Birmingham Community Charter High School’s Chess Club had a busy two weeks in which the club held the annual schoolwide chess championship tournament from October 3 through October 12. Forty-six students entered the tournament and played six rounds of chess against each other. The most surprising thing about the tournament was that Mr. Hughes, a USCF tournament director, had to choose who the winner would be (adjudication) for any game that wasn’t finished by the end of lunch (lunchtime is not always a long enough time to have a full chess game).

Miguel Rubio (12) repeated as school champion and he finished 5-1 and took the top prize.  Laphynie Nuqui (12) finished a close second with a score of 4 1/2 – 1 1/2.

Chess is a game that a person could play as a hobby or as a profession. It just depends on how seriously you play, train, and study–and if you want to win for money and fame. I asked Kiean Ragay (12), who finished in fourth place if he thinks he will pursue chess as a profession and he said ‘no.’ Jason Hernandez (11), who finished in third place, said that he might consider chess as a job in the future if he discovers that he has a talent for chess.

Chess is a mental sport that can improve cognitive function because it reinforces problem-solving skills, analytical and critical thinking skills, and time management.

Chess is a widely-known board game that has been played for centuries–since the 6th century A.D.  Some people may have become chess prodigies by starting young, while others may have only started playing recently. An example is how Kiean started playing chess at the age of 11 because of his grandfather. Jason surprisingly started playing chess because he wanted to beat Kiean.

The chess championship tournament was a perfect time for Jason so he could prove that he could beat Kiean by beating him during the tournament. “It was fun and challenging when it happened,” said Jason as he described his win in the tournament.

If you want to play chess at lunch and maybe participate in a tournament, come to room E-29, say hello, and play a game.  You might meet a new friend and the club meets every day at lunch.

Playing chess can help players experience different emotions and a person could feel challenged, interested, relieved, and joyful. Kiean said playing in the chess tournament made him feel challenged and joyful as he played against friends and other students.

You can now play chess electronically and online, which is very convenient for people who do not have enough space and time for a physical chess game. Kiean and Jason both play on Chess.com, allowing them to play and practice chess outside of school. Being able to play chess anywhere lets a person be able to get better and play serious games like tournaments, which require entry fees in which to play and get rated.