Chess Movie, The Story Of I.S. 318 - The Best Jr High School Chess Team In The USA

Here is a story of how a junior high school in Brooklyn, New York grew and develop their school chess team to win the Super Nationals Chess Championships in 2009. I picked this up from the Internet Chess Club (ICC). See if it intrigues you too!

WHY THIS STORY?

In 2007, we came across an article in the New York Times about a super-talented chess player from Edward R. Murrow high school in Midwood, Brooklyn -- the neighborhood where we grew up. For obvious reasons, we were immediately intrigued by the story. A little research revealed that the article was inspired by The Kings of New York, a fascinating book by Michael Weinreb that follows the Murrow chess team for one year. We contacted Michael to find out more, and over coffee, he spoke highly of I.S. 318, a feeder junior high school to Murrow (which he also covers in a chapter of his book). He encouraged us to get in touch with coaches John Galvin and Elizabeth Vicary, who had left a lasting impression on him.

Since I.S. 318 was just minutes from our apartment, we headed there one morning before work to meet the team and take some Polaroids . What we found was a school full of genuinely happy kids and a staff that was immensely proud of their students. It was written, literally, all over their walls. That was May 2007 and now here we are -- with something very special, we believe.
HOW FAR ALONG ARE WE?

In April 2009 we embarked on our first big trip with the team to Nashville, Tennessee, to the United States Chess Federation Super Nationals. This event is held every four years and more than 5,000 kids compete from every age group. Once we saw how BIG this scholastic chess world was, we were hooked. We embedded ourselves with the team-- at home, at school and away at tournaments -- and slowly, the kids' individual stories began to take shape. Then, in an unexpected twist, the school suffered a huge budget cut and the chess team's livelihood was threatened. The crumbling economy was affecting the lives of children in an unexpected way. Was it possible the best chess team in the nation might not have the money to compete for this year's title? Not something we were expecting, but an important part of the story to tell. After all, for these kids, chess is a lot more than just a board game. And we want the opportunity to show you why.