Bearing in mind that students this young sometimes need to be reminded about pesky things like decorum, the tournament's master of ceremonies, Steve Alpern, who directs the city schools' chess program, urged them before the first 35-minute round to display good sportsmanship, shake hands with opponents, and behave civilly in both victory and defeat. (Alpern said later that his position is being eliminated under a proposed restructuring of the school system's finances.)
Just before play began, Alpern said, "I want everybody to take a real big breath." The cavernous room hushed and, after a moment, the only sound heard was the soft clicking of chess pieces knocking each other off.
Bernard Thomas, a 10-year-old player from Pimlico Elementary/Middle School whose opponent unassailably protected his knight, was an early victim. "He beat me," Bernard said in a whisper, apparently a bit stunned at the speed of his fall.
His 12-year-old sister, Desire Thomas, did better. She finished off her adversary with a series of moves that prevented his king's escape from the back rank with deft positioning of two rooks.
"She's phenomenal," said Desire's coach, Lee Rutledge, who normally teaches sixth-grade English at Pimlico. The middle school team, he said, won the Maryland girls' championship this year and last with Desire's help, and last year she was the individual winner in that tournament's novice division.
"The kids who play chess get a lot of their identity from being good at something that's hard," Rutledge said. "It gives them a lot of confidence with other things they take on in the classroom."
nick.madigan@baltsun.com
Middle School Champions
Will Cameron, Roland Park Elementary/Middle
Aubrey Minor, Lemmel Middle
Alex Brooks, Dickey Hill Elementary/Middle
Elementary Advanced Champions
Jordan Best and Ronald Best, Dr. Rayner Brown Elementary School
Martin Orellana, Wolfe Street Academy
Darwin Lopez, Graceland Park Elementary School
Sydnee Campbell, Devon Campbell and Karon Carter, Cross Country Elementary/Middle School
