Impact Leadership Academy Chess Club Makes Great Strides in First Year

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Members of the Impact Leadership Academy chess club pose for a photo with all the trophies they won during the 2022-23 school year.

In its first year of existence, the Impact Leadership Academy chess club made great strides.

The team, consisting of 14 Impact students, finished in first place in the District Middle School Chess Tournament and had a top 10 finish at the (8^th place) at the State Championship Chess Tournament in McAllen.

Head coach Toby McCraw, who is assisted by Lexis Clinton and Matt Robinson, said he was happy that students took to the game so quickly.

“We at Impact Leadership Academy are committed to improving our students’ cognitive abilities and scholastic achievements,” McCraw said. “By having students practicing the game of chess, we believe it has helped them tap into their higher-order thinking skills, which is essential to leadership.”

McCraw said he and Clinton and Robinson were thrilled to see how the 14 Impact students took to the game and how they improved week by week.

“Our chess students have demonstrated an overwhelming amount of dedication, grit and tenacity,” McCraw said. “This dedication has led each student to earning individual trophies for their hard work through the year.”

McCraw added he think the members of the team learned more than just how to play the game of chess this school year.

“By students being on the Impact Leadership Academy’s chess club, I hope they gained a strong sense of understanding the importance of problem solving, decision making, creative thinking and most importantly, patience,” he said.

McCraw added he delighted in watching his students learn the inner workings of the game of chess.

“As a chess coach, I believe it’s important to help students discover the power of self-knowledge,” McCraw said. “In chess, there are many openings that can be incorporated in the game: the Sicilian Defense, the King’s Gambit, the English Opening, the King’s Indian Defense and many more. My goal was to lead our students in discovering these openings and finding the right one that suits them. Once the students discovered the opening that complements their game, I guided them in developing each chess piece as they move and strategize within a game.

“Knowing how to develop their chess pieces as they played, prepared them for any attack and strengthened their strategy. I believe guiding students to self-discovery and incorporating my philosophy in developing their moves led them to success now and for many years to come.”

The team consisted of Alexandre Gomez, Anthony Flores, Armando Hernandez, Azarel Haynes, Brander Fuentes, Diego Baires, Jamie Medina, Javier Martinez (team captain), Josue Ulloa, Kristopher Garcia, Nathan Isiorhovoja, Royal Watkins, Levi Robinson and Dylan Estrada.