The second year of the Galion Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) “Pawns on Pawns” chess club concluded its year with a chess tournament April 9 at Galion Intermediate School.

Approximately 36 fourth and fifth grade students were expected to participate in what is considered the greatest historical game of competition.

Students have been meeting weekly since January learning the game of chess. Each session began with a 15-minute lesson about the game, and then students played chess for the remainder of the scheduled time. The club’s advisors, Mr. Adam Lehman and Mr. Bryan Summer, worked with students to help them hone their skills.

“Chess requires students to use high level thinking skills for play strategy and defense,” Summer said. “We’ve been very fortunate to have members of the Galion High School National Honor Society and volunteers from the local Boys Scouts troop help students learn chess each week.”

The tournament was a round robin style tournament, with students being guaranteed at least two games. The competition was expected to conclude around noon with the first ever “Paws on Pawns” champion being crowned.

“Although we have a lot of technology resources for chess, we use real game boards and chess pieces,” Summer said. “We want students to have the opportunity to move their chess pieces and be engaged in a real game with a peer.”