Several of the 141 students competing in the Rainy River District School Chess Tournament at Crossroads School in Devlin on Friday have qualified for the Northern Ontario Schools Chess Championships.
Tournament organizer Martin Williams explained the chess players needed 2.5 points in order to represent the district at the tournament, which will be held Oct. 20 in Thunder Bay.
And he added Friday’s tournament was quite a success.
“These chess players crammed in 700 games of chess in the three hours between arriving and climbing back into buses and car pools,” he enthused.
“The [Crossroads] gym was a hive of energy from start to finish and none of it would have been possible without the parents, EAs, teachers, and volunteers that helped pull it all together,” Williams stressed.
One of the volunteers was Norma-Jean Johnston of Rainy River, who agreed the day went very well.
“The children are doing wonderfully,” she remarked. “And there have been no fights or feuds, just a demonstration of higher level thinking.”
Nick Boisvert, a Grade 5 student at Riverview in Rainy River, said he was having fun participating in the chess tournament.
“It’s really hard to play, but there are so many people who are really good at it,” he noted, adding he learns a lot about the game from his peers.
“It really makes you think, and it’s better to play chess than it is to sit there and play video games.”
Williams said he wishes good luck to all the chess players who will play in the tournament in Thunder Bay, which is the last stop before the Canadian national showdown.
Here are the results from Friday’s chess tournament:
< *c>Age seven and under
1.—Lemuel Carradice (Riverview)
2.—Darrell Jonasson (Riverview)
3.—Connor Grynol (Crossroads)
< *c>Age eight/nine (girls)
1.—Moriah Carradice (Riverview) and Bethany Sinninghe (Riverview)
2.—Jonelle Haas (Crossroads)
3.—Madison Brown (Riverview), Cynthia Morrison (McCrosson-Tovell), and Brielle Byma (St. Francis)
< *c>Ages eight/nine (boys)
1.—Terrell Hyatt (Sturgeon Creek)
2.—Carter Kinnear (Donald Young), Parker Orchard (Donald Young), Kyle Knapp (St. Francis), and Joey Angus (Crossroads)
3.—Taylor Whitehead (Walker), Nolan Spuzak (Walker) and Alex Stewart (Donald Young)
< *c>Ages 10/ 11 (girls)
1.—Faith Kilmury (Riverview) and Reagan Calder (McCrosson-Tovell)
2.—Ayla Holmes (Riverview) and Shanleigh Fryer (St. Francis)
3.—Maryam Seid (St. Francis), Lena Morelli (St. Francis), and Caleigh Payne (Walker)
< *c>Ages 10-11 (boys)
1.—Maxwell Williams (DYS)
2.—Conor McManaman (St. Francis), Chris Jensen (Robert Moore), and Cole Hyatt (Sturgeon Creek)
3.—Nolan Short (Riverview), Reece Jones (Crossroads), Kirk Johnson (Sturgeon Creek), Isaac Firth (Donald Young), and Scott Stewart (McCrosson-Tovell)
< *c>Ages 12/13 (girls)
1.—Courtney Hansen (McCrosson-Tovell)
2.—Wendy Smith (Sturgeon Creek)
3.—Riley Brown (Donald Young), Autumn Leonard (Donald Young), and Marissa Kinnear (Donald Young)
< *c>Ages 14/15 (girls)
1.—Taylor Windego (McCrosson-Tovell)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
