Check this out: Hundreds of young chess masters off to Wawa

Over 300 young chess masters will descend upon Wawa’s Community Centre next week for the eighth Franco-Nord-Ouest Chess Tournament.

It takes place on Thursday, May 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Students from 20 French-language Catholic and public schools will be taking part: École Ste-Marie (Azilda), École Sacré-Cœur (Chapleau), ÉSC Trillium (Chapleau), École Alliance St-Joseph (Chelmsford), École St-Joseph (Dubreuilville), École La Renaissance (Espanola), École Notre-Dame (Hamner), École Saint Nom de Jésus (Hornepayne), École St-Paul (Lively), École Notre-Dame-du-Sault (Sault-Ste-Marie), École Écho-des-Rapides (Sault-Ste-Marie), ÉS Notre-Dame-du-Sault (Sault-Ste-Marie), École St-Charles Borromée (St-Charles), École St-Denis (Sudbury), École Ste-Thérèse (Val Thérèse), École St-Thomas (Warren), ÉSC de La Vérendrye (Thunder Bay), École l’Escalade (Wawa), École Saint-Joseph (Wawa) et ÉS Saint-Joseph (Wawa). 

Players will be divided into four categories: grades 3 and 4, grades 5 and 6, grades 7 and 8, and grades 9 to 12.

All competitors are entitled to five games with prizes being awarded to winning teams and top students in each category.

The tournament is being hosted by Wawa’s École Saint-Joseph, which has acquired a reputation for their passion for chess.

“By hosting this friendly francophone tournament, the school is seeking to promote the game and help Northwestern Ontario youth as well as those from other areas of the province to discover both this discipline and develop their chess skills,” said Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon in a news release.