MANCHESTER – On Saturday, the Granite Gambit Chess Festival inspired 50 New Hampshire students in grades K-12 at Memorial High School in Manchester.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the festival students played chess, a game that enhances cognitive abilities and teaches life skills. (See winners below)
The festival is sponsored by Chess in Education-US, in association with the New Hampshire Chess Association and the New Hampshire Department of Education. For $5 in pre-registration or $7 at the door, students enjoyed a fun-filled day of chess-themed activities, including:
•Simultaneous exhibitions: Students played against chess masters at the same time.
•Puzzle solving: Students completed chess puzzles and problems to win prizes.
• Unrated scholastic chess: Students got the opportunity to compete in an unrated tournament and learn about scholastic chess tournaments that the New Hampshire Chess association sponsors.
•Blitz tournament: For more advanced players, a 5-minute blitz chess tournament with trophies for top finishers.
According to Jerry Nash, National Chess Education Consultant to Chess in Education-US, “Chess teaches higher-order thinking skills, visualization, and logical reasoning in an enjoyable format for children and adolescents.” Studies show chess improves math scores, reading skills, and more.
The festival was open to all NH students in grades K-12. All materials and training were provided.
“We had nearly 50 students participate in the day event at Memorial High School,” Paul B. Roberts, Operations and NE Event Manager Chess in Education-US.
And the winners are:
Pre-K-6
1 Bilodeau, Casey
2 Bardwell, Nathan
3 Hetman, Michael
7-12
1 Aravind, Ramashish
2 Bilodeau, Quinn
3 Roy, Emma
Blitz
Pre-K-6
1. Duquette, Trystian
2 Hetman, Michael
3 Boucher, Zachary
7-12
1 Bilodeau, Quinn
2 Aravind, Ramashish
3 Green, Elias
BugHouse
1 Hawks (Trystian Duquette, Jay Palmieri)
2 Checkmate Carter Mills, Ramashish Aravind
3 Bughouse Specialists Morgan Glaser, Jacob Faucher