A chess tournament in Warsaw for students and adults will help feed the needy in Haiti. The Checkmate Hunger tournament will be Nov. 23 at Madison Elementary School, 1436 W. CR 300N, Warsaw. Cost is $3 for Warsaw Community Schools students, and $5 for players outside of WCS. Spectators do not pay. Checks should be made payable to Madison Chess Club, with entries sent to chess coach Jay Bolduc at Madison by Nov. 20. Registration Nov. 23 will be from 8 to 8:30 a.m., with players meeting at 8:45 a.m. The first round will start after the players meeting. T-shirts will be available for $11. Those who register by Nov. 20 will have their name appear on the back of the T-shirt. To pre-order, include the $11 and shirt size in registration. Proceeds from the tournament will go to Allowing Christ To Shine to help feed the hungry in Haiti. This is the second time the fall chess tournament, which is in its 13th year, has benefited ACTS, Bolduc said. ACTS President and founder Clark Shepherd said he had two children grow up playing chess and he’s good friends with Bolduc. After thinking about how they could do something “bigger” than chess, Shepherd asked Bolduc if they could do a tournament so the children could play a game they love while doing something for kids in need. Though he would have done it anyway, Bolduc said Shepherd’s idea also fulfilled part of the school corporation’s mission statement of “enriching the lives of others.” “The administration thought it was a great idea and they jumped on board,” Bolduc stated. Students playing chess love it because it’s fun, Shepherd said, but everyone also walks away a winner because they’re helping kids in another country. Before each tournament, Bolduc tells his students chess is only a game and there’s more important things in life. At last year’s tournament, Shepherd played a video at the tournament showing the need that exists in Haiti. Bolduc said the video motivated the players and he noticed less complaining. The 2012 tournament had close to 150 chess players ranging in age from 5 to 60, Bolduc estimated. Shepherd said students still proudly sport their tournament T-shirts. Since the tournament is open to anyone, players from Goshen, Elkhart, Fort Wayne and other cities participated last year. Bolduc sometimes travels to schools in Goshen and Elkhart, and he said students there are still displaying their tournament shirts. “It’s a lot bigger than just Warsaw,” Bolduc stated. While the tournament raised “a couple thousand last year,” Shepherd said he doesn’t have a goal for this year. “What I love is the effort and people just putting it on. The numbers will be what they’re supposed to be,” Shepherd said. Of course, another part of Shepherd wants to see more people participate to raise more money for Haiti. Last year’s tournament was more successful than Bolduc thought it would be, he said. Sections of the tournament will be rated and unrated. Rated tournaments, Bolduc explained, are for people who are really good at chess. Players are given a rating number based on how good they are. Unrated players usually are kids with less experience. Trophies will be awarded in each section, and medallions will be given to those who do not win trophies. Warsaw Education Foundation sponsors the awards. “And kids can win an iPad Touch®,” Bolduc noted. Besides helping its school, orphanage and medical clinic in Haiti, ACTS also provides Thanksgiving meals to families in Warsaw. Last year, more than 320 families were given turkeys, stuffing and other items. “We know there’s a need here too and Warsaw is my hometown,” Shepherd stated. ACTS will provide concessions at the chess tournament. Bolduc noted that they’ll team up again for a tournament Jan. 18 at Washington Elementary School, but it will be more focused on chess. Proceeds will still go to help Haiti. For more information about ACTS, visit its websites at www.allowingchristtoshine.org or www.Acts20.org For more information about the tournament, email Bolduc at jbolduc@warsaw.k12.in.us
