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HER MOVE NEXT

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I highly recommend it for inclusion in the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival. This short film is an entertaining documentary about the power of chess and how it brings people together. The storyline follows an all girls' chess team from Chelsea Prep School, New York and their journey to become national champions. With the help of their coach and the commitment of their parents, the chess team begins on a path to victory at the national chess championship in Chicago, IL. Along the way, friendships are formed and an obsession with chess begins. The film is well structured. It spends the first half familiarizing us with the team members so, when their adventure begins, we are invested in what happens to them. The audio and camerawork are very well done. During tournament scenes, you feel as if you are right there playing the game with them and it heightens the suspense of those scenes. This is an entertaining film for anyone who has ever been fascinated by chess or who has been on a team of any kind. I think many kids will identify with the film's universal messages of friendship and camaraderie and a fascination with chess may even stem from watching this. I recommend it to ages 7 to 18 and give it 4 out of 5 stars. Reviewed by Benjamin P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic and Julie S., KIDS FIRST! Juror.

The top all-girls scholastic Chess Team in the USA is profiled in this short documentary by Ian Phillips.