashley

1. Playing chess at a young age can help develop advanced math and critical thinking skills.

Studies show that playing chess as a kid has a high positive correlation with academic achievement. In one study, researchers found that students who were taught how to play chess were more academically advanced overall, especially in math, spatial analysis and nonverbal reasoning ability.

2. Chess can shrink your brain — which is actually a good thing.

In a study where researchers scanned the brains of elite chess players, they found that these players actually had smaller brains than the non-elite players — and that’s not a bad thing. As Christian Jarrett writes in Wired, their research suggests that areas of brain shrinkage “can be a sign of neural efficiency and a reflection of behavioral expertise” as opposed to a negative result. Bigger is not always better.

READ ON HERE by Ellie Kaufman: How Chess Players’ Brains Are Different From Everybody Else’s    

PLAYING STRATEGIC BOARD GAMES LIKE CHESS GENERATES COMPUTATIONAL THINKING 

CHESS WILL SHRINK YOUR BRAIN NO KIDDING 

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