From Newsgroup: sci.space.news

April 28, 2011

Joshua Buck 
Headquarters, Washington                                         
202-358-1100 
jbuck{at}nasa.gov 

Kelly Humphries 
Johnson Space Center, Houston 
281-483-5111 
kelly.o.humphries{at}nasa.gov 

Glenn Petersen 
U.S. Chess Federation, Crossville, Tenn. 
732-252-8388 
gpetersen{at}uschess.org 
RELEASE: 11-129

NASA ASTRONAUTS CHALLENGE EARTHLINGS TO CHESS REMATCH

HOUSTON -- NASA astronauts Greg Chamitoff and Greg H. Johnson, who 
will launch into space Friday, April 29, are challenging the people 
of Earth to a chess rematch. NASA and the U.S. Chess Federation 
(USCF) hosted the first Earth vs. space match in 2008 when Chamitoff 
lived aboard the International Space Station. 

The public won that match thanks to help from chess champions at 
Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Wash. 

"Chess is a great game that challenges the mind and helps young people 
develop critical thinking skills that will serve them well in math, 
science, and all aspects of their future careers," Chamitoff said. 

He and Johnson will play the game during their 14-day space shuttle 
flight to the International Space Station. The USCF will facilitate 
the match on its website at: 

http://www.uschess.org/nasa2011/ 

At the site, the public can suggest or vote on a chess move. The USCF 
will decide how to respond to the astronauts' moves. NASA and USCF 
will use Twitter and Facebook to notify participants about the status 
of the game and when to vote on moves. 

"We hope the excitement and interest this game generates will inspire 
students to become interested in chess," said USCF Executive Director 
Bill Hall. 

Chamitoff, who will conduct two spacewalks during the shuttle mission, 
is a chess aficionado. He took a chess set when he launched to the 
space station in May 2008, and brought it back when he returned home 
in November 2008. He will be taking a different chess set for this 
trip. 

"We hope to do better in this Earth vs. space match," Chamitoff said. 
"But, I have to admit it will be a challenge because we have an 
extremely busy flight ahead of us." 

Updates on the chess match will be posted on the USCF Twitter and 
Facebook sites, Chamitoff's Twitter account and the International 
Space Station's official Facebook page: 

http://twitter.com/chessmagnet 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Earth-vs-Space-Chess-Match-2011 

http://twitter.com/Astro_Taz 

http://facebook.com/ISS/ 

For more about Chamitoff, the space shuttle and the space station, 
visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov 
	
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