Whiz Kid of the Week

Whiz Kid of the Week: Max Osborn Excels as One of the Youngest Chess Players on the Team

East Hampton Patch nominates the first Whiz Kid of the week because this 12 year old plays against high school students and stands out.

By Taylor K. Vecsey 2:00pm

Whiz Kid: Maximillian Osborn

School: East Hampton Middle School

Age: 12

Grade: Sixth grade

Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: While 12 years old and in middle school, Max is a member of the East Hampton High School chess team. He’s a standout player, the only one to take home trophy. He won fifth place in a recent Suffolk County tournament.

Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness: Max learned how to play chess from friends a number of years ago (He says, proudly, that he has even taught his father Elisha Osborn, who lives in Wainscott, to play. His mother Marianne Ward said she remembers Max playing chess on the computer and teaching himself before he took the board.

Aubrey Peterson, Max’s chess coach, said Max has a great passion for the game. “He has performed very well on behalf of his team on the matches we’ve had,” Peterson said. “He’s one of the four more accomplished players.”

The team, an offshoot of the Classic Gaming Club, takes on far more established teams, such as Stony Brook School. Max has stood his own, Peterson said. “Given his teams accomplishments, he has enormously contributed to any positive outcomes of our team’s matches.”

“I like it because it’s challenging. There are a lot of people better than you so you want to get better than them,” Max said. He finds it fun too. “It’s fun to play against people I don’t know; I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

With a positive attitude like that, you’re sure to get even better with age. Congrats, Max!

Do you know a Whiz kid? Let us know.

Source: http://easthampton.patch.com