Thanks to a generous donation by the Gravenhurst Rotary Club, Muskoka Beechgrove Public School was able to send 16 students to the Trillium Lakelands Regional Chess Tournament in Haliburton this year.

Three years ago, Rotarians Ross Siemms and Ken Little initiated a “Chess in the Schools” program and supplied each of the local schools with a number of chess sets for game play. With those sets and some guidance, many students were able to learn how to play the game properly and have now had a couple of years to hone their skills.

This year, teacher Peter Yungblut took over as coach, and after a few months of chess club play, the students were excited to get their first taste of competition at the next level.

Over 250 players from across the school board attended, with winners qualifying for provincial championships.

As relative newcomers to the game, none of the Beechgrove kids were able to win their division but the experience was priceless, and gave them a goal to strive for in the future.

Coach Yungblut and his chess team would like to thank the Gravenhurst Rotary Club for their support.