Students from Northwest Elementary, Woodland Heights, East Elementary, and Coggin Elementary convened in the Brownwood Intermediate School/Coggin Elementary cafeteria on Monday, May 20th, to put their chess skills to the test in an annual elementary chess tournament.

The tournament, primarily made up of third-grade students, is a result of a chess program that began five years ago with the implementation of First Move, an award-winning in-class curriculum that uses chess as a learning tool in second and third-grade classrooms.

Starting in second grade, students begin to learn the pieces and their corresponding moves.  Near the end of the school year around 300 students participate in the chess competition, which allows them to put the moves they’ve learned to the test.

Northwest Elementary Principal, Candace Wilson, coordinated the tournament and led students through several rounds of play.  Third-grade teachers helped monitor the games, and after every round the winning player, by check-mate or pieces remaining, received a mark on a card they carried throughout the tournament.  Players with the same amount of marks competed with each other every round until the top 15-20 students were determined.

This year 17 students were awarded as the top players of the tournament.  “Big Country Ford contributes prizes and snacks for the kids,” said Wilson.  “Wal-Mart gift cards were awarded to the top students and each child received snacks, drinks, a bowling pass and a Sonic drink card.”

Pictured at top: Students from Northwest Elementary, Woodland Heights, East Elementary, and Coggin Elementary shake hands before playing in the annual chess tournament on Monday, May 20th.

Above: The top 17 chess players awarded at the annual chess tournament held in the Brownwood Intermediate/Coggin Cafeteria. (L to R) Anthony Gonzalez (Northwest), Alex Reyna (East), Jonathon Woods (East), Laura Johnson (East), Luke Moss (East), Weston Burns (East), Cameron Phipps (Woodland Heights), Alyandra Gamez (Northwest), Cary Pena (Woodland Heights), Troup Bishop (Woodland Heights), Christian Fijer (Coggin), Lora Briley (Coggin), Danniel Mares (Woodland Heights), Olivia Fowler (Woodland Heights), Carlos Delarosa (East), Angel DeLuna (Northwest), Jayden Allen (Northwest)

 

Pictured left: Elementary students from Brownwood play chess in the annual tournament that was held Monday, May 20th.