At Hawthorne’s Shell Elementary and Middle/High School, Tim Tusing learned to play chess with his brothers and friends. Joking around, he wrote in the yearbook that he’d be chess champion of the universe.  

He never pursued chess beyond high school games with classmates, but Tusing says he’s hit his goal—though accidentally.  

“I think I’ve accomplished that because at least in my little universe, you know, it worked out. But it was never really, truly an intended goal. It just happened.” 

Tusing has headed the chess club at Oak Hall for 27 years. He’s instructed thousands of students and turned the school into a powerhouse at tournaments, winning 25 national championships and 35 state championships. The Eagles won all six sections they entered at the Florida State Scholastic Tournament in March.   

In June, Tusing learned that he’d been selected as the 2024 winner of the Dan Heisman Award for Excellence in Chess Instruction. A fellow coach at Oak Hall nominated him for the honor, and Tusing will attend the U.S. Chess Federation’s award ceremony next week to receive the recognition.  

He’ll be joined on stage by other award winners, from tournament directors to grandmasters like Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana—both winning the grandmaster of the year award.  

Tusing has never played in a rated tournament and will be the first Heisman winner to not have a chess title—the award started three years ago.  

Tusing said he’s so focused on his kindergarten through fifth graders that he fails to keep track of the broader chess world. His chess universe—the club, the Gainesville chess scene and the tournaments they attend—take up all his time.  

Who’s the new world chess champion and who’s going to challenge him in November for the crown?  

Tusing isn’t sure.  

But he rattles off the names of former students who surprised him with tournament victories and approximate ratings for his players.  

Chess stopped after high school for Tusing until his son attended Oak Hall and parents began trying to start a club.  

He said the instruction at the time consisted of simply teaching the students how to move each piece. Tusing said that’s not learning how to play chess. A small child can’t drive just because he knows what the steering wheel, brake and gas pedal do.  

Prompted by his wife, Tusing began helping at the new chess club and continued even after his son graduated into middle school. He said his OCD nature has helped with the detailed organizing and continual small changes for improvement.  

The club has grown in numbers and success since 1997. 

At one of the first tournaments they attended, Tusing said the club stayed for the awards ceremony as a courtesy to the other teams. The Eagles didn’t expect to win anything and chatted in the back of the room.  

Suddenly, one of Tusing’s players said, “They’re calling our names.”  

Sure enough, the club had earned an unexpected award.  

Back then, a seventh-place finish was a celebration. Now, Tusing said a first-place finish can seem standard, especially to those used to hearing about the club’s success. He said it’s a high bar for students to meet when second- and third-place finishes mean debriefings about why the tournament didn’t go their way.  

He analyzes each tournament and school year to see where to improve. Maybe push students to read different books or focus more on checkmate patterns.  

Even over the summer, Tusing challenges the students to complete as many chess puzzles as possible. The student who competes the most gets a trophy. Tusing has a slew of non-first-place trophies at home. He replaces the nametag on the front to give out as prizes.  

The walls at Oak Hall’s chess room are lined with first-place trophies, leaving no room for the other awards. 

After entering middle school, Tusing said most players phase out of competitive chess. It’s not about making an army of grandmasters born and raised in Gainesville. Tusing said a lot of the instruction centers on making good decisions and analyzing their consequences. 

You’re the king. Every result that happens on the board comes from a choice you make, Tusing says. He said the club might go a whole day without talking about decision making instead of actual chess strategy.  

Tusing hopes his coaching impact goes further than chess, teaching kids to make good decisions in life.  

He’s trying to show real applications through a new food saving initiative. If you’ve got an unopened bag of chips, why throw them away? Is that a good decision when lots of other people need food?  

He’s started a Pawn Pantry to collect unused food for others.  

Tusing said he’s still got at least two or three years ahead of him coaching. Star students will come along that he’ll want to stay and teach. By the time they leave, another star will be rising in the kindergarten class. 

Tusing has noticed changes over the years in student behavior and his own instruction.  

“I don’t know if I’m getting better at teaching or the kids are smarter,” Tusing said. “It’s like the things that I’m teaching kids in third grade have come down to second grade and first grade, and now I’m teaching candidate moves to some kindergarteners.” 

Tusing said he’s gotten a lot of support from Oak Hall for the club along with his fellow coaches—Kevin Sevilla and Luis Salazar. Early on, Tusing said Gainesville’s chess culture also prompted competition and better players. That scene has died down, but Tusing hopes that local competition revives.  

“If it wasn’t for this village effort, none of this would happen,” Tusing said. “So, I want people to realize that I’m not like this special guy who all by myself did this. By no means do I ever think it was that way.”