Teen becomes national chess master following 4th brain surgery

Teen becomes national chess master following 4th brain surgery

DENVER, Colo. ( deepika news KMGH) — A lot of brainpower is needed to excel at Chess.

Griffin McConnell, 17, has undergone four different brain surgeries to treat severe seizures and still managed to become a national chess master. deepika news

While recovering from the surgeries, Griffin had to relearn how to walk and speak.

His biggest passion, chess, came back the easiest.

“It’s kind of interesting because I feel like chess is one part of me, and that’s why I did so well,” Griffin said. “And with the hemispherectomy, when that happened, I don’t know. It’s interesting because I (wanted to relearn) chess more than I wanted to walk or talk.”

After the latest surgery, Griffin said his game improved.

“I knew right away that my thinking was better.” Griffin McConnell, chess master

Griffin recently won the Colorado Scholastic Championship. deepika news

He and his family have also started a nonprofit organization, ChessAbilities Inc. They will host a tournament for children with disabilities later this year.

The days we announce longer classes from 12 noon to 6 pm, it’s as if the gates to heaven have been opened! It’s not just the kids. Gate-crashing parents wanting a game with the class chess monster lurk around as well. Chess is mad fun, no matter what your birth year!

No video game can match the glee of pulling off a checkmate, calculating a queen sacrifice, saving a pawn and more. There’s a thrill in those 64 squares—every game, every next game. Playing skill doesn’t matter. Losing or winning is momentary. There’s always someone you can beat and always someone you can lose to and learn from. The friends you make in chess class speak a secret language of squares, pieces, and stuff. Television and mobile screens are forgotten.