On Tuesday, in the village hall of Loris Barros, a chess tournament was organized among primary school students of the municipal school, in cooperation with the Association Le Vaux Blanc de Lanimizan. As School Principal Michel Kabomassi notes: “This tournament is the culmination of a project carried out last fall by Laurent and Sami from the Chess Club to introduce our students to the practice of this game.” At Maguy Casteran Square, there were a total of 62 pupils who benefited from a 6-week start, based on a project that in some demonstrated a proven taste for chess. On February 13, five of them also competed against other kids in the Youth Tournament held in Lanimizane. “This game gets them to work on the concepts of focus, anticipation, and movement in space,” confirms Frederic Larbig, CP instructor. “We respect each other, and we think…,” adds Geraldine Pires Kabumassi of CM2, who plans to introduce her students to a small bridge. Françoise Garcia (CE1) and Corinne Parivos (CM1) agree: “This game allows you to develop more casual skills.” Far from this action, the intention is really to make this young audience want to play chess at home, with friends, in a club, and as far away from screens as possible. The effort of thinking, stimulating memory, attention, and working on anticipation to develop a plan by making assumptions are all goals that were targeted during this exercise. “It should also be emphasized that on this occasion, over and over again, adults have indicated the importance of observing the other, in front of the chessboard, paying attention to the equipment, understanding and respecting the rules and rules of the game and the rules of life”, points out Michel Kabumassi.
