20 March 2017

First Graders of Novosibirsk Played in the Pushkin Lyceum

Elena and Gennady Timchenko foundation sponsored the event.

The Novosibirsk State Pedagogic Lyceum named after Pushkin hosted a chess tournament for first graders, which attracted 60 players. 

Grants from the Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko support organizing such events at local schools. The demand was there, however, the schools interested lacked the necessary equipment, especially chess clocks. The grant equips schools that develop chess with everything they need for comfortable education process: chess sets and clocks, demonstration boards, textbooks and workbooks, etc. All these gifts were presented during the opening ceremony of the tournament. 

Natalia Vladimirovna Zimina, a teacher of the Lyceum, turned the opening ceremony to a true fest: there was a parade of all first graders of the school, and a concert of the pupils who play musical instruments. Lyceum pupils of third and fourth grades were helping to referee the event. 

The opening ceremony also saw speeches from Irina Vladimirovna Korkina, Chairman of the parents committee, Olga Sergeevna Kubasova, interim school principal, and Oleg Mezentsev, a three-time Russian champion in kickboxing, who said that studying chess helped him build a successful career in another sport. 

Yulia Petrova took clear first place in the tournament. Second place was shared by Ivan Khavantsev, Ksenia Goldberg, and Yaroslav Yarlykov. Artem Evplanov and Polina Lochkanova tied for third place. 

Novosibirsk State Pedagogic Lyceum develops chess for many years – since 2008 chess was an extra-curriculum activity, and in the next academic year it will be experimentally included into the first grade curriculum. 

Photos by Pavel Maletin, information by Svetlana Kozlova