Checkmate! A Weekend of Community and Competition at the 2024 CCDS Chess Tournament

Our students had incredible fun at the 2024 CCDS Chess Tournament in November. The weekend kicked off with a "simul" during which 40 Country Day students simultaneously played chess master and multi-time Cincinnati City Chess Champion Russ Wilson `75 (congratulations to Luca DiSanto `30 as the only chess player who beat the master!) or Country Day parent and the assistant to the deputy tournament director Jez Vaughan.

“I was a good player in high school but later became a much better player, and at different times in my life, chess has been different things for me,” says Wilson. “If I never played chess here at Country Day I never would have bothered to get to where I did, so I will do anything I can to help promote chess – it’s made such an impact in my life, and I want to pay that forward.”

Saturday's tournament included 42 Country Day students from grades 1-12. All participants were guaranteed to play five competitive games.

“For the kids to have actually played face-to-face with a master and then take part in the physical aspects of an in-person tournament, I think the weekend was a huge experience for them,” says Nico Rumboll, deputy tournament director and middle school chess club advisor as well as Country Day teacher, parent, and coach. “The social-emotional skills of acknowledging an opponent face to face and experiencing the situation of people watching your game in person are much more effective at building certain leadership skills than you can get from playing an online chess game. Add to that the benefits of exchanging experiences across divisions and grades, and I have no doubt this experience has really strengthened both the kids' skills as well as their sense of belonging at the school.”

All experience levels were welcome to partake in the weekend’s activities, but the participants were required to be familiar with the rules of chess and to complete a game without assistance.

 "I thought the tournament was a great chance to meet and play against others across school divisions who love chess, just like I do,” says Nikhil Shah `25, tournament champion. “I also loved seeing how many kids at CCD want to play chess, which is why it was so cool that the school was able to host it. It was a pleasant surprise to see how many people at this school are into chess."

In addition to Nikhil Shah `25 earning the title of tournament champion, others who ranked at the top were: 

• Max Sun `27 – 1<sup>st</sup> place in the Upper School
• Zac Vaughan `25 – 2^nd place in the Upper School
• Neel Patel `30 – 1<sup>st</sup> place in the Middle School
• Kairon Coleman `29 – 2^nd place in the Middle School (and the last chess player standing against Russ Wilson in the simul)
• Ryan Liu `35 – 1<sup>st</sup> place in the Lower School
• Orion Rinaldi `35 – 2^nd place in the Lower School

"It's great to see the chess program at Country Day thriving across all grades,” says Alan Falkingham, who is a Country Day parent and was the tournament director in absentia due to a family emergency. “I strongly believe chess is a game that helps kids succeed academically and builds life skills: critical thinking, detailed calculation, planning ahead, the ability to think clearly under time pressure, sportsmanship, and resiliency. It is also one of the few games where a second grader can successfully take on a high school senior – something that we saw in our tournament."

Many thanks to everyone who made the weekend such a success.

"We were thrilled to celebrate our thriving chess community with this fun and exciting tournament,” says Rob Zimmerman `98, head of school. “Research shows that chess can help improve academic and cognitive performance in areas such as analytical thinking, pattern recognition, and working memory. These skills are already an important part of a CCDS experience, so our chess program builds on our existing strengths. More importantly, though, we have a great number of chess lovers – students and adults alike – who play chess for the pure love of the game. From the interest demonstrated during the tournament, it's clear we will have more chess in our future at Country Day."

 

Photo from left to right: (back row) Nico Rumboll (deputy tournament director), Max Sun (Mason), Zac Vaughan (Indian Hill), Nikhil Shah (Indian Hill), Rob Zimmerman `98 (head of school), Jez Vaughan (assistant to the deputy tournament director); (front row): Ryan Liu (Loveland), Orion Rinaldi (Indian Hill), Neel Patel (Loveland), Kairon Coleman (Forest Park)