From Mongolia To Minnesota To U.S. Open Chess Championships

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) –Every year high school students from all over the world call St. Paul Preparatory School home.

On Monday, WCCO This Morning's Ali Lucia met with one of them, Sia Ganbaatar. Ganbaatar is a Mongolian exchange student who, despite still finding her way in a new culture, shows how there's nothing quiet about her moves on the chess board.

Ganbaatar, a senior at St. Paul Prep,  started playing chess when she was 7-years-old. Her cheerful attitude can even be displayed when she's competing in her principal's office.

"It helps kids develop their brain a lot, patience, concentration. It helps a lot of things in life," Ganbaatar said.

Ganbaatar moved to St. Paul from Mongolia this September to finish her final year of high school at St. Paul Preparatory School, where the curriculum focuses on critical thinking, intercultural learning as well as a variety of advanced placement courses.

The school's principal, John Belpedio, who spent the last five years at a sister school in China, said it's remarkable to see how quickly the student learn and adapt.

'They're growth over the period of a year we see mostly in English first. Then we see them become adept, have a basic vocabulary level and really shine in the academic area," Belpedio said. "Sia is like that."

He said at first Ganbaatar shied away from telling others just how she good was at conquering this game.

"With Sia, we didn't even know about her talent," Belpedio said.

Her positional sacrifice paid off and she took home the 2015 Minnesota State Girl's Chess Champion at the 50th Annual Scholastic Chess Championship, even finishing seventh among her male peers.

"We had kids here almost every day after school playing with her. There are very few girls who play," Belpedio said. "Seeing her really shine and then teaching other kids was really a great thing." said Belpedio.

"People say it's like a war because you have to make strategies and plans, and it connects to life a lot," Ganbaatar said.

Ganbaatar will compete at the U.S. Open Chess Championships the first week in August in Phoenix, Ariz.

She has a chance to win a college scholarship if she is crowned the winner.