First chess tournament occurs; Strategists gain new experiences

     On Feb. 24, students in and out of the Chess Club got to participate in a new chess tournament. Math teacher Mr. William Wardle organized this event in the media center, allowing strategists to take part in a different experience. 

     Wardle started this whole event because of an experience where he was covering in-school-suspension (ISS). He was watching kids and “noticed a student who seemed oddly mad.” When Wardle walked over, he came to find out that “they were fighting over chess.” 

     Afterwards, Wardle made the decision to go down to his room to get some chess boards, and brought it back up to ISS and everyone started playing chess. He explained, “this kid really made me think about the game. He was super good, which was shocking to me.” 

     Then, Wardle said “after seeing this kid have so much fun playing chess, I decided to create a place after school where kids with all the same interests can come together and have fun.”

     The teacher shared, “it went so well that other schools wanted to continue on with this event and create their own. The Patterson Mill sponsor contacted me saying that she wanted to throw a chess tournament at her school on May 12.” 

     Wardle shared this wasn’t his first tournament he hosted. “When [he] taught at Aberdeen middle school, [he] did a chess tournament for different kids in the county.” He said, “chess is fun for me; it is a healthy and good game to get you thinking.”

     Senior Ben Iampieri attended this tournament and thought that “the tournament was great.” He shared, “there were dozens of people prepared to compete. Mr. Wardle did a great job organizing it and I am excited for the next one to be announced.” 

     Overall, Iampieri placed in the top four and said that it was “pretty fair” because “most of the competitors were at a similar skill level.” It was a double-elimination tournament, which means that when a player loses twice, they are eliminated completely. 

     Iampieri explained, “I have been playing chess for only about two years. I went to the tournament because it was a personal form of competition. Previously, I had only ever competed online on chess.com, or for fun at chess club. This was a chance to have a fun, competitive experience on a real board. It was perfect because everyone was very respectful to one another.” 

     The senior shared, “the hardest part of chess is thinking ahead. Anyone can learn how to play, but not everyone can make great moves. Knowing when and what to move becomes very difficult later in the game. Knowing openings can be learned with practice, but even chess masters who have dedicated their lives to the game will make a mistake every once in a while.”