Mates? Check.
Checkmate.
A word spoken hundreds of times between new friends and old, as 60 students from eight local primary schools came together for battle in a lively chess tournament at Gowrie St Primary School last week.
In the second tournament of its kind, following one between a much smaller number of 20 kids and four schools in the first term of 2025, the Grade 3 to 6 students each played six or seven one-on-one games against each other.
It was a Swiss-styled tournament, which is a non-eliminating format.
The first round of match-ups is generated randomly, which then ranks players so that players in subsequent rounds can be matched up with others of similar skill level.
Host school physical education and leading maths teacher Jack McCormack said the activity had many benefits for the primary school students, including strategic thinking and socialisation.
“It also improves attendance; kids are incentivised to come to school to be a part of the competition,” Mr McCormack said.
“Playing chess provides an opportunity for kids who don’t normally have a chance to represent their schools through athletic pursuits with pride and feel more connected.”
While not athletic, chess is recognised as a sport in more than 100 countries.
Despite the International Olympic Committee’s acknowledgement of it as a sport, it is not played at the Olympics.
However, it is a medal sport in the Asian Games.
And it was a medal sport at Gowrie St Primary School on July 3.
First, second and third place winners were awarded medals, with the first placegetter also winning a brand new chess board.
Grade 6 Gowrie St Primary School student William, 12, said it would be good to win, even though he already owned a glass chess set.
“I’m not allowed to use it though, I might drop it,” William said.
“But I have another one I play at home. My brother has one, my Dad has one. My sister doesn’t really like playing though.”
William started playing half his life ago, aged 6, first learning the skill at home.
“I like just playing in general,” he said.
“It’s not about winning for me, but just playing for fun.”
Eleven-year-old Grade 6 student Jason started learning to play earlier this year with friends at St George’s Rd Primary School, who play together on their lunch breaks.
He had won two of the three tournament games he’d played when The News visited the 3.5-hour event about an hour after it began on Thursday.
“I only started playing a couple of months ago and I’m already this good,” he said, proudly.
Mr McCormack said he hoped there would be many more chess tournaments as the sport continued to gain traction within schools and it made sense that they would be held at Gowrie St Primary School indefinitely.
“We’ve got all the boards and facilities here,” he said, gesturing to the three Grade 5 and 6 classrooms set up with 30 chessboards.
“It’s just a great opportunity for all our schools to come out and represent our schools.”