Chess: International School Library Month Tournament |27 October 2023

This year’s International School Library Month Tournament winners Anse Royale (Photo: Benjamin Hoareau)

Anse Royale secondary the winners

The Anse Royale Secondary School is this year’s winner of the annual International School Library Month competition jointly organised by the Seychelles Chess Federation (SCF) and the Belonie Secondary School.

This year’s tournament took place on Wednesday at the Mont Buxton District community Center, and only four schools took part, forcing the organisers to conduct a two-round robin league, with each team facing each other twice.

After the six rounds of play, Anse Royale collected a brand total of 15.5 points to finish first, ahead of second-placed Belonie who finished on 13.5 points.

Third overall were English River who collected a total of 10 points, pushing Beau Vallon into fourth and last position on nine points.

It is worth noting that chess helps build individual friendships and teaches children about sportsmanship.

Children learn how to win graciously, and more importantly, how not to give up when encountering defeat.

Chess also encourages and rewards hard work. Children learn that those who practice and study the strategies win more games.

Studies have shown a strong correlation between learning to play chess and academic performance.

A landmark study by Smith and Cage (2000) posited that students who received chess instruction scored significantly higher on all measures of academic achievement, including math, spatial analysis, and non-verbal reasoning ability.

Other findings in various locations around the United States and Canada indicate that chess results in improved scores on standardised tests in both math and reading.

To help in propagating the game of chess in school around the country, Unites States-based charity group, Gift of Chess recently made a donation of 51 chess sets to the Ministry of Education which will be distributed to different school libraries around the country.

It was the Gift of Chess’ local representative Robin Bonne – an ex-teacher – who handed over the chess sets to Principal Secretary for Educational Services Merna Eulentin during a small ceremony at the Seychelles Institute of Teachers Education (SITE) at Mont Fleuri.

Compiled by Roland Duval