Thompson Falls students play large chess game

THOMPSON FALLS - The Thompson Falls Elementary and Junior High School gymnasium was turned into a giant chess board last Thursday for the last game of a school chess tournament.

Set up the night before by Krystin Slater, the seventh and eighth grade math teacher, the floor of the gymnasium had a large mat laid out which was sectioned off into the grid of a large chess board. The mat was large enough for selected students, faculty and visiting Thompson Falls Officer Bob Thornhill, to stand in place as chess pieces. Officer Thornhill’s position was a black knight.

The people standing in as chess pieces had paper vests to wear with their position written on them. The kings had large decorative hats and the knights had cardboard swords to hold.

The two chess players who used the live chess board to play were Riley Riffle, the white player, and Jacob Wilson, the black player. Both Riffle and Wilson were the two finalists in the school tournament. Wilson described how they got there, “We versed our classmates and then we had a school tournament, so this was like the school championship.”  

The junior high school students who watched the match sat on the bleachers that were on the second story of the gymnasium, so they could see the game from above. Wilson and Riffle sat in the middle of the second story bleachers in order to look down on the gigantic chess board.

Each player had a chessboard next to themselves in order to easily visualize and plan their next moves. Sitting next to each player was a faculty member to ensure that the two players followed all the rules, and to make it official. There was a two minute time limit for each turn in order to make sure the game was finished within one class period. Slater and Mr. Holleran, a retired teacher and chess player, watched from down below to ensure the game went smoothly.

Ms. Slater, who is the faculty member who leads the chess club, described how the live chess game and tournament came about because of the school’s chess club. She also explained the importance of having Mr. Holleran present for the game. “They had a chess club before in the past and when Mr. Holleran retired, it went away... The kids approached me and they asked me if I could start a chess club and I said would supervise them during their lunch,” Slater said. She then explained she didn’t know how to play chess and Mr. Holleran who had retired came back to help co-run the chess club. Slater said she wanted to stress that Mr. Holleran was very important and donated a lot of his time to help the club.

The game between Wilson and Riffle lasted for a good portion of the time allotted for the special event. Both looked closely over the rails of the second story bleachers and could be seen contemplating their next moves. Only once did Mr. Holleran have to stop the game because of an illegal move.

In the end, it was Wilson who won the game. Despite winning, Wilson said in a humble explanation, “I play against some really hard competition. I have lost a few times, but I haven’t lost at all yet this year.” He then said he has been playing chess for four years, starting around the age of 10.