By Julie McNally Daher and Julia Golier, Parent Volunteers, Bronxville Chess Club

Apr. 22, 2015:  The Bronxville Chess Club had its fourth and final sponsored tournament of the year on Saturday, April 11, at the Brunswick School in Greenwich. The tournament, sponsored by the National Scholastic Chess Foundation (NSCF), attracted 26 Bronxville School players from grades one to nine, including both first-time tournament players and seasoned competitors. As the day ended, Bronxville came up with several team trophies. The novices forming the K-1 team earned a third-place team trophy for the day. First-place trophies were also awarded in both the reserve and championship sections, and a second-place trophy was awarded in the future masters section. 

The Bronxville Chess Club continues to have an active and growing program, with over 160 children participating in lunchtime chess. The lunchtime program has children enjoying lunch in the classroom as an NSCF instructor teaches the class using a hanging board in front of the room. For the second half of the class, children play against each other. Classes meet once a week during lunch recess, based on grade level. Students in grades three to five have the option of joining a tournament class, which has more rigorous training with children who typically have tournament experience. Additionally, the club is experimenting with segregating girls and boys in the early grades with the hope of increasing the sustained participation of girls to levels achieved in other area schools with active chess programs. 

The Bronxville Middle School chess club for tournament players has been growing and meets after school. For the third year in a row, middle school students will participate in the National Junior Chess Championship. This year, Bronxville will be represented by ten students at this tournament, which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, from April 24 to 26. NSCF's executive director and World Chess Federation (FIDE) master, Sunil Weeramntry, will coach the team. Two weeks later, a team of 17 Bronxville students will head to Nashville, Tennessee, to compete in the National Elementary (K-6) Championship. They will be participating in three different sections: K-3 Championship, K-6 Under 1000, and K-6 Championship. The team is getting ready by participating in local tournaments and having additional team coaching sessions. The elementary school team is coached by NSCF instructor Jon Rigai.   

The success of the program is made possible by the students themselves, the coaches from the National Scholastic Chess Foundation led by Sunil Weeramantry, and by the efforts of the many parents who volunteer at lunch and those who lead the program, including Valentina Acharya, Shenan Reed Golimbu, Nadine Brandes, Nancy Yu Kochansky, Jocelyn Angelone, and Julie McNally Daher. 

Good luck to the students on the Bronxville Chess Team as they head to the nationals!

Pictured here (rotating):  Championship team, first place: Lorenzo Acharya, George Daher, and Tora Ozawa; reserve team, first place: Guy Sneh, Tyler Tanaka-Wong, Charles Hodulik, Harrison Brown, and Joseph Matthews; Harrison Brown and Charles Hodulik, third-grade championship team from the Westchester County Championship that was held at IONA Prep on March 14.

Photos by Julie McNally Daher