Scholastic Chess in New Rochelle

Youth compete in chess tournament in New Rochelle
By JANIE ROSMAN
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL NEWS
Original publication: March 11, 2007)

NEW ROCHELLE – William B. Ward Elementary School was bustling with silent activity yesterday during the 2007 Westchester Scholastic Chess Championship tournament.

Sydney Jasper, 7, a second-grader at Ward Elementary School, walked into the cafeteria where her mother, Nancy, waited for her. She likes chess, she said, especially “capturing the pieces,” and didn’t mind spending Saturday at the tournament.

“I came with my friends,” she said, one of whom was Zoe Marshall, 7, also a Ward School second-grader. Marshall’s father, Randy, said his daughter also enjoys the game.

Contestants were divided into sections by grade level, said Peter Baust, chief executive tournament director for the National Scholastic Chess Foundation.

Those sections were junior high and high school (grades eight to 12), middle school (grades six and seven), elementary (grades four and five), primary (grades two and three) and K-1 (kindergarten and first grade).

Click here to replay the game.