The Great Chess Recyling Revel

Speaking of illness, I'm sick of wading through boxes here at our new apartment. The Great Chess Junk Recycling Revel is coming! Many people have already contacted me about worthy causes, mostly clubs, programs, and schools. What I would really like to do is make this a group project, in which all of you with a bunch of surplus chess junk (in other words, all of you), especially books, can join in. My plan would be to auction a few items that would generate money for a general chess recycling postage fund, so I could reimburse you for your shipping costs (optional, of course).

The Dirt will also serve as matchmaker (NOT warehouse) for the stuff. So if you have good books for kids, or extra sets or software, etc. it can get to a good home. We know enough people, and people who know people, to verify it's not going to end up on Ebay. And by good home I mean an institution of some sort where it is needed and will be used and appreciated -- not just collect someone else's dust. (Or end up at a rich private school where they should be buying new books and keeping England's GMs in chips and ale.) All donations will be made public here, as will any letters of thanks. If we're lucky might find someone in your area who can pick your stuff up, obviating the need for packing and postage.

So I'll start putting a few Kasparov-signed items up for auction on Ebay and mentioning them here. Keep in mind this is for a charitable cause, and your support will earn you eternal gratitude and fame on the Great Chess Junk Recycling Hall of Fame board, coming soon! I don't want to leave individuals out entirely, but there are already enough places for people to buy or trade used chess stuff for themselves, no? If you just want to donate to the postage fund, use the donate button on the left of the homepage and specify it's for the Recycling Revel.

As for you, get going! Put together a box of stuff (dust it off, please) and itemize it. Take a few pictures while you're at it. It can be one or two books or dozens of books with some software and a set tossed in, whatever is working and still useful. Let me know what you have by email and I'll let you know where to send it. We'll try to be as local as possible. Send it as cheaply as you can (for obvious reasons this is limited to the US unless you're paying your own postage) and let me know if you want reimbursement. Think of how warm and fuzzy you'll feel when you see the pics of kids thumbing through your old books. And think how happy your wife will be to have all that shelf space back. If you haven't looked at it or used it in a few years, recycle it! Your book could help the next Bobby Fischer. (No, that doesn't mean send in your old copy of Mein Kampf.) Let the Recycling Revel begin!