Kayla Gunn, a fifth-grader at Hillsboro Elementary School, makes her move during the chess tournament hosted Saturday by the Hillsboro Chess Guild. Kayla registered her first victory during the event and earned an individual medal for placing in the top 30. At left, Kayla and Del Gray, elementary after-school chess coach, celebrate her first win at her first tournament. Kayla is holding her notation sheet showing every move she and her opponent made during the game. The Kansas Scholastic Chess Association requires notation for each game played by third- through 12th-graders. The tournament drew 110 competitors from 25 K-12 schools across Kansas. Eighteen Hillsboro students competed. In the K-5 Division, Hillsboro placed second overall; in the K-2 Division and the K-8 Division, Hillsboro placed third. Fifteen Hillsboro students from first through 12th grade will compete at the state chess tournament next Saturday in the Kansas University Memorial Union in Lawrence.
