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2nd Annual Pinedale Invitational Chess Tourney ( by Scott Pfeiffer, Secretary, Jacksonville Chess Club) This past Saturday, May 1st, 2004, an extraordinary chess festival took place on the campus of one of Duval County's schools. For the second year in a row, Pinedale Elementary rolled out the carpet for tournament participants and their families by hosting a scholastic chess tournament for elementary school students. Open to all K-5 students, including private and home schoolers, the event featured 3 games of tournament chess, officiated by members of the Jacksonville Chess Club and select parents. Pre-registration helped make the actual game day registration proceed in a very efficient manner. A computer program was utilized to facilitate the tournament pairing procedures and the tournament ran smoothly with few problems. Garnering 1st place trophies and 2nd place medals respectively in each of 3 divisions were James Mayfield (Pinedale Elementary) and Harry Yazgi (Richard L. Brown Elementary) in the 5th grade section, Cho Cheung and Long Tran ( both from Pinedale) in grade 4, and third-graders Kindred Lubeck (Atlantic Beach Elementary) and Michael O Neal (home schooled). Pinedale administrators and staffers have discovered the right combination of structure and fun to make this annual event a most enjoyable experience for the children and their families. Thanks to the efforts of Vice Principal Larry Thompson, the Pinedale Chess Program's Coordinator, all competitors received a lovely certificate of participation for their efforts. Breakfast snacks were provided prior to the start of the contest, Papa John's pizza made for a tasty lunchtime, and as if all this wasn't enough fun, each player received a door prize through periodic distributions between tournament rounds? All for the bargain entry fee of only $3 ! What a wonderful day of chess it was and our compliments to the Pinedale Chess family for another outstanding exhibition of Southern chess hospitality at its finest! Go, Green Pawns, Go!!