Some pint-sized city chess players took home a big prize at a competition in Dallas last weekend.
A kindergarten through third-grade team of seven from Success Academy’s Upper West Side charter school won in their beginner section for the U.S. Chess Federation national championship.
“We have dedicated chess teachers and a strong chess culture,” said Eva Moskowitz, the CEO of the Success schools. “It’s about thinking and ideas.”
Many of the other “king slayers” also fared well in the tourney.
Four of the seven Success Academy teams placed in the top 10 in their respective divisions, and all placed 16th or better.
“The rest of the team was overjoyed for me before my final match, which made me feel nervous,” said Trevhon Cox, a fifth-grader at Success Academy Harlem North Central who placed third in his kindergarten through fifth grade section.
“I heard nothing but the tapping of timers and pieces clinking. I stayed calm and played my hardest for an hour and 30 minutes, but was forced to resign.”
The young Bobby Fischers follow in the footsteps of the champion chess team from Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, which has won a whopping eight national titles.
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