The 20th Annual Carl Bowers CMSD Tournament – Retrospective
The 20th Annual Carl Bowers CMSD Tournament Eliot Sernau, April 28th, 2023
On April 5th, at the Cleveland Public Library, students from various Cleveland Metropolitan School District chess programs run by Progress with Chess competed for individual and team trophies in the 20th Annual Carl Bowers Tournament. A tradition for our organization and our partners, the tournament included guest appearances from International Master Calvin Blocker, National Master Trey Modlin, and members of the Cleveland Police Department including avid chess player Detective Carl Bowers.
We appreciate the coordination of our school programs who were able to participate in the tournament, which included Newton D. Baker, Orchard Park, Kenneth Clement, Whitney Young, and Scranton. We extend special congratulations to our team trophy winners, Campus International Grades 3-5 and Valley View Boys Leadership Academy Grades 6-8.
As chess grows in popularity in the mainstream, student engagement in CMSD programs is on the rise, with students forming new circles of friends around the appreciation and study of a timeless game, both during and outside of programming. It has been a privilege to be able to observe and promote that growth in our students, both in advancing their knowledge of chess, and in facilitating social gatherings that provide students with additional ways to connect with their classmates. Unique experiences, such as the Carl Bowers Chess Tournament, are imperative to providing our students with the most encompassing chess club experience possible, and we are grateful to have been able to conduct this event for the last 20 years.
Thank you all for your continued support of our programs, and we will see you at the next one!
We express the utmost gratitude to the local organizations and companies who sponsored this event. We would like to thank RPM, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the Cleveland Public Library, the George Gund Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, Swagelok, the Black Shield Police Organization, and the Cleveland Police Foundation for their longstanding commitment to providing quality chess education through their support of our programs.