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“Cherry Gulch Chess Team Wins State Championship Title Again!”

On January 29th, the Cherry Gulch Chess Team won 1st Place Overall in the official
Idaho Novice State Championship held in Boise, ID. This accomplishment extends
the school’s winning streak in the 6-12 grade Division to a remarkable four
consecutive state titles. Eight of the players on the chess team also won individual
top 3 awards. The Cherry Gulch chess players additionally learn to use all the critical
thinking benefits of chess to make good decisions in their daily lives. These skills
include patience, planning, concentration, teamwork, problem-solving, and improved
critical thinking. The school chess coach is Daniel J. Vellotti, whose therapeutic
approach and empathetic nature make him a perfect fit for Cherry Gulch!

Daniel enjoys working with the students closely to help them to develop not only
their chess skills, but also their life skills. A native of California, Daniel moved
to Boise, ID at the age of 9. He fell in love with chess soon after moving here when
he discovered a chess set in his grandmother's closet. Soon after he started
competing in local chess tournaments, Daniel was winning first place in all
the Boise tournaments that he entered.

Daniel started competing throughout the state and won the State Championship title
a record three times. He continued to compete nationally becoming a champion in
many different prestigious tournaments throughout the country. Daniel became a
well-known representative of excellence in academic achievement for the state, and
soon had a large following of students who were looking for a local role model.
In May of 2000, Daniel established a chess coaching company and discovered his
true passion of motivating and inspiring students through his original and interactive
"Success in Chess" Training System. Vellotti's Chess Kids has become extremely
popular and successful throughout the Treasure Valley. His outreach and enrichment
teaching program is designed to teach a love and appreciation for the game of chess
and along with all the academic benefits and life skills that go along with it. His
favorite quote and teaching motto is “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the
lighting of a fire.” By William Butler Yeats.

Daniel is a regular presenter at the gifted conference Edufest, and his company was
recently nominated as a "Parent's Picks Choice" by Nickelodeon for best Children's
Programming. He is a prolific published author of chess workbooks, and he has also
served as the President of the Idaho Chess Association.
Daniel's other interests include organic gardening, sketch artistry, and white-water
rafting.

His tremendous ability to connect with students of all ages includes members of his
own household, Carl and Luke, who are following in his footsteps. 12 year old Luke
is a three time National Chess Champion and 3x member of the All-American Team
for chess. Luke, who attained the status of National Master this past fall, is the
highest rated player in Idaho- including both children and adults. He is also a very
popular assistant of Vellotti's Chess Kids performing "chess magic" for all the
students by doing simultaneous chess exhibitions, speed chess, and blindfold chess.
Carl is a State and National chess champion who helps instruct for Vellotti's Chess
Kids in group classes. He is also the President of the Boise High Chess Club, and has
produced several student chess champions of his own.

You may read more about Daniel and his family in the following link to news articles
at http://www.vellottischesskids.com/articles.htm:
“Idaho Chess Prodigy takes on all comers for Haiti” (2010)
"Idaho's Newest Chess Champs are Girls” (2009)
"Boise Boy Invited to World Championships" (2008)
"Second-Grader Dominates..." (2007)
"Chess prodigy competes for Idaho's best" (2007)
"Vellotti's Chess Kids Students Best in Country" (2006)
"Daniel Vellotti trains future chess whizzes" (2005)
"Checkmate!" (2004)