St. Paul has joined forces with the Nashville Chess Center (NCC) to form an after-school program.

Students learn the rules of chess and have opportunities to compete in local and state events as a competitive team.

Chess will strengthen your child’s mind, promote sportsmanship, and give him or her a new sense of self-confidence. No prior experience required!

The NCC provides all the needed materials and a qualified instructor to mentor and coach the kids. The instructor for the 2010-2011 school year is 6 time Tennessee State Chess Champion Todd Andrews. Todd also teaches programs at the University School of Nashville, the Ensworth School, and Hume-Fogg High School.

• Second grader, Colin Smith won the 2011 Nashville Scholastic Chess Championship in the Primary Division. This win comes on the heels of finishing as the top player rated under 1000 at the Second Grade Chess Nationals in Orlando, Florida. During the fall scholastic chess tournament season, children compete to qualify for the six spots in the Nashville Scholastic Chess Championship. Of the six children who qualified in the Primary Section (Grades K-3), Colin was the only second grader. In fact, he was the youngest to qualify.

• For the last two years St. Paul has hosted to the year's biggest tournament in our region—the Tennessee State Individual Chess Tournament. Our Chess Club had a strong showing with 12 students competing in two divisions as individuals. Emanuel Barrett (2015) was awarded Top Unrated Player in the Primary Division at his first tournament, Davis Cannon (2015) was awarded 18th place in the Primary Division, and our own Colin Smith (2015) tied for first and was named Regional Co-Champion.