On April 7 2008, four students from TT Minor played the first online chess match against a team from Beer Sheva, Israel. Beer Sheva is Seattle’s sister city and a home of many International Grandmasters. It sports the best adult and scholastic chess programs in Israel. The TT Minor chess club started with support from Chess Mates only five years ago, but its students have been among the top finishers in Chess Mates tournaments and it sends several participants to the Washington State Championship every year.

The competition was sponsored by the Seattle-Beer Sheva Sister City Association, which donated nine Internet Chess Club accounts to student players in both countries. Chess Mates provided logistical support and communication for the event. Students played two match rounds with four 30-minutes games in each round, switching colors in the second game.

Our players learned very quickly that they face a tough competitor. Only one game was drawn: on board one Dialo Wilson drew against his opponent. His brother, Zuberi, also had a good game, but his opponent played well and ended up winning at the end.

In the second round the Wilson brothers put up a good fight once again. Dialo won a pawn very quickly and Zuberi was up a whole Rook, but their more experienced opponents managed to overcome them. The final result was Beer Sheva 7.5, Seattle .5.

TT Minor students took the competition seriously and worked hard during the games. Several non-playing club members were on hand to cheer them on.

Many thanks to the TT Minor school administration, Coaches DeWayne Dantzler and Otis Smith and Club Coordinator Jennifer Surghua for their work in making this event happen. My personal thanks to Aaron Rose and the Seattle-Beer Sheva Sister City Association for bring this idea to us and sponsoring online memberships for students in both countries.

We did not have a chance to publicize the event since there were many logistical issues and the time difference made phone communication challenging, but with this first experience behind us, we can plan for a second match in the fall and hopefully keep the community informed well in advance.