Introductions

Both Jayel Taylor  and Ronnie Nelson, Jr. have a number of things in common in that they both are chess talents, gifted students and enjoy a number of other activities. Two young stars will battle in The Chess Drum's first ever "Friendship Match." The two-game, 30-minute match will take place on Yahoo! Games site Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 6:00 pm EST. (Note: The match was rescheduled due to serious technical problems. They have been resolved and everything is ready to go! Thanks for your patience.)

Jayel Taylor (5 years old) - A boy of boundless energy and charisma, Jayel got his first exposure to chess at age two and first gained notoriety by appearing on a major news story in Chicago. Visible at tournaments by his oversized Chicago Cubs baseball cap, Jayel has been successful as a scholastic player and earlier this year, he helped his team to a 2nd place trophy in the Primary Division (K-3) at the Latin School Chess tournament. Visit Jayel's website, www.jayeltaylor.com.

Stories on Jayel

The Chess Drum, "Jayel Taylor stars in Chicago tourney!" 22 January 2005.

The Chess Drum, "4-year old Jayel Taylor featured on CBS," 24 March 2004.

Ronnie "RJ" Nelson, Jr. (6 years old) - Determined and driven for his age, RJ picked up chess two years ago by attending chess lessons at Arima Boys' R.C. on Saturdays. In an interview with the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, he stated that he reads chess books and enjoys solving the puzzles. He recently played in the HB Global tournament and played Grandmaster Maurice Ashley in an exhibition. RJ has sights on becoming a chess Grandmaster.

Stories on "RJ"

The Chess Drum, "'RJ' Nelson in The Trinidad Guardian," 16 June 2005.

The Chess Drum, "Trinidad's Ronnie Nelson at HB Global Tourney," 1 June 2005.

Rules

Both players will play two games with each color (30 minutes per side) and there will be no 'take-back' moves. There will be a short break in between games. Each player will play using the Yahoo! interface, but will not have the use of chess software, nor can they receive assistance from other players (either in person or by electronic means). Neither player nor the spectators  should use the built-in chat facility to discuss the games while in progress. All are welcome to visit the Yahoo! chess room to watch the games.

• Go to https://games.yahoo.com/ and click on "chess" in the board game section.
  
• If you are not a Yahoo! member then a brief registration is required, otherwise enter username and password.
  
• The game will be in the "Beginner" game room in the "Pristine Palace."
  
• Look for "daaim777" (Daaim)
  

Posted by The Chess Drum: 19 July 2005