Students at Copperfield College Sydenham campus have battled it out with chess champion Leon Kempen.
Fifteen students from the college’s chess club played took on the champion in simultaneous matches. Kellie Jasper, from the school’s wellbeing team, said the students are always eager to try to beat Mr Kempen.
“They look forward to it every year and they think they have a chance,” she said. “He played all of them at once and, unfortunately, he beat them all again.”
But she said they weren’t all easy wins for the champion.
“Two players had played a particularly good game and were in a stronger position than he was,” Ms Jasper said.
Each year, about 30 students at the campus take up the challenge of learning and playing chess.
“We do it primarily for the social contact, but there are some who take it very seriously,” Ms Jasper said.
Helped by the school’s science teacher Terry Tan, the school has provided endless challenges to the most proficient and competitive players, with students George, Joshua, Ed Win and Selin able to reach next month’s Chess Victoria inter-school championship finals.
Jessica Micallef
