Judge and mentor Marv McDaniel, is pictured with chess champions.
On May 22, each Westerville middle school sent their building chess club champion to participate in the Middle School Chess Tournament hosted by Walnut Springs and supported by the Gifted Education Department. Family, friends, and staff eagerly watched the round-robin matches, which were timed and took place in a multi-round, double elimination format.
Placing first in the district – and breaking records by winning every match of the tournament – was Adam Kaiser (grade 8, Heritage). Second place was earned by Sagar Shah (grade 7, Genoa). Grant Schneider, (grade 6, Walnut Springs) and Adrian Self (grade 8, Blendon) took third and fourth respectively.
Retired teacher and chess coach Marvin McDaniel served as the judge. He shared chess strategies after each match, and spoke of the powerful academic and social merits of chess in one’s life.
Chess college scholarships are available and a list of Ohio chess camps, clubs, and tournaments can be found at Ohio Chess Association at http://ohchess.org/.