Meet Me at the Park (It's Going Down)

Just noticed that UMD-founded Word Beats & Life Inc. has posted updated information for the 4th Annual Bum Rush the Boards hip-hop chess tournament. Word Beats & Life Inc. is an awesome organization that publishes a hip-hop magazine and engages youth with an 'urban art academy.' The web site describes the connection between chess and hip-hop pretty clearly:

"There is a logical connection between chess and hip-hop considering that hip-hop, as a culture, is highly competitive. It is replete with opportunities to battle and to compete in order to win over crowds, crews, and sponsors. By connecting hip-hop to chess, WBL has created a chess tournament that exposes youth to a culture (hip-hop) and a science (chess) that requires them to think ahead, to manage talent and to size up their adversaries. WBL recognizes that these skills are not only useful in both chess and hip-hop, but in business and life, as well."

Anyway, the tournament goes down April 18, 2009 at the Columbia Heights Community Center. I definitely intend to be there, but will also need teammates. Maybe we can take on the RZA and GZA together