For ten-year-old Camden Ouellette, chess competitions are nothing new. An avid player since the age of three, he was one of 15 young players competing at a Dartmouth Rotary competition on April 8.

But it wasn’t just lifelong players at the tournament. Others, like nine-year-old Adriano Sousa are just starting out. Sousa picked up chess several months ago as a way to kill time.

“I thought it would be a fun way to take up time,” Sousa said. “It gets me off the TV and it’s a fun game.”

That mixture of skill sets is no accident, said Dartmouth Rotary’s Terri Hamm. The group’s competition is designed to provide an outlet for every young chess player in the area to have fun.

“Chess is a great activity for kids to teach themselves planning and focusing,” Hamm explained.

Bob Salvas, from the Southeast New England Chess Association, presided over the tournament. With more than fifty years of experience in the game, youth events are his favorite to run.

“I love to work with kids. I’d rather work with kids than adults,” Salvas said. “I’ve played chess for 50 years, now I’m passing along my love of the game to a new generation.”

Rishi Ponnapalli took the first place win at the tournament.