By Christine Young
STAFF WRITER
FREMONT - Eight Northern California
female chess players, including three from
Fremont matched up against their Australian
counterparts Saturday - and no one lad to
leave home.
The girls completed eight simultaneous
chess matches via modems, computers and
a new Australian cyberspace chess clock
and software - or at least up until the new
clock and software failed. After that, they
had to resort to more traditional means:
Telling each other their moves over the
telephone.
Overall, the Brisbane, Australia, girls
ended up defeating the American team,
which competed from a hotel room in Foster
City. Only Jennie Frenklakh, 15, of Marina,
and Northern California's top seed, defeated
her Australian counterpart,
according to chess coach Aan
Kirshner
Even so, the local girls said
they
enjoyed their unique competition
"At first I was really, really nervous. But
then after the game started, I got serious,"
said 11-year-old Jocelyn Lee, a Weibel
Elementary School sixth-graders Anothor,
Weibel pupil, fourth-grader Rachel Chou
also participated.
Lee said-she played a 12--year-old
Australian girl, a player she said she would
like to challenge in a face-to-face
match. Chen 12, a Hopkins Junior
High seventh-grader, said, she also
wouldn't mind a face-to-face game.
"It was my first time doing that. It
was kind of strange because it's
easier to play face-to-face," Chen
said. "You can see their facial expression
you know what they're thinking. ."
The participants were chosen
because they are among the best in
Northern California based on their
success in previous tournaments,
said Kirshner, who coaches chess at
Weibel Elementary. The Australian
coach contacted the U.S. Chess
Federation, which contacted the
federation's regional vice president,
Tom Dorsch. Computer equipment
and Software used was sent from
Australia. The other American
players are from Mountain View,
Marina, San Francisco and Modesto.
The Argus, ©
October 24, 1995