More than 60 students maneuvered their 16 chess pieces on boards seeking the elusive “checkmate” this past weekend.

The fourth annual Back-2-School Scholastic chess tournament was held at Alabama Power Company headquarters in Birmingham. There were players from Montgomery, Calera, Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Center Point, Tuscaloosa, Madison, Huntsville, Trussville, Odenville, Jacksonville, Springville and Columbus, Ga.

The tournament was directed by “Caesar Chess” (also known as Caesar Lawrence) with assistance from Mark Stribling.

This is the third year the free event was held at Alabama Power. APC Corporate Services provided pizza for everyone and trophies to the winners.

“Caesar Chess” is known to host tournaments on weekends to promote chess and stimulate learning, problem-solving and strategic thinking in children.

“I talked with the family from Madison,” said Danny Kings, Alabama Power fleet engineer who hosted the tournament for the company. “They actually stayed the night at the Tutwiler Hotel just to attend our tournament.”

Kings said chess is making an impact in education. He said at least one Birmingham City Schools teacher is incorporating chess into his classroom curriculum.

“I think this is wonderful news and a sign of good things to come,” he said.

Trophy winners this year were:

Rook (K-12th rated) section:

1st: Esther Graveling (Odenville) – 4.5 points

2nd: Jonah Tuttle (Madison) – 4 points

3rd: Christian Friedman (Jacksonville) – 4 points

Novice (6th-12th and not rated) section:

1st: Isabel Blancett (Montgomery) – 4 points

2nd: Joseph Graveling (Odenville) – 4 points

3rd: Nathan Deese (Trussville) – 2 points

Primary (K-5th and not rated) section:

1st: Jhordyn Porter (Center Point) – 6 points

2nd: Antoine McLemore (Center Point) – 5 points

3rd: Luke Strole (Montgomery) – 4.5 points