Queen City Chess Club
Almost every Saturday from 8:30 – 11 am, Paul Fitzgerald organizes the Kids’ Chess Super Club in the Healthy Living Learning Center. This club has been together for the past 5 years! Paul coaches the kids here at Healthy Living in an atmosphere that supports a “whole health” mentality where kids are nourished physically, mentally and creatively.
I reached out to Paul to learn a bit more about the club and here is what he had to say… “The success results from a positive culture where learning and fun is more valued than winning. The kids receive specific instruction to support their development using a custom curriculum that is design to help them understand the basics of the game. Collaborative problem solving is a foundation of the time the kids share and kids routinely solve chess puzzles and discuss games together. Most of the kids are new to the chess with a smaller group of more experienced tournament players. The majority of kids are in elementary school and kids come from a variety of communities, including: the Islands, Milton, Jericho, Burlington, South Burlington, Essex Junction, Essex, Hinesburg, Shelburne and Williston. We host four or five monthly tournaments throughout the winter and the club travels to Berlin, VT for the Fall Classic in November and State Championships in April.”
The club has produced the following state champions:
2012 State Champions: Kindergarten Mateo Dienz-del Rio, Second Grade Luke Fitzgerald
2011 State Champions: Kindergarten Simon Cafiero, First Grade Luke Fitzgerald
![chess3](https://healthylivingmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/chess3.jpg)
The club is free and open to the public. If you’d like more information, please reach out to Paul: pkeenanfitzgerald