Rolling Hills Library hosts first ever chess tournament

By Jazmine Knight

Rolling Hills Library successfully hosted their first ever chess tournament.

Starting at 10 a.m., participants could engage in the swiss-style, four round tournament and battle for the best score.

The tournament was divided into two sections. One being the U.S.Chess Federation-rated section and the other open for all different ages and skill levels.

Fifth grade participant, Zakari Griffin, played against his older brother in the first round. Griffin says he got tired of his brother always beating him so he decided to learn the game of chess. “

“And turns out once I started, I just found it really fun. First competition, I was so excited and I actually earned five points,” said Griffin.

Griffin kept going to competitions because of the excitement. In his last tournament, he received three out of four points. This time around, he lost his first game to his brother, however, that doesn’t discourage him.

“That’s okay, I tend to lose my first couple,” said Griffin. “I’ve learned not to get too comfortable and I think I’ve won.”

Griffin is starting to understand his playing style as well as others. He says he normally gravitates towards using rooks and blundering his queen.

“The rooks I use as a tag team. And I used to always not have my queen at the end of the game, so I got attached to the rooks more and now I’ve got more attached to the queen,” he said.

He learned to play chess from his coach, Mr. Byrd. Together, they compete in chess tournaments such as the Regal Cup where they received first place in their division.

For Griffin, his favorite part about chess is the excitement of the tournaments.

“There’s a thrill to them. And it’s like you know you have to win. Even if you don’t, you still have to win,” he said.

In the Rolling Hills Tournament, Griffin hopes to finish with three points as he did in his last tournament.