Border Hope

Border Hope Sunday Afternoon Chess Tournaments have been scheduled for the following dates:

Dec. 13
Dec. 20
Jan 10
Jan 17
Jan 31

For details and registration information, see the appropriate flier:

December 2009 Chess Tournaments

January 2010 Chess Tournaments

Thirty-six players (26 rated, 10 unrated) of all ages filled the room in another exciting Border Hope Chess Tournament at Iglesia Menonita Buenas Nuevas this past Sunday, Dec. 6.

Juan Romero and Emmanuel Serratta, brothers from Los Fresnos High School, won the Family Trophy, with a total of 5 points.

The results of each section were as follows:

Rated 1

Rating range: 1400s to 1700s
Winner: Perry Johnson with 3 points

Rated 2

Rating range: 1200s to 1300s
Winner: Christian Cardenas with 2 points

Rated 3

Rating ranges: 1000s to 1100s
Winner: Edward Markowsky III with 2.5 points

Rated 4

Rating range: 800s to 900s
Winner: Jaime Pena with 3 points

Rated 5

Rating range: 600s to 800s
Winner: Eddie Rodriguez with 3 points

Rated 6

Rating range: 300s to 600s
1st Place: Caleb Johnson with 3 points
2nd Place: Genesis Ybarra with 2 points

Unrated 1

Age range: 9 to adult
1st Place: Juan Romero with 3 points
2nd Place: John Roach with 2 points

Unrated 2

Age range: 6-8
Winner: Sean Handy

Full results of the rated sections of our recent tournaments are posted at the U.S. Chess Federation web site. Clicking on the dates below will take you there.

Dec 6, 2009

Nov 15, 2009

Nov 22, 2009

Congratulations to all participants who played in these hard-fought games!

New tournaments are scheduled for Dec 6 and 13. This is a great opportunity for your whole family to have fun!

For map, times, prices, and everything else you need to know, check out this flier.

The proceeds will go to helping children and families in an extremely poor community in Reynosa.

Exciting, closely fought chess games were played as 28 participants of all ages packed the room at near capacity at Iglesia Menonita Buenas Nuevas, in the first Sunday Afternoon Chess Tournament in benefit of Border Hope on Sunday November 15. The games were especially engaging because no more than 300 points separated the ratings of the top and bottom players in most of the sections. Many of the same people, plus a number of new faces, participated in the second tournament on Nov. 22, which was covered by The Monitor in Jennifer Berghom’s article  “Chess tournaments raise money for the poor”.

Results of Nov 15 tournament:

Rated Quad 1
1st place: Perry Johnson

Rated Quad 2
1st Place: Christalia Cardenas

Rated Quad 3
1st Place: 3 way tie between Esmeralda Rodriguez, Jonathan Obed Ybarra
and Genesis Janette Ybarra

Rated Quad 4
1st Place: Jaun Carlos Davila II

Unrated Group 1
1st Place: Russell Roach
2nd Place: John Roach

Unrated Group 2
1st Place: Luna Rei Rivera
2nd Place: Jaden Nicole Allen

Results of Nov 22 tournament:

Rated Quad 1
1st Place: Tie between Gilbert Davila and Perry Johnson

Rated Quad 2
1st Place: Albert Mariscal

Rated Quad 3
1st Place: Jaime Pena

Rated Group 4:
1st Place: Amit Bhatta
2nd Place: Savanah Moya

Unrated
1st Place: John Roach
2nd Place: Jaime Moya

Looking for a great way to have fun, fire up your brain power, and support a great cause, all at the same time?

You won’t want to miss the Sunday Afternoon Chess Tournaments, to be held on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, and Dec. 6, 2009, at Iglesia Buenas Nuevas in San Juan, Texas. People of all ages and levels are welcome to participate.

For map, times, prices, and everything else you need to know, check out this flier.

All proceeds will go to helping children and families in an extremely poor community in Reynosa.

See you there!

The Canal : Reynosa, Mexico from Bedouins International on Vimeo.

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Less than 15 miles from my house in south Texas, there is a community where people live in shacks with no electricity or running water. It is a shantytown built along the canal that runs through the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. People bathe in the polluted water and get skin problems as a result. Most of the people moved here from very poor communities in southern Mexico. Unemployment, health and nutrition issues, alcoholism and drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and despair abound. There is significant prosperity in other parts of Reynosa, just a few miles away. But a Mexican friend who herself grew up in poverty maintains that the conditions in the shantytowns are as bad as you can find anywhere else in Mexico.

On Sunday, May 31, 2009, my new friend Will and I visited this community. (more…)