South Bronx Public School Wins National Chess Tournament

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 16, 2008 – While most public school students are in a race to go home after school, Keven Lugo, who attends a public school in the Tremont section of the South Bronx, took a different path. This path led him straight to the U.S. National Chess Championship in Dallas, Texas on April 15th.  Keven Lugo is fourteen years old and an outstanding eighth grade student. After school, he spends as much as six hours playing mind-boggling chess games each day in order to prepare for this national event. And then he does his homework. Keven’s family supports his vision of winning but didn’t have the financial means to send him to the tournament in Dallas. Keven is one of three children who live in a small three-room apartment in the South Bronx. He lives with his two brothers, mother, father, grandmother and his uncle who often resides with them. His father works many long hours to help provide for his family, but could not afford to pay for Keven’s trip.  

In mid-April, twelve students from The William Niles Middle School 118 traveled to Dallas to compete at the Nationals Chess Tournament.  After three grueling days of competition, playing as much as twelve hours of chess each day, Keven Lugo emerged as the National Chess Champion in the under 1000 section.  The team placed fourth in the under 1000 section, led also by a tenth place individual finish by Matthew Atmowinoto.  The team is supported by the Chess-in-the-Schools organization, and coached by Yury Lapshun, an international chess master.  An amazing story considering these students are competing with some of the best schools in the country. The William Niles Middle School is considered a Title One school by the New York City Board of Education. This means that most of the students come from impoverished homes which qualifies them for the city’s sponsored lunch program. In some cases, this is the only nourishing meal these children get to eat for the day.
Despite these incredible success stories, programs, such as this one, which involves over forty students from this middle school in the Bronx, receive little to no public funding.  “If it were not for dedicated teachers and generous donors, these students would never have gotten a chance to compete at Nationals,” says Matthew Greenawalt.  Matt is a Math teacher at Middle School 118 and the mentor of these students who he encouraged to take the chess challenge.  “If we are to change the image and mentality of public urban education, we must continue to support programs that encourage and support essential skills, such as problem solving and patience,” says Matt. Matt raised over $25,000 through an exhaustive fund raising campaign in order to make this a dream a reality for these students. He hopes, with this accomplishment on their transcripts, their chances of getting a scholarship to attend a good college will increase. Unfortunately, due to recent budget restraints, the after school chess program might have to turn away students because of insufficient funding. But Matt is optimistic about next year’s chess program. He believes he can beat the odds by beginning his sponsorship campaign earlier, staying several moves ahead.
The story's struggle, against all odds, has all the makings of a Hollywood movie. So when might you see this epic movie in theaters? Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielburg, we await your call. If you would like to contribute to next year’s chess program and the team’s travel arrangements please contact Matt Greenawalt at 718-584-2330 or r.matthew.greenawalt@schools.nyc.gov.  (See attached pictures)