Chess Prodigy Siblings Hold Exhibition

Chess Prodigy Siblings Hold Exhibition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A gifted brother and sister, ages 11 and 15, spent their day Saturday beating 16 adults at chess- simultaneously.

Hickory Chess Club members Grace and Will Campbell held their chess simul as guests of the Wilkes County Chess Club in the Wilkes County Library in North Wilkesboro (North Carolina) on the 21st. Each took on eight opponents, moving from board to board inside a semi-circle of tables.

Will, the eighteenth-rated 11 year-old in the US and 72nd overall for NC, won all eight of his games in only slightly over half an hour. Grace, 60th nationally among girls under 16 and 157th in the state- and always a more careful player than her little brother- took around an hour and a half, about the average length of a serious one-on-one game for most chess players, to take down all of her opponents.

Will displayed no fear as he gave his first formal simul; he’s taken on up to three at a time at chess club meetings for fun, Grace, a shy young lady, admitted to being “a little” nervous.

The Campbells have been playing chess for about four years. They live with their parents, Dawson and Glenda, in Statesville, where they are home-schooled.

The Wilkes County Chess Club was founded late last year by brothers Denver and John Owens, members of the Hickory Chess Club who wanted to avoid the commute, and has flourished since. For more information about the two clubs, see their respective websites at www.wilkeschess.com and www.hickorychessclub.org.