Three students of St. Michael's School in Yorkton will represent Saskatchewan at the Canadian Chess Challenge in Halifax this May.
Grade 2 student Adam Becker, Grade 3 student Isaac Lortie, and Grade 4 student Benjamin Lortie all placed first in their respective sections at the Saskatchewan Provincial Chess Championship on March 31 in Regina. All three plan to attend the national competition in Nova Scotia on May 20-21.
It's the first time Saskatchewan has chosen three champions from the same school, said Saskatchewan Scholastic Chess Association President Don MacKinnon, and possibly the first time in Canada.
"To my knowledge, that has not happened before. A few times we have had two boys from the same school, but never three."
It's also the first time a pair of brothers have represented Saskatchewan at the national event. Isaac and Benjamin Lortie recently moved to Yorkton with their parents, Narom Sing and Pierre-Hugues Lortie, from Quebec, where they competed in provincial chess at a high level. The brothers have topped Saskatchewan's ranking on the Canadian Chess'n Math Association standings since arriving.
The provincial association believes both brothers have a "realistic opportunity" of bringing home a medal from the intensely competitive national tournament.
St. Michael's School is home to a thriving extracurricular chess club and recently hosted its own independent school-wide and Divisional chess tournaments.
