Northwest Elementary, Woodland Heights, and East Elementary 3rd graders will be competing against each other in a chess tournament scheduled for Monday, May 14th, at 9:00 a.m. in the Brownwood Intermediate School/Coggin Elementary cafeteria.
The chess program began four years ago with the implementation of “First Move,” an award-winning in-class curriculum that uses chess as a learning tool in 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. “Dr. Blincoe sent me, along with one teacher from each campus, to the training,” said Stacy Smith, chess program coordinator and principal at Northwest Elementary. “The First Move program is really very good. They provide CD’s for training and we’re also connected to their website.”
Starting in 2nd grade, students begin to learn the pieces and their corresponding moves one at a time. “They play a game with just the pawns called the Pawn Game,” said Smith noting that games designed to show the correct movement of specific pieces helps to gradually teach them how to play. “They’re young, but you’d be surprised. Every second grader gets a [chess] set to take home, and some of them really get the hang of it at an early age.”
“My favorite piece is the rook,” said Alex Roberson, a 2nd grader at Northwest Elementary, adding that he liked it because it can move across the entire board. Having learned most of the pieces, Roberson already looks quite comfortable with the game. “They show us videos and then teach us how to move the pieces,” Roberson said. Though the tournament is for the 3rd grade level only, it gives the 2nd grade students something to look forward to the next year.
Around 300 students will participate in the chess competition on Monday, and it marks the third year for the tournament. “I decided that since we worked all year on the tournament, let’s bring them all together for it,” Smith said, noting that the tournament is an opportunity for the 3rd grade students to tour Coggin Elementary. “The third graders will see the building, and they’ll see the cafeteria where they’ll be eating next year.”
With all the 3rd grade teachers on hand to monitor the games, the students are given a card that has their name, school, and teacher on it and they’re assigned a table. Each round lasts approximately 20 minutes, and at the end of the game the value of the remaining chess pieces for each player is added up. “We ring the bell and the teachers go around with me and mark who had the most points,” said Smith. “The ones that have the most points move up and play each other, and those that had the least points play others who had the least points.”
Smith organizes the tournament each year, and arranges the various awards for the competitors, including a ribbon for every student who participates. “We try to get it down to the top 20 or 25, which takes around 3 or 4 rounds, and those kids get a $10 Wal-Mart gift card,” said Smith. Big Country Ford is providing refreshments, along with sponsoring the purchase of the gift cards.
The tournament will give the students a chance to test their chess skills and have some fun playing a game that involves a lot of thinking and strategy. “I like the sportsmanship of it,” said Smith. “We have them shake hands before and after each game, and the kids love it. They really do.”
Pictured at top:
2nd Grader Daniel Pineda smiles as he thinks about his next move during a recent chess game at Northwest Elementary.
Pictured above: Northwest Elementary 2nd Grader Alex Roberson concentrates on his next move during a game of chess with a fellow student.
