Current:Home > FinanceMeet the school custodian who has coached the chess team to the championships -Wealth Legacy Solutions
Meet the school custodian who has coached the chess team to the championships
View
Date:2025-04-14 10:52:12
Queen's Gambit? More like Bishop's Gambit! (That joke will make sense when you learn his name is Dave Bishop.)
Who is he? A generally cool dude, and lifelong chess lover.
- Dave Bishop is a part-time chess coach at George B. Weatherbee School in Hampden, Me. as well as their custodian. He also coaches the nearby Reeds Brook Middle School team as well.
- Earlier this year, his teams were both victors at the Maine Scholastic Chess Championships.
- He picked the custodian job up in early retirement after spending his career working in telecommunications. And he spends hours with students every week, without receiving a dime.
What's the big deal? Aside from the fact that we're witnessing a Netflix original series manifesting itself in real time?
- Dave is a great coach! He shares his love for the game, teaches the students perseverance, and has the star players to prove it.
- This weekend, his team is headed to Baltimore, Md. for the 2023 National Elementary Championships.
- One of Dave's mentees is 11-year-old Avery Zhang, who was crowned the state champion for grades K through 5 this year.
Want more on people making a difference in kids' lives? Listen to Consider This talk to Dolly Parton about her new book that tackles bullying.
Here's what Dave and Avery had to say.
On what drew Dave into coaching chess:
Well, it's the next step to being competitive. You're going from just a recreational or intramural club to actually being a competitive team. It's a very unique sport. There's a wide range of strength of players, so you're able to match up each player a lot better versus, say, basketball, when you just got one school against another school.
Avery on Bishop as a teacher:
He coaches us without even getting paid, so I think it's really amazing.
He motivates lots of kids to join and have a chance to become a state champion.
Bishop on teaching:
What I like about coaching the kids is seeing them go from, say, the K-2 level to where Avery is right now. Avery, for instance, has grown so much that his rating strength is higher than any player over at the middle school. He has a passion for it, and that just proves my theory: If you really like something and stick with it, you're going to get better. And he's really taken it to the next level. He studies at night when he comes home. I see him as, like, a 1500 player by his sophomore year.
And on what he hopes his students take away from him:
There's a lot of metaphors with the sport of chess. It's that hard work really does pay off. If you study like Avery and you love what you do, you get a lot better, and you stick with it.
So, what now?
- Bishop's students will aim for greatness once again this weekend.
- No word on whether any of the kids can project a massive upside-down chess board on the ceilings of their bedrooms.
Learn more:
- Zelda fans are taking the day off to explore 'Tears of the Kingdom'
- A new film explains how the smartphone market slipped through BlackBerry's hands
- The summer movies, TV and music we can't wait for
veryGood! (49863)
Related
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Kevin Turen, producer of 'Euphoria' and 'The Idol,' dies at 44: Reports
- What stores are open on Black Friday 2023? See hours for Walmart, Target, Macy's, more
- Jewish protesters and allies block Israeli consulate in Chicago, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Plane skids off runway, crashes into moving car during emergency landing in Texas: Watch
- Inflation eased in October as cheaper gas offset overall price increases
- At least four people stabbed at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston; suspect in custody
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Jana Kramer and Fiancé Allan Russell Reveal Meaning Behind Baby Boy’s Name
Ranking
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- NBA power rankings: Houston Rockets on the rise with six-game winning streak
- Tourists find the Las Vegas Strip remade for its turn hosting Formula One
- Lutz is good on second chance with 36-yard field goal in Broncos’ 24-22 win over Bills
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- 6 dead after semi crashes into bus carrying students on Ohio highway
- Authorities ID a girl whose body was hidden in concrete in 1988 and arrest her mom and boyfriend
- Worker dies at platinum and palladium mine in Montana, triggering temporary halt to mining
Recommendation
Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
Pressing pause on 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' and rethinking Scorsese's latest
Honoring America's war dead far from home
What stores are open on Black Friday 2023? See hours for Walmart, Target, Macy's, more
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
It wasn't always the biggest shopping holiday of the year. Why is it called Black Friday?
Blake Shelton Shares Insight Into Life in Oklahoma With Wife Gwen Stefani
Jury deliberates fate of suspected serial killer accused in six deaths in Delaware and Philadelphia