Student Hosts Successful Chess Tournament

By: Elisha Tooley, Noah House & Leeland Hernandez

What did you do over the spring break? Some traveled, some just slept, but Orion Brey, a student here at Owensboro High School, decided to put on his very own chess tournament. And it was awesome…

During the early stages of March, Orion started brainstorming ideas to do something fun over spring break. Having already organized a chess tournament, Orion decided to have another. “I wanted an event that could bring together a bunch of people to have fun,” he stated. Brey began asking people if they’d be interested in participating, and as the number of people interested grew, he ended up making a group chat, giving details of the whereabouts of the location and other important information. As the days passed, the date of the chess tournament was set for April 1st, the Monday of spring break.

The event was held at Legion Park, with 26 people showing up to compete for chess glory, a solidly sized tournament. Orion provided food and refreshments, while also providing a majority of the chess boards that were used, while some of the participants provided their own boards. The tournament ended up lasting several hours and was a thrill for everyone who was there. “I really appreciated the turn out,” said Orion. “Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves which is the most important part.”

After a long, grueling tournament, it was Adi Perez who prevailed as champion defeating Brey. Hae Htoo also had a strong showing, finishing third. Afterwards, gold, silver and bronze cups were awarded to the top three finishers. Orion now plans on making another chess tournament this summer, hoping it will be even bigger and better. Be looking out for this if you’re interested in participating!