Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • Page 49

7V.l Groen Pay Press-Gazette Sunday, April 30, 1972 5 1 0 rji i 1 in i i P-G photos by Ken Bohrend Pat Hanrahan, of East, and David Sauvey, Abbot Pennings, mull moves No crowds come fo cheer of this fourney We're so busy with physical activity and not so much with the intellectual side." Arguments have been made that chess is a game, not a sport. But, said Downen, "It's a sport in the minds of the people involved." chess is on the rise, Downen said. "If he wins the world championship (against a Russian), interest is going to pick up greatly in the United States. "The United States has a lot to learn from other countries which have developed chess to a greater degree. said.

"When our first board got up in an assembly last year to explain to new students about the activities of the team, he got snickers. "But being in the association means going places and meeting other students of equal intellectual ability. It's stimulating to the mind." Downen mentioned other attributes. "Competition is a factor, but players also gain more friends and social acquaintances. It teaches patience, forbearance and anticipating the moves of others.

Chess is also a game of control and silence. "The intensity of concentration is tremendous," Downen said. "Once our principal walked in on a match and he couldn't believe it." Of the players, Downen said, "It's a gentleman's game. The people who play it are reserved and diplomatic." Although he had said chess is not limited to the "brainy" students, Downen said, "The players who occupy the higher boards are superior students. And the game is helping them to build their IQs or the ability to recognize relationships." With the help of American champ Bobby Fischer, the attention given Pere and Abbott Pennings high schools.

Preble was the top team during the regular season, but Oconto Falls won the tournament by half a point over Two Rivers. The half point comes in in the case of draws. The individual winners: 1st Board, Pat Hanrahan, East; 2nd Board, Jerry Peterson, Oconto Falls; 3rd Board, Dick Lemirande, Oconto Falls; 4th Board, George Nelson, Oconto Falls; 5th Board, Steve Tess, Two Rivers. Included in the field were an eighth grade boy and a girl. Terry Downen, the commissioner of the league and teacher at Oconto Falls, explained the attractions of chess.

"It's a good activity for students not particularly interested in athletics," Downen said. "It's not just for the bright student, but for those of all capabilities. It can greatly improve a student's logical ability." Downen is the organizer of the association. Last year, he contacted 110 high schools in the Northeastern Wisconsin area, and eight showed interest in forming a league. "People laugh at first," Downen i- But much of the time no one spoke.

Minds were riveted to the battles on the boards. Players frowned, scratched "heads, stared. Little emotion was shown, except in a glance or turn of the mouth. A futile look to an onlooker told of an imminent defeat. In the victors, there was no gloating.

For the winners, it took patience and stamina of the mind, for some of the matches lasted well over three hours. When defeat was completed, the victor and the victimized shook hands, often accompanied by "Good game" comment. All were cordial What the chess players were involved in was a Swiss System tournament. They played in five divisions, or boards, based on how well they played during the season of seven matches. Eight players were in each division, and each played three rounds.

After the first round, the four victorious players matched up, while the losers played each other. The second round left two players with unscathed marks, and they faced off for the championship in their division. The process, which started at 12:30 in the afternoon, lasted well into the evening. Represented were teams from Preble, Oconto Falls, Two Rivers, East, Chilton, Kewaunee, West De By WARREN GERDS Press-Gazette Staff Writer No crowds. No raucous cheering by frenzied fan's.

No bands. No banners. Little noise at all. It wasn't like anything you would associate with a high school tournament. It was combat between minds, not of physical power.

It required agility of the brain, not of the feet, stamina of the cerebrum, not of the heart, lungs and muscles. The scene was the West De Pere High School cafeteria, where 38 high school students fought it out recently in the first Northeastern Wisconsin High School Chess Association Tournament. The young Bobby Fischers engaged in mental, wrestling matches in five divisions, based on the various strengths of play. The ferociousness accompanying battles on the athletic field was absent. The struggles were gentlemanly, the foes were also friends.

No blood, sweat and tears here, The object, of course, was to whip the opponent, but it had to be done with a sinewy brain, not a sinewy body. Force, strength and aggressiveness were translated to the chess field. The atmosphere was hushed with concentration. All spoke in whispers. 'I It! Vf 1 ,5 1 i A t.

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