Gulliver Schools has announced that three of its chess teams finished in the top five at the United States Chess Federation’s 2015 National K-12 Championships.
With more than 1,500 chess players from around the nation competing, Gulliver fielded teams in various divisions at the weekend-long event during December in Orlando.
“I am extremely proud of the performance of our chess teams,” said Randall Smith, coach of the Gulliver Chess team and chair of Gulliver’s Middle School Mathematics Department. “This is a very difficult sport that requires great logic, critical and analytical thinking skills, and our students are a true representation of the benefits of chess in schools.”
Gulliver’s chess program focuses on encouraging analytical and thinking skills. As students develop these skills, they learn to use them to drive their decision- making ó in chess and in every other area of their lives.
The program builds on research that shows how chess improves children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills, including research from America’s Foundation for Chess (AF4C) that shows chess players demonstrate higher math and reading test scores. Gulliver’s program seeks to help students develop skills that are key to success in the 21st Century.
The following Gulliver chess teams finished in the top five in their divisions: 10th grade, second place — Zachary Ashbel, Megan Garcia, Philip Gubbins and Brandon Stoyanovich;
Seventh grade, fourth place — Henry Bryan, Jake Charron, Franky Di Mise, Deven Kamlani, Seby Stephens and Max Strongman, and
Ninth grade, fifth place — Nic Dunshee, Jorge Gonzalez, James Muniz- Aleman and Sam Starke.
For information about Gulliver Schools visit www.gulliverschools.org.
