American and Japanese students compete in a chess tournament at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Feb. 23, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
NAVAL AIR FACILITY, ATSUGI, Japan — An hourlong chess tournament pitted students from Shirley Lanham Elementary School at this base southeast of Tokyo against challengers from surrounding Japanese schools.
Despite a clear edge enjoyed by the Americans, the Japanese students are game to continue the friendly rivalry, said chess club adviser Jennifer Olson.
“It looks like a hit, and I think if these kids know that they can play next year that they might practice throughout the year to be able to come back,” she said during Friday’s event in Lanham’s library.
Forty-two students in second through sixth grade at Lanham and 10 schools in neighboring Ayase city competed in the three-round tournament.
“This is an informal tournament, as the Japanese students have just recently started playing chess,” Olson said.
The Japanese challengers were not dissuaded, according to Azusa Takahashi, a sixth-grader from Tendai Elementary School.
“This chess tournament event gave me an opportunity to get to know not only foreign kids but also Japanese kids who go to other elementary schools,” she said at the event. “I was glad that Shirley Lanham Elementary kids tried to communicate with me using limited Japanese even though I couldn’t speak English better than I thought.”
Hiromasa Shilt, a second-grader at Shirley Lanham Elementary School, plays chess against a local Japanese student during a tournament at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Feb. 23, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Mekhi Harvey, a fifth-grader at Shirley Lanham Elementary School, plays chess against a local Japanese student during a tournament at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Feb. 23, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
The Japanese students were selected through an application process and appointed as ambassadors under the city’s exchange program, Ayase Friendship Kids, Olson said.
Each tournament matchup was limited to 30 minutes and each student kept track of their wins and losses.
No major prizes were awarded, but students received small gifts for their participation. Japanese and American candy and snacks were given out at the event, and at the conclusion, Japanese students received a personalized certificate, erasers shaped like chess pieces and thank-you cards.
Ethan Meskimen, a fourth-grader at Shirley Lanham Elementary School, helps Tatsuaki Watanabe fill out a chart during a chess tournament at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Feb. 23, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
American and Japanese students compete in a chess tournament at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Feb. 23, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
American and Japanese students compete in a chess tournament at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Feb. 23, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Tendai fifth-grader Tatsuaki Watanabe had learned the game only a week before the tournament but was enthusiastic for the competition.
“I am impressed that my opponents are good at it,” he said. “I tried to beat those opponents but couldn’t; I think I need some more practice to defeat them.”
