St. Joseph Catholic School students make
their move against International Master
|
Saturday, January 13, 2001
By STEPHENIE KOEHN
News Staff Reporter |
| What do you call 150 silent kids crowded into a school gymnasium? Chess
players. |
| The first- through eighth-graders, nearly half the student population
at St. Joseph Catholic School in Howell, pooled their concentration and
playing abilities Friday to challenge Ben Finegold, the highest-ranking
chess player in Michigan, during the school's first Chess Day. The simultaneous
games continued for nearly six hours before Finegold defeated the last
of his young opponents. |
| The school's winners - the last to be checkmated in their age groups
- were second-grader Austin Zebrowski of Brighton and eighth-grader Eric
Byrnes of Pinckney, said eighth-grade math teacher Jim Pierson of Ann Arbor,
who organized the event. The "winners" and the student from each homeroom
who played the longest will get trophies and be invited to a pizza party. |
Finegold, the number two speed chess player in the world and an International
Master, the second highest title in international play, moved rapidly from
board to board Friday, making his moves against the 150 students at their
150 chess boards. Finegold offered advice and shook hands with his competition
as he played.
"This is the largest simultaneous game I've ever played in," said the
Plymouth resident, who makes his living teaching and playing chess and
hasn't lost a game since 1994. He often teaches at Chess Express in Ann
Arbor.
The competition was surprisingly tough, Finegold said. "In the last
15 minutes of play, we still had six games going." |
| Fourth-grader Adam Zebrowski said he was excited to have the opportunity
to play against one of the best players in the country. "And, if I use
what I learned, I might get to beat him, too!" he whispered gleefully.
Zebrowski and his classmates have been learning chess under the tutelage
of Pierson, who incorporated the game into the math curriculum at the school
last fall. Chess is valuable in the study of math, he said, because "it
aids in the development of logical reasoning, mental representation (the
ability to visualize something in the mind without actually seeing it),
personal discipline and alternative problem-solving strategies." |
| Eighth-grader Laura Stewart, who began playing the game last fall,
demonstrated her visualization skills as the game progressed. |
| "I don't think I'm in jeopardy yet. I've planned my next move," she
said. "There's nothing (Finegold) can do to counter it." |
| Stewart said she was thrilled to be playing with someone of Finegold's
caliber. "And getting out of class is one of the best things about "Chess
Day," she added. |
| The game has taken the school by storm, said Sister Marilyn Czarnecki,
the school's principal. |
| "They play a lot during noon hour, especially on snowy days. I think
it's wonderful. It really teaches the children responsibility and good
thinking skills." |
|
| Stephenie Koehn covers Howell and Hartland and Marion Townships. She
can be reached at (810) 229-8594. |
