That one time I was a chess champion

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life, but no matter what, I can always rest on my laurels as a fifth-grade chess champion. 

The Lou Domanski Chess Festival will take place on Saturday, April 6 at the Sandpoint Community Hall, beginning at 9 a.m. and usually concluding by 5 p.m. Divisions include Elementary (entering grades 1-6), Middle/High School (entering grades 7-12) and Open, for $7, $10 and $12 respectively.

Formerly known as the Sandpoint Chess Festival, the annual competition was renamed in honor of founder and coordinator Lou Domanski.

Born in Poland in 1918, Domanski enlisted with the 18th Infantry Division Cadet Officers School as war loomed closer in 1938. He advanced to the rank of corporal warrant officer, and was initially captured by the Soviets, but escaped from the prisoner train. He was later captured again by the Soviets and sent to a slave labor camp until the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union allowed him to be released.

Lou Domanski, middle, teaches Southside Elementary School students in the late 1980s. The author can be seen in white shirt with red writing on the left side of photo. Photo courtesy of the Spinney family.

In 1942 he reported to Glasgow, Scotland, for intensive training at an Royal Air Force base. In 1944, he was promoted to the officer rank of aircraft commander, taking part in many airdrops to assist the Warsaw Uprising. Eventually his aircraft was shot down during a night mission over Hungary and he was captured once again, this time by the Nazis and spent the remainder of World War II in captivity.

For his wartime efforts, Domanski was decorated with the Virtuti Military Cross, three times with the Cross of Valor, the Polish Air Force Medal, Gold Cross of Merit, the Home Army Medal and the September 1939 Campaign Medal. He also received five decorations and medals from England’s Royal Air Force.

Domanski moved to Sandpoint in 1988 and immediately started the chess program, which continues to this day and has taught thousands of North Idaho children how to play chess. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 92.

I remember Domanski as a gentle, soft spoken man who was passionate about the game of chess. With his shock of bright white hair and Polish accent, Domanski shared his love of the game of chess with rural schoolchildren who might never have played without his guidance.

Chess was kind of a big deal while I was in elementary school, no doubt thanks to Domanski. This was years before the pandemic and The Queen’s Gambit brought chess back into popularity. Back then, we would often play games at lunch recess when the weather wasn’t great, or even if it was. We were hooked.

Each year would culminate with elementary school students busing down to the Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene for a chess tournament that took up the entire middle part of the walkway. One year, when I was in fifth grade, I wound up winning my division and received the coolest prize I could imagine: a ride in Domanski’s glider. It was the first time I’d flown in my life, and I still remember vividly being towed into the air from Sandpoint Airport, Domanski’s gentle voice explaining everything along the way, then that beautiful first moment the tow cable parted and we were gliding.

“Take the stick,” Domanski encouraged me, and for a brief moment I was flying the glider myself as he watched from the rear seat proudly. He taught flying the way he taught chess — letting the student jump right in and find their own style.

After a successful landing, I vowed to improve my chess game so I could win the competition again the following year. 

Registration for the Lou Domanski Chess Festival closed March 28, but if you’d like to show up April 6 to spectate and see chess masters of North Idaho do their thing, all are welcome.

In the meantime, speaking as a former student (and champion!) of Domanski’s, I am grateful this WWII veteran pilot shared his love of chess with us students.

To learn more about the Lou Domanski Chess Festival, visit sandpointidaho.gov.