Cover Story
Front, left to right: Maya McGreen, Mariah McGreen, Kamil
Back, left to right: Markus Pond, Matthew Kluska, Jack
Team of History
The Junior High I.S. 318 are National High School Champions
By MATAN PRILLELTENSKY
ELIZABETH’S PROGRAM
EVERY THREE YEARS, THE KIDS ARE
completely different. No matter: The result
is typically the same. A middle school
from Brooklyn’s Broadway Triangle brings
national championships home from
Nashville, Dallas, or Orlando. I.S. 318’s
coach, WFM Elizabeth Spiegel, admits to
not recalling just how many titles it has
been. Since 2007, the beginning of the
USCF online records, her program has
18
Chess Life — July 2012
captured 10 (of a possible 15) grade school
national titles. Its sixth graders have won
the K-6 national championship three
times. Dominance of junior high school
nationals has been pronounced, with the
K-8 and K-9 championships being taken
thrice and twice, respectively. Every title
the program was eligible for through 2011,
it won at least once. Except for the greatest team prize in American scholastic
chess: The K-12 national championship.
In her 13 years running the program,
WFM Spiegel has developed a winning,
replicable system. Kids enter the chess
program in sixth grade, frequently with little to no competitive experience. Every
incoming student in the school takes
chess as a required class. Sixth grade
periods are structured traditionally: An
advanced group and a beginner group
swap places partway through, one playing while the other receives instruction.
This is the year 318 students decide what
role, if any, chess will play in their miduschess.org