May 2009
NSCF Most Active Player
Gabriel Joseph
Photos and Interview by Polly Wright
The last tournament of the year was held at Ridgeway Elementary in White Plains. Among the participants was Gabriel Joseph, a third grader at Pearls Hawthorne School in Yonkers. Gabriel played in all 18 of the NSCF Grand Prix tournaments. He also played in the Westchester County Championship.
Gabriel loves to play chess. Four tournament games in a day don't seem like enough for him.
He learned from his father when he was around three and a half. He now takes chess classes at school and takes private lessons with
NSCF coach Nolan Kordsmeier.
In between rounds I found Gabriel in the cafeteria playing with his mom, and conducted the following interview:
What do you like the most about playing in tournaments?
Gabriel: It's fun. Very exciting. You get an even game to play and it's not too hard.
Is it sometimes hard?
Gabriel: Yeh, like when you have a hard opponent and it makes you worried.
>What's the most exciting thing about playing in tournaments?
Gabriel: You don't really know what could happen. Like all a sudden when you're losing by a lot, you could win a queen or something.
What was your most exciting tournament this year?
Gabriel: The one a few weeks ago (Albert Leonard) when I was in Primary and won all four games, and won my first 1st Place trophy.
I asked him about whether he works on chess at home. He had been taking lessons, but at the moment mostly plays with mom and dad. I asked him if he could beat daddy now.
Gabriel: Actually I've beaten him only eight times, but he's beaten me fifteen times. And we've had lots of draws.
Mom: And he plays mommy too.
When asked how he does against mommy he said I beat her 9 out of 10. Mom started laughing so I asked her Is he telling the truth?
Mom: No comment.
Mom, dad and Gabriel had a good laugh about that.
Mom: I think more like 50-50. He's getting better. He beats me more often now then he used to. I have to concentrate very hard.
It's obvious listening to Gabriel and his parents talk about chess, that it's something they enjoy doing together. I asked his parents if they're finding benefits in terms of concentration and helping with his schoolwork.
Dad: He stills needs to focus. Same thing on his chess game. He doesn't take the time to look at the board, and take the time to move slowly. Things are improving, absolutely. He's a very bright kid. I always thought chess helped. Helped me, and will help him in the same way.
Mom: I think he has a fantastic aptitude for math, and I noticed very often from speaking to people that math and chess go together. He has a passion for both. In terms of benefits, issue of working, slowing down the moves, and really thinking will definitely have an effect on his schoolwork. Absolutely being able to take the time to access, think carefully, and take your time answering questions I think can only benefit him in developing his mind. I think it has a great effect.
I asked Gabriel about other interests.
Gabriel: Math and my homework. Part of my homework is exciting.
Math is clearly his favorite subject, and he proudly said that he knows his multiplication tables through 12 x 12. When asked, he also said he could multiple 360 x 5 using paper to figure it out.
Though organized sports don't really interest him, he enjoys row boating and playing ball with his father.
Dad talked more about teaching him chess.
Dad: I first showed him how to play chess at three and a half. He immediately grasped how the pieces move which I thought was incredible at his age. The funny thing was he thought the point of the game was to take as many pieces as possible. Sacrificed his queen to take a pawn and thought that was fine. But he learned the game. We used to play and I tried to teach him. He was difficult to teach because he always wanted to do things on his own.
Mom: Because he knows better.
Dad: Yes because he knows better. As we played he just learned more and more. His grandmother pushed him to get a private teacher.
Mom went on to talk about Gabriel working with Nolan. Made amazing progress. Really noticeable when taking lessons with Nolan.
Mom: I also like how Gabriel explains chess to younger kids who are learning. He's very good at explaining how the game works. Set up exercises on the board to teach how the pieces move. I'm very impressed.
Gabriel: I taught a sixty year old how to play.
Mom: You mean a six year old?
Gabriel whispers to his mom.
Mom: He taught my mother.
Next year Gabriel is going into 4th grade which means moving to the Elementary section. I asked him whether he was looking forward to moving up.
Gabriel: Not a little bit because I usually don't win three games. I usually win two games.
He did play in the Elementary section a few times this past year, and he was proud of the fact that he beat a fifth grader.
What's next? Gabriel is hoping to attend NSCF Chess Program this summer, and be ready to play in more tournaments in the Fall.
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