Elbridge Gale Elementary Competes at National Chess Tournament
The elementary chess team at Elbridge Gale has surpassed all others in Palm Beach County during the 2011-2012 school year. Mrs. Pasterczyk, the Elbridge Gale Principal, noted during the Palm Beach County tournament recently held at her school that she was pleased with the progression of school wins across tournaments for District, Regional, Palm Beach County and the Florida Super State Championship…and looking forward to Nationals as the natural competitive progression.
A team of 15 students and more parents made travel arrangements to compete in the National Elementary K-6 Tournament in Music City, Nashville, TN, sponsored by the USCF and held May 11th to May 13th.There were 10 sections and 2223 players. Major competitors included prestigious schools from NY and 3 southern, neighboring elementary schools from Miami, FL.
Elbridge Gale student players competed well and returned to Wellington, FL bringing home team trophies of 6th place in the K-5 division, out of 65 participating elementary schools and 24th place in the K-3 division, out of 58 participating elementary schools!
While this was the first National Tournament attended by the Elbridge Gale Elementary School, parents were impressed with the hours of chess played by the students over the 3-day tournament that included 7 rounds. “Even after the last chess match and before dinner, my son and his classmate wanted to play chess!” said Kelly Brenner, a chess parent with a son in the K-3 division.
Chess lessons were put into action as students notated the games in scorebooks and used chess clocks to assist with assessing the board for best moves. The diversity of players from across the country made the tournament interesting and added to real-life instruction on Sportsmanship.
“You would think playing a solid game would be enough, but players also learned how to deal with the personality and style of the person on the other side of the board”, remarked Meralie Dupuis, one of the parent-coaches, whose daughter was in the K-5 division.
Virtues, such as obedience to the rules and TD (tournament directors) and consideration/respect for the opponent, by not talking during play, may be covered in a single tournament game of chess. Mr. Antonis Loudaros, Chess Program Director, tirelessly coached students before and after games, acknowledging achievements and providing details to students and parents on areas for improvement for games played.
Elbridge Gale Elementary Chess Academy leads Palm Beach County and Florida by challenging competing schools to play chess for Excellence and be the Best.
For more information contact Antonis Loudaros at (561) 422-9300.
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Public Affairs Contact: Natalia Arenas – (561) 357-7662 – natalia.arenas@palmbeachschools.org
