Organizers welcome anyone with an interest in helping either financially or as a volunteer to contact Parsons or other volunteers. The next big event will be a youth chess tournament held in Stearns Gym from 2-6 p.m. in conjunction with the Fabulous Fourth event in Columbus. The Kiwanis Club of Tryon will provide cash prizes for the winners in each of four divisions. Registration is limited to the first 24 qualifying applicants, and a $1 entry fee is required. Registration will be at the door on the day of the event.
The Polk County chess enthusiasts maintain a website, Polk-Knights.org, where chess rankings, results and upcoming events are routinely posted. On the last day of chess for the spring semester, a training tourney was held with five divisions playing three short games in round-robin style. Many ribbons were handed out, and one young man, who was the highest-ranked undefeated player that day, received a beautiful glass chess set. To complete the story, Russell Ruff, who began this all, will teach chess this year at Serendipity Kids Camp at Harmon Field where he is a junior counselor.
– article submitted by Lynne Parsons