{"id":14190,"date":"2025-12-09T10:46:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T10:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/?p=14190"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:34:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:34:05","slug":"winners-of-okea-childrens-tournament-represent-norway-in-spain-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/2025\/12\/09\/winners-of-okea-childrens-tournament-represent-norway-in-spain-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners of Norway Chess School Teams tournament in Spain Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

After claiming first place in this year\u2019s Norway Chess School Teams tournament, a group of students from Stangeland Elementary School in Sandnes travelled to Spain in November to compete in the international final. The trip was both their prize and a key element of the exchange programme we organise in partnership with our sponsor RMD.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The team consisted of Didrik Johannessen \u00d8ie (13), Ved Rithvik Takkellapati (11), Nikshith Manikandan (11), Mikkel Kvammen (10) and Olivia Blaauw (10), accompanied by adults Rune Kvammen, Kristoffer Blaauw and team leader Ivbj\u00f8rn Nimki.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The tournament brought together 64 teams from Spain, Poland and Norway, with matches played on large chessboards made from recycled rubber \u2013 the same type used during the Norway Chess School Teams tournament in Stavanger.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Norwegian team delivered an impressive performance throughout the day, and finished third in their group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 The children cooperated extremely well and really played as a team. They showed respect, growth and a fantastic sense of unity,<\/em>\u00a0says team leader Ivbj\u00f8rn Nimki.<\/span><\/p>\n

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An inclusive experience for children and families alike<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Norwegian players, this was their first time competing in a chess tournament abroad. The atmosphere in Spain made a big impact \u2013 not only on the children, but also on the adults accompanying them. Music played throughout the venue, the children were interviewed during the event, and the entire day was designed to make chess fun, accessible and engaging for families.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 Everything is set up to boost interest in chess and turn the tournament into an experience. Many people associate chess with something very serious, but here they open the doors to everyone \u2013 even those who don\u2019t usually play. It creates a bigger audience and helps recruit new players. Even those who weren\u2019t competing \u2014 from parents and siblings to grandparents \u2014 got the chance to try out and play chess on boards in the venue,\u201d says Nimki.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Norwegian group also explored Le\u00f3n through museum visits, a walk through the city\u2019s cathedral and an official visit to the mayor\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n

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An experience they won\u2019t forget<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite not advancing to the top 16, the Norwegian team returned home with an experience they will not forget. Representing Norway, meeting players from Spain and Poland, and taking part in such a large event proved both motivating and inspiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 They had an amazing time, and it was really special for them to play abroad for the first time,<\/em>\u00a0says Nimki.<\/span><\/p>\n

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After claiming first place in this year\u2019s Norway Chess School Teams tournament, a group of students from Stangeland Elementary School in Sandnes travelled to Spain in November to compete in the international final. The trip was both their prize and a key element of the exchange programme we organise in partnership with our sponsor RMD. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":14267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14190"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14297,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14190\/revisions\/14297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}