Artwork by Mike Magnan
Child masters in check mode
BY ANGELA VALENTE
28 Aug, 2012 12:00 AM
PUPILS in the Macedon Ranges began to flex their mental muscles yesterday at the first round of Australia’s largest inter-school chess championships.
The championships, held at Riddells Creek Primary School, will also include competitors from Braemar College, Macedon Grammar, Woodend, and Winters Flat primary schools.
If successful, they will play against the top teams in Victoria at the state finals on October 22 at Monash University.
Riddells Creek Primary School teacher Nick Gibson said 16 pupils from the school were competing. The school has a chess club which operates at lunch times.
Former chess champion and founder of the Chess Kids competition, David Cordover, watched over the competitors yesterday.
He said there had been a shift in the opinions about chess.
“The appeal chess has to young, inquisitive minds and parents and teachers wanting to help their children build mental muscles from an early age is now very strong,” he said.
“Chess has managed to shake off whatever misconceived dull or nerdy image it may have had and now takes its place as one of the most popular extra-curricular activities in Australian schools. Our purpose is to instil a love of chess, of learning and of thinking that students can apply throughout their lives and I think we’re achieving that.”
This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Chess Kids competition.
“This 1000-year-old game is now also being run with a modern twist,” Mr Cordover said. “We use iPads to enter and track scoring and parents of participating children are also able to follow the competition live online
“The scores are updated after each round, which means that parents are able to feel like they are there throughout the day, even though they can’t make it in person.”
Source: http://www.macedonrangesweekly.com.au
Awesome!