‘Deserves to be recognized.’ State College students, staff celebrate 20th chess tournament

In 2004, after her first chess tournament in Philadelphia, tenth grader Emily Chu wanted to find a way to bring the competition back to her fellow students at State College Area High School. On Tuesday, the districtwide chess tournament she helped build celebrated its 20th anniversary, marking years of growth for the local chess community.

The annual chess tournament is open to students from all grade levels, with students playing against each other for several rounds until a winner is determined for elementary, middle and high school levels.

State High’s chess club advisor Jim Robinson said both the tournament and chess club itself has grown significantly in his 25 years as advisor.

“When we started it, it was pretty small,” Robinson said. “And then over the years, it’s just gotten so large that we had to really be selective, so the elementary schools have a pre-tournament to determine who goes to the tournament.”

Chu, who was the driving force behind the initial tournament, served as president of the State High Chess Club before graduating in 2006. She helped teach and prepare younger students for the tournament and popularized chess within the district.

“It’s really just changed so much,” Chu said. “I was the only girl in high school chess club. I organized groups to go to their elementary schools to teach them chess because I realized, even if we have a chess tournament, if kids didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to play they wouldn’t be able to participate.”

But chess is not just a game to Chu and Robinson, rather a way to teach critical thinking, logic and the importance of thinking ahead.

“It teaches you how to think about decision-making in your life, not just on the board,” Robinson said. “Most of the kids in chess club are very, very bright kids.”

For Chu, Tuesday’s tournament served as a celebration of State College Area School District’s thriving chess community but also a thank you to the teachers and staff who made 20 years of tournaments possible. With Robinson retiring in the spring, Chu organized a presentation and card for him, along with Shelia Abruzzo and two former staff members who helped run chess club, Shirley Donovan and John Sheridan.

“I really hope that the community knows just how much effort the teachers put into starting a tournament and continuing it because I know that it’s a lot of extra work for them,” Chu said. “And I think that really deserves to be recognized, especially in a time when we have such a huge teacher shortage.”