Dozens of students put their chess skills to the test at a competition held at Rutgers University in Newark Friday.
The annual Amiri Baraka Memorial Tournament offered winners $3,000 in scholarships.
John Grooms, a 9th-grader, says chess helps him as a student and as a basketball player.
"It opened up my eyes and it opened my vision so that I can see things in real life," he says. "And also on the court and then also in the chess game."
The tournament was organized by the Newark Chess Club, Newark Celebration 350, and the city of Newark.