Chess at Minimbah

This year there have been many opportunities for students to learn and play chess. Playing chess encourages students to develop problem-solving skills, think critically, flexibly and creatively and increase memory and attention capacity.

On Tuesday lunchtimes, students can gather in the Learning Enhancement room and play against other students (and teachers) to develop their skills. This year, there has been a very enthusiastic group of Foundation students who have ventured up for many lunchtimes and have even been teaching Gabby a few new strategies.

Afterschool on Wednesdays,  interested students participate in chess tutoring sessions run by Kids Unlimited. Our chess coach spends some time teaching strategies to the students, followed by time for them to play a game and try what they have learnt.

Students then have the opportunity to participate in competitive chess and represent Minimbah, as members of the School’s Chess Team. This year students from Years 1-6 have participated in multiple Zone Tournaments run by Northern Star Chess, playing against students from other schools in the Southeastern Region. In June the team came away with the Zonal School Champion Trophy for that tournament.

Congratulations also to eleven of our students, from Year 2 to 6, who qualified to compete in semi-final and finals in this final term.

Zone Semi-Finals – Charlie Cary (Yr.3) , Jacob Horn, Harry Marshall, Ben Tilmanis and Max Watts (Yr.5) and Daniel Fan, Brodie Johnson and Henry Palmer (Yr.6).

Girls State Primary Final – Bella Clarke (Yr. 4)

Junior Primary Students State Final - Felix Daniel & Jack Stone (Yr. 2) and Charlie Cary (Yr.3)

October also saw us hold our third Junior Intraschool Chess Tournament, with over eighty students from Minimbah and Penbank gathered in the Minimbah gym for a morning of friendly, competitive chess. Such a great morning was had by everyone, and special thanks to Kids Unlimited, who ran our competition for the day.

A huge thank you to Gabby Williams for her dedication to promoting chess and inspiring a love for the game in our students.