Young chess players in our area faced off at York River Public School this past Tuesday.
Grade 4-6 students from Hermon, Coe Hill, Birds Creek, Our Lady of Mercy and Maynooth took part in the tournament.
We checked in with some York River students at midday, who said their school was doing well. The kids agreed it was ‘a lot of fun’ and only occasionally ‘a little bit stressful’ playing in the tournament.
One student wanted to let his mom know he was having a good day with some help from her:
“Hey Mom” he said, “I’m tied with two other people in first and so far I’d probably get to go to the Belleville—fun!” He then added “Thanks for the good luck charm”
At the closing of the event, volunteer Dawn Meo recognized the hard work of the tournament organizer,
“I just want to take a moment to thank Jen Humen” she said to a big round of applause.
Meo went on to thanks all those involved in the day: “All the volunteers helping today, as well as teachers who give up their lunch hours and break times in order to work with the students on chess”
Meo also complimented the kids on their stamina throughout the day:
“Some of you are just learning and it’s a long hard day of paying attention and you did really well, and I hope you’re proud of yourselves”
Top-placing students in the tournament will go on to play in Belleville at the chess play-offs.