Extreme Chess: ISS Vs. The Earth

The match is focused on school children in kindergarten through to the third grade US Chess Championship Team, including chess club members from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington. The students choose four possible moves in reply to Chamitoff's and then the public votes on the best move to be transmitted to orbit.

"For the past 10 years, the International Space Station has been an important platform to learn about living in space. We're excited to have the opportunity to engage not only young students, but the public at large in this unique chess match," said Heather Rarick, lead flight director for the current space station mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. After all, this match will not only boost interest for space exploration in the classroom, it might create many chess enthusiasts (after all, it's not every day you get to challenge an astronaut to a board game).

Chamitoff carried his custom-made chess set into orbit when he few on the STS-124 shuttle mission which delivered components for the Japanese Experiment Module, "Kibo". Each chess piece is attached to the board with Velcro to prevent the pawns and knights from floating around the station's Harmony module where the match is taking place.