Third-grade students from Northwest Elementary, Woodland Heights Elementary, and East Elementary gathered in the Brownwood Intermediate School/Coggin Elementary cafeteria on Tuesday, May 24, to put their chess skills to the test in the annual third-grade chess tournament.

The tournament, made up of approximately 290 third-grade students, is a result of a chess program that began seven 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 third-graders 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 determine the winner of each round by check-mate or pieces remaining.  Students with the same amount of wins were matched up and the top players emerged undefeated following the fourth and final round of play.

This year 18 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.  “A special thanks to Kurt Newton and Thomas Scull of Big Country Ford for providing all third-graders with snacks, Sonic drink-cards, a bowling pass from Academy Lanes and $10 Walmart gift cards for the 18 top winners,” said Wilbourn. “What a great way for these businesses to celebrate all of our third-graders.”

Pictured above are the top 18 chess players awarded at the annual chess tournament held in the Brownwood Intermediate/Coggin Cafeteria. Front row: (left to right) Payton Scott (Woodland Heights); Easton Judkins (Woodland Heights); Ethan Miranda (Woodland Heights); Aiden Pena (Woodland Heights); Autumn Parvis (Woodland Heights); Ethan Fuentes (Woodland Heights); Cameron Autlman (East); Abigail Brown (Northwest); Mari Rocha (East); Jose Rodriguez (Northwest) Back Row: Joselyn Chapman (Woodland Heights); Xavier Martinez (Woodland Heights); Bentley Hubbard (Woodland Heights); Tyler Roberts (Woodland Heights); Kaeden Byrd (Woodland Heights); Xadrianna Sierra (Northwest); Xavier Aguirre (Northwest); and Jeremy Ortega (Northwest).

Below are more photos of students during the chess tournament.