Third-grade students from Northwest Elementary, Woodland Heights Elementary, and East Elementary gathered in the Brownwood Intermediate School/Coggin Elementary cafeteria on Friday, May 8th, to put their chess skills to the test in the annual third-grade chess tournament.

The tournament, primarily made up of third-grade students, is a result of a chess program that began six 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 use the moves they’ve learned in actual games.

East Elementary Principal, Nanda Wilbourn, coordinated the tournament and led students through four 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.  Students with the same amount of marks competed with each other every round until the top players were determined.

This year 17 students were awarded as the top players of the tournament.  Big Country Ford supports the event each year, supplying snacks and prizes for the top players.  “They donated $10 gift cards to the 17 students who won all 4 games,” said Wilbourn. “They also provided a free bowling pass to Academy Lanes and a coupon for a free large drink from Sonic.”

Pictured above are the top 17 chess players awarded at the annual chess tournament held in the Brownwood Intermediate/Coggin Cafeteria.  Front row: (from left) Colton McMillan (Northwest), Thomas Stewardson (Woodland Heights), Logan Posey (Woodland Heights), Emma Stegemoller (East), Kalean Money (Northwest), Raylei Hickey (Northwest), Baylor Daniell (Woodland Heights), Jazlyn Hatcher (Woodland Heights), and back row: Morselloo Hookwe (Woodland Heights), Jasmine Gibbs (Woodland Heights),  J.C. Hughes (Woodland Heights), Garred McDonald (Woodland Heights), McKenna Blethen (Woodland Heights), Leila Rivera (Woodland Heights), Caleb Nix (Woodland Heights), Sydney Steward (Woodland Heights), and Ty Tindol (Woodland Heights).