New to the school this year, science teacher Joseph Raucher has already picked up extra duties, and is now its chess coordinator.
“We currently have 10 members in the chess club, but are planning on expanding our membership,” Raucher said. He and the school’s principal and assistant principal invited Simonaire to play against their students in this chess challenge.
After hearing the morning announcements about the chess tournament, sixth-grader Cody Masiello told Raucher that he wanted to sign up for the chess match, “’cause I am kind of good at chess,” he said.
When Simonaire walked into the middle school, he was welcomed by 23 eager students seeking a chance to become the first student to defeat the senator. “I’ve been playing chess since I was little and wanted to play against the senator,” sixth-grader Sarah Gidding said.
Rotating between 23 simultaneous chess games spread across numerous tables, the senator had approximately five seconds to analyze each student’s chess move and make his own move before pivoting to the next adjacent chess board.
The students that played in the tournament were: Garret Alexander, Hope Burke, Marcus Colvin, Tyler Davis, James Dittrich, Jeremy Dawidowicz, Josh Dawidowicz, Sarah Giddings, Amanda Kehl, Paul Lim, Jade Marshall, Sean Miller, Bailey Pope, Rushil Savalia, Nic Schoonmaker, Dylan Smith, Paiden Smith, McKenna Sparks, Shelby Stillman, Jorge Urizar, Naven Wagner and Nate Wetherall.
This year was very challenging and at times it looked like a few students might prevail, but the senator used all his chess strategies and tactics to remain undefeated. After two hours of chess play, the last player, Jeremy, finally conceded to the senator. He had played the senator before, when he was at Sunset Elementary.
“The students ranged in talent from beginner to quite knowledgeable, but they all had the common thread of excitement for the game,” Simonaire said. “For the students I played in Sunset that are now in George Fox, you could see a vast improvement in their play.”
Each student was awarded a citation from the senator, along with a special citation recognizing the best offensive and defensive players, including Jeremy and Cody for best offense and James for best defense.
“I have to admit that playing 23 students simultaneously is hitting my limit, but it is such a rush to see the excitement in the student’s eyes and their enthusiasm for the game,” Simonaire said. “Every student should be proud of the hard fought game they played. The parents and administration of George Fox Middle School should be very proud of their student’s accomplishments”.
Simonaire said he realizes he will not remain undefeated as the school challenges continue, he looks forward to presenting an additional special prize to the first student who wins.
“Chess is a great game for challenging the mind. Chess playing can also directly relate to life experiences. For example, planning in advance relates to chess moves, but also in life. Those who plan are generally more likely of achieving their goals than those who just look 5 minutes down the road. It also demonstrates that there are more ways than one to tackle a problem. Life’s problems can be approached in many ways with many different results and just like in chess it is important to analyze the situation before blazing ahead,” he said.
Source: http://www.capitalgazette.com
That is fantastic.