On Feb. 20th, 30 of the most ardent chess fans in the Fredericton and Oromocto-area student community gathered at Hanwell Park Academy for the annual FEC/OEC high school chess tournament.
The top two student chess players from eight high schools in the FEC and OEC education-centre regions qualified for the championship by winning competitions in their respective schools. Students took part in several 20-minute games—10 minutes per player on the chess clock—with gold and silver medals awarded to the top two players.
Passion kindled early
“It first started as a hobby with my friends,” said Fredericton High School Grade 12 student Fanuel Komi. “But when I started to play, I joined the [FHS] chess club to learn more benefits.”
Komi, like many of his fellow student chess fans, loves the strategy behind the game. “It’s a positional game and it gets your mind thinking. And it’s really fun to think about tactics and strategies.”
This is exactly the sort of thinking Derrick Grant, ASD-W Subject Coordinator for Grade 6-12 Numeracy Education, wants to instill in students. Grant is the tournament coordinator.
“Chess is an ancient game, and it’s a game of strategy and skill and mental focus,” he said. “So, we hope that they pull those things out of it by playing and practicing to improve those skills.
Fredericton High School Grade 10 student Fifi Chen was so taken by the game, after learning the basics in Grade 2, that she taught her family how to play.
“I introduced the game to everyone in my family, so now we all play it for fun,” said Chen, who has been playing competitive chess since Grade 7. “I think it motivates me to go after my goals, because when I lose, it teaches me to not give up and to continue trying and gradually I’ll win. And the feeling of winning gives me satisfaction.”
A good-natured desire to outcompete their mentors drove some students to excel at the game.
“I’m very competitive, and I saw my teacher, Mr. LeBlanc, was pretty good at chess, so I played him one day,” said Jordan Foster, a Grade 10 student at Stanley Consolidated School.
Foster lost that game but, he said, “I wanted to get good at this, so I started playing every single day until I could beat him.”
Foster’s Grade 9 schoolmate Roland Brooks followed a similar trajectory into the world of competitive chess. “One day during class, we were playing chess and Mr. Belczewski played me. I wanted to beat him one day so, I just trained. It’s still close games every time, but [now] I manage to beat him sometimes.
Central New Brunswick Academy Grade 12 student William Carey—who learned the game from his brother—says he is now a vigorous competitor when playing against his mentor.
“I’m better than him now,” Carey said, smiling. “I mean, he’s proud of it. It goes to show that he’s done a good job at it. And now I’m starting to teach him. So, it’s like the roles have switched.”
“In terms of school, there’s definitely a connection to critical thinking and strategic play,” said Grant. “And what students have told us is that playing face to face with another person is more challenging than playing online. So, we think there’s some benefit, social interaction, as well as sportsmanship and good competition.”
Though the championship was the culmination of official chess competition in the district, students are encouraged to apply independently to the New Brunswick Chess Association and the Chess Federation of Canada to compete provincially and nationally.
Middle schoolers show their chess savvy
