A community chess competition run by the NSW Junior Chess League had a record number of girls playing this year.
Of the 32 competitors, 15 were girls. These included eight girls from Danebank Junior School and four girls from Al Zahra Primary School.
Chess Prodigy's program is different to more traditional black and white chess programs. Not only does it teach older children from years three and above the more traditional skills associated with chess, it teaches children from pre-primary school and Kindergarten to year 6, a program that is tailored to the different stage of a child's development.
The program has grown in popularity particularly at Danebank, where the number of students has increased from 57 in term 1 to 79 students in term 2.