On May 19, each Westerville middle school sent their building chess club representative to participate in the middle school chess tournament held at the Early Learning Center. Family, friends, and Westerville City Schools staff eagerly watched the matches. Placing first in the district was 8th grader Gabrielle McCrea (Walnut Springs), with second place earned by Darya Sulkouskaya (grade 6) from Blendon. Robert B. (grade 7) from Genoa and Brian Courts (grade 8) from Heritage took third and fourth, respectively.
Chess Coach Marvin McDaniel served as the judge. He is a chess master who also coaches chess at the Westerville Public Library. He shared strategies and spoke of the powerful academic and social merits of chess. Beyond being a game for any age or language, research indicates chess is excellent for improving memory, logical thinking skills, and creativity.
Chess Club Advisors and parent volunteers give special thanks to McDaniel, staff and administrators at the building and district levels, along with the Gifted Education Department. Chess college scholarships are available and a list of Ohio chess camps and clubs can be found at Ohio Chess Association at http://www.ohiochess.org.