Young Maria Alice Damásio Ricarte, 15 years old, a chess player since she was 9, won the 2024 Pan Amazon Tournament in the female category and received the status of female national chess master from the National Chess Confederation.
The girl is a student at Colégio Anglo Acre, in Rio Branco, which offers chess classes for children in their first years of primary school.
Maria Alice’s mother, Samara Rachel, highlighted the importance of the Anglo Acre school for the development of skills, which brings benefits in other aspects of the player’s life. “Maria fell in love with chess in school classes. She would hardly have had this contact with chess if there had not been this encouragement from the school. Chess helps Maria to be extremely responsible, to develop logical reasoning, a sense of teamwork, empathy with others, but mainly the feeling of daily overcoming. The seed of the classes, which she took when she was a child, has made all the difference in Maria Alice’s life”, said Samara.
Photo: Maria Alice and other competitors receive awards I personal archive/reproduction
Professor Francisco Jonas Nascimento, who introduced Maria Alice to the sport, explains that Anglo offers classes for children in their early years of elementary school and demands performance. “Chess is developed here as part of the curriculum. All students practice the sport at least once a week. We participated in national school games, and Maria Alice participated and was featured in two editions. Last year she was the first from the northern region to be champion in the School Chess Championship, in Minas Gerais. Her evolution was here at school and we are proud to have been part of her journey in chess”, said the teacher.
Tags: Anglo Acre student chess champion receives National Master standard ac24horas .com
