When the Student Becomes the Teacher

Third-grader Anuj Balakrishnan did something that had never been done in the 14-year history of the Collins Chess Club. The nine year old defeated Coach Chris Torres soundly after the coach blundered away his queen in a rare moment of carelessness. After gaining the queen advantage, Anuj continued to use all of his pieces and kept forcing trades until he was able to checkmate his instructor. Coach Chris was so impressed with Anuj’s accomplishment that he awarded Anuj 100 chess club points, a nice trophy, a copy of Grandmaster Susan Polgar book “Chess Tactics for Champions” and turned the game into a learning moment for the class. As Coach Chris shared the news of his loss with the class, he reminded them that, “you are never too good to neglect the basics. In this case, that means always analyzing all checks, captures and threats.”

 

A proud Anuj Balakrishnan after defeating Coach Chris.

 

*Get your own free copy of “Chess Tactics for Champions” by signing your child up for two weeks of the Fremont Summer Chess Camp by May 25th.

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Tags: Anuj BalaKrishnan chess, chess, chess classes in Cupertino, chess student, chess teacher Cupertino, Chris Torres chess, collins elementary school, Cupertino chess