CFC Kalev Pugi Fund Receives $10,000 Donation
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We are pleased to announce that Andres Pugi, son of the late Kalev Pugi, has made a milestone donation to the fund created by his father in 1986.
The mission of the Kalev Pugi Fund, administered within the Chess Foundation of Canada, is to generate funds to assist promising juniors to compete in major tournaments in order to advance their chess progress. Three elected trustees receive applications and award grants every year.
The Pugi Fund was initiated in 1986 by a $10,000 bequest from the estate of Kalev Pugi. There were several fund-raising tournaments in subsequent years that increased the equity to $20,500 and it will now stand at $30,500. The capital is invested and retained. The income generated goes toward the junior travel grants.
Kalev Pugi himself was an inspirational figure during the early days of the CFC. In 1973 he presented the Pugi Report, a wide-sweeping modernization of the CFC. He was subsequently elected President in order to implement his recommendations. As a result, the CFC went from a loosely-organized volunteer organization with a fragile balance sheet, infrequently updated ratings and no concept of individual memberships to a professional organization.
Andres Pugi remembers his dad:
Kalev Pugi was an advocate for the game of chess for youth in Canada. He felt the game helped develop young minds with problem solving, strategic thinking, under pressure logic and analytical processing. Skills he learned as a child in his native Estonia and was able utilize in his research work career. For over 20 years he greatly enjoyed teaching on Saturday mornings at the YMCA and passing on his enjoyment of chess to young girls and boys in the Kingston area.
When asked for instructions regarding his donation, Andres hoped that his donation would continue the legacy of his father’s original donation into the future, and focus it on young girls/women. Therefore, income generated from the donation will be used to create an annual grant to promising young women players.