His Honor RICHARD RIORDAN, Sponsor of our Chess Festival

In 1981, successful lawyer, businessman, hi-tech investor and venture capitalist Richard Riordan created the Foundation that bears his name. His simple goal: enable people to acquire skills necessary to compete successfully in society. He had an equally simple plan: teach children to read and write at an early age, and nurture leadership skills in young adults. The Riordan Foundation has an impressive record of computer-based, early childhood literacy programs across America and youth development and leadership programs with over 2,400 graduates. Its signature Rx for Reading programs have distributed over 25,500 computers to over 2,140 schools in 40 states and provided funds for over 172,000 books purchased for elementary schools.

Richard Riordan won a decisive election victory in Los Angeles in 1993, and quickly became one of the most successful and admired of big city mayors in the USA. He won a second term by a landslide in 1997, and had he not himself imposed the consecutive-terms limit, he would undoubtedly have been Mayor after 2001. For 8 years, he accepted a salary of exactly $1 per year. In 2003, he was the natural choice to serve as California Secretary of Education in Governor Schwarzenegger's first cabinet.

It will not surprise any Chess player to learn that Richard Riordan, the confirmed believer in the power of early education, is also a lifelong aficionado of Chess and a friend of many leading players. When his advisor and friend Steve Soboroff formed the Los Angeles Committee of 18, Richard Riordan was moved to sponsor the 18th Maccabiah Chess Festival in recognition of Maccabi World Union's encouragement of young chess players in many countries.