A chess team from The Rosalyn Yalow Charter School in the South Bronx won first place at the 58th annual New York State Scholastic Chess Championships on March 13 and the team will now compete at the National Scholastic Chess Championships in Baltimore on May 1.
The 26 Rosalyn Students divided into four teams competed in the tournament against a staggering 1,750 students from across New York State, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Montreal, Canada. Three other teams from the school finished in second, third, and fourth place.
Some notable players from Rosalyn’s team’s include six-year-old Roger Basurto, one of the youngest players in the competition, and 11-year-old Ishaan Nikhil, who only started playing chess in the fall.
The school is coached by several internationally recognized chess players, including Irina Krush, the first woman to earn the grandmaster title in the United States. According to Irina, chess builds students’ confidence and supplies them with important life lessons.
“Chess touches nearly every aspect of who a child becomes,” said Krush. “Kids build confidence by climbing the rankings, resilience by learning to keep going after a loss, and the early, empowering understanding that their intentional choices shape their results.
“Chess also teaches a life skill that’s harder to name but no less important,” she continued. “The person across the board has ideas and plans of their own, and a self-centered attitude won’t get you far. Chess teaches that the person across from you has a perspective worth understanding — and that skill is especially important today.”
Historically, New York City has been a mecca for chess development. Notable chess players from the city include Bobby Fisher, Fabiano Caruana, and the first Black Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley. Places like Washington Square Park and the Marshall Chess Club have helped mold some of the world’s greatest chess minds. Other New York City Schools have also been growing their own talent pools.
Most notably, there is Brooklyn’s I.S. 318 school, whose chess team has 58 national titles and was the subject of an award winning 2012 documentary “Brooklyn Castle.”
Rosalyn’s chess program is in its infancy, but further success is within reach, especially seeing how the school’s curriculum is set up.
Chess at Rosalyn is baked into the students who receive daily chess education. Students are also being exposed to fine arts and the unorthodox sport of fencing. According to the school, having programs like these help to support economically disadvantaged students and provide competitive collegiate options.
“Our goal at Rosalyn Yalow is to open doors to college pathways and career success for our students. We do that through the arts, through chess, and through offerings that local students wouldn’t otherwise enjoy. It’s all about unlocking the potential of the students we serve in The Bronx,” said Ross T. Lyon, chairman of the Rosalyn Yalow board of trustees.
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