ENDHAVEN ELEMENTARY CHESS CLUB MOVING FORWARD

The Endhaven Elementary School Chess Club has seen dramatic growth this school year.  Last season 65 young chess players were involved in the club, this year the number has grown to 112.  These young children, grades K-4, gather every Wednesday Morning in the media center at 7:30 AM.  The students participate in a mixture of challenge matches and lessons from a Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Chess Master.

Gary Zukowski, a parent volunteer, designed a unique rewards program for the kids as they learn the game of chess.  With every five wins and completion of five chess worksheets, the kids earn a colored dog tag.  Once they reach the ninth level, they receive a black dog tag, the highest honor available.

The club also operates a ranking system and every child has their own ranking.

Luke Peter, 10, is the second ranked player in the club.

“Chess puts my mind to work and gives me something fun to do before school.”

Cesar Escobar, 8, is the sixth ranked player.  Cesar started at the very bottom and worked his way up the ladder.

“I enjoy being challenged and having fun. I like playing with my classmates.”

The Chess Club also has a program for first time players; they are referred to as Pawns.  After learning the game, the Pawns are integrated into the regular club.

Robbie Reicht is in Kindergarten and is learning the game.

“Chess is fun and I get to see my friends.”

Fun is the word of the day for the Endhaven Chess Club.  The South Charlotte Sports Report congratulates the entire club for their determination to learn the game of Chess.

ENDHAVEN CHESS CLUB

Aalim Khaderi
Britton Backer
Aaron Brown
Matthew Budidharma
Evan Burke
Matthew Burke
Erin Callahan
Cameron Clark
Zachary Cox
Hayden Davidson
Joshua Davis
Tanner Dominick
Hannah Dong
Ryan Elliott
Alessandro Emanuel
Cesar Escobar
Nathan Evans
Chandler Fullington
 Harrison Galyon
 Winter Galyon
 Emma Garfinkel
Hannah Garfinkel
Jake Gast
Zoe Gavia
Austin Glover
 Luke Goldstein
Jake Gomez
Carson Gordon
 Jack Grace
Stefano Guillen
Austin Hall
Leila Hanna
Grant Henderson
 Hunter Huckaby
Aaron Hunt
 Austin Hunt
Jared Hunt
Jaycee Jordan
 Andereya Kasaija
Jonathan Kennedy
 Ismail Khaderi
 Ideliya Khismatova
Grant Kinsey
 Cullyn Knight
 Richard Laico
 Mimi Lichacz
 Chris Magone
 Wesley Manning
Sara Marashi
Cameron McCoy
 Kalie McCoy
Alec Meadows
 Zak Medhi
Dionte Miller
Nathan Murray
 Eric Nelson
Matthew Nestor
Sean Nestor
Andrew Norton
Alex Olinger
George Pamukci
Sahil Patel
Shivani Patel
 Coert Pease
Grant Pease
 Alejandro Perez
Fernando Perez
Jake Peter
 Luke Peter
 Ben Petricoff
Vijay Rachakonda
Michael Reicht
Robbie Reicht
Chase Revier
Jack Sanniota
Sommon Sarmadi
Milaan Shah
 Molina Shah
Jason Shealy
Tony Shenouda
Tommy Smith
 Tyler Smith
Ben Snider
Will Snider
Alexander Speer
Nathaniel Speer
Austin Stipo
Graham Suddeth
 Arman Taghehchian
Sean Tait
Japhetu Tewolde
 Jiselle Thomas
Frederick Tjandrawan
Anna-Catherine Triggs
Cameron Tully
 Kemal Turksonmez
Eli Vail
Colby Valeriano
Shelby Valeriano
Alec Wagner
 Lauren Wagner
Amanda Ward
Carter Watkins
 Carter Weeks
Zach  Weston
Justin Whitner
Beth Wiesinger
 Lauren Wilson
Jacob Winters
 Lexie Winters
 Michael Xing
Anna Zukowski
 Mary Zukowski