Students vie for chance to represent province at national tournament in Toronto
Times & Transcript Staff
Times and Transcript – Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

You have to see it to believe it, says Ghislaine Johnson, head of the N.B. Chess’n’Math Association.

Roughly 1,000 people are expected to pack Riverview High School this Saturday for the New Brunswick Provincial Chess Challenge.

About 350 of those people are students participating in the event; the rest are family, friends and interested spectators who gather in support of the players from Grades 1-12.

The best young chess players from across the province are gathering to determine the winners who will head off to the national championship, the Canadian Scholastic Chess Challenge, May 17 and 18 in Toronto.

Qualifying events were held in schools across the province earlier this year.

This weekend’s tournament is organized by the N.B. Chess’n’Math Association, with Riverview High acting as host.

“We believe that chess is a tool that enables somebody to enhance their math skills, even if it’s not part of the school curriculum,” says Johnson.

She says chess also teaches youngsters skills such as patience and planning that will come in handy in other segments of life.

At the Canadian Scholastic Chess Challenge, students from Grades 1 to 12 will confront each other in a game where strategy and logic dominate. The participants, divided according to their school year, will take part in a round-robin tournament in order to determine the three winners of each category.

The delegation representing New Brunswick will be composed of a student from each grade determined during this weekend’s provincial championship.

Spectators are welcome to the weekend tournament. There is no admission fee.

Registration for students takes place from 8:45 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Saturday. Opening ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m. and the tournament starts at 9:45 a.m. It is expected to take most of the day.

Source: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com

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