What Does It Take to Become U.S. Champion?
by Courtney Hader
What does it take to become a US Champion? The students at P.S. 116 can tell us! Elizabeth Berg, Spencer Berkman, Jane Handorff, Paul Handorff, Nitai Leve, Marc Anthony Parrino, R.J. Parrino, and Alex Streopoulus make up the P.S. 116 chess team. They have recently been named the US Champions in the K-5 Section, with Marc Anthony Parrino becoming the co-champion. To become a great chess team it takes determination, discipline and practice. It also takes the ability to get back up when you are knocked down. As many of our students and parents know, it has taken years of hard work to become champions, but it has been fun.
One of our many extraordinary students is Marc Anthony, a 5th grader at P.S. 116 who has been playing chess since he was in kindergarten. Besides his love for football, baseball and anything athletic, he is also a US Chess Co-Champion. With his calm demeanor, brilliant moves, and mature playing he has come up to the front of the line and become a champion. When asked about Marc’s presentation P.S. 116’s coach, International Master Saudin Robovic, leader of NYChessKids, an organization that promotes academic youth chess, stated, “he had an amazing performance!”
Saudin has coached Marc and the team at P.S. 116 for years and knows how far they have come. The school’s faculty is also aware of what a feat it was for their chess team as well. Ms. Corilla, principal of P.S. 116, has been a great supporter of our mission for the children of New York. She knows that children need to be challenged in school as well as outside the classroom, which is why she allows NYChessKids to come to her school and teach the game. Just this past year, the gifted program tested in the 96th percentile on the New York State standardized tests. In turn, this raised the school’s overall rating and allowed them eligibility for government scholarships.
The students at the NYChessKids are all amazing and we wish that we could highlight them all individually. This is impossible, because there aren’t enough words in the English language to do them justice. All we can say is that with the help of our instructors, educators, and parents, we’re able to create an atmosphere conducive to learning and fun. With this in mind, anyone can see why our students are some of the most extraordinary in this great city of New York!
For more information about NYChessKids, and their workshops, chess camps, and youth programs, please log onto their site at www.nychesskids.com.#
