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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
March 31 - April 6, 2005 Edition
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West Tisbury gambit March 31, 2005 By Anna Marie D'Addarie Chess Club members show off their awards at the March 23 ceremony. (From left to right) Margaret Joba-Woodruff, Hadley Chapman, and Zachary Bresnick, along with other players, enjoy the party. Photos by JJ Gonson Second-grader Stephen Perzenowski, a chess player in the intermediate group, with the award he received at the March 23 ceremony. For the third year in a row, chess player Lee Faraca took the grand prize. The second-grade student at the West Tisbury School has been playing chess since he was four years old. Peggy Stone serves the chessboard cake at the annual Chess Club award ceremony. Ms. Stone's son, Matthew, is a second-grade player. What could entice more than 30 children to stay after school one day a week for 10 weeks? A game whose very origin is shrouded in mystery, although its modern version has been around for at least 500 years? Chess. The Chess Club at the West Tisbury School handed out annual awards on March 23. The club is part of the after-school program run by the West Tisbury Parks and Recreation Commission. For three years Susanne and Michael Faraca of West Tisbury have been leading the group for children from Kindergarten through sixth grade. Under the couple's guidance, the group membership doubled from the first year to the second, and is still growing. They must be doing something right. Each session begins with a lesson on strategy, followed perhaps by a focus on a chess position. Then the play begins: beginner, intermediate, and advanced players square off against each other. Mr. and Mrs. Faraca's son Lee began playing chess at the Vineyard Haven Public Library. The library has a dedicated group of chess players who meet year-round each Tuesday evening at 6 pm. As Lee's interest in chess grew, his parents decided to volunteer to run a chess program in the West Tisbury School where Lee is in the second grade. Helping with the program is West Tisbury alum Spencer Hughes, now a tenth-grader at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. The award celebration recognized all the students who took up the challenging game. The grand prize was awarded to Lee Faraca, who earned the most points in the last three weeks when the club begins tournament play. Lee is in the advanced group and he plays against all others in this group, receiving points for games won or tied. The beginner and intermediate groups play an elimination style tournament. Let this be a warning to you. If an innocent-looking elementary school student challenges you to a game of chess, watch out.

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