Chess Players are showing off their skills Lakota Nation Innovational, or LNI. Twelve teams from across South Dakota are competing for the third year in a row.
Chess teams from each school have about five players in the tournament.
Miskoo Petite Sr. is the LNI Chess Coordinator. He’s been encouraging students to get involved with chess-sometimes comparing the game to popular video games like Fortnight.
“It’s a wonderful game. It’s good for analyzing and strategizing, problem solving. It’s very similar to Fortnight, if not 100 times better than Fortnight. We’re trying to get that message out there.”
Petite says the LNI chess tournament is becoming more popular. He says some schools are getting students involved in other tournaments across the state.
“I’m 45 years old, I play probably 50 games of chess a week on my phone. It’s a game that I think because of apps and smartphones it’s growing, actually. And this game’s the oldest game in the world.”
Petite says hobbies like chess can help prevent stress.
This is Michal Beardt’s third year competing. She practices with her team at White River High School every day after classes. Her team has won third place in both previous competitions. She says every competition is different.
“They can be quick or you can just get whooped. But they’re pretty fun.”
Beardt says she looks forward to playing against new people.
“I like it because you don’t really know what they know. It’s easier or it could be harder. It’s just a new experience.”
Awards are given to the winning teams. Organizers hope to expand the tournaments outreach and live steam matches in the coming years.