Queen of her game

EPHRATA — Renuka Thiry was just eight years old the first time she sat down to a game of chess.

"At first her dad had to be a little easy on her," said Janice Thiry, Renuka's mother. "But it wasn't very long before he had to not be easy on her."

The Ephrata Middle School student won the Waypoint Foundation Scholastic Chess Tournament on April 14, competing against peers ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade. It was her first tournament, but it won't be her last — especially with a first-place prize of $500.

Renuka's father and brother-in-law taught her how to play chess at a very young age. Now 13, she plays mostly with her mother, who rarely wins a game.

At eight years old, she played a game of chess online and beat the other player.

"She can really concentrate and she has her moves planned out," Janice Thiry said.

Renuka plans a minimum of four moves ahead in any given game. Of all the pieces on a chess board — pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, kings, and queens — Renuka's favorite is the queen. If hers gets lost during a game, she knows she is likely going to lose.

"I like the queen," she said. "That's the easiest one to get pieces from."

Watching Renuka play chess before the tournament, Waypoint Foundation trustee Troy Pugh said he thought she would do well. When she started playing during the tournament, she wasn't doing as well as he anticipated.

"About 10 minutes later, I came back and she just turned the thing around," Pugh said.

Renuka explained she was going easy on the other player.

"I didn't want the game to end in like four moves or so," she said.

All five rounds she came out on top, including a game against a high school student in the fourth round. Competing against high school students made her nervous, and until that round she was able to slide past them.

The high school student was one move away from winning, but he didn't notice, allowing Renuka to move onto the final round against Brandt Monson, another middle school student.

"I beat him like in ten minutes," she said. "You could tell he was nervous."

Renuka maintained her composure, even after the game ended and she knew she was going home with $500. Janice Thiry and the father of Monson waited in anticipation.

"I couldn't tell from where I was watching who had won," Janice Thiry said.

When she caught a glimpse of her daughter's face as she walked back to her, she could tell it was good news. In all, she beat 38 contestants.

Renuka said her brother-in-law is the most challenging competitor she plays. An avid online chess player who helped teach her the game, he joked he was entitled to some of her winnings.

"He told me he deserves at least half the money," she said.

Renuka planned to put her winnings in the bank, or spend it on a history class trip to Washington D.C. next year. She doesn't know if she is going to compete in any professional tournaments, but she does plan to participate in the Waypoint Foundation's tournament next year as a high school freshman.

"Maybe if I win next year, I'll have $1,000 collected from them," Renuka said.