Kid Chess News
March 2025
A monthly roundup of happenings in the Kid Chess community
This monthly web publication is designed for the adults in our community who have children enrolled in our classes, camps, and tournaments. It is designed to keep you informed about what your kids are doing in our programs and to teach you a little bit about the chess world. Let us know what content is important to you by writing to dan.lucas@kidchess.com.
In this edition:
The 2025 Kid Chess Team Playoffs and Team Championship
Kid Chess App: Learn More at Home!
Meet A Kid Chess Coach: Bella Belegradek
The 2025 Kid Chess Team Playoffs and Team Championship
Show your school pride off at the Kid Chess Team Playoffs. Open ONLY to students attending a school with a Kid Chess afterschool club & Suwanee Elementary, players will be able to compete against other schools to qualify for the Team Championship in May. Players do not need to be enrolled in a Kid Chess Club or program to compete. Space will be limited, so register early online here or call us for registration at 770-575-5802. For more information please view our FAQ.
- Sunday, March 30th – Kid Chess Team Playoff @ Atlanta Speech School
- AM Team Playoff Tournaments – K-2 & K-5 Sections
- PM Team Playoff Tournament – K-2 & K-5 Sections
- Located at The Atlanta Speech School | 3160 Northside Pkwy NW | Atlanta, GA 30327
- Saturday, April 12th – Kid Chess Team Playoff @ Chess Zone
- AM Team Playoff Tournaments – K-5 Section
- PM Team Playoff Tournament – K-2 Section
- Located at Chess.Zone | 2500 Old Alabama Road, Suite 11 | Roswell, GA 30076
- Sunday, April 13th – Kid Chess Team Playoff @ Chess Zone
- AM Team Playoff Tournaments – K-2 Section
- PM Team Playoff Tournament – K-5 Section
- Located at Chess.Zone | 2500 Old Alabama Road, Suite 11 | Roswell, GA 30076
- Saturday, May 10th – Kid Chess Team Championship @ Mountain View Community Center
- Details to be announced!
Please click here for even more Kid Chess events.
Kid Chess App: The Fun (And Learning!) Never Stops
The “Pestering Pawn” is one of the bots available on the Kid Chess App.
Has your child mentioned the Kid Chess App? This app, currently only available as a web version (although there is a way to make it function as a traditional phone app; click here for directions), is a perfect way for students to get better by practicing what they have learned in their Kid Chess program while having fun. Our coaches regularly encourage students to use the app outside of class. Please encourage your young player to work through the app, where they can earn points, badges, and see how they rank on the Leaderboard.
One of the fun aspects of the app are the bots your child can play in regular chess: Caveman, Goofus, Pestering Pawn, and the Scholar. These are all available along with links to fun videos about them.
Meet a Kid Chess Coach: Bella Belegradek
As March is Woman’s History Month, we are highlighting one of Kid Chess’ longest-serving female coaches, Bella Belegradek, who started with us in 2005. Bella started playing chess at the age of 5. She was a seasoned tournament player in Russia, where she acquired the title of Woman Chess Master’s Candidate at age 16. She earned Master’s degrees in Math and Computer Science, the latter from the University of Maryland. She was the university’s chess champion in 1994-95 and was a member of their chess team when they won two Pan-American Intercollegiate Championships. In her spare time she enjoys photography, traveling, and hiking.
Bella teaches at East Side Elementary, and she’s proud of the fact that this school has won a Georgia State Championship in at least one section 15 times during her tenure. She loves working with kids, who she invariably finds to be intelligent, curious, and great sports. There is also great job satisfaction for her in having coworkers with such varied backgrounds.
An Expert-rated player (meaning her rating is above 2000), Bella is also an active Tournament Director (TD), serving as a Chief or Assistant TD at many events at our Chess Zone facility.
If you’re interested in becoming one our valued coaches, please see more information here.
Previous Kid Chess Newsletters
Note: We took a break between December 17 and February 1.
Do you want even more chess news from the Atlanta area? Check out our new sister publication, Chess Zone News.