“From coastal resiliency and sustainable green practices to the preservation of affordable housing, world-class public art, and vibrant, year-round programming in award-winning public spaces, Battery Park City leads the way in many of the measures that makes cities livable."

Raju Mann

President & CEO
  • 04/07
  • Community

An Exciting Finish to Battery Park City’s Winter Chess Class

This winter, a group of ambitious students have been learning the language of chess in weekly classes through thoughtfully-designed stories, brain-challenging activities, and fun competition. On Sunday, April 2 the program culminated with a Swiss-style chess tournament in which each participant had the opportunity to compete, learn and develop their interest in chess!

The tournament included 16 participants, ranging from ages 5 to 10. It began with four rounds of Swiss-style (i.e., non-elimination) chess in which the winner received 1 point, the loser 0 points, and each player received 0.5 points in the case of a draw.

Next, a high-action “simul” game was played between chess specialist Michah Saperstein and all of the students. A “simul”, or simultaneous exhibition, is a game in which a skilled chess player simultaneously plays multiple opponents, stepping from board to board and making one move at a time. After 45 minutes of resilient play from all (with parents watching!), Michah finished off the last of the students, undefeated.
By early afternoon, the points were tallied up from the Swiss-style tournament and it was time to hand out awards! First and second place for ages 7 and up were given to brothers Adam and Ellis, while Louis and Kian tied for first place in the 7 and under category. Next, a prize was given to 8-year-old Ananya for holding out a full 45 minutes against Michah in the simul game! Her remarkable patience and commitment helped her hang on until the very end. Finally, all players received a chess key chain for participating in the tournament.

Though this tournament marks the end of indoor chess lessons, the outdoor class will resume next month. Drop-In Chess will be held 3:30 — 5pm every Wednesday from May through September in Rockefeller Park. Contact registration@bpcparks.org for more information.

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