A parade of kids in orange t-shirts walked, skipped, scootered, and biked up Rugby Road one Sunday morning in April. 23 in total. Maybe a few drove, but they didn’t have to. The destination was nearby. 217 was in the house of 139, our neighbor school on Cortelyou Road.
For 16 of the 23 PS 217 Chess Panthers, it was their first tourney: PS 139’s Spring Welcoming Tournament. Our host for the day, Ian West, runs the chess academy at 139 and now also heads up 217’s beginner chess club, as part of the Magnet Arts program. The Panthers had their own den, a classroom on the 2nd floor, opposite the dojo of the 139 Chess Ninjas. The coach for 217’s advanced chess club, Fred Magovern, was camped on the floor between composite desks, a circle of orange around him, reviewing games all day long. Win or lose, all matches are growth opportunities, so going over the game is a big part of the game. A truer life lesson is hard to find.
4 rounds and 6 hours later the Panthers slinked down to the auditorium for the awards ceremony (okay, they ran). Jan Rosenberg of Brooklyn Hearth Realty, a great supporter of both schools and a real trooper, was there to pass out awards with one arm (the other was in a sling).
Here’s the bling the Panthers brought home that day:
(plaques, trophies and medals on red, white and blue ribbons)
K-5 Non-Rated Beginner’s section:
1st place team trophy
- 1st place: Kunsang Tsering
- 3rd place: Alex Cordova
- 4th place: Oliver Rygh
K-5 Rookie (U600) section:
- 2nd place team trophy
- 3rd place: Nima Lhamo
- 5th place: Joaquin Pinto
It was pretty wonderful sitting there in that post-war public school auditorium, much like 217’s, watching Panthers prowl and Ninjas karate chop their way to the stage apron to receive trophies from a smiling, physically challenged woman. Feel good never felt better, that Sunday afternoon in April, pear blossoms blooming outside, children blooming inside.
