Keiser, McNeil place at state chess contest

Two Hoosier Prairie Elementary School students played in the recent Scholastic Chess of Indiana state finals competition in Anderson.

The students had advanced from a regional qualification tournament staged earlier this year in Honey Creek Middle School.

Evan Keiser is a third-grade student in the 2/3 GT program at Hoosier Prairie.

With four wins, Keiser finished in 19th place out of 64 third-grade-and-under competitors. Keiser’s parents are Doug and Brenda Keiser of Terre Haute.

Shelby McNeil is a second-grade student in the 2/3 GT program at Hoosier Prairie.

With five wins, McNeil finished in seventh place out of 64 third-grade-and-under competitors. McNeil’s parents are John and Traci McNeil of Clinton and Bobbie and Ray Bazier of Terre Haute.

Each of the 64 qualifiers played in six matches.

The principal at Hoosier Prairie is Michael Lewis. The chess club coordinators at Hoosier Prairie are John and Traci McNeil. More information about Scholastic Chess of Indiana may be found online at

scichess.org.