After being laid off from his position as a systems engineer at
Virginia
Commonwealth University in 2002, Sumner devoted his time to his
true love: chess. “It was a tremendous boost in my life,”
said Sumner, who was named the 2004 Virginia Chess Coach of the year for
both the middle school and primary school divisions.
Sumner, of
Maidens, teaches at several schools in the Richmond area and two of them,
Collegiate Lower School and Manchester Middle School, won state titles
this past March. Sumner is also the founder of Richmond Chess, which
besides operating on the school level, offers private lessons for adults
and children.
“Chess really is a good learning tool for children,”
Sumner said. “They learn how to make good decisions, think hard
about the choices and take responsibility once they have made
their choice.
Accepting a mistake is a big |
part of life.”
Born
in West Virginia, Sumner learned the game from his father at the
age of 7, but didn’t start playing competitively until the
1970s when he was stationed in Germany as
a member of the United States Army. And although Sumner continued
playing chess as a hobby and teaching on the side while working
at VCU, he often had to turn away people looking for lessons
because he didn’t have the time. But today, Sumner teaches six
days a week, and like any great coach, he’s always looking for a
new challenge.
Next on the agenda:
repeat as state coach of the year and help to hone the skills of more
children so they can compete on the state level, Sumner said.
And if
you’re thinking “Oh, that’s nice, but my son is only 5 years old, he could
never play chess,”:think
again. “The younger, the better,” Sumner said. “It’s like
learning a |
 |
Chess
can be a beautiful thing. It really works you out mentally,
but it can be very rewarding. |
language,
It goes in
deeply for
young children.”
In the
Richmond area, there are four chess clubs and dozens of school
clubs that attest to the popularity of the game.
“There are more
adults playing now than in many years,” Sumner said. “And
despite games that can often last for 2-4 hours, chess is an
incredibly competitive activity and people work hard to improve
their skills.”, Sumner said. “Chess can be a beautiful thing,”
he said. “It really works you out mentally, but it can be very
rewarding.”
For more information
about chess camps, or to find out about private lessons, check out
www.richmondchess.com
or contact Sumner at (804) 304-6369. |
