Menin Makes Move For Chess Player Votes

Julie Menin

Manhattan Borough President candidate Julie Menin is leaving no potential group of voters untouched in her quest for votes. Having already maxed out on her fundraising, the former Community Board 1 chair has been speaking at a series of intimate “friend-raisers” across the borough.

On Friday, at what a spokesperson for the campaign said was the seventh “Menin Meet-up” just last week, Menin addressed an unusual assembly of supporters: chess players. Menin became active in the chess world through her three sons, all of whom play chess competitively, and the “friend-raiser”, hosted by former United States Chess Federation President Beatriz Marinello, brought together grandmasters, international masters and some of the city’s top scholastic players for an introduction to the candidate and, for the children, the opportunity to participate in a simultaneous chess exhibition.

“In chess we have a slogan—gens una sumus—which in Latin means we’re a family,” said Marinello. “The chess community is a family, we’re all part of it—players, parents, coaches, children—so I think it’s important that when one of our own is running for such an important position like Manhattan Borough President that we support her.”