D-E 360°’s Chess Team, which has flourished as part of the Lower School AfterCare & Enrichment (ACE) program, is preparing for its first two chess tournaments of the academic year—the first kicks off right here on campus on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., in Hajjar Auditorium. Next up is the 2024 New Jersey K-12 Championship on Sunday, Nov. 24, at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ.
“Our Lower School students are ranking nationally,”
says Dr. Sherronda Brown, Director of D-E 360°.
Adds Sharon Keigher, the Director of Afterschool Programs: “Our students compete against the best in the state and in Manhattan—we are on par with Hunter, Trinity, and Horace Mann, to name a few peer schools.”
The team is currently under the expert tutelage of Mackenzie “Mac” Molner, a chess grandmaster (GM)—defined as a player who has achieved the highest title in the sport.
“The interest at the Lower School has really taken off,” says Coach Mac, who joined D-E last year. “We have a lot of students who are starting to develop a strong interest in chess.”
Coach Mac says he combines his classical chess education with fun lessons to engage students. “I will often offer prizes or plan fun minigames to get the kids excited about learning chess,” he says.
The D-E tournament, which will be rated through the United States Chess Federation (USCF), is open to young chess players from Grades K-5 and students in Grades 6-8 who want to experience how chess tournaments work.
In preparation, Coach Mac says, “We will start to incorporate extra things into lessons, like writing down the moves you play, playing with a chess clock, or extra rules like touch move… which means if you touch a piece on purpose you need to move it.”
One of the Chess Team’s biggest accomplishments was coming in 4th place in the 2nd to 5th place division in the NJ State Scholastic Championships last year.
“That was a great result!” says Coach Mac. “I’m proud of all the students who do their best to learn something new like chess. It’s never easy and a lot of them are very passionate about it.”
For the K-12 Championship, there are five scheduled games. They are not elimination style, so students will be able to play all five games if they choose.
“Our kids are loving it,” says Dr. Brown of playing in tournaments. “It’s a culture of support, not competition.”
The LS program is growing rapidly, and is about to make the leap into the Middle School Club program on Nov. 19! For details and to register for upcoming D-E 360° Chess tournaments, click here or email DE360info@d-e.org.
