Chess in the Schools 

The Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education: Winners Announced 

April 16, 2024. New York City. The winners of the Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education were announced. This year the Award was split into two categories, Coordinator and Educator, to honor the different roles people take to educate youth. The winner and the finalists were selected by a panel of judges that included educators and representatives of the wider chess community. 

Winners: 

• Eliot Weiss, Coach of the Murrow High School Chess Club, NY, was announced as the winner in the Best Chess Coordinator category of the Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education. 

• Elizabeth Spiegel, Chess Teacher at I.S. 318, Brooklyn NY, was announced as the winner in the Best Chess Educator category of the Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education. 

Finalists in the Coordinator Category:

• Abel Talamantez, Chess Program Manager, Rise Hamilton Chess, Novato, California

• Judy Viertel, Teacher Librarian/ Chess Coordinator, Marshall Elementary School, San Francisco, California

Finalists in the Educator Category:

• Keyron Jarvis, Chess Lead, Bold Charter School, Bronx, NY

• Lauren Jahn, English Teacher/ Chess Club Advisor, Sturgis Brown High School, Sturgis, South Dakota

In addition to selecting the winners and the finalists, the Award Committee presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to 

• Margaret Russo, Principal at P.S. 160K, Brooklyn, NY, and 
• David MacEnulty, legendary chess coach and author. 

The winners received a monetary prize of $10,000 that included a $5,000 award to the educator and $5,000 to the affiliated organization. Four finalists each received a $2,000 award, split between them and their chess programs. 

The Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education

Chess in the Schools established the Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education in 2022. The Award is made possible by Andrew Lerner, an esteemed member of the CIS Board of Directors. This nationwide annual award recognizes educators’ impact on the chess community and students, through alignment with CIS’s mission and values of youth enrichment through chess education. The committee takes into account innovation and dynamism in teaching and programming (such as tournaments or other events), and awards, recognition, or other outcomes of the students, clubs, and communities served. More information about the award is available online at www.chessintheschools.org